Well, for a ride that wasn’t even on my radar until about mid-April, our first expedition to Still Prineville definitely qualified as endurance! I’m super happy with where Tarma and I are at, in how well we’re flowing together. We’re at the spot where I can decide two weeks before a ride to enter, and still have everything come together for a fantastic (if damp) ride. Despite the weather, the ride manager, vets and volunteers were lovely, helpful, supporting and overall just fun and wonderful. I’ve been choosing to do mainly LD’s this year for several reasons, mostly due to my own lack of fitness solid enough to be a good partner on a 50. I’ll get back there, it just takes time (and dedication and a spot in the house to workout and…ya know, all the things). The other reason is our used Synergist is starting to show some growing pains, so I don’t want to push asking her for too much only to end up with a sored back. A custom saddle is in the works but once I get everything sorted out, it can still take months to build and receive one.

The biggest thing I did right for this ride was shoeing Tarma. I absolutely could not have done this ride with our current hodge podge of boots, the Scoots still come off when she canters or in mud sometimes and I could not have been down, up, down, up in the rain and the mud and the cold to hunt boots down. The EasyCare Speeds (glued on composite shoes) stayed solid and allowed Tarma to eat up even the rockiest trail without hesitation all day, and she rarely slipped even in the slickest spots.

The weather was a huge factor but I’m happy to report I’ve at least figured out how to keep myself functionally warm and mostly dry, for at least six hours in the saddle. For those gear nerds like me, here’s the person comfort rundown:

• Vasque hiking boots (these have mesh and are summer weight, so they did get super wet, but with my Darn Tough sucks I didn’t get any rubs and they stayed functionally if not comfortably warm, though I did have to get off and walk once due to ankle pain)
• Kerrits winter weight fleece breeches
• Duluth underwear
• SheFit super bra (I call it “my riding corset” cause that’s what it feels like!)
• Kerrits summer weight technical fabric t-shirt
• Kerrits (sensing a theme?) vest
• Kerrits rain jacket, this one with vented pits
• Most importantly, my (literally) irreplaceable Tongass Artic Riding skirt, which kept my legs, saddle and saddlebags a hell of a lot drier than they would have been otherwise. I need to wash and re-waterproof it again but boy oh boy do I love it!
• I started out wearing my deerskin gloves, but they got soaked and turned my hands yellow so I took them off shortly after vet check. Someday I’ll find waterproof gloves that work for me…
• Fuzzy butt saddle fleece, though flipping it around hugely helped my lady parts pain and keeps me warm at the same time. Win win!
• I did forget to ensure my lightweight baclava was packed, as my ears do get cold and painful but I managed well enough until the very end of the ride.

Even when the weather literally rolled over on top of us and visibility dropped to almost nil, I wasn’t actually cold all day, even by the time I was soaked through when I was taking care of Tarma at the finish. I will say being invited over to change in Lynn’s LQ and warm up with their heater and coffee made the afternoon a whole lot more bearable, so thank you!!!!

The actual ride was a blast, even with the wet and the mud. It’s a totally different ride than Grizzly, despite being held just a few miles away and running over a lot of shared trails. I loved the climb up and over Still Hill, though it was only when I was putting the Relive video together that I realized it’s the most elevation we’ve ever done in one ride (almost 4000 feet gain/loss!) We’re finally in a place where I can ride out of camp versus walking out, even when other horses leave at the same time. I always walk the first mile or so, and Tarma was forward but fought a lot less. I didn’t even have to sing random songs, she was so good! The absolute best thing about this mare is she’s never, ever spooky. Things can surprise her or catch her unawares (rarely), but even when she’s hot she’s not pogosticking around looking for an excuse to cat leap sideways. We picked up her power trot for several miles, and she offered a much better (slower, more collected, less jarring) canter than she ever has several times. She’s also conditioning well, being able to recover in the trot better than having to drop down to the walk.

After several miles we caught up with a new friend, Lorna, and Tarma and I led them through the rest of the ride. The mares paced well together, and only had trouble at the first gate, neither one wanted to wait around to close it, but we managed. I kept Lorna updated on pace and thanks to impeccable Ride with GPS tracks and ribbons, we never once got off trail, I think that’s a first for me! Due to the rain, rocks and elevation we walked at least half of this ride if I’m guessing correctly, but still finished with twenty minutes to spare (could have finished a bit sooner but my ankles were past dead and since we didn’t have to rush, we didn’t). I’ve been trying the “electrolyte every 10 miles” protocol (I’m using theVetline electrolytes mixed with applesauce and water to make syringing from the saddle easier) and I think it’s really helping. I could tell Tarma was thirsty at vet check, which was exactly halfway, though she didn’t drink from the clean, fresh water tank at the check. She was eating and her vet card was great, so I didn’t fuss at her about it. This worked out because not two miles out of the check, she stopped trotting along the draw to reach her nose up the hill and drink from a tiny chocolate waterfall. Mares!

As we kept marching up the draw and the hill, she started to flag just a little but when I asked her to keep going she did, minus breaks to grab bites to eat. As soon as we popped up to the top of one of the hills the weather hit us, and this is about the time Lynn (going slowly, for her at least!) passed us. Shortly after we watched the fog quickly roll over the top of us, reducing visibility from miles to yards in less than two minutes. Wild! Right after the super cool rock formation which I was too busy ensuring Tarma stayed on the correct spot of the narrow, rocky trail to take a photo of, I had to hop off and walk because my ankles were painful and I could tell it was affecting her balance. I didn’t even have to hold her reins, I just started off downhill and she followed without trying to pass or push me at all. I’m proud that even though it wasn’t the best spot to dismount and I was wearing my riding skirt, I managed it with a minimum of fuss. Walking about a mile completely helped all my ankle/hip pain (still haven’t figured out a great stirrup/fender set up, alas).

Once I was back aboard we moved out when we could, and Tarma was arm pullingly forward each time. There’s a sweet spot speed of hers (I really need to borrow someone’s Garmin so I can figure out how fast this is) where I don’t have to post and she’s smooth as butter, but she doesn’t like holding it so she speeds up to where I have to post and I can feel her front legs getting a bit more pounding and it’s harder to corner so I ask her to slow down, rinse and repeat for miles. At least with the new J&S hack she doesn’t head toss or over tuck her neck to her chest, and I have a workable amount of breaks without so much pressure it sends her skyward. 

The last three miles are always the hardest for me, so close and yet so far. At about mile nine I started to worry we might not make it in time, when we were still climbing down off the hill and couldn’t make any speed. Once we dropped all the way down there were spots to make up some time, so by the last few miles I knew we’d be ok. We definitely got our money’s worth out of this LD! Thankfully Tarma’s legs were pre-mudded by the trail, which was great because I forgot her ice boots. We didn’t have to worry about heat all day, which is one benefit to the all the rain. One major benefit to LDs over 50s is I had plenty of energy left afterwards to soak her tail in Cowboy Magic and water and get most of the mud out of it (my mantra is “Don’t get comfortable until all the work is done”.)

Unfortunately once she had her food and beet pulp mixture in front of her, she didn’t get warm enough even with her winter blanket on and ended up shivering. My friend Krista was trying to decide if they were going to camp and ride the next day, and watching me walk past with a shivering Tarma made her decision easier. Fortunately I’d built my trailer with this in mind. A few minutes of heavy lifting and my trailer was converted to a box stall, with hay, water, and beet pulp inside where I could close up the trailer and she could get dry out of the wind and the rain and still turn around. Bonus, now that I’m able to use my pass through door, I could read to her and she could hang out with us. Once she was warm and dry, I tossed her out on her Hi-tie and tucked in for the night with my portable Labradork heater.

In the morning Tarma was still warm and mostly dry, though she has rediscovered her habit of holding her pee until I take her for her morning walk (see again: Mares!) I was able to pack up and with some help from on of the ride manager’s sons, put my trailer back together and get out of camp (thanks to 4WD!) and on the road before 9am. After getting diesel and Starbucks in Madras we had to take the long way home through Maupin, as the pass had snow. I have truck chains but not trailer chains, so I stayed below the snow level. I’d never taken 197 before, it was super scenic but windy and that road into Maupin only exists due the hubris of road engineers, and I can see why my friends with bigger trailers avoid it. I stopped at the Memaloose rest area on 84 for a pee and leg rest break, and even with the semis and the wind howling past us Tarma still drank some of her oat water. The rest of the way home was an easy cruise, and I’m glad I left Tarma’s blanket on so when she rolled in the mud at least some portion of her stayed…less muddy.