We drove to the ride on Friday.  It rained a vast majority of the drive.  The ride is up in the mountains with a lot of evergreens and large meadows with streams running through them.  The cool part is that even though you have the mountain atmosphere the trail was very flat.

It rained very little once were in in camp on Friday, it was more just spitting from time to time.  We unloaded the three horses and got camp set up.

Jeremy would ride A Kutt Above on the FEI 100, I was riding Kingley Bay on his first 50 (Kingley is very skeptical and frightened of new humans) and our friend Carol Edwards would arrive later to ride Strut with me on the 50.

After vetting in we went for a pre ride with our friend and client Terri Rashid who was riding her mare Keen Sweep.  Carol hadn't arrived yet so I rode Kingley with Terri and Jeremy and then rode for a second time solo on Strut.

Friday was pretty peaceful and relaxing.  Carol arrived around 5 and then we went to the ride meeting.  Cassandra and Centella, the ride managers did a great job I have to say.  Cassandra is so dedicated that she was out marking trail until 1 AM on Thursday!

Saturday morning the 100 started at 7 AM so that there would be a little light.  It was actually still dark for a little while.  The 50 went out at 7:30.  I was wearing my full length rain coat and carefully mounted Kingley knowing he may not like it.  I made it onto his back but my right foot hadn't made it into the stirrup yet, he froze and curved his body slightly to the right and as he was trying to decide if he should be really scared or not a person came around the corner with a headlamp on.  That was it, he jumped and spun and I came off.  I still had my foot in the left stirrup so it was like a forced dismount.  I landed on my feet, sort of but the force had me falling down on my side immediately following.  Kingley stood there and stared at me.  He let me walk right up to him and get right back on.  After that he was totally fine.  He was really good at the start actually.

Carol and I had a lot of fun.  The trail was beautiful.  Strut and Kingley did their jobs and trotted down the trail.  When we were headed out on the second loop (loop one on the 100 was 25 miles, loop two was also 25) we saw the leader on the 100, Roxy riding Autumn coming into camp.  Shortly after that we saw Terri, Becky Hart and Jeremy.  They had all done  50 miles while we had done 20 (the first loop on the 50 was only 20), granted they started 30 min sooner but still.

On the second loop around 30 miles into the ride Strut all of the sudden was not sound.  We walked a bit and then checked him again and he was still not sound.  We couldn't see any obvious reason for it.  Right when we were trying to decide what to do we reached the out check point and a trailer pulled up.  It was random and magical all at the same time.  We put Strut in the trailer and saved it for another day.  This of course made Kingley sad as he was on his first 50 and was now alone.  He neighed a few times.  I have never heard his voice, he has a deep voice.  Entertaining.

We got into camp after the second loop and Kingley ate well.  Kutt was leaving shortly after we arrived.  Kingley thought he was done for sure as he has only done LD's before this.  I saddled him up for our final 5 mile loop.  He was happy to go.  He is a very cheerful horse.  He was a little tired but very happy and willing.  We went really easy all day and he finished happy and sound.  We completed around 4:30.

I took care of Kingley and got Kutt's stuff ready for him.  Jeremy got in right when I had finished what I needed to do with Kingley and Strut.

Roxy and Autumn pulled at the 85 mile mark.  Becky pulled at the 75 mile mark. Now Terri and Jeremy were the two left in the lead group.  Both Kutt and Keen looked good.  They had a 5 mile loop and then a 10 to the finish.  Jeremy and Terri rode the rest of the way together.  They decided that Kutt could have gone faster so he would come in first and Keen would be second.  Both horses came in to camp at 7 pm, they had done the course in 8:45.  It was Kutt's first 100 and Keen's second.  Great horses.

BC was an hour after completion.  Keen and Kutt were moving freely and trotted with good impulsion.  You could be proud of both for their great rides. 

After the ride we were talking with Roxy about Autumn.  A little background: Autumn is Master Motion's full sister.  Master Motion, aka Split was the horse that I won and BC'd at Tevis.  He was the 5th horse in 50 years to win both cups in a single year.  Autumn is also 3/4 sister to Crystals Charm, aka Red.  Red is the horse that I did a lot of winning on, including a Gold Medal at the 2001 Pan Am's with BC.

So we have been talking to Roxy about breeding Autumn at some point as she is the last of the line so to speak.  Roxy has been riding Autumn so she wasn't sure when we might be able to breed her.  After the race I half way jokingly reminded her that she could put her in our trailer and we would take her to breed her.  Roxy thought about it and this time, said we could take her to breed her.  I am super happy about it.   I am thankful to Roxy and Cody for the opportunity.

On Sunday we went to the awards.  The caterer's did a great job and made us a wonderful breakfast.  Kutt got BC and Jeremy got the award for failed costume.  He had a glowing mask that he was going to wear as he finished but it totally fell apart, he also had glowing gloves.  Cassandra won best costume, she was a purple haired goblin .  At one point in the day Mike Foss had on a button down shirt, an American tie and an Obama mask on.  It was funny.

In all it was a great ride that was really well managed.  The scenery was wonderful and the trail was well marked with plenty of water.  Mark it on your calendar for next July 30th.  The date is moving up and it should be spectacular that time of year. For those of you who wimped out due to weather you should have been there.

Heather

Jeremy and I just returned from a fun weekend down in Inyokern.  Callie and Daniel put on another great ride.  Jeremy rode his 3/4, younger brother to Smitty, Stirgess.  I rode Stratagem.

The weather was really hot, as in 90's.  I clipped both horses on Friday afternoon after we arrived.  When we were all done getting set for the ride we went to dinner with our friends, the Donley's.  It was a lot of fun to see them and catch up.  As usual we went to Tokyo House, that is one of the best places in Ridgecrest.

We all got back to camp just in time for the ride meeting.  At the end of the meeting there was usual representative from the BLM that did the Tortoise talk.

Saturday it was very hot.  Strut and Stirgess did a steady pace and tied for 5th.  Stirgess got high vet score. Christoph won and Diane Woodard was 2nd and got BC.  Karen and JJ Donley were 3rd and 4th.  After the race JJ, Jeremy, the dogs and I went to a spring and Jeremy and the dogs swam.  JJ and I were too cold because all of the sudden the clouds were there and there was a breeze.  After the dip we stopped at the one gas station and bought ice and ice cream.

Dinner that night was excellent.  The ride made wonderful BB-Q Tri-Tip with all of the fixings.  It was delicious.  There is also a trophy for this ride each day to honor a true Bill Thorburgh spirit of family riding.  On day one JJ and his family won the honor.

On Sunday, we again rode at a very steady pace. We tied for 4th this time.  Christoph and Diane rode fresh horses and tied for 1st.  Christoph took BC this time.  Stirgess had high vet score again.  It was really hot all day, but it was slightly cooler than Saturday.  Right after the ride there was some thunder and lightening with a quick burst of cold rain.

I took care of the horses while Jeremy went to the crew area to gather our stuff.  We stayed for dinner and awards.  Dinner was great again.  After the awards we got on the road.  It was going to be a long night, we would get home around 1 am.

In all it was a great time.  You should mark it down on your calendar if you need something to do next year at that time.

Heather

Well I am about one week late on posting this.  When we returned from KY we arrived at our barn at 7 am on Friday the 1st.  After driving for way too long we got out of the truck and Jeremy decided to do our horse's feet for the race that was happening the next day.

We went home and took a nap and then went to Calero to vet our horses in for the 50.  I vetted in Tin Roof and Jeremy was to ride Stirgess and the final 5 year old for our 5 year old trio was Kongo with Megan Robinson aboard.  Lori Olson was on Strut.

The next morning we woke up and I didn't know where I was or why I had to wake up so early.  Then I realized that I was in my own bed and that we were going to do a local 50.

We went to the ranch and picked up the horses and then drove the 5 minutes over to the ride.

The ride was very surreal.  It turns out that there was a crazy amount of ground bees and everyone was having a really bad time because of them  Many people fell off that day and a few were badly hurt.  I wont go into other people's misfortunes but it was a mess.

At the end of the day the race was rerouted and we made it.  All three 5 year olds had another great outing and had little mishap with the bees.

Hopefully the next time this ride happens it goes better for everyone that had a bad ride this time.

Heather

I am currently in New Mexico.  Yesterday we were going up a hill and lost power and then Jeremy saw something smoking from behind us.  Our trailer bearing melted and then melted the brakes on the rear right.  After calling US rider and figuring out the details we unloaded the horses on the highway and Jeremy started to take the wheel off when we realized that Smitty was choking.

Smitty probably had been choking for a while as Sam had green slimy spit on his side that was nearest to Smitty.  We gave Smitty some water and he was able to drink a bit but he was still not right.  After some magnesium being syringed to him and not letting him eat he came around.

Jeremy went back to removing the tire and then we limped our three tired trailer to the town behind us.  They had all of the parts except for one, of course!  The part was ordered and would be there in the morning.

We got directions to an arena on the edge of town.  We unloaded the boys and as we were getting settled it became clear that Wednesday nights in Santa Rosa NM were the team roping night at this arena.

There were only about 6 riders.  They loaded the steers into the shoots and chased them down.  Jeremy decided to saddle up Kingley and play around a bit.  Kingley was great.  He ran out of the shoot and chased the steer that weren't going to be roped.  Kingley was fast to chase them down, he would even snake his head down at them.  Jeremy and I also rode one of the cowboys quarter horses, good times.

We are off to get the repair done and hit the road. 

PS Sam looks great!!

Heather

Wow and damn all at once.  Sam was totally great today, amazing to say the least.  We ran with the big dogs today and it almost worked.  I was 4th over all but then failed my last trot out for a mild but consistent hind end lameness.  I am proud as hell of what Sam did today.

He finished in 7:40 and was 5 min behind the reigning world champion, who is now the 2 time world champion.  Sam's  fastest  100 before this was his only 100, which he did in 9:57 at Git R Done.  That is right, this was his 2nd 100.  Jeremy and I are very excited in spite of the pull.

At the finish I was with a French rider and I decided to take the risk and race in just in case one of the first 3 riders got pulled.  Sam ran like the wind and was so cheerful about it. 

I really feel that the hind end lameness is due to his lack of 100 mile experience and that he has one hell of a bright future as a world class endurance horse.  Sam is only 9 years old so I can look forward to many future World Championships with him in mind.

I am totally exhausted but I just wanted to let you know how it went and I felt about what happened today.
Heather

Wow, I am soooo tired right now.  It is 10 pm, we have been going non stop since 7 am so sorry if this is brief.  The USA team is: Lindsay Graham, Heather Reynolds, Jan Worthington and Meg Sleeper.  Our individual is now Deborah Reich.  All 5 horses vetted in and we are all set to go.

It was about 82 degrees today and it looks like it could rain tonight.  Then it should be warm again.  Good for us, hopefully it will be hot and muggy.

I do not know how many horses vetted in, there were a few that did not pass the vet in.  Originally there were supposed to be about 109 starters, so now there are less.

Today we did too many things to rehash.  It ended with us marching in the opening ceremonies.  It was great to march with all of the other USA disciplines.  We all walked grouped together as one nation rather than by discipline.  Jan walked just behind the flag bearer with the 14 year old vaulting competitor, they represented the USA's youngest and oldest competitors, very cool. 

All of us, including the dressage riders were sporting the western theme.  We had Ariat jeans, black pointy cowboy boots a western shirt, black belt, red white and blue ascot ties and big cowboy hats on.  We also were all holding USA flags that we waved.  The stadium was packed and they all went wild when the USA came in. Pretty amazing feeling to have all of that support.  It is the most support that the USA has ever had, as we are finally on our home court.

We cut out almost right away so that we could get to bed.  Too bad we have to race right after that because it would have been cool to watch.

I have to sleep, I will try to tell more details after the race for sure. 

Wish Sam and I luck as well as the 4 other USA riders.  We are going to do great!!

Heather

Sorry, I have not had internet until now.  We had to move out of the hotel for the second time right before they decided who would make the team so I have not written since.

Our team which you have probably heard by now is:
Ellen Rapp on Berjo Smoke
Meg Sleeper on Syrocco Harmony
Jan Worthington on Golden Lightening
Heather Reynolds on Ssamiam

Our individual is:
Lindsay Graham on Monk

Alternate:
Deborah Reich on DJB Juniper

We were all on pins and needles to hear who would make it.  After our final trot out for the selectors we were all relieved because at that point we had done all we could and it was now up to the committees to decide.

We were waiting from about 10 am until 4:30 pm.  A long day to say the least.  Then when they did announce the team they did so in alphabetical order and started with Ellen Rapp so poor Lindsay thought she had not been selected, then they announced the individual after that.  She was overwhelmed. 

That night we went out for Mexican and had many pitchers of Margaritas.  Roger Yohe was pouring and he even had the same color shirt on as the wait staff.  As a joke Lindsay told a waiter that it was Roger's birthday and the whole staff came out and plopped a huge sombrero on Roger's head and sang happy birthday very loudly in Spanish.  It was super funny.

The days are now starting to move more quickly.  Today we went to the horse park and got our uniforms and credentials.  It was really fun, this is the best s.w.a.g. (stuff we all get) we have ever gotten!   The jackets are really cool too.  We did not get all of the clothes that we will be getting as some of the things hadn't arrived yet.

We also got our tack that the Distance Depot donated.  It is very classy and nice to look at.  We will look sharp. 

More and more crew are arriving each day.  Today we had a lively bucket brigade and bottle hand off session.  The horses are liking it too I think.  It is warm enough for sure to appreciate the water!

The horses are also starting to get massage work done and they are liking that as well.

I am off to bed.

Heather

Well today was the last day of waiting, sort of.  Tomorrow, sometime between 4 and 5 pm we should know who the 5 riders will be. 

Last night was not a good sleep night.  There is a mouse (there seems to be a personal mouse for each room, they come standard at no additional fee) that keeps visiting us at night.  Last night the mouse was feeling very much at home.  He was crinkling wrappers.  I threw a towel in his direction at one point.  This morning I saw what he was up to.  He had taken the Coconut M&M wrapper and carried into my sheepskin lined boots and shredded it inside the boot,making a super cozy nest.  Bastard.  It was almost cute except for that my boot smelled like mouse!

Today was a bummer for us.  About a week ago Smitty hurt himself somehow either in his stall or in his turn out.  It was a hind end lameness.  We noticed a small lump on his hind end that was never there before.  It is up in the large muscle area of his hamstring. 

Smitty seemed to be doing better day by day and the vet was not too concerned about it so we waited for it to get better.  Jeremy iced, lasored and even took Smitty to the hyperberic chamber two times to try to help it heal up the best we could.

Yesterday the horse looked perfect before, during and after his ride.  It was the first day since it happened that Jeremy was feeling better about it. 

This morning when we trotted Smitty he was just as bad as the day it happened.  Jeremy knew that he could make Smitty sound with warming him up but he also knew it would not be fair to Smitty, the team or himself to do this for our final trot out on Friday morning.  It was very improbable that Smitty would be able to go 100 miles in 10 days looking the way he does.

Jeremy went to Becky and formally withdrew Smitty today.  There is no point in hoping for soundness, making the horse appear sound and then having a very questionable horse at this level, especially at the speed that is needed here.

After this we did our barn chores and headed back to the hotel for our Ariat fitting.  We all had to try on jeans for the opening ceremony uniform.  After this we took off to hang out alone.

We decided to see a movie that Jeremy had been wanting to see, The Sorceror's Apprentice.  Jeremy also was craving ribs so we went to Tony Roma's and had great ribs.

After that we headed back to Shaker Village.  When we got back Dan, the grounds manager was getting ready to go out running.  Instead of sulking in our room Jeremy went with him at the last minute.  I ran down to the barn, literally, and pulled Sam's mane.

While I was at the barn I hung out for a bit with Grace, Michele and Jan.  Then I helped Lindsay and Susie bring in the horses for the night.  I am now back at the hotel getting ready for bed.  Hopefully the mouse doesn't show up tonight.

Keep your fingers crossed for Sam tomorrow.

Above you will see Sam's dinner, now you can see where he gets his goofy side from:)

We have been keeping busy.  This past weekend Jim Bryant came here again and trotted all of the horses.  I think he was happy with the over all group.

On Saturday morning our group was asked to be the guest speakers for the annual Al Khamsa (SP?) convention.  At the last minute the speaker that they originally had could not make it so we became the show.  Their group was very nice.  The club is based on having horses bloodlines that go back to Bedouin blood on all lines of their pedigree, or so I understood it, sorry if I have it wrong.

After our speech about the WEG endurance team we headed out and had brunch at Cracker Barrel.  After we were all fed we headed over to Spy Coast. 

Spy Coast is a hunter jumper barn.  It is a stunning facility.  The barn was immaculate, airy and state of the art.  We all admired the barn.  Spy Coast arranged for the USA team to park our trailers on their property which is great, as it will be the closest possible place for us to park next to the crew area for ride day.  We were also able to view the crew lay out from their property.

While we were there we saw Ivanhoe, Michelle Roush's mount.  Spy Coast is the proud owner of this mare.

On Sunday we were all doing drills with the horses so that they were prepared for any loud or surprising things going past them on ride day.  That was fun, Sam thought it was a good time, running past his friends.

After the drills we headed out for a ride, practicing bottle hand offs and bucket brigade when we returned. 

In the late afternoon we went to the Al Khamsa's annual barn tour and dinner.  This was held at Nancy Bliss's place.  We saw 13 Al Khamsa horses.  It was a fun evening and we couldn't have asked for a more gracious host.

Yesterday was the riders day off.  We all headed off to the Horse Park to see the "Gift of the Desert" Arabian exhibit.  It was really great, there were things in there that were so ancient.  I liked one decorative plaque that was over 4500 years old and it looked almost new, the colors were so vibrant.

We also went to Vonita's office at the USEF building.  We saw the desk that moves our paperwork!  I finally met Shirley Kostka who is Vonita's stunt double when she is away.

On the way back to the barn Lindsay, Suzy, Chris and I went to Sam's Club to get some WEG apparel.  Another day down. 

We only have to wait until this Friday until we know where we stand as far as being a rider or a crew member. 

Well we have moved out of our rooms for the weekend and we are staying in our trailers.  We have been practicing a lot of bullet hand offs on the fly and the horses are getting better.

Yesterday we had a radio interview.  Sam was the sound bite for hooves clopping in the background... his moment of fame.

All of the horses are looking good.  We did have another horse move into the barn, a cart pony.  The good news is that the grounds manager was made aware of our health concerns for our horses and he has put a freeze on any future stall rentals for the rest of our stay.  Thank God, or thank Michelle Roush:)  We also now have big Quarantine signs on the outside paddocks.

Last night we all went to a Mexican restaurant to have dinner and watch football.  It turned out to be Tex Mex.  When we opened the menu we had trouble locating the Mex part.  After looking for a while we found some items.  It was the first time that I had Spanish rice that was white rice with bits of veggies in it.  I almost ordered the "Classic Burrito", thinking that would be Mex for me.  Then I read that it involved eggs and bacon in the burrito and I thought again.

Skip got here last night and he has been handing off bullets today. 

Deborah told us that in her new hotel room, that she went to after Shaker Village, has a rag in the bathroom with a sign that reads something about "Use this rag to clean your gun..."  That is a first.

Later today we have more media training and then tomorrow we are speaking at an Arabian Horse Conference first thing in the morning.  Our team vet also gets in tonight so tomorrow we will be examined again, our horses that is.

Sam has gotten better at the bullet hand offs.  He was getting too smart as he would try to swerve to the left with the person handing water to our right.  I would put left leg on and a tight left rein and at the last possible second, when I would let go with my right hand to grab the bottle he would try to swerve to the right, around the person handing us the water.  It was the like he was saying "What? I did what you said, I went right!"  Damn him.  He can be so goofy.  Today he was cooperating.

It looks like rain today.  I am a bit tired, maybe I will get to take a nap. 

Kingley is progressing as far as becoming more interactive with me.  Yesterday he came to me when I called.  I am sure he was thinking "oh good, my grain person/ groom has arrived".

Heather