Biltmore Challenge 2014

I had not initially planned on going to the Biltmore ride this year. I did not want to take off work and sometimes the weather has not historically worked out for the first Saturday in May. However, due to predictions for very heavy rain during the week prior to the ride, management had to make the tough call to move the Friday ride to Sunday and cancel the Limited Distance events due to perceived limitations on parking if the 3-6 inches of rain arrived. Fortunately for us, the bad weather did not materialize although many people were very disappointed that their rides were cancelled. The good news for me, proved to be that I could now make it to the 55 on Sunday. I had signed up to administer the SAT Test at my school on Saturday morning, but my friend Dody and I left on Saturday afternoon around 2pm for Biltmore Estate.

We arrived and promptly set about arranging our crew materials, carrying a days worth of supplies to the vet check and getting registered and vetted in. Eli looked great and had gained weight since his last ride. He was up 50lbs. He gave us a scare at the beginning by rolling rather vigorously in his pen. Our neighbor checked him out and then I took him up to the vets. He was fine and actually just hates gnats so much that he does drop and roll. He does have an intense dislike for camping as he misses the luxuries of his home barn!

Our vet check area

 

Crew Area looking back toward camp

Dody and I were riding Itchy and Eli. It was Itchy's first ride back since last year so we planned to take it easy. We also wanted an easy and relaxed first loop so we waited about 5-10 minutes after the start to head out. This was an absolutely beautiful thing as they both trotted out of camp on loose reins and stayed cool and collected throughout the ride. It was a good thing as at Biltmore Estate you will encounter all sorts of tourists, bicycles, Segways, strollers, what seemed like thousands of geese with their offspring, kamikaze squirrels, kayaks, cows, goats, sheep, and all sorts of traffic. We were out on our first loop at 6:15am to go across the river to the Blue Loop which had quite a bit of slick grass and hard gravel roads. The trails were lovely though and we got to ride through the vineyard at dawn.

We finished this 15 mile loop in about 2 hrs 15 and vetted through with no problems. Eli had a 48/44 CRI and was eating well. This ride was a 4 loop 50 with 40 minute holds. We were out next on the 17 mile loop again across the river on on Orange. We saw the lovely rolling farmland of the estate and I got to work on getting Eli "cow" broke. He was pretty sure they were going to kill him but he made it. We came in off this loop in about 2 hrs 30 min and Eli vetted through super. On to the hold and then out on the toughest loop of the day, 12 miles on short red with lots of climbs and roots, roots and more roots. It was approaching 80 and the saving grace of the day was a stiff wind and low humidity. Dody was feeling a little sick and we hung out a little at the vet check to make sure she was doing okay. We went out on the last 10 mile loop around 4:37 and boy was Eli ready to eat. I had changed him over to the hackamore and we ate sporadically all around this lovely loop. It rode by canola fields in bloom and had a lovely view of the back of the Biltmore House. We did have a mishap on this loop. We were approaching the trail directly behind the house and luckily we were walking because Eli collapsed out from under me. The ground caved beneath us and he went into a hole almost up his elbow. Somehow, he was back out before I could even react but I was so afraid that he had injured himself. Luckily, he seems to be 100% fine.

Dody by the canola fields on the White Loop

 We came in sometime after 6:30pm and finished with sound and healthy horses. We had such a nice relaxing ride although I was very sorry that Dody wasn't feeling well but I'm so proud of her for gutting it out. Eli vetted through with As at the end and he looks really good today and is eating everything in sight. Now, time for a well deserved rest as the heat of the summer descends upon us. Until next time!

Photo by Becky Siler Pearman

Eli and Itchy

 Photo Becky Siler Pearman