Ride Camp at JDs
Eli all settled in to his corral
Crewing at the trailer! Doesn't get better than that!
I had been feeling under the weather for a few weeks and had a bit of bronchitis. I knew that I would be the weak link at this ride but Eli had done such an amazing job of 75 miles over the Sandhills weekend that I knew he would get me through. JDs is typically his favorite ride of the year. I spent the day laying low and trying to rest up for Saturday. The LDs were starting at 7:30 and the 60s at 8am. 100s were out at 7:00. The ride meeting was classic JD. Basically, if you know where and when to start you are good to go. Junior marks the trails perfectly. Jody B. got up during the meeting and told the Lizard Man story. This was the funniest ride meeting I have been to in ages. Sarah was doing the same 15 mile loop twice for the LD. I was doing 28, 15 and 15.5. The 100s were doing that 28 mile loop twice and there was much groaning and worrying from those doing it. Many of us doing the 60 also had major concerns about doing a loop of that length. I packed feed and carrots and made sure my hydration pack was full. Eli was eating fairly well but seemed distracted. I'm convinced he was missing his ride buddy Itchy. We vetted through great and prepped for the following day. Many were feverishly clipping their horses since it was going to be in the 70s on the weekend after Thanksgiving. I opted not to because Eli is fairly slick coated and I also didn't want to micromanage blankets for the rest of the winter.
Jody and her mare Storm at the vet in
Ride morning arrived quickly enough and I watched as the 100s went off on their first long loop at 7am. There were more 100s signed up than any other distance. 25 started that morning and the war of attrition would take out all but 13. The ride is deceiving in difficulty. Long hard packed sandy roads with some long grades made for fast going. If a rider is not cognizant of the fact that their horse needs to travel at their normal speed and to perhaps give them a break occasionally can factor in to a loop that is too fast for the horse's preparation level. I think this was especially important for the 100 and the 60 as we had horses going long distances and the importance of taking care on that long 28 mile loop was critical. Mary Howell had gone out and put out hay in strategic locations and it was much appreciated.
100s on their way out...Photo Becky Pearman
I watched Sarah go out at 7:30 for her 30 mile ride and then there were only 23 of us left in camp to start the 60. I walked Eli around and warmed him up well. I made sure I had cough drops and tissue for this long loop. I know that Eli can eat up these dirt roads so I was prepared for him to make good time on this loop. When Samm said the trail was open he took off pacing to catch up to the horses up ahead. He loves it at this ride and we had a few discussions about how fast we were going to go. Luckily, I got him off by himself relatively early. There was one grey Arabian about half a mile ahead that we would see occasionally. That was enough to keep his competitive juices going though and I was glad to lose him about midway through the loop. I believe he picked up the pace and finished the ride about 90 min ahead of us in 6 hrs 46 min.
Eli, about a half mile into the ride. Photo Becky Pearman
I knew about 10 miles in that I wasn't feeling very well. I couldn't get comfortable, my stomach felt a bit queasy and I was struggling to keep up with the big guy. He was very kind to me though and allowed us to walk a bit every now and then. I like to break it up and walk some to give him a break from the leg pounding this ride can inflict. At about 19 miles we crossed back over the paved road and I knew we were about 9 miles out. I ran out of water in my hydration pack with 5 miles to go and realized that even my Tailwind Nutrition was not helping me on this ride. I've felt great all year at rides but I was just tanking already with half the ride left to go. We came into camp and I finished 28 miles in about 3 1/2 hrs. He vetted through fine and ate well during the hold. I tried to eat but was feeling nauseated. I ate some crackers, some peanut butter and drank some Maalox. I wished I had done the LD at this point but there was no way I was giving up. I never saw a horse for the rest of the day. It was just us, together on the trail and Eli helping me every step of the way.
Eli on the first loop: Photo Becky Pearman
I headed out on the 14.5 mile loop and most of it we had ridden on the first loop so it was very monotonous. At this point I was already bargaining with Eli. There were times I had to walk because I felt sick but I promised him we would move out when I could. Our moving average fell off on this loop but we finished 14.5 miles in about 2 hours 10 min. I felt good that I was not completely ruining his ride although I was sure that someone would catch up to us at some point soon. We vetted through fine and he continued to eat well. The day was heating up and I still couldn't keep much food down. I rested and caught up with Sarah who had completed her 30 mile ride and was having a fantastic day.
Sarah and Puff in JDs 30: Photo by Becky Pearman
I said farewell to Laurie Underwood one last time at around 3:30 to go out on my last loop that was to be 15.5. I was again, all alone. We had to ride a great deal on the side of the paved road and weave our way through a neighborhood. Then the trail opened up into a long series of dirt roads but some of these were rutted by water and there was a section that had been bull dozed. This was to be the last loops for the 100 and I felt bad for them that they would have their toughest footing on the dark loop. My nausea returned with a vengeance. I would look for a ribbon and say to Eli, "now lets move out to that ribbon and then we can walk a bit." This bargaining continued for about 10 miles. I really thought at one point that I'd have to get off and just walk in. My belly just couldn't take any kind of speed on the horse. I checked my GPS and new that Ruby Hartsville Road was within sight just as the dusk began to settle. We moved out where we could on the side of that road but the traffic was pretty bad around 5:30pm so we had to be very careful. The cool evening air rejuvenated me a bit and we moved on out and finished the that 15.5 mile loop in 2 1/2 hrs. Not bad for a sick girl! He finished the ride in fine form, in the dark in 8 hrs and 9 minutes for a 9th place finish! 19 of the 23 horses finished the 60. I brought him back and he started eating. I went through two coolers since it was now kind of cool and damp feeling. As soon as he was settled I just lay down on the mat in front of my trailer and sort of died for a while. I got Sarah to get me some crackers and soda and after an hour of nibbling and sipping I started to feel better. It was about that time that I realized Tim and Lara had not returned from their second go on the 28 mile loop. Long story short, they ended up Rider Optioning and it demonstrated further proof of the level of attrition this trail was taking on riders and horses alike.
Eli eating up some sand....Photo by Becky Pearman
Eli has had a phenomenal year. He has won the 10 Consecutive Completions Award from SERA. He is only 20 miles from getting his 1000 mile Endurance medallion and he is 55 miles from his LD Medallion since I haven't placed much focus on that over the years. I have a 91% completion rate overall and I'm really proud of Jazeb as well. He did his first back to back LDs at Sandhills in the spring and then finished both Biltmore 50s this year. So, the boys have had a great year. Now it is time to enjoy them this winter, finish my dissertation and prepare for the Leatherwood ride in March!
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