2016 Update

Well, I have to say that I have been extremely negligent on the blog this year. So, I'm going to give a photo rundown of what has ended up being a very successful year after our scare at Leatherwood. Eli is 100% and doing the best he ever has.

Biltmore 30 on Muscalotti owned by Rebecca Johnson

The morning after my Graduation from Gardner-Webb University with my doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction, I drove straight to Biltmore and had a really fun ride on Lotti.

In August, I ventured out to California and did my bucket list ride at Redwood National Park. I was honored to ride Champagne Supernova, a wonderful singlefooting gelding. We completed the 50 mile ride and had so much fun in Orick, CA.

Back on the East Coast, Eli and I conquered the very tough South Mountain 50 on our home turf. Wildfires have destroyed a majority of the trails recently, so these photos are very bittersweet. There are some pictures of Jazeb marking trail as well.

It was Jazeb's turn after that for a super fun ride at Sandhills Stampede in the 25 mile ride and he also did 30 at JDs Carolina ride and finished 8th.

 Eli wrapped up the year with a romp in the Broxton Bridge 25. Tons of horse and tons of fun.

Arrythmias, Tachycardia and a trip to NC State University

Just an update for those of you following Eli's condition after Leatherwood. He had an arrhythmia during the ride that was probably an electrolyte imbalance and it cleared up completely a few hours after the ride was over and the vets were not worried about it as his other parameters were good and he finished the ride bright with a great trot out. After getting him home and while checking to make sure his heart rate continued normally, I discovered that his heart rate had stayed elevated in the lower 50s. He was eating, drinking, peeing, and passing manure normally. 

I took him to the vet early in the week and we ran blood work. His electrolyte levels were all normal but he had a slightly high hematrocrit indicating some level of dehydration and/or a splenic contraction during the ride which is not abnormal. When his heart rate continued as an elevated tachycardia for the rest of the week I opted to take him to NC State for a cardiologist to evaluate his heart. Luckily, his heart met all normal parameters via a detailed ultrasound and his ECG was normal. He pretty much had all the vets stumped including the vets at State. We discussed a couple of things that might be causing it but we haven't been able to confirm anything at this point. (Possible abscess brewing, low magnesium which sometimes doesn't show up well on tests). So, my instructions were to take him home and watch and wait and continue electrolytes daily to make sure he is drinking well. I've been taking his heart rate twice a day. It is always 4 beats higher on the evening reading. Today, he is at his best levels so far, 40 this morning and 44 this evening. He is feeling really good and fingers crossed that his heart rate continues to steadily improve each day.

So, naturally he is out for the South Mtn 50 in a few weeks and he'll be on vacation for several weeks as I continue to monitor him. Odds are that his next ride won't be till fall given how quickly it gets hot here.

Lesson learned, always monitor your horse's heart rate for up to a week following an event. If I had not been checking for a possible arrhythmia then I would not have known he had an elevated heart rate since he was acting so normally. I will continue to update on his condition as I hope it can help others to learn. If anything is true about endurance, we never stop learning. In our 8th year of competing together, Eli and I are continuing that journey.

Leatherwood 2016

Itchy and Eli enjoying the quiet accommodations at the Trail Barn 

Our Leathewood 50 journey this year has been quite a whirlwind. This was our first ride back for the season and it proved a reunion of sorts for all my friends, both old and new. Laura came in from California to ride Mary Howell's great gelding Shiloh (he is 24 years old). Tim and Lara were there, with Lara riding Slick with us in the 50. Dody rode Itchy in the 50 and Sarah and Deb rode Puff and Sasha in the 25.

 Sasha and Deb

 Eli and I taking some mountain pictures

 Friday before the ride

Braiding Itchy's tail

The weather was lovely for the ride. It topped out at 69 on ride day and there was a nice breeze blowing over the mountains. 

Dody, Lara, and I started off in the 50 near the tail end. Our goal was for completions all around and to enjoy the majestic beauty of Leatherwood mountains. The first loop took us up on the mountain and then down and around to Elk Creek. Eli about fell down a few times in the river. I think his Easyshoes do not have good traction on wet rocks. He made it through though and we got a great ride picture. 

Eli, Slick, and Rusty crossing Elk Creek

Photo John Pearman

He felt strong and was definitely very fit. We came into the vet check and he got really good scores but Doc Duane looked at me and said his heart-rate was irregular. We conferred on electrolyte protocol and I was doing all the same things that I normally do. He was getting a dose of Lyte Now before each loop, during the long loops and again at the next check. He did not eat very well on the first hold but he started picking up on the second loop. I took him back to Duane so he could listen to his heart one more time before we left and he told me he was fine and he would see me on the next check. Needless to say, I was worried.

 Photo Becky Pearman

 Photo Becky Pearman

If they had not told me about the irregularity, I would not have guessed it from his performance. He tackled the hills and moved out when it was safe. The trails were in amazing shape and as dry as I had ever seen them. The three of us stuck to our plan to ride steady and conservative and the horses were looking great. 

At the second check, Doc Otis checked Eli. I told him what Duane had heard on the first hold and he listened carefully and said it was probably an electrolyte imbalance. He said to keep a close eye on him and to carry on. He had all As at that check. He ate with gusto at this check and drank really well. 

The last loop was a killer. There were some really steep climbs for horses on their last loop and it took us about 90 minutes to get through the first 6 miles of hills. Once we got up on the ridge we were able to move out. Eli was stopping for grass at every opportunity. At this point, Lara was concerned about Slick because he wasn't wanting to eat and was panting a bit. So, we slowed up a bit more and stopped more often for grass breaks. As we finished the out and back, Slick perked up knowing we were heading for home and we made good time down the mountain. We finished together at 6:19. Everyone hopped off and we walked the horses back into camp, letting them graze a bit on the way in. Doc Ann checked Eli at the end and she commented on how great that Itchy and Eli both looked at the end of such a tough 50. She and Duane listened to his heart again. She instructed me to listen to it every day for a few weeks. If it was still there the following day, she recommended taking him in for an ECG. Atrial fibrillation is more prevalent in Standardbreds than other breeds. Luckily, he seemed to return to a normal rhythm by dark that evening. It sure did give me a scare though. On reflection, the only thing that is different is I had started him on Amplify about 6 weeks ago. I'm going to take that back out of his diet and we are going to see our local vet for bloodwork and follow up this week. 

JD's Carolina 60 Miler and the End of the Season

 

Ride Camp at JDs

 

I picked up Sarah Baker and her lovely SSH/Standardbred cross mare Puff very early on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving. We opted to take a new route to JDs ride and we got there by around 9am that morning. The trip was truly smooth sailing. My friends Tim and Lara had saved us a spot next to them on the fence line and we set up camp and got the horses settled in. There weren't many people at camp but they trickled in all morning and really started coming in around noon.

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!

Sandhills Stampede: Patsy's Last ride

Attending this year's Sandhills Stampede was bittersweet. Patsy Gowen, who has been putting this ride on for 20+ years is retiring from ride management. She also had to move her location from the lovely H. Cooper Black facility to Sandhills State Park. They went above and beyond and turned a primitive campground into an old time AERC ride. I haven't had so much fun in a very long time. The ride was well managed, the weather was perfect, and Eli was a rock star. He finished the weekend as the high mileage horse with one LD and one 50 mile ride. He was the only horse to tackle 75 miles of that deep sand.

Dody and I arrived on Thursday and settled Itchy and Eli into their pens. We were riding the 25 on Friday and dressing up as Robin Hood and Maid Marion so we spent the better part of the day getting our costumes ready. We vetted in, visited with friends and enjoyed the environment of ride camp.

Ride morning opened quietly with only 26 horses combined for both distances. Dody and I rode off in our outfits and began to heat up pretty quickly. I really had hoped to see Becky Pearman earlier in that loop so we could start taking off layers! It was a lovely trail and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

 First loop of the LD: Photo By Becky Pearman

 My favorite magical picture! Photo by John Pearman

Photo Becky Pearman

We vetted through well and enjoyed being able to crew from our trailer. We were out at 10:19 for a 10 mile loop. I really enjoyed being at this new venue because it gave us the chance to experience different trails. We picked off quite a few horses on this loop and ended up coming in at 11:33 for an 8th place position out of 14. He finished with really good vet scores and was cleared to head back out on the second day. 

Second loop of the LD: Photo Becky Pearman

Day Two arrived and I had committed to doing the 50. I was also sponsoring a 16 year old named Brooks Prater in her second 50 and her horse's first 50. The goal all around was completion. I set out to allow Eli to hit his optimum efficient speed and he did not disappoint. We were out at 7:30 and came back in off our 20 mile loop at 10:28. We had started in the back of the pack and we were still there at this point. We had almost missed a turn on the first loop, but luckily Vance Stine saw us and got us on track before we had gone far. Brooks was excellent company and her saddlebred gelding Oreo paced well with Eli. We had sprung a shoe on that loop and luckily for me, my farrier, Tim Worden, was on site and he borrowed some tools from Scott Carroll and Dana Reeder and tacked my shoe back on. Thanks to Scott and Dana!! You saved my life. 

 

Eli trot out on Second day: After first loop of 20 miles

On the second loop we also had to cover about 20 miles. We were out at 11:28 and came back in at 2:21. Eli was a rock star and kept churning out the miles. His work ethic and tenacity continue to amaze me. We passed a few groups of horses on this loop and kept up our steady pacing. 

Eli trot out on Second Loop: 40 miles down for day two: 65 miles down for both days in the sand

Eli on the Second Day: 50 miles first loop: Photo Becky Pearman

We were out on our last 10 mile loop at 3:19. We took it pretty easy and walked a good bit to make sure the horses were in good shape. We came in at 4:46 in 17th and 18th place. Brooks ended up first junior. Eli vetted through terrific and his trot outs were awesome all day. Eli was high mileage horse for the weekend and looked amazing with no stiffness at all. I could not have asked for a better ride from him.

Finish!! 75 miles down!

Catoosa Ridge: Barefoot Beach Run 50 Miles 2015

Eli enjoyed a long summer off from competition while Jazeb tackled his first two 50s at Biltmore. It seemed that each time Eli was ready for a ride, something would come up. For the first Biltmore ride, Eli actually jumped over my wheelbarrow and cut his back leg. The wound was minor but I won't take him to a ride unless he is 100%. For the fall Biltmore ride, he had developed a nasty abscess. He was never lame a day, but this once again took him out of competition. Jazeb had two very successful rides but I'm still struggling with saddle fit issues with him. I'm going to pull his shoes for a month or so and get his back checked out.

By mid October, Eli was once again ready for competition. He had been physically ready all year but those small injuries had kept him out. I went to the Barefoot Beach Run with Tim and Lara Worden. This is a relatively new ride in Tennessee that is put on at a wonderful facility. They have electrical hook-ups and barns available throughout the campground. With a terrific set of volunteers and great southern hospitality, I have to say this was a very well run ride.

We settled the horses in the barn and experienced a very cold night and early morning start for mid-October. The first loop flew along and Eli relished the trail that had both really fun single track for moving out and tight technical trails with short steep hills and some areas of  rock and mud. I had not packed gloves and my fingers were so painful for 5 miles that I could do little more than get behind my friend Lara and wait until they warmed up. We did encounter a deep boggy area on this loop and it was a bit dangerous. When we arrived back we learned that Tim's horse in the LD had fallen in the bog and cut his leg, so he had rider optioned. Eli vetted through terrific and ate the lush fescue grass in the vetting area.

Photo by Unbridled Imagery

The rest of the day progressed fantastically and Eli got stronger and stronger throughout the day. He was sailing along on the last loop and we really had an amazing ride. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to try this ride and would definitely return. I'm was really impressed with Eli's strength and power. He enjoyed himself immensely on this ride. I could not have asked for better weather and this is definitely a ride to put on your list!