Mount Adams Endurance Ride 2016

Well, we did it!!! Not only did we finish, we placed 3rd in the 55 mile race of of 76 contestants that started, only 41 finished. It was a hard ride! My mare's first race ever!! So proud of this tiny Arabian with a big heart. She did awesome!!

My friend Lisa placed FIRST for her 30 mile race, first race for herself and her horse!! Hard work and dedication paid off! So proud!

My friend Maria decided to do the 55 also...for her and her horse's first race ever, also! She placed 11th! All the months of trotting trails snow, sleet, hail and bucket and buckets of rain has paid off. This girl has grit, I would have never attempted a 50 for my first.

Proud of our group, we trained together and rode our own races well.

                                              Getting ready to do it again in 2 weeks!

6 days

6 days!  Six days until race day!! 

My friend and I picked up a friend's swank camper trailer yesterday to borrow for next weekend up at Mt Adams.  That was so  incredibly nice of them to let us use it!  We will be nice and warm at night, and be able to cook our meals and take showers, so blessed!

Tomorrow is our last ride before the race.  Except, my friend just came down with a nasty cold. I doubt she will be coming with me. UGH!!  Such a bummer, she has a few days to get over it before Saturday.  Glad it isn't the day before the race, and I am loading up on vitamin C so I don't catch it.  I'll probably ride by myself or take Reagan out with Payton for a light ride tomorrow just to get it in. 

Here is our map for race day

The 55 milers have 4 loops and 4 different ribbon trails to follow.  Each loop begins and ends back at camp and follows with a vet check, but not all loops have a mandatory hold after vetting.  Some of the loops end in a vet check then right back out.  It will be a long day, but we have trained hard.  We are ready. Below is a picture showing what loops the 55 will be doing which is:  1st loop is Snow King (15 miles), 2nd loop is Gotchen 16 miles,  3rd loop is Ghost 13 miles, and 4th (last) loop is Morrison--10 miles.

I am thankful the last loop is the smallest.

I have butterflies.  I am packing and getting everything ready for leaving early Friday morning.

In other news.....

Our little cat, Swan just had her babies last night.  She is our outdoor barn cat, and doesn't come in.  But I have been checking her every day so I could bring her in before she had her babies so she and the babies would be safe.  She could hear the girls in the upstairs room from outside and got their attention last night because she was in labor.  We brought her into the master bathroom and made a cozy little spot for her. Pretty awesome that she purposely got our attention. Anyways,  I woke up to a tiny kitty mewing at 6:30am this morning.  She quietly delivered in the wee hours and the babies were dry when I found her.  The girls were so excited, they tore out of their rooms to see the babies.  Swan was so happy to share her babies and won't stop purring every time we come in to check on her.  She has 3 baby boys and one girl.  One black, named Max, One gray tabby named Ash, One orange tabby named Sam and the little girl is a tortoise shell just like her mom and the girls named her Cygnet.

    We live a great life.  I am so blessed!!!  Next post, hopefully we can finish our 55 soundly!

2 Weeks

In Exactly 2 weeks from today, we'll be pulling into Mount Adams with the horses and camper trailer. We'll be unloading, unpacking and setting up camp. We'll be going through the first vet check and getting our numbers written on our horse's flanks.

In 2 weeks, I'll need to take half a sleeping pill just to rest up for the day ahead. My first 55. It's taken 2 years to get here, and we are ready!! I can't wait. The first race of many in logging them to be able to enter Tevis.

2 weeks away!!!