Endurance Granny

CMO-- Kankakee

2013-06-18T20:23:00.001+10:00

Journey sat it out this past weekend for the CMO ride at Kankakee River. Instead I was riding the lovely Amir, and we placed well both days. Day #1's effort had little to do with me, but day #2 I did find the first two plates, so felt I contributed to the "team effort." For the life of me I can't remember if our group was second or third place day one, but I'm sure our placement was second day two. In the process I learned a little about making a landmark fit rather than moving on ...and finding "the" landmark. The ride was well-run by Pat Mouw. Thanks Pat! A big thank-you to Marti Caldwell too, as she let me hitch a ride up to Kankakee.

I'm crossing my fingers that Journey will get to go to the next one at Tippecanoe here in northern Indiana. There is some threat of cancellation due to the swarming mosquitoes, virtually clouds of the things bearing down on horse and human alike. If I can't make Tippe, not sure I'll be free to go again until October. Riding now on a short-course team and we need to get at least a couple of faster ones, so we were shooting for Tippe. The team name is: The Double Dare Me's but in retrospect should have been The Old Grey Mares *LOL*. CMO is a lot of fun, hope it finds its way down here to southeastern Indiana.

Highly Recommended Blog Post

2013-06-18T06:00:00.001+10:00

Read about TEAM FIXIE's experience at 2013 Sun River 100 mile here and the crew's experience here. What happened there makes me feel so very sad.

But I'm so freaking proud of their ride. That Funder, she's something else (in an entirely good way). Horse ain't "half bad" either. You have to wonder about whoever was managing the ride though....what a crock!

And a personal note to "Funder":

I still believe in the concept of to finish is to win. I believe that you and Dixie can, and I believe that YOU WILL conquer your pinnacle ride of 100 miles.

Best wishes in the future to my favorite endurance duo.

~Jacke

Get Ready for the Rush with Keith Kibler

2013-06-14T19:43:00.004+10:00

Get the broadcast here!

A Possibly Important Endurance Survey

2013-06-13T19:45:00.002+10:00

No...it's not mine ☺ Please participate though. It may help the AERC.

Survey Here

Sharing for Dave W.

2013-06-12T19:42:00.001+10:00

Off to Kankakee River!

2013-06-12T19:38:00.001+10:00

I got invited to ride a CMO in Illinois...riding the famous "Amir" hopefully at Kankakee River. Then next stop Tippecanoe last weekend of the month, and a RHPC CMO clinic to work in between. June is cranking out to be a busy month! We've had a wedding, two graduations, a birthday celebration, two CMO's and the clinic scheduled. I'll need July just to rest up!

Ideas for Growth

2013-06-12T07:59:00.000+10:00

It comes around the distance forums like clockwork. How to grow the sport. I found it especially interesting this year in the wake of my non-renewal. It goes kind of like this:

Let's add CTR under the AERC umbrella. Where by someone picks up the umbrella and smacks the suggest-or with a resounding "WHACK."
Let's add a Pleasure/Trail Division. Do I even have to relay how that one went over? I bet she's still picking scabs off her ass since the dragging over that one.
Let's reduce membership fees. THE SKY IS FALLING.
Let's increase membership fees. THE SKY IS FALLING.
We need more 100 mile rides. THE SKY IS FALLING.
LD is a training ride. (umbrella ---WHACK WHACK WHACK) Down you LD RIDERS Down I say!
50 miles is "real" endurance. (LD riders everywhere grab the umbrella back) (I'll show you) (WHACK WHACK WHACK)!
100 miles is "real" endurance. (LD riders and 50 mile riders scramble for the umbrella and squash a 100 mile rider in the process) whew!!!
Lets give 100 mile riders BONUS POINTS. (50 mile riders invert the umbrella and attempt hari-kari) (It hurts so they quit). (LD riders whisper something about an apparent lack of grit and offer to file the point of the umbrella).
Lets not change ANYTHING. (a collective sigh)

Hence, I am riding CMO this summer. But I suppose there are things that could "lure" me and my membership fee back into the fold. How about we:

* Adopt a really strong mentoring program. Probably the weak link in the mentoring area is that the mentor "risks" their completion helping the newbie. Give mileage credit to the mentor no matter the outcome (assuming they ride the whole distance). They can then mentor without losing a completion due to a "newbie disaster".

* A greatly reduced new member rate for the first ride if a newbie joins AERC on ride day. This could generate revenue, and open the door wider for newcomers. If they stay great! If they leave, the membership fees help grease the organizational wheel.

*Have one star, two star, and three star equines. A star behind a horse's name denotes the highest mileage ride a horse has successfully completed. A one star equine has completed in the 25-35 mile distance. A two star 50 miles, a three star equine 65-75 miles, recognition for 100 mile horses is already in place in a similar way. It is an expensive sport. Extrinsic motivators can be thrilling things.What level is your horse? Well Old Dobbin is rated a three star equine. That one only costs a little ink, or nothing at all on the horse's ride record. But it recognizes personal accomplishment. Not racing, not hitting every ride in a four state area. But PERSONAL accomplishment.

*Offer a 100 mile at more rides. It is possible by repeating the 50 twice.   Trail marking is already in place. Require a minimum number of riders sign on in advance.

*Smile and greet the person sitting alone or obviously alone in camp. A three minute conversation goes a long way in making a person feel welcome. (Sample text) "Hi! Where you from? What distance you riding? Been doing this for a while? No? Do you know when and where the ride meeting is? It's at such and such, bring your chair and any questions you might have? Are you riding alone? Would you like a mentor? See her? The trailer with the red pick-up? She rides turtle and likes to mentor, let's introduce you to such and such.   You are gonna love this sport! It is awesome!!!!

*Cheer on your turtle riders and be happy for riders of all distances. It may not be "your" idea of endurance, but it may well be theirs.

Whacking self with umbrella.   Before someone does it for me.

Have a great week ☺

Signed,

Your friendly midwestern CMO rider.

To Be Successful at Endurance

2013-06-11T20:56:00.004+10:00

I've had almost two years to think about this. Actually laid awake last night mulling it through my otherwise cluttered brain synapses. Thought I'd actually "blog" endurance granny today and share some of the insights that have filtered through these past months.

* Distance riding takes a lot of time. If you enjoy those hours on your horse a lot, then you might be successful at LD (limited distance) or Endurance. Most of the people I know, or have read about like to get at a minimum one long ride a week, and two shorter, faster rides.

* You need to enjoy horse camping.   You need to like it a lot! If you are not thinned skinned and don't give a crap what others think you can do it out of the back of your pickup with a tent. Not as comfortable as a big rig with a/c, heat, and a place to take a bath, but doable. Oh, and the payments on pick-up bed tents are pretty cheap *wink*.

*You need to be comfortable driving some long distances to get to a ride. Actually this depends on where you live...and the region you live in. I was lucky that 1 1/2 -3 1/2 hours was about as long a haul as I needed for my own purposes at the time. Personally the short hauls didn't bother me, but I did not relish the longer ones that put me out of reach of my US Rider covering the incident which is about 80 miles.

* You need to be accepting of failure. A distance ride is all or nothing. Either you make it and get credit for those miles, or you chalk it up to a learning experience/training ride for the next one.

* To be seriously competitive in the sport costs money.   The AERC for the most part awards those who A) Win or B) Accumulate boo-coo miles. This requires attending a lot of rides. Fuel and entries cost money.

* If reaching personal goals is rewarding the AERC may be for you.   If your budget is low, and you can be happy doing a couple of weekends a summer, and set your achievement barometer to a better ride time, a longer distance, a cleaner vet check, or maybe a trail you've never challenged before, you can still be "successful" at your own goals riding distance.

* Having a ride buddy is priceless. Even if you prefer a solo ride, having a ride buddy for conditioning, traveling, or just sitting around camp staring at the pretty horses goes a long way in the distance riding experience. More than anything this was an ongoing issue for me. Ride camp can be lonely...unless you are a hermit curmudgeon, without some sort of friend network in the sport. When a buddy isn't available, a mentor if you can find one is a nice substitute.

* A race bred arabian doesn't hurt. I know that might get a few panties into a twist, but a non-typical breed in distance riding may or may not be doable. People will tell you it is, but the truth is not EVERY horse can do the sport. Even at the LD level. There are some exceptions that are making progress on their non-arabians, but a good part of my challenge involved my desire to ride the horses that I had rather than purchase a horse that is geared for the job. Arabians excel at this sport over other breeds and that is why so many ride them.   If mileage is your bag, then you have a better shot at being successful on those terms than in placement.

* A distance rider has a different mindset. They look different, they act different, they exude something. My husband said he could pick out a distance rider at any trail head just by that different "something."   He said they look driven, like their eye is on a prize that you can't see. Just very different from the casual trail rider. Perhaps it isn't only the horse that gets that "look of eagles." You need that...if you are to endure, at endurance. You need to hunger for those miles on your horse. When the hunger stops, game over.

Thoughts to chew on. Have a great day ☺

A Nice Endurance Read

2013-06-11T09:41:00.000+10:00

I happened to stumble upon this today. It made me smile, and tickled the 50 mile itch, just a wee little bit.

One of AERC's Decade Teams. Click here. So if you are thinking you might, or maybe thinking you can't, one of those priceless doses of inspiration.

Enjoy ☺

Warm and Fuzzy and Wonderful ☺

2013-05-21T09:23:00.002+10:00

America's Long Distance Challenge

2013-05-20T00:04:00.001+10:00

This new (at least too me) book is now available online at Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. It is my next new read ☺ I'm sidelined...by my heart continues to think distance! A review will follow....but I have a wedding to get through and an upcoming three day CMO, and two graduations in the next two weeks. So it may be a few! I'm always excited though to add a worthy book to my equine collection. The book is also available from the author's (Karen Bumgarner's) blog in hardback for $26.50 for those who prefer a "real" book.

International Endurance Concerns

2013-05-17T20:56:00.000+10:00

I do love the distance sports. Even though I'm out of the loop, I still enjoy reading endurance, and contemplating the conditioning and stamina of the top horses in the sport. But international is being tainted by doping scandals. It's too bad that "winning" over-rules the welfare of the horse on this other endurance platform.

...the “negative evolution” of endurance in the Middle East is now so unacceptable that concerned endurance riders and officials elsewhere in the world believe a breakaway movement should be considered." ~ Horse and Hound.

A breakaway movement indeed.

Slow Improvement

2013-05-16T20:22:00.003+10:00

On Tuesday evening Phebes was able to pick up a horse cookie from the ground with her lips. A week ago this was virtually impossible for her. A casual observer would likely not notice anything amiss at this point, though I still see a very slight droop to that side of the lower lip. When it first occurred it was very pronounced and obvious. I'm giving a guarded opinion that she is on the mend. The perplexing thing is we still have no idea what happened to her.

We are revamping Phebes diet. She is over-weight and there is the muscular issue. I'm withdrawing all concentrated feed (even though it was low NSC per the label) in favor of grass, hay, and beet pulp mash. I'd like to drop a hundred pounds off of her. The other two horses are going to eat the same diet, but if Journey is working she may need more calories to maintain a healthy weight and energy level.

For now, just grateful that Phebes seems to be on the mend.

Fingers crossed...

Jacke

The Update on Phebes

2013-05-12T22:22:00.000+10:00

The update is actually a non-update. No change. In the early mornings the paralysis looks barely detectable, but by evening her lower lip is sagging. The good news is the problem thus far hasn't progressed into anything worse and if it were EPM it certainly should have by now. But we are still left with "what happened" here, and "will it improve", or will she struggle to eat hay the rest of her life? None of these address the other thing, a tie-up standing still, not in work, just due to an emotional melt-down. A lot of tough questions remain unanswered. The interesting thing with Phebes' tie-ups is that all were in April/May, recently on grass, and emotionally torqued up. For the first time I'm able to release myself from not being the cause of this on going issue. But knowing it isn't me is certainly bittersweet.

Phebes

2013-05-07T09:07:00.001+10:00

We could use some horse prayers. Last night Phebes came up with her lower lip hanging, some kind of paralysis. We don't know at this point if she has contracted something such as EPM, or if she has had a trauma to her face that has caused a nerve injury, her blood work came back normal except for her muscle enzymes, which are off the charts so high, but no physical symptoms of a tie-up. Phebes has been out of work for two years. I thought I'd let her "just be a horse" and have time to recover. She also has swellings in front of both udders, hard tight swellings. Her coordination is good, but she can't pick up hay as she has no control of her lower lip. The vet is trying some things, thinking the lip looks somewhat swollen, and the chin hot and slightly swollen. She's never seen the off the chart blood values (concerning the muscle enzymes) on a horse before. We are currently doing a banamine / bute rotation, a course of anti-biotics as a precautionary measure, and I have to watch for any further decline concerning the paralysis of her lower lip. If things get worse we have to consider EPM, and then I will have to make the hard decision of do I undertake the expensive treatment for EPM for a horse with apparently a chronic muscle disorder, a mild uveitis, with an uncertain outcome should it be EPM. My beautiful mare. What a difficult life she has had. I love her so much. But love doesn't fix too many things. I'll keep you all posted.

Cafe Press Product Review

2013-04-27T07:43:00.000+10:00

Cafe Press asked for me to select a product of my choice and try them out and follow up with a review. My selections were an ARMY style cap with the Endurance Granny logo, and a necklace with the logo.

The hat is a soft drab olive which does not show well in the digital photo. It is one size fits all with a velcro tab adjustment in the back. The fit was good, it is soft to the touch and of good quality workmanship. I REALLY LIKE IT. The positioning of the logo was probably a "me" error as I did the design without help (on purpose) to see how user friendly the Cafe Press really is. You can see that the necklace lost the edge of the moon...again, my positioning was slightly off. I was happy with the experience over-all, though I would be much more critical of placement of an image in the future. I would have liked the horse down a little on the hat, and over a little on the necklace. Some items are easier to place images on than others. Adding text is very simple. If you are feeling creative give Cafe Press a whirl!

Today's Distance Rider's T-Shirt

2013-04-13T05:07:00.003+10:00

Find it here.

Ride the Challenge

2013-04-11T20:16:00.001+10:00

The sun...

...the moon

...one rider

one horse...

Your t-shirt starts here !

Endurance Ride Calendar 2013

2013-04-10T20:32:00.005+10:00

Click here for calendar.

We are planning some rides finally

2013-04-07T05:52:00.002+10:00

...so I've started both of the girls on some work. The sun is shining and I'm seeing little bits of green grass poking up. The daffodils are in bloom, and the trees are budding. I'm in my happy place :)

Phebes started last week on a process to put her back under saddle. Another year has slipped by and was she ever full of herself in the round pen this morning. She looked like a wild bronc coming out of the gate. Whew! Glad I was working from the ground. We made progress though. Journey I did round pen with last week, and had our first spring ride, followed up today with another. Journey is a great solo horse, but in a group she stinks. We need a lot of miles doing more of that to work the kinks out I guess. Journey traveled bare today, and it was fine including dirt track, rocky creek crossings, and paved road. This might be our year to make the total transition since our ride distnace goals will roll back to a very comfortable 15 miles, and I can choose the pace I want without fighting a clock anymore. It feels in many ways such a relief to not be under the gun of meeting a mileage / time quota anymore. I do miss doing the LD rides though. But I won't try again unless we move to another region. Which is very unlikely.

But I do have some CMO's planned and I'm happy about that. I have a three day coming up in May, assisting with a demo ride for Red Hats & Purple Chaps in June, and with marking a ride out of state if all goes well with getting off work for a long weekend in September, then a two day ride in October. We'll sit out the hot/humid rides in favor of evening pleasure rides, or doin' nothing ☺ I am empowered ☺ We can ride a nice pace...stop and have a picnic...dawdle in the deep water of a flowing creek, or ride hell-bent to leather. Or not. ♥ Life is good.

To my endurance friends across the country, good luck on your upcoming season. I miss you all.

Jacke

CAFE PRESS

2013-03-31T01:48:00.003+11:00

I thought I'd take a minute today to introduce some of you to Cafe Press . I'm thinking about taking my t-shirt line through them. They have graciously offered me a product review for the future so I can see how their site works, the quality of an item I might enjoy from there, and share that information with you. From their site you can have a multitude of custom products made. I like to use this type of site to have an item made to commemorate a special event, or ride goal I've attained. They have custom thermos bottles for your saddle, Acoffee mug for cold mornings at ride camp, drinkware, t-shirts to rock your endurance world, funny shirts to express your sense of humor...custom canvas, tote bags, caps, clothing, flip-flops the list goes on and on! Definitely a fun site to check out for custom made items, and gifts for family and friends. My product review will be coming in a few weeks. I'll keep you posted!

If you would like to try them for your own custom order they are offering FREE Shipping on orders over $50! Use code: CPSHIP3 CAFE PRESS

This shirt is not my design but can be found here.

Gotta love those "out west" distance riders ♥

2013-03-22T23:20:00.000+11:00

They know how to have FUN. The culture is so different, and wonderful. Wish I were THERE.

A NEW ENDURANCE BOOK!

2013-03-18T00:32:00.001+11:00

America's Long Distance Challenge

It comes in hardcover
softcover...

and e-reader ☺

Enjoy!

Endurance 101 and Beyond and Beyond

2013-02-03T01:45:00.003+11:00

Preparation

Conditioning the Endurance Horse (on facebook)

Conditioning

Collective Wisdom for Endurance Riding

Conditioning the Endurance Horse

Interval Training for Endurance

Endurance 101 and Beyond

10 Tips for Training for Equesterian Endurance

*Don't drink the Kool-Aid Endurance Riding is not for all horses

Four Month Endurance Training Schedule

Feeding the Endurance Horse

Help for New Riders

Cold Water Cooling the Endurance Horse

Heat Stress and the Endurance Horse

Clipping the Neck for Cooling

Selecting an Endurance Prospect

Considerations for Selecting an Endurance Horse

Look! It's not an Arab

Books & E Books

4th Gear Power Up Your Endurance Horse an e-book taking performance up a notch (not a beginner's how to)

Go the Distance a book available at Amazon.com

Endurance Riding and Competition

Endurance Riding Tips for Beginners

Endurance Riding First Steps to a Hundred Miles

A Rider's Fitness Program

Enjoy!

Announcement

2013-01-30T07:54:00.003+11:00

Life sometimes throws us some twists and some turns. I reached for something that glittered and seemed golden, and important to my identity, the defining something that says "this is who I am." Only to discover, that it is who I am not. Endurance Granny has run its course. I may stop by now and then. But since the chase for the elusive 50 mile ride has come to an end, I'm moving on to other things. That is not to say that someday the right horse, or the right set of circumstances, the geographical move may make things fall into place, to try again. Phebes definitely is not endurance material, and I don't see Journey's heart in long distance mentally. So we are seeking a different job and seeking fun and enjoyment instead of frustration.

If you are new to this blog, I'll leave it here as long as blogspot supplies us a place. It chronicles about five or six years of my life. You will find a lot of good source links on this site, and can search by keyword for a lot of good information. If you have the drive for riding distance, DO IT. Embrace it, love it, God bless!

As for me? You will find us here:

North East South West Indiana CMO

Let's go!

My friends here, if I can ever be helpful, serve as a crew member on a 100 mile, or 50 mile ride...or ride catch, because you have a hitch in your giddy-up contact me at jackereynolds@yahoo.com

Off to my CMO adventures.