Mow's First Endurance Ride

This weekend I took Mow to a nearby park and we competed in our first endurance ride!  My goal for the year is to compete in at least two different rides so I am already halfway there.  We arrived Friday afternoon, checked in, and set up camp for the night.  Mow was checked by the vet and then I took him on a short ride to help him settle in to the new location as this was his first time camping without Rabi.

 

Mow's accommodations.

 

At about 5:00 in the morning on Saturday it started raining.  It ended up raining most of the day and the temperatures only reached the mid fifties, so much for a forecast of sunny and 60s!  My event, a 25 mile limited distance (LD) ride, started at 10:00 am.  I waited for the rest of the competitors to head out before Mow and I started so that we avoided most of the excitement of a shot gun start.  A few other riders had the same idea and invited me to join their group.  I rode the first 15 mile loop with four other riders and we all got soaked and muddy together!  My camera was foggy for most of the day so the photos didn't turn out too well, but you get the idea.

 

The trails were pretty sloppy but not too slippery so we were able to move out quite a bit.

 

After the 15 mile loop we came back to camp for a 50 minute hold and another vet check.  Mow enjoyed taking a break for some hay and I enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa.  It was still cold out so we had to blanket the horses to keep them warm while we were standing still.

 

The second loop was about 10 miles long and I rode it with one of the riders from the first loop.  Her horse, however, started limping about halfway through so Mow and I ended up finishing the last five miles by ourselves.  Here we are after our final vet check (which Mow passed quite well).  We sure are a soggy pair!

 

Here's what my boots looked like when we were done, I had to hose them off!  I also had about an inch of mud in my stirrups that Mow kicked up on me during the ride.  Despite the conditions I had a great time and am really proud of Mow.  This was a big test for him and he stood up to the challenge.  We placed 19th out of 24 and finished the ride in about 4:45.  I can't wait until it warms up a bit for our next race!