Poptart is amazing, he is a Rock Star (or should I say PopStar!). We rode 33 miles and 11,535 feet of elevation change of the Old Dominion 50 mile endurance ride before a rider option pull due to girth area soreness at the Laurel Run Vet Check.
Back to the beginning, upon arrival on Friday afternoon he settled in like a well-seasoned competitor. He was calm on vetting in and then we went for a short ride to stretch his legs and check out the start of the trail. He was quite alert and ready to move out. He wanted to make sure that I really meant it when I asked him to walk and not trot, or trot and not canter. We agreed that he could walk as fast as he wanted as long as he kept to a walk on a loose rein. Later, he had his pre-ride dinner of Ultium (his normal feed) with 1 ounce of Enduramax electrolytes soaked into a mash; I had been adding in electrolytes since the day before in anticipation of the notorious heat and humidity of the Old Dominion. It was forecast to be in the mid-80's on ride-day with a small chance of showers; earlier in the week the high's were in the 60's.
Before dinner I was checking out the trail loop distances between holds, hold closing times and Graham and I calculated my goal for arrival time into each hold. I set a window with a slow average speed of 5 mph (for the entire race) to finish in 10 hrs and faster speed of 6.25 mph to finish in 8 hrs. This helped me know if we were moving at an appropriate pace to finish in time and also not exceeding Poptart's abilities. Having ridden most of the trail during training or during last year's 25 mile ride on Rogan and having asked seasoned competitors lots of questions I set my ride strategy. Endurance has a saying "never hurry, never tarry" and this is especially applicable to the Old Dominion known for it's steep climbs, technical footing (ie loads of rocks), and very high heat and humidity. The first loop to Bird Haven vet check is 15.7 miles and has one significant climb, commonly referred to as the power line climb, the remainder of that loop is mostly single track forest trail or gravel forest service road. The second loop was 16.4 miles to the Laurel Run Vet Check. This loop is known for the Falls Ridge climb which is very steep and rocky (we hiked it on Memorial Day to check it out-- there is a waterfall on a side trail off of the climb). You typically are riding this section during the highest combined heat + humidity level of the day (generally over 150 combined heat + humidity). This makes it very difficult for the horse to cool himself through sweating as it just doesn't evaporate and there is a great potential to overheat your horse in this situation, especially as the temperatures are still in the low 80s so it feels cool to the rider. After the climb you ride a rocky ridge for about 3 miles where the speed is mostly limited to a walk due to the technical rocky footing. Then you descend Laurel Run trail (which we train on regularly and Poptart knows well) which consists of a steep downhill shale grade for about 2 miles and then it transitions to another 3 miles of slightly downhill forest service road into the vet check. The third loop consisted mostly of forest service road and did not have any steep climbs to the best of my knowledge; I had not previously ridden much of the third loop, but had been told it was the easiest part of the trail. The 4th section was just 6 miles from the Bird Haven Vet Check back to basecamp which also was supposed to be okay, mostly back tracking over what we rode at the start of the ride.
To start with my first ride plan goal was to have a calm and safe start, I did not want a repeat of No Frills where I had to dismount to stay safe. After catching up at basecamp, I planned to start out with my friends Dale Weaver, Wendy Rush, and Jennifer and Claire Morris and then ride what Poptart needed; I was concerned about committing to riding with a group in case Poptart needed to go slower. It is always fun to ride with friends, but it is important to ride the ride your horse needs and not get caught up pacing with other horses that may move faster or slower than your horse.
For the start my goal was a controlled trot, ideally on a loose (or semi-loose) rein. While a walk would have been great for training purposes I did not set that as a goal. One reason being that the first part of the trail is forest road that has great footing to make good time (and remember "never tarry"), and second I thought it may lead to a 'discussion' to ask Poptart to walk calmly while 68 other horses left him behind at a trot or canter. A nice, obedient trot while staying with the pack seemed a very reasonable goal. After the start I planned on making as much time as possible on the first loop since it was the coolest part of the day and in general had less technical footing than the other portions of the trail. Also, I planned to dismount and hike both the large climbs in order to save my horse and as we would be walking the steep rocky climbs anyway and I would not lose any time doing this. Basically, I planned on going very slow on both climbs, hiking and walking, going slow over all the very rocky technical ridge tops, and then making up time with nice forward trotting and some cantering whenever the footing allowed. This should create a fast first loop, very slow second loop, and very fast third and 4th sections hopefully landing in my goal of finishing between 8-10 hrs.
We tried to get to bed early, managing between 9-10 pm, knowing the OD camp wakeup call would come early at 4:15 am for the 100 milers. The OD has done a great job of having a loud and well-disturbed sound system in camp so no one will miss the wakeup call or other ride announcements. I set my personal alarm for 5am as the 50 mile ride didn't start until 6:45 am.
Awakened at 4:15 by the OD wakeup alarm (very effective), snoozed until 5 am, then I got up and fed Poptart (ultium mash with electrolytes) and watched the 100 mile horses start. It is very picturesque to see the horses depart in the early dawn light. I stuck to my time schedule having Poptart stretched (pre-ride bodywork) and tacked up by about 6:15, giving us about 30 minutes to warm up and remember last minute items :) Graham helped making sure I had all my gear and holding Poptart for tacking and we went over last minute crewing plans to make sure he had everything we would need at Bird Haven. Graham then checked us in with the start-timer while I started to warm up Poptart.
Poptart was very well relaxed and obedient in our warm up, he seems to really take to ride camp like a seasoned competitor, happy to meander down the row of horse trailers watching all the commotion on a loose rein. We warmed up with walk/trot transitions and leg yields across the basecamp road in both directions. Poptart and I then met up with Wendy Rush, Dale Weaver, Jennifer and Claire Morris who were all riding the 50 together. We started mid-pack and Poptart walked across the start line on a loose rein, YAY!! One huge goal met already!!! We then all started trotting in a group of about 7 horses with more in front and behind us. Poptart was doing great, but then we were passed by about 3 horses and he did get a little worked up trying to canter, but did listen quite well and settled in just a few minutes. After we turned off the starting road onto the trail there was a short hill and the rest of my group slowed to a walk for a minute, but Poptart was ready to go, so we went on ahead and from then on rode independently joining different friends at different times as our horses paced together.
The first loop really went as planned. We made good time trotting through the woods and when we got to the first steep powerline climb I dismounted and hiked. We had one good spook when Poptart was looking the other way and to him a small log suddenly appeared across the trail (I saw it the whole time), he went left and I went right, but then we both went forward together and all was well. It was a good test of the Freeform treeless saddle stability, it didn't budge! I was really impressed with Poptart several times when he stayed to drink at creek crossings while the other horses in front moved on down the trail. After the climb, we went steadily downhill, mostly on forest service gravel roads. He can really motor downhill, we were readily clocking 10 mph trotting and he wanted to canter downhill several times (at which point I said you really need to slow down!). Were having so much fun speeding downhill that I missed the turn back into the woods to the Bird Haven Vet Check and unfortunately another rider followed me too. We both went about 1.5 miles before turning around and searching for our lost turn. It was easily found once we were looking, ride management had done a fine job marking the turn for all but the most oblivious riders ;) Despite the few extra miles we arrived in Bird Haven right in the middle of my pre-planned time window. As typical so far, Poptart was pulsed down as soon as Graham and I could get the tack off and present to the pulse timer. He passed his vet check with all A's, with slightly quiet gut sounds on one quadrant, but he was eating and drinking very well. Graham had everything set up at Bird Haven and was wonderful getting food, refilling my electrolyte drinks and getting us ready for the next 16 miles! Poptart spent his vet check eating, drinking and resting like the seasoned competitor that he will be one day. We saddled up 10 min prior to my out-time and then we were off on loop #2.
The beginning of loop #2 was new trail to me, the footing was fairly good and we did a fair amount of cantering. We did our fastest gallop ever at a speed of 15 mph (LOL, race horses gallop at 30-40 mph) while sharing the trail with Skip Kemerer with a group of several other grey arabians. Around this time Poptart started to self-regulate his speed with his aerobic capacity. It was amazing, whenever his heart rate started to reach 150 bpm he slowed his gait and after he recovered he started going again all on his on accord. It was awesome to watch and to be the partner of a horse that is so obviously doing the job he was born and bred to do. He is going to be an endurance machine :) When we reached Falls Ridge climb, I dismounted as planned and hiked the 1500' 2 mile climb; it was much harder to hike after riding 23 miles in 90 degrees than previously on Memorial day weekend. My heart rate was about 200 bpm and Poptart's was 100 bpm at the top. I remounted and we walked most of the ridge, trotting a few sections when the footing allowed and had one movie worthy canter through a mountain meadow looking out over the Blue Ridge mountains and Shenandoah valley. We also had a ridge line rattlesnake encounter. Jaime McArdle and Pascalle Loomis were both trotting in front of us when Jaime yelled out "Rattlesnake", in just a few seconds I heard a loud rattle on my right and movement in the bushes. Poptart jumped and swung his right front leg away. I thought he was okay but dismounted to check and make sure he did not get bit by the snake; he was fine. We finally reached Judge Rye Rd and the sharp turn to descend Laurel Run Trail. The OD had placed water troughs at this point and Poptart finally decided that water troughs were, in fact, not horse eaters and he had a good long drink. Poptart knew this trail and recognized that his 'horse-trailer' should be parked about 5 miles downhill. He sure did motor down that trail, amazing balance and dexterity down the shale slope. When we reached the last portion of forest service road before Laurel Run Vet Check we back to riding with Jaime and Pascalle and had also caught up with Karen Wade, Nick and another rider in their group. We all kept pace down the road, but when Poptart kept shifting to the bushes to pee, Karen Wade slowed her group and waited for us. Thank you Karen, Nick and friends for waiting-- it was getting very hard for Poptart to keep holding it to keep up with his friends - you guys are awesome! We hand walked the last 1/2 mile into the vet check, immediately stripped tack and presented for pulse. Poptart just made pulse at 64 beats per minute after walking up hill and standing in the sun (later I learned it was 95 degrees!). He passed his vet check with all A's and I was very impressed with a CRI (cardiac recovery index, to measure if your horse is metabolically healthy) that went from 64 bpm to 52 bpm on a return trot uphill in the sun! He is going to be an endurance rock star!
Holly Daum, who owns Max - Poptart's half-brother, was volunteering at Laurel Run and helped me get Poptart comfortable by holding, sponging, fetching food/water (for both of us). Thank you Holly!
Unfortunately when I went to tack back up Poptart grunted and tensed his abdomen when I girthed him. I immediately removed the saddle and palpated his back and girth area. He had a very reactive area with mild swelling and slight chafing at the girth behind the elbows. After thinking it over for a little bit and seeing if I could position the saddle to avoid the sore area, I re-presented him to the vets. Dr. Julie Bullock and Dr. Bob Marshall both looked at him and while I could ride him bareback or try riding with saddle further back it was likely he would be pulled at Bird Haven if he continued to sore. I decided that Poptart had done a fantastic 33 miles and did not deserve to be pushed or ridden when he hurt so we rider-optioned. The radio volunteers communicated with Bird Haven to let Graham know that I was pulling and Duane Martin (in charge of the drag riders) trailered us back to camp. Thank you Duane and all the other volunteers!
Poptart ate and drank well back at camp and rested for several hours while Graham and I did the same. I poulticed and wrapped Poptart's legs for the first time and that went very smoothly-- it helped that all he wanted to do was sleep. I also applied vetericyn, desitin, and poultice to his sore girth area. That evening we decided to head home since it was short drive and we thought Poptart would rest easier in his home pasture, and Graham and I were both very eager to have the most wonderful feeling shower ever and an air-conditioned home. Just as we were turning the corner into our rural subdivision we saw a circular fire in the woods at the base of power pole that had a flaming transformer at the top. I called 911 and reported the fire. We saw our neighbor who had also just reported the fire and called the power company. The power company said the power should be back on my midnight... After unloading Poptart and settling him in, feeding the other animals, and unloading the essentials from the truck and trailer in the dark without power we finally went in to see if we had any water pressure. Nope, no water pressure, no shower, no fan, no air-conditioning... Thankfully we still had the portable water tank in the back of the truck and we filled up a 5 gallon horse bucket, grabbed a flashlight, and had the best bucket shower ever! Even dunked my head in for a shampoo! The power came back on at about 2:30 am and I went out to check on Poptart. He was up at the barn munching on hay and seemed just fine.
The next morning I cold hosed his poultice off and cold hosed his girth area as well. He was at least 50% less reactive and his skin looked great, no galls or sores or swelling. Today, 48 hours after presenting with the girth soreness he had zero reaction to palpation and appears completely normal. I think he is a bit of a sensitive princess, but that communication will help ensure I always keep him comfortable and nothing progresses to the point of true injury (hopefully!)
Now for the post-game...
