Jun 30 2015
My First Endurance Ride: June 27, 2015
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The following is a guest blog post written by one of my students:
I had my first of many endurance rides on June 27, 2015. It was supposed to be at Lake Almanor, but ended up at Camp Far West where the Gold Rush Shuffle is held. This was actually the 3rd endurance ride that I had applied for; the 1st one was cancelled due to weather, the 2nd, my horse I was riding (Forest) got his ulcers. I got so nervous when they said this one was cancelled. I hoped that they would find another place to hold it and they did!
After I got to Jaya’s, we loaded up and headed out for an hour and a half drive with Soli (the puppy) clambering all around the truck. When we got to Camp Far West, we unloaded our horses and vetted in. We then took a bareback ride (in shorts and tennis shoes) to the lake which was only about 2 minutes away. We saw many of Jaya’s friends in camp and said hi to some. After, we had dinner and a ride meeting and then we tried to sleep. Trying to sleep was the hardest thing!
The next morning, we got up and put our horses tack on and headed out for our controlled start. The trail we rode on went through woods, fields, and around the lake. The best part of the trail was cantering through the fields. At our vet check, Ember passed very well. We then set out for our final loop around the lake. We then took our last vet check and both Jaya and I showed for BC (Best Condition). We finished an hour before cut-off time. Our whole ride was from 7:30-12:30 (cut-off was 1:30).
We waited until 7 pm for the awards. Ember and I got 4th place, first junior, and senior horse award. Jaya and Dippi got 5th place and a sponsoring a junior award. We then loaded up and headed home with Soli curled between us.
So, if you want to do endurance riding, you shouldn’t be afraid of dirt or sweat and drink LOTS of water.
— Aurora Copp, age 12, riding Haily’s Ember, age 20
Aurora allowing time for Ember to drink her fill at the first water crossing.
On the last loop — Aurora and Ember just a few miles from the finish!
Happy and Proud — and Hooked on Endurance!
Haily, Ember’s original owner, came out to see Aurora and Ember on their first LD together!