Love the one you're with

Got some great mail from the AERC - 750 endurance miles with Luba! This includes our first 100 mile completion after two false starts.

In the big scheme of things, I am still a grasshopper.  An old grasshopper.

Wax on, wax off.

Here are the AERC endurance mileage numbers for some of my mentors:
Chrystal: 1,850 with five 100 mile starts
Wendy: 3,375 with eight 100 mile starts
Wendy: 4,040  with twenty 100 mile starts

Deb: 5,860  with seventeen 100 mile starts

Nancy: 6250  with twenty-seven 100 mile starts

Carol: 11,080 with thirty-five 100 mile starts

Dennis: 18,565  with sixty-five 100 mile starts

Sue: 18,490  with fifty-nine  100 mile starts

Patience, grasshopper.

Luba is a homebred backyard pony.  I was into dressage, local fairs and Arab shows, and did my first few CTRs the year I bred Sera.

I did not specifically breed for endurance, but she's an Arabian, right? And Luba came out looking pretty cute in 2003.

While Luba grew up, Sera and I rode a lot of CTRs. I definitely had the distance riding bug and couldn't wait to start Luba.

Despite being an Arabian, Luba was not the perfect endurance prospect. If I were horse shopping today, I would not have given her a second look as a 2-3 year old. She went through a distinct banana phase. I did not even get on her back until she turned 4.

Luba wearing a saddle for the first time at 3 years old, 2006

But she was my baby. When she turned 4 in 2007, we entered every intro distance training ride within a 5 hour drive and ended the season with a 26 mile novice CTR.  My friend, Donna, rode mama Sera, so Luba learned how to trailer, camp, navigate trails and deal with vet checks from her mama.

Total 6 rides = 97 OCTRA miles.  0 AERC endurance miles.

Over the next two years, we continued to add ride camp experiences and miles to our OCTRA record, doing a few more training rides, some 25 milers and some CTRs.

By the time we entered our first endurance ride in July 2009 - a 55 miler -  Luba had 15 starts and 239 OCTRA miles to her credit.  And we completed!

Luba is 6 years old at her first endurance ride, New Lowell, Ontario, 2009

After that, we kept riding 50s, and I kept wondering if we could go farther...

With help from my friend and mentor, Chrystal, Luba and I upped our game, aiming for a 75 mile ride in the spring of 2011. I got serious about conditioning, even in the cold depths of winter. Deep snow is your friend!? Sometimes it was not fun. But Chrystal kept reminding me that it would all be worth it in the end.

The 75 was in May - our first outing of the season -  and we did it! We did not break any speed records (reserve Turtles), but to finish is to win!

Our next goal was a  local 100 miler that fall, but summer pasture injury sent those plans out the window.

We entered the Pine Tree 100 in June 2012, but Luba tied up after the first loop. Very scary, but a great learning experience.  And we finished the season with a comeback 75 in the fall.

Pine Tree 100, June 2012 photo: Clowater Photography

By this time, we were qualified for 100 mile NAETC in Florida. We knew we could go far. Now I wanted to see if we could go faster. I started running and entered a half marathon in the spring to be in shape. Lots of training with Wendy in St. Lazare helped Luba develop a steady canter and get experience riding in a group.  We rode some faster 50s and another 75 leading up to to the mid-December event.

Leaving for loop 2 of NAETC, Bronson, Florida, December 2013 photo: D. Ramsay

However, it wasn't our day, as Luba was pulled at mile 35 for mild lameness.

2014 was a bitterly cold, intolerably long winter. The horses were landlocked in their pastures for months on end due to the icy conditions. While nekkid race-clipped Luba ate hay sporting a lovely turquoise heavy duty winter blanket, I hatched a nefarious plan to enter the Vermont 100.

Winter 2014

We completed the VT Moonlight 50 in 2011, so I had some inkling that this 100 would be a big challenge for my flat-land horse.  But with some hard work, lots of determination and a little help from our friends, we did it!

Ridecamp VT100. Green hills everywhere! 

On trail VT100 photo: D. Ramsay

So, first 50 at age 6, first 75 at age 8 and first 100 at age 11. Six years to hit the 750 endurance mile mark. For some, the glacial pace of our endurance progression wouldn't be worth the effort. But as my backyard home-bred pony, we were in this endurance thing together, for better or for worse.

Do I sometimes wish I had a seasoned endurance horse that regularly top 10s and BCs at endurance rides?  Sure.

But, wait a second.  I DO have a seasoned endurance horse, one who is just hitting the prime of her life. And we have taken every step of the way together. She has made me a better horsewoman.

And we try to up our game with every ride. Who knows where we might end up?  Keep an eye out for us over your shoulder.

Giddy-up!

Be kind whenever possible

Many people were kind to Team Luba during our trip to the Vermont 100.  

Here are just some of the kindnesses we were shown:

Bob of Bob Peter's Garage helped us rewire the camper plug when we showed up unannounced at the shop at 7am the morning of our departure. 

Krista and Guy and the Boys welcomed us at their farm with a lovely round pen for Luba to relax and stretch out before heading to ride camp on Friday. They hosted a BBQ so we also got to meet other runners and riders. Krista even drew us a map so we could ride over avoiding the race traffic.

The volunteer in charge of parking at ride camp gave us a spot in the "big rig" area, so we wouldn't roll out of our beds with the truck camper parked on the side of Silver Hill. We were right beside the pond, which made it easy to fill water tanks and Veronica and I even enjoyed a pre-ride swim!

The truck overheated when we took the trailer over to ride camp. Krista and Guy loaned us their car so we could go to town to buy anti-freeze. Then Vernon and Jeff helped us to get the truck fluid levels back on track!

Deanna's dad gave us a Vermont road map to help keep the crew oriented on their own 100 mile crewing odyssey. This ride is one big loop. We only return to ride camp for the finish!

Ruth, the horse ambulance driver, brought her rig to ride camp so we could sleep in the goose neck after the truck, complete with camper, failed the vet check at Hold #5 at O&H Farm. Somebody also gave Veronica a ride to the finish line so that she would be there to meet me and Luba.

Liz and Bernadette, Rachel's crew, "adopted" me and Luba during the last loop of the ride. They met us with big smiles, drinks and snacks at the last fly by at Polly's, giving us the boost we needed to make our final push to the finish line!

The morning after, Kathy offered to use her truck to take Luba in my trailer back to Krista's. She did not have the right sized hitch. So when we went to pick up the hitch from my truck stranded at Hold #5, Kathy FIXED MY TRUCK. She has the same truck and knew how to get it back into 2 wheel drive, saving me a call to US Rider.

Richard from Meunier's Garage took time out of his already full day to check the engine pressure and one of the tires that was making a weird sound so Team Luba could head home feeling safe.

Third time lucky!

We did it! Team Luba earned a buckle at the Vermont 100 Endurance Ride :)

Here are the official results.

There are lots of endurance maxims that I have heard and even some that I have learned over the years. All of them stood me in good stead at this epic ride.

I still have to pinch myself and I catch myself looking at the belt buckle at every opportunity. With the unwavering support of our stalwart crew, Deanna and Veronica, we completed the VT100!

SuperCrew Veronica and Deanna :)

Photo: D. Ramsay

Ride your own ride

Thanks to all the ultra marathoners on trail with us, Luba and I were able to ride our own ride.

We come from flat land, and although we have been doing as much hill work as possible since April, nothing prepares you for Vermont but Vermont. The Green Mountains are either going up or down. 14,000 feet of elevation gain. Roads named Agony Road. You get the picture.

We started out near the back of the pack with  Dawn, Dean, Rachel and April. The horses were moving out at a steady 8-9 mph pace. I know Luba can hold this pace on less aggressive terrain for 50 miles.  But I was aiming for a slower overall speed so we would have enough gas to tackle all the ups and downs of double that distance.

After about 10 miles, Luba finally agreed to slow down and let the others go. I had promised my crew we would not go faster than 8 mph before the 10 minute stop and go at Gratiot's Fild 14 miles into the ride.   As soon as we arrived, Luba had a big lemonade pee to exorcise the tie up ghost of the 2012 Pine Tree 100.

Arriving alone and unafraid at Gratiot's Field - 10 minute stop and go at mile 14

I had the voice of WendyB in my head - a 100 mile ride starts at mile 50.  So I needed to get through the first 50 miles with a horse fresh enough to ride a 50 :)  By this time, we were catching runners, so we slowed down and chatted with them. I would call out, "Hi Runner, coming by on your left side."

Luba LOVED her runners. She loved catching up to them. She loved trotting along side them. She loved passing them.  Runners were our trail buddies for most of the 100 miles. She knows what the word "Runner" means now. We got to know some of them, as we played leapfrog - passing the runner, then going to vet check hold, then passing the same runner again. Norm, Seth and Richard, Gary, Kim, Guy - just some of the amazing athletes who share trail with us :)

Dismount for the downhills

In some respects, the downhills are harder than the uphills. My mentor, NancyB passed along the message that I should get off and do the downhills on foot with Luba to save her front legs. I did this after about mile 20.  I had no idea how hard this would be!!  Yesterday (Thursday) was the first day that I could go up and down stairs without grimacing.

Next time, I will specifically train my own body for the downhills. Here is some advice from Zeke in the VT100 runners blog with one month to go:

Respect the Downhills: I know you respect the Uphills, because we all do. You’ll be walking many, if not most, of them, which is smart. That which is responsible for the majority of DNF’s in 100’s, however, is the running of the downhills. You absolutely DO want to run the downhills, but if you have not practiced aggressive downhill running, your quads are quite likely to give out on you. When that happens, they will become intensely sore, and even walking will be painful. Your body is well-trained and your endurance is at a peak, but the legs just refuse to cooperate. We are somewhat short of time, BUT you can hit the downhills in the next two weeks. Don’t go banzai, but do be aggressive, such that the quads ache a bit the next day. That means you’re strengthening them, and preparing them for the race. 

By about mile 60, Luba was walking the uphills, so I started dismounting for those as well. And after mile 80, there were stretches of road where we had no runners or other horses for company. Luba started to flag. So I got off and ran a few miles beside her. This seemed to lift her spirits and gave her a break from me - I was getting tired and was surely less balanced than usual in the saddle. We ran with one  runner on a dark part of the trail. He was grateful for the company, as he said he had been running alone for the last 3 hours.

Never hurry, never tarry

Luba and I have worked hard to learn to keep a steady pace.  Our cruise control is an 8mph trot. She can do this all day. So I worked hard to keep her in her happy place as often as possible. This was  actually much easier to do when we weren't riding with other horses.

We caught up with Rachel at the Sound of Music hills and rode together for a short while, but her horse wanted to graze and Luba wanted to go, so we carried on at our own pace.

We also played leap-frog with Daryl, Adrianne and Skip as we were heading into Hold #3 - Mitchell's at mile 60. They were walking some uphills and Luba preferred to go up at an easy trot. Normally Luba will match her pace to the other horses, but with all those runners out there to chase down, she just did her own thing.

We also rode a good piece of the 10 miles between Hold #3 and Hold #4 Springbrook Farm at mile 70 with Daryl and Adrianne. However, their horses trotted at 9-10 mph and Luba's comfort zone is a bit slower, so I kept her back at her pace and we ended up coming into the holds at about the same time.

We mixed things up with some easy canters and later in the ride, Luba demonstrated a very steady uphill walk.

Arriving at Hold #3 Mitchell's at mile 60

Keeping a steady pace helped both of us conserve energy. Luba's CRI at mile 60 was 48/48, all A's, good gut sounds all around and she flew out of the hold at the canter, on the hunt for her runners!

90% is mental and the other 10% is all in your head 

I think this saying is attributed to Ray Zahab of   Impossible to Possible.

I said this a lot during the ride.  I ride vet check to vet check. So knowing how many miles we have to go on each loop or phase of the ride is critical for me. But I got confused about the distance between Hold #1 and Hold #2. I expected it to be 20 miles, but in reality, it was 22 miles. The trail was marked with yellow plates with black directional arrows, but white plates indicated where horses split off the trail to enter the vet checks. So the last two miles heading into Hold #2 GMHA was a big mind f*ck, as I was afraid that I had missed a white plate!! I asked a couple of runners if they had seen any white horse plates, and finally found one who said with some certainty that he had not seen one for quite some time. Whew! However, by the time we arrived, the worry of being a few couple of miles off trail had me quite tired and mentally frazzled.  Thankfully, my SuperCrew did a great job taking care of me and Luba, and had us back in the zone before we headed back out on trail.

90% is mental and the other 10% is all in your head.

The Challenge

going the Distance

leading to a Discovery 

that Luba and I are capable 

of achieving the extraordinary!

Our first 100 mile completion. 

Third time lucky!

The hay is in the barn - Take 3

Three more sleeps until Team Luba leaves for Vermont. This will be our third attempt at completing a 100 mile ride.

Luba and I started riding 50s in 2009 when she was 6. We have completed three 75s - one each year since 2011.  But that 100 mile completion has been elusive.  Third time's a charm?

What I learned from our Pine Tree 100 attempt is that I need to ride my horse every other day once she is fit. The trip to Florida for NAETC taught me loads about how to manage my horse when travelling long distances.  I am sure Vermont 100 will teach me something too, I just hope that it also involves learning how to wear a belt buckle ;)

Vermont 100 endurance ride sees both riders and ultra marathoners sharing the trail. It is my favourite ride of all time for lots of reasons, not the least of which is the cheering crowds along the trail!

Coming off the Stormont 50 where Luba finished feeling good with lots of gas in the tank (HVS and BC to boot!) we are both feeling fit and ready to attack the hills of Vermont.

Team Luba

Starring Luba aka Serious Moonlight (Earl Grey X Crown Serazzima) 2003 grey Arabian mare

Photo by K. Somerville

Supporting cast

Nancy Grayhorse - rider trying not to get in Luba's way too much on trail

VT100 Crew - Deanna and Veronica

Teacher - Sonja Koch of Horses of the Sun and Super Uwe who can fix anything and Heidi who rides Luba for me when I am away.

Navan Veterinary Services - especially Dr. Jenn Hubbard

Mike's Performance Hooves for expert trimming and gluing of Renegade hoof boots!

Look how young and rosy Luba is in this picture! Mike gluing on Renegades for the first time before heading to a  mileage ride at Seoul's Corners, Sharbot Lake, Ontario in 2009.

Mike also produces great meat, eggs and honey in his spare time at Roadapple Ranch.

Renegade Hoof Boots - always there to support us with their great products - boots and saddle bags.

The 4th Gear - Power up your Endurance Horse The Summers have great advice. If you are a distance rider, this will be the BEST $9 you ever spent. Buy it now!

And last but definitely not least, my family........

photo: J. Griffin-Scott

.... and my endurance family! You know who you are. Thanks for being the best cheering section anyone could ask for!  Always there to offer a word of support and advice.

Now I am off to ride Luba. Riding first, packing second. Giddy-up!

Riding is hard work

Luba and I have been too busy riding to do much blogging. Hooray for us!

After a bubble-wrap 55 at Cayuse Canter on the May long weekend, we have been preparing for the Vermont 100.

Next stop is a depletion 50 miler at the Stormont ride on June 29.   We went to pre-ride the Stormont trails on Sunday with Denise/Gem. Lovely kind of hack that we used to do every Monday morning.  Luba trailered over and back without any fuss and babysat Gem who was on his best behaviour. She likes him. No mare ears at all! Wish I had brought my phone. All I have to show for it is the GPS tracks and lots of great memories, like the picture in my mind's eye of Gem and Denise softly cantering down MacMillan road....

I headed to the farm for an early morning workout this morning.  Here is Luba all tacked up and ready to ride the driveway in her Renegades! Plus got some cool shadow shots.

Apparently, this was very hard work! Uwe sent me these great shots of Sera and Luba sleeping with MissT keeping watch. 

I love my horses 

These heads are heavy...

All work... no rest.... must stay awake...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Cruise and recover

A few people lately have asked me how I use the heart rate monitor on my horse.

I have found it to be a useful training tool to get to know your horse. I use it a lot at the beginning of the season, so I have another source of info to know how fit my horse is after having the winter off.

However, it is just a tool. Sometimes it gives wonky readings. Sometimes it will make you worry when there is nothing to worry about.  So this is why I don't usually use it in competition. Too much information! I would rather just enjoy the ride.

My goal today was to do steady trotting at about 8 mph or 13 km/h for about an hour and get some readings. We did not do any cantering -  only a bit of walk to warm up and a bit more to cool down.  This ride happened about an hour after our group lesson in the sand ring, so it was a bit like riding a loop, having a hold and riding again.

Carousel group lesson by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

Luba trots effortlessly at about 8-9 mph with a heart rate of between 110 and 120. This is what I call her cruise control. She could go all day long at this speed. As you learn to rate your horse, your heart rate monitor will help you to figure out your horse's cruise control at trot and eventually at canter. Every horse is different.

You can also figure this out by just riding and being aware of that sweet spot when you and your horse are in the zone and everything is smooth and easy and you could go all day long.

But most importantly, a heart rate monitor lets you know how quickly your horse recovers.  You can also do this with a stethoscope, but unless you are incredibly flexible, you would have to dismount ;)

Luba was on cruise control today, riding up an down the lane way in the drizzling rain. We stopped after about a half an hour to help Charlotte untack Sera, and her heart rate fell to 64 in under a minute. We continued on for another half an hour and when we stopped, she recovered to 64 in less than a minute. This is good.

So cardiovascularly, this was not a hard ride for her.  Neither was the hour-long ride in the sand ring. But it is all important stuff early in the season. Make sure her brain, feet and legs are just as ready to go as her heart and lungs.  The cardio fitness is relatively easy to put on your horse. The soft tissue between the ears and toughening up the feet and legs takes more time.

Steady trot, steady drizzle by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

And here are some random spring pictures from cool down on the lane way...

budding leaves

pussy willows

fiddleheads

If a tree falls in the forest....

...does anybody hear?  Luba does :)

The rain finally stopped so I headed out to do some canter intervals this evening. Luba stood stock still while I strapped on her Renegades and tacked up. She is happy to be back in work.

Sera wanted to come along. She called out and cantered and trotted up and down the length of the paddock until Luba and I turned the corner to go down the rest of the lane way to Forced Road. After a brutal winter, the old lady is starting to put on some weight again with the green grass and warmer weather.

All is going well, until on our way back on the 3rd interval, when I hear a strange cracking sound from the bush. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I see a big tree starting to fall towards us!

We were already cantering and Luba did a righteous bolt into the 4th Gear!  According to my GPS, we hit 18.2 mph.

Giddy up!

The Tree

On the road again

Last weekend marked the start of Luba's spring training in preparation for the Vermont 100. We spent the weekend in Millbrook and had a couple of great rides in the Ganny with Chrystal, Deanna, Bob and Michelle.
Chrystalfest by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

The trip was uneventful. Luba loaded without any hesitation and travelled like a horse that has been to Florida and back. She even pooped on the trailer.

Now that it is light until nearly 8pm, I am back on the regular Wednesday night ride schedule, working to have Luba ready for a 50 on the May long weekend at Cayuse Canter.

After spending the whole day today in a stuffy conference room and eating too many donuts and biscuits, I was in need of some farm time.  On top of everything, there is only one month until the Ottawa Half Marathon and I have seriously fallen off the running wagon.

So I put on my runners, strapped a pair of Renegades on Luba's front feet and we headed down Forced Road.
Run with Luba by nancyzed at Garmin Connect - Details

Feels good to be back on the road again.

Kick to go and pull to stop and the sound of one hand clapping

This is how lots of us learned how to ride. Kick the horse to go and pull on the reins to stop.

Uwe cleared the snow out of the sand ring for riding season which begins in April at Horses of the Sun.  The inaugural group lesson of 2014 was on April 6.

Luba has a love/hate relationship with the sand ring. Boogey men (and geldings) live in the far end which borders on the grove (See Safe in the Circle).  And we there was still so much snow, we had to ride through the geldings' paddock to get into the sand ring.

I debated about hand walking Luba through the paddock and into the ring, but everyone else was mounted up, so I just rode on in.

Luba was fine. We had an easy first lesson of the season, walk, trot canter (first cantering since January 5, but hey, who's counting?). All the horses had some spring fever, so Sonja told us to ride like we mean it.  Ride your horse straight. Ride the top line. Ride into the corners. It is the first ride of the year, so start off the way you mean to continue. Use some energy to go forward and let the rest go.

I got a few bucks in the first canter or two, but nothing that I couldn't handle. And she even managed to pick up her left leads.  Bucking in the canter is an old trick. It doesn't scare me anymore, so the novelty soon wore off for Luba and we had a lovely ride.

Next trick - Where's my mother?????!!!? We encountered Charlotte riding Sera leading a group of beginners down the lane way while we were cooling out. Luba screamed out to her mother, who was unimpressed by her grown daughter's lack of composure and barely looked at her, so great was her disdain. I kept calm and carried on and soon the novelty wore off for Luba.

Fast forward to this weekend. I put Luba's Renegades on and we went up and down the driveway ad nauseum. I focused on sitting. Really being connected through my seat. Using my manipura chakra (solar plexus) to rate Luba. Lots of sitting trot. Leg yielding from one side of the road to the other. We had a lovely ride. Luba seemed to appreciate me getting out of her face. Letting the energy move forward and then catch it gently with my hands and give it back softly.

This seems so simple but it is the hardest thing in the world to do when you learned to ride by kicking to make the horse go and pulling on the reins to make the horse stop. And when it happens, it is magical.

Today, Charlotte and I took the mother/daughter into the sand ring for a walk and some quiet time. Sera was with the program, but Luba had other ideas. Acck! The sand ring! OMG shadows! I can't go to the scary corners near the grove! Even using Sera as a shield was not working.

After about a half an hour, I gave up (and I was getting pissed off so my inner Hulk was awakening). Charlotte put Sera away and I grabbed a lunge line and brought Luba back into the sand ring. By this time, I had calmed down. Luba, however, still had a bee in her bonnet.

She started cantering right away and bucked up a storm for what was probably only a few minutes, but which felt much longer. I just let her buck, but kept moving her forward on the lunge line. Soon, she was walking and trotting calm circles in the scary end of the ring and we were walking calmly around the whole school.  I got on, and she tried to shy away from the side of the ring.  I pretended that I didn't care, sat deep and pushed her forward. Oh, say, it is so much less fun when you don't fight back.

The wonderful sound of one hand clapping, hey Luba?

I put her away and spent the afternoon cleaning and pressure washing the trailer. Then Luba loaded on without any hesitation and started to eat supper.

Hallelujah!

Then suddenly she realized she was on the trailer. She started to tremble and stopped eating. I stayed with her, but left her on for about 10 minutes. Then she calmly unloaded and finished her supper beside the trailer and went for a big drink.

Me too when I got home.