I'm hoping, God willing on four. A possible fifth would be a miracle. The vet said she wasn't pregnant but she sure is beginning to look it.
Where is the ride and how long is it? By the way, can you explain more about it? I know in endurance riding, you are judged on time and condition - this seems to be judged differently.
I wasn't being a wimp or a crybaby - it was an awful storm.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2005/jan/09/010902630.html
"A combination of two storms of this magnitude hasn't occurred in the city of Reno since 1916," National Weather Service forecaster Shane Snyder said.
Major highways across the Sierra between Reno and Sacramento, Calif., were closed for part of Saturday and the heavy snowfall also delayed Amtrak trains through the mountains.
"There was just too much snow on the tracks," said Amtrak spokesman Mark Magliari.
The ride I'd like to take him to, would be his first, in Tulsa at the John Zink Ranch. It's a privately owned place, and the only time anyone can ride horses there is on this ride. It's moderatly hard ride. That's why I like it, not to easy like the ones in Tex (as far as terrain), not so tough as Ark. Will be a good first one for him.
CTR (competitive trail riding), is very differnt from endurance, in that it is not a race. The horses condition, trail manners, response to cues, etc, are judged by the vet judge. There is a horsmanship judge who is judgeing the riders, how they handle their horse.
It is a timed event. For instances, the novice class does 20 miles one day. The night before the ride they have a ride meeting, give you maps of the trail to follow with check points marked so you can check you time. They tell you to go 4 mph. So you leave camp, say checkpoint A is 2 miles from camp. You should hit check point a in 30 minutes. If your to fast or to slow you adjust. Points aren't lost on time at any check point except the end.
2 times within the 20 miles you will be stopped to have your horses pulse and respiration check. You are given 15 minutes on time for these stops As you come in to the stop they give you a card with the time you got there on it. 10 minutes after you get there your horse is checked. They set parameters on what the horses pulse and respiration should be at. You can be over up to a certain point and just lose points, if you get to high they hold you there for another 10 minutes, you will lose points for that, if after THAT 10 minutes your horse is still to high your pulled out. So, a 20 mile ride at 4 mph, with 2 15 minute stops, your total ride time would be 4 hours 30 minutes. They have min. and max. times allowed with no point deductions. It's a 30 minute window, 15 minutes either way of 4 hours 30 minutes. So you could come in as early as 4 hours 15 minutes or as late as 4 hours 45 mintues. The last marker of the ride is always 2 miles from camp. At the 2 mile marker is where you make a final adjustment to your time. If your moving fast and too earlier you stop there and wait the appropriate amount of time for you. If your late, you hussle. Once you cross the 2 mile marker tho, you are not suppose to stop. You can walk, trot, lope or gallop, but you can't stop.
When you get to the ride, the vet checks your horse all over making comments on the score card, you have trot the horse on a lunge line, straight out, circle, and straight back. The vet notes the way the horse goes, and on a scale from 1-5 rates the horses animation. After the ride is completed, they are 2 day rides, the vet goes thru this same routine. The horse should not limp of course, but is also required to rate the same on animation. If he goes lower, then your marked off for a tired horse. The vet checks withers, back, loins, legs, feet, etc. for soreness.
Every horse and every rider starts out with 100 points. The person with the most points of course wins. The horse with the most points wins best horse.
The horsemanship judge watches how you present your horse, how adapt you lunge, him , he will also check your horses "stabling" for the nights. All horses have to be stabled the same, which is usually tied to the trailer. You have to tie them the right lenght, hang your hay net properly, always have water buckets secured safely, etc. He also checks grooming.
IT's alot of fun and the best part for me was, that at the end after the awards are handed out, you get your score cards with all the comments of the judges. It is a great tool to help with your horsemanship. I learned so much from those cards.
Sorry this is so long, but I love the sport, and it's kind of hard to make a short explanation anyway:)
Becky