Weekend Warrior Monday

Hubby's office at the ride

Some people might think I had a challenging weekend. But mine was nothing compared to some of the others who also entered an endurance ride this weekend.

 

The event is called Mountain Mettle, located on a portion of the Colorado Trail, and is known as one of the toughest rides in the country. I planned to take it easy because I brought one horse for his first endurance experience (and he's a rescue and we're still fixing his feet) and my main horse was a little sore after her last event so I wanted to make sure she was fully recovered.

 

On Friday, I just did a 12 mile fun ride with the new horse. He did a great job, and I'm pleased that he enjoys being out on the trail. My mare did 30 miles. On the first loop, we were stuck with a big group for a while, then a smaller group. That tends to make horses want to do what all the rest are doing, so after our vet check and one hour rest, I left alone. It went great until we got passed by some very fast riders and Ava wasn't about to be left behind. I fought her and she bucked and spun for about three miles until she finally calmed down. So a bit exciting, but again, others were truly weekend warriors.

 

Several people signed up for 50, 75, and 100 miles! The terrain was so difficult that none of the 50 milers made it on time (we have 12 hours for 50 miles). Some of the 75 milers got lost or just ran out of time. Two people entered the 100. The terrain on this ride climbs and descends a couple thousand feet several times - and in between has smaller hills and valleys. One rider hadn't ridden in the dark before and had to quit when vertigo hit so bad she couldn't stand up. The other rider got lost and ride management and her family went hunting. They finally found her at 5:30 in the morning. She'd been riding for over 24 hours! It's one thing to plan riding for 24 hours, but scary and frustrating to be lost in rugged terrain with no cell phone service - and still not be at the finish line.

 

While this was going on, I was sleeping safe and sound in the living quarters of my trailer. I did come up with a few ideas for the opening chapter of my WIP which has a girl riding a crazy horse (easy to find inspiration there!) when a tornado touches down in front of her. Now that I'm back in front of my laptop, I hope I can remember it all.

 

How do you remember those great ideas you have in the most inconvenient moments?