The weekend got off to a bit of a rough start when I got a flat tyre just as I arrived at the ride base. Fortunately, the rural fire brigade were there and they were more than happy to rescue a damsel in distress! I stood around feeling useless while they jacked up my car and put on the spare tyre. I could've done it myself. Really, I could've!
The ride began at the ungodly hour of 4am - I had time to wonder why I was doing this again. I set off in the dark on my trusty steed, Jim, with my good friend Colin to keep me company. The first leg was straight up and back along a dirt road. We took advantage of the cooler, pre-dawn hours and flat terrain by allowing our horses to move along at a faster pace. The ground was quite hard though and I was glad I'd put EasyBoot Gloves on Jim's front hooves and EasyBoot Bares on his back hooves. Colin's horse had boots on all four hooves as well and both horses strode out easily, even on the slippery sections of tarred road. Both horses passed the vet check at the end of the first leg and things were looking good... until a gear check revealed Colin's horse had been badly chafed by the neoprene gaiters securing the Easyboot Bares to his back hooves. Colin decided to withdraw and once again I found myself heading out to do the second leg on my own.
In contrast to the first leg, the second leg was all hills. There were mountains as far as the eye could see and it was so steep in places I had to get off and lead my horse on foot. Luckily there was a strong breeze to help keep Jim cool even with the sun beating down on us. After what felt like endless ups and down, we finally reached the end of the second leg. Jim still felt great and he passed the vet check with ease, finishing in a time of just under 7 hours. I was presented with my third buckle and officially became a qualified endurance rider! What a way to finish the year!
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