# Zone Team Endurance Challenge



## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

Hi there again, endurance folks! This last weekend was the Fort Howes ZTEC FEI endurance ride. 
This is my first time going to this ride and it was eye opening. 
As it is an AERC and FEI sanctioned ride, there were people from across the country there to compete. The atmosphere was very fun, friendly, and goofy until it was time to get out and go. It was run like a well oiled machine. 

I felt like more of a clutz than usual. LOL. However, everyone was very helpful and patient. 

The course was pretty difficult and it did end up getting quite warm and humid, then rained pretty hard. There were a lot of pulls. 

I rode my gelding, Mana, on the sat. 50. He was a very good eater on trail, but not very good about drinking until later in the first loop which was 23 miles. However, most of the morning it was cloudy and pretty cool, so a lot of horses that were otherwise good drinkers were also not doing so until it started to heat up.

We did have some slow gut sounds and mucus membranes were a little off, but not anything to worry about as long as we kept an eye on it. A's otherwise. 

I heard one of the other vets mention that there was quite a bit of dehydration going on due to the weather. 
There were a couple of big climbs and descents and I think that really got people more than they were expecting. 

On the second hold, we were asked to come back and see the vet 10 minutes before our out time to have Mana's gut sounds checked again as they were pretty quiet. It was surprising as he had been eating and drinking very well since the last hold, but we did return and all was great. 

We completed and I am very happy. 

On the Sunday I rode Marchesa instead of my friend's mare, as the gelding she was going to bring went lame a few weeks back and she never got around to riding him again once he was sound, so there was an empty spot in the trailer. 

We did the 35 miler and had a little bit of tightness in her butt after the first loop due to the hills. She was a great eater and drinker the whole time. Such a champ. We completed in 8th place and her next ride will be in Canada to do a slow, flat, easy 50. 

And I will keep jabbering on in this ghost sub-forum until we are hustling and bustling again. :lol:


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

I'd love to do Endurance. But I don't think Roman could handle all those miles and hills, etc. Or me to be honest. :lol:


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

Every ride is different! The next one we are going to is going to be very easy on the horses (and riders. HA!) as long as the weather isn't extreme. LD's can be very rewarding too. 

I also forgot to mention something that happens to me pretty often in general but happened a lot a this ride. 

I ended up showing for BC on sunday even though I came in 7th place and am in FW division as there was a pair of ladies interested in buying my mare. Mostly they just wanted to see her go through the course even though this is only her third ride and I have never done it before since I will probably never get BC unless I come in first or something. 

I had to weight in with my tack. The vet saw my weight with tack which amounted to a measly 138 lbs and just stared for a moment. "Oh! You're a junior rider!"
Me: "...nope. I'm just small." Laughs were had. I'm 5'2" and always get mistaken for a little teenager. Why, thanks for the compliment, but I am several years passed being teen.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Congrats on a couple great finishes! Looks like beautiful country. 

Did they segregate the FEI people at that ride or is everyone doing all the vettings together?

I would rather be mistaken for a junior than for lots of other things!! :lol:


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## Drifting (Oct 26, 2011)

Those are great pictures!


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

phantomhorse13 said:


> Congrats on a couple great finishes! Looks like beautiful country.
> 
> Did they segregate the FEI people at that ride or is everyone doing all the vettings together?
> 
> I would rather be mistaken for a junior than for lots of other things!! :lol:



Thank you! The ride organizers did an amazing job and the food was so good. We got steak from their ranch on friday. 

They had all of the vetting together, which is what threw me off a bit since they were holding our vet cards and I've never done that set up before. Basically, take a ticket to one person who gives you another thing to give to someone else who gives it back to you to give back to the other people to get another ticket to give to the out-time people. lol. 

Yeah, there are worst things to be mistaken for, definitely! Not complaining. I'll be 16 until I'm 30, I guess. :lol:

How did your weekend go? 
The lady that is interested in my mare is actually from Vermont and she was telling me about the Vermont 100 and that she is on the committee for the OD this weekend. So cool to meet people from all over!



Thanks, Drifting! My phone died not long after we got there or I would have had so many more photos!


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

grayshell38 said:


> The lady that is interested in my mare is actually from Vermont and she was telling me about the Vermont 100 and that she is on the committee for the OD this weekend. So cool to meet people from all over!


Is it Heather Hoyns that is looking at your mare?! Amazing just how small the endurance community really is!

Looking forward to the OD this weekend, though the forecast keeps getting worse and worse in terms of heat and humidity (which unfortunately is very typical for the ride). As I am riding a friend's draft arab X (and she is riding the mare's full older brother), we are now worried about making it around at all, as the second hold is an out check where crew is not allowed.. if we can't have ice, not sure we will get then pulsed down in time after the horrendous laurel ridge climb. :???:


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## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

phantomhorse13 said:


> Is it Heather Hoyns that is looking at your mare?! Amazing just how small the endurance community really is!
> 
> Looking forward to the OD this weekend, though the forecast keeps getting worse and worse in terms of heat and humidity (which unfortunately is very typical for the ride). As I am riding a friend's draft arab X (and she is riding the mare's full older brother), we are now worried about making it around at all, as the second hold is an out check where crew is not allowed.. if we can't have ice, not sure we will get then pulsed down in time after the horrendous laurel ridge climb. :???:


It is! Do you know her? I have to email her Marchesa's pedigree and hopefully work out some decent shipping. 

I had mentioned that I know of someone from that side of the country that goes to all of those rides and she was asking what your name was and all that to see if she knew you. Lol. I was like, uhhh I think her name was Dawn, but I kind of only know her from the internet! haha. Sounds kind of weird when you put it that way. 

Oh man. Yeah, humidity is a killer on hills. I think that's why the completion rate for this ride was so low. The hills and weather hit people harder than they expected..
They don't allow you to send someone with your crew gear out there to drop stuff off? That's what we did at the Utah ride. Fingers crossed for you and your friend. Make sure to post about it when you get back!!


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

grayshell38 said:


> It is! Do you know her? I have to email her Marchesa's pedigree and hopefully work out some decent shipping.
> 
> I had mentioned that I know of someone from that side of the country that goes to all of those rides and she was asking what your name was and all that to see if she knew you. Lol. I was like, uhhh I think her name was Dawn, but I kind of only know her from the internet! haha. Sounds kind of weird when you put it that way.



I do know Heather! She is a wonderful woman and an excellent horseperson (and a vet, so what more could you want?!). I have had the pleasure of sharing trail with her at several rides.

And you are ahead of me--at least you knew my first name. I don't know yours at all.


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## Eole (Apr 19, 2013)

Congratulations, well done!
Those are great pictures, it looks like a beautiful place to ride.

Which ride in Canada are you going to? How long a drive?


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