Club Stuff

Musings from Karin   

If you show up at Baker Square this month, you may be eating alone. The meeting is at Cindy and Joe Larkin’s ranch in Greenwood and a potluck is on the menu. Bring a dish to share and my suggestion would be warmer clothes than we are used to wearing. It’s starting to cool off. Directions to Cindy’s are included below. Dawn Elliot is scheduling an equine chiropractor as a speaker, so it should be an informative meeting. Hopefully, more informative than the last speaker that I arranged for the club. YAWN! We’ll start eating about 6:30 pm as we do at Baker’s Square and start the meeting at 7pm. Come over when you can, I hope there will be plenty of food! Bring a guest. By the way, the meeting at Cindy’s was her idea, so I don’t want anyone to think I scheduled this for my convenience, though my hand was the first to be raised for approval. 

What a month this has been for Pete and me. Our house in Granite Bay sold with a 30 day escrow and the property we had set our sights on in Garden Valley became ours on August 24th. It’s been years since we moved and the challenge of whittling down possessions from 2700 sq ft into a house that is 1800 sq ft. was put to the test. Miracle is that we seem to be doing it. However, just when I get some confidence that it is going to work, I remember a storage unit in Rocklin that still is packed with belongings that our realtor and friend Marcia Tucker had us move when we listed the property.

Does any one really need 3 pasta pots, 4 bundt pans, hot rollers for hair, (not my Velcro camping rollers, I love those), Bon Appetits going back to the 1980’s? I found 3 curling irons and 3 blow-dryers. Why I need these is a puzzle. I work in an operating room and wear cloth hats on my head that completely cover my hair. In my off time, I am usually riding with a helmet. I shouldn’t have to do more than wash my hair. However, those that have seen it dry into its natural state will understand the need for the hair appliances. My hair is close to a Phyllis Diller look when it is not tamed into submission.

Excess tack was donated to Ride to Walk in Lincoln; furniture went to newlyweds and to our son who needed some more chairs. Someone tell Gene the Buffy hat is gone and in its place is a hat fit for the foothills. Not really…it’s my canvas hat from REI, but it does a great job of protecting from the sun. We’ve traded green pastures for dirt hills and pines and we love it. My commute has stretched from 10 minutes to 40 minutes and I still love it. I’ll have to see how I cope with driving down the canyon in harsh weather, but it sounds like a good excuse to spend the night with my friends in Roseville. The one luxury/necessity that I miss desperately is my DSL line. I can’t wait till it’s available here. I will be first in line to have it installed.

The next and even bigger news is that Pete and I are grandparents! Our son Craig and his wife Jessica have a daughter, Stella Occhialini. I saw her the day she was born and have been boring friends with pictures ever since. I don’t live nearly close enough, but at least it’s in the same state. 

Hopefully, everyone will be at the meeting on the 21st. Looking forward to seeing you.

Karin Occhialini

September Meeting

Tuesday 21st, 6:30 pm 
at Joe and Cindy Larkin's Ranch, Greenwood

Dawn Elliot writes:

Our guest speaker this month is Tom Mayes. Tom was referred to us by a friend to go over our horse after Tevis. He does equine bodyworks with several certifications. He was calm and kind. All three of our horses responded quite positively. He appeared to have a real gift for finding areas that needed to be released. Tom is also a high school teacher and able to communicate what he is searching for and finding. It was a most rewarding learning experience.

We have had him come out again and plan to use him as part of our horses’ long term health care.

We have invited him to our next Tuesday meeting at the Larkin Ranch to meet you all and demonstrate some of what he does. Endurance riding is one of his personal endeavors and some of us have seen him on the trail. 

Club Dues:

• Dues for 2004:  Single = $15   Family = $25
• I will collect at the meeting, or they can be mailed to the club PO box: 
  P.O. Box 3412
  Auburn, CA 95604.  
• The email and s-mail lists were purged of "non-paying members" at the beginning of April, so if people want to receive anything, they must pay the dues. We don't charge for back dues - so there is no penalty for missing past years.

Stories

Swanton 75: Ride and Tie
It's All About Partners and Crew
Cheryl Domnitch

Finally, Swanton 75 R & T day arrived. I was excited and confident that we would finish, which was our only objective. Setting the stage...

The Stats:

Human Partner: Sabrina Teller, my regular partner who takes awesome care of my horse, never complains and is as consistent and reliable as a rock. 

Horse Partner: Mocha Brown, who knew this was not just another Ride and Tie, and was fit and ready to go the distance.

Crew: Dionne Wallace, who volunteered to crew the second I told her we were going to do it, because she insists that nobody can take better care of Mocha (and she’s right!). As you’ll read shortly, she also out-did herself in taking care of her humans!

The Weather:

Unseasonably warm for Santa Cruz (Davenport). The fog did not come in on Friday night, the night before the race and it was probably 70 degrees at the 5:00 am start……only looking to get hotter…

The Course:

Up, down, up down, up, down, up, down,….need I say more!

And We’re Off:

I was very nervous about the 5:00 am start in the dark. Although I have plenty of experience running in the dark, I’m not as comfortable riding in the dark. Given my controlling nature (an understatement), I tend to steer Mocha into trees, off cliffs, etc. I know, I know, I should just trust him, ….easier said than done. So when I asked another team (Carol, Alina, and Findefar), if they would R & T with us until the sun came up, they happily agreed. Since Carol had completed the 75 mile course last year, it was also helpful that she knew the route.

The Endurance Riders (75 and 100 milers) started at 5:30 am and it was a special treat to have the course to ourselves at the start. The start was very smooth, with Mocha Brown on his best behavior, which means no bucking and rearing. At about the same time it started to get light, 6:15 am, the first endurance riders started to pass us. They totally egged us on commenting how impressed they were that we had gotten so far on the course already, and offering many other motivational phrases. I’d love to tell you what the first part of the course was like, but quite frankly I was just a little busy trying to stay on course, and searching for the very few glo-sticks, and trying to find signs on trees in the dark.

We passed the first “trot by” at mile 15 with no problems. The R & T’rs were allowed to send drop bags, but no crews were allowed at this location. The fun really got started shortly after the 15-mile “trot by”. I was out in front running and Mocha and Sabrina were behind me. The double wide trail took a right turn onto a single track and about 100 feet in front of me, there was a horse dancing on the trail. As I approached, but after it was too late, I heard the rider yelling, “BEES”! The trail had a steep drop-off to the right and a sharp rise to the left. There was no running through this and the horse wasn’t making any forward motion either. So I had to turn around and back out. By this time, the bee swarm had headed my way, and the next thing I know they are under my helmet, stinging and stinging, in my shorts, stinging and stinging, I’m screaming and screaming, and the pain is excruciating.

I returned to the intersection with the wider trail, and proceeded to rip helmet and clothing off of me, so I could scrape the bees out of my hair and pull them out of my shorts. At the moment, it did not matter if I was caught in the buff! Within a few minutes a rider approached. It was Alina Vale (R & T). Alina, who is incredibly gracious, said hop on we’ll ride double through this. I told her where the bees were, to go on and I would wait for Sabrina and Mocha. She rode off only to return in a few minutes saying she found a bypass and gave me instructions, as if I was coherent enough to remember.

A few more riders (endurance) came upon me, and I must have looked like death, because they all stopped immediately, asking the typical sympathetic questions. After explaining the story, and the by-pass route, one of the riders gave me a benadryl. Knowing that I haven’t been allergic to bees in the past, and that one benadryl completely knocks me out, I opted to wait for Sabrina before taking it. Although I put on a happy face for the endurance riders, when Sabrina arrived I broke down sobbing, whining and being simply irrational! Sabrina (nobody) ever sees me this way, so she thought, for sure, I was going into shock and took control of the situation.

She said, “Don’t take the benadryl yet, take Mocha, and start making forward motion.” I told her that I couldn’t take Mocha, because I would not take care of him if we encountered bees. She said, “Fine, just run then, but go!” So we started towards the by-pass. When we reconnected with the trail, the trail started downhill. I was running in front and I knew Mocha would not catch me (meaning Sabrina was taking care of him on the downhills, as always). For me, it was a perfect seven miles of gradual down hill running in the woods. This gave me the opportunity to relax and settle down. Even though the pain was there, I was able to get beyond it! 

Sabrina and Mocha finally reached me after the creek crossing at the bottom of the hill and we did a few transitions for the next three miles into the vet check at mile 25. By this time word had spread to the vet check that I had several dozen bee stings. I ran into the vet check before Sabrina and Mocha, which is generally poor strategy, but given our first time on the course and the length of 75 miles, it simply did not matter. We knew we would give Mocha plenty of time to eat and drink. Besides, this gave us plenty of time to eat the pancakes that Dionne had picked up for us! Not only pancakes, but for me the special treat of a fountain Diet Coke! Doyle Eggers, crewing for another R & T team also had cortisone cream that I put on the stings. Sabrina, the perfect partner, pulled the stingers that I had smashed into my body off of me. However, she did refuse to get the ones on my butt and said I had to wait to get home and ask my husband, Larry, to do it!

Sabrina left the vet check running. When I left on Mocha, we encountered 1.5 miles of asphalt. We were told about this necessary evil, but were uncertain of the location. Given our slow movement on the asphalt, I did not know when or if we would ever catch up to Sabrina. While on the asphalt, we encountered, several dozen motorcyclists in a group, and two police cars lights flashing and sirens screaming. Oh, how I love my perfect horse!

Finally, two hours after leaving the vet check we caught up to Sabrina. The day had also heated up substantially. We made it through the 43-mile vet check with no problems. Although there was no crew access there, the R & T’rs sent drop bags. The volunteers were fantastic. Plenty of lemonade, watermelon and other treats were provided. Hay, carrots, and watermelon were provided for the horses. By this time the temperature was reported at 102 degrees. (Did I mention the race was in Santa Cruz!) After leaving the 43-mile vet check, the canyon climbing left us exposed in the sun for the heat of the day. At the ridge line around mile 50 we could see the fog moving in at the coast, which we thought would be a welcome reprieve.

By the time we reached the vet check at the coast at mile 56, it was completely fogged in and the temperature had dropped to 50 degrees. (Did I mention the race was in Santa Cruz!) Dionne was ready for Mocha. Oh and she was also ready for us with Veggie Burgers waiting! Dionne had the forethought to bring a blanket for Mocha, so he seemed to stay pretty toasty and vetted through with no problems.

I left the vet check on foot and started the 3-4 mile climb out of the coast. Sabrina and Mocha passed me pretty quickly. They went ahead and Sabrina tied Mocha. When I reached Mocha, mounted and started riding, he was lame, dead lame. I did not want Sabrina out on the trail running for the next 19 miles, into the night and cold fog, so I asked Mocha for some trotting just to catch up to her, which we did in just a few minutes. 

Sabrina and I discussed it, for about three seconds, and we decided to call it a day. I would have to say that Mocha was the most bummed out of all. He did not want to turn around and head down the hill! I bribed him with a cantle pack full of carrots and lead him two or three miles back to the vet check to catch a trailer ride home. 

A week later, I’ve forgotten about the bees (although I did have permission from my husband to walk around scratching my butt for an entire week), Mocha is sound as could be (must have just really stiffened up from the weather change), and Sabrina and I are already planning our strategy for next year. Of course, we also need to coerce Dionne into crewing again! But that shouldn’t be too difficult!

Patriot Day Ride - October 11th
Lucy Chaplin Trumbull

The phone rang the other morning and as a nice surprise it was my friends from Quincy, Dorothy and Dennis Miller, asking if I wanted to ride Dennis' horse, Socks, at the Patriot Ride the following Saturday. They had been helping organize this new ride and Dennis was slated to do PnRs, so wouldn't be riding and they figured Socks could use the outing.

Since two out of three of my horses are lame right now and the only sound one is up-n-coming youngster Zini who isn't fit for public consumption quite yet, I jumped at the chance. Patrick was due to be doing a mammoth mountain bike ride in Downieville the same day, so we were going to be in the area anyway.

I dropped Patrick at the comfy hotel on the river in Downieville on Friday around 6pm and continued up to Greenville. Little did I know it would take me another couple of hours to get there, but kindly Dennis and Dorothy not only brought Socks to the ride for me, they also vetted him in and signed me up, so everything was ready when I rolled in, bleary from two hours of twisty canyon driving.

Ridecamp was at a children's summer camp - Copper Creek Camp - complete with flush toilets and *real* showers. Oooh.

We got up a 5 am because Dorothy and Dennis are organized, unlike me, who tries to get everything done in half an hour. So by 6 am, I was on Socks, finding out that the shortest hole the stirrups could be on was still miles too long. Luckily, this has been happening all my life, so it wasn't hard to make a double wrap of the leathers around the stirrups to make short-leg stirrups. Voila! I still ended up having to shorten the stirrups twice more during the ride.

From the start the trail went straight up the side of the ridge. “Trail” is possibly too generous a description - it was more a case of following the numerous red-white-blue ribbon markers from tree to tree, picking your way up the side of the mountain - tough country, but an excellent way to settle any excitable horses, as they had to concentrate on what they were doing and work at it.

Here we're about four miles into the ride, looking back down into the valley towards ridecamp (in the dark trees at the foot of the ridge). Below us on the yellow dirt road you can see the dots of riders behind us.

The rough stuff dumped us out onto a smooth double track that wound around the mountain and switch-backed a couple of times before coming to a water stop at about 6-8 miles from the start.

The entire town of Greenville, seemingly, had turned out to help. There were volunteers everywhere - many of them not even horse people, let alone endurance folk. There were people to man the cattleguard to prevent us stumbling onto it, people manning the water stops (five on the first 30 mile loop, three on the second 20 mile loop), as well as spotters to make sure we went in the right direction. Not that you could have gotten off trail very easily - there were ribbons every twenty feet, seemingly, and continual lime stripes to discourage us from taking wrong turns.

Walker Lake

Me n' Dorothy, with Socks and Elly, at the second water stop.

Remember how they always say not to try anything new at rides? Well, I was riding a horse I'd never ridden before, riding in Dennis' reactor panel saddle, and wearing in the obligatory red / white / blue clothing, some of which I'd not tried at a ride before.

Problem #1: Dennis and I are not the same shape. Problem  #2: I haven't ridden in a treed saddle in about five years.  Problem #3: For some unknown reason I decided to try and ride with no lower leg protection  (what was I thinking?? Not very much, apparently). <sigh>

By six miles in, things were starting to rub, and by the time we hit the second water stop at about 15 miles (after riding alongside Walker Lake/Mountain Meadows Reservoir for about four miles) my calves were squeaking from rubs from the bottom flap of the saddle and my thighs were starting to whine about the upper saddle flaps. I filched a roll of vet wrap from Dorothy and wrapped the entire roll around my lower right leg to stop anything more rubbing. That helped that a little, but everything else started to rub more instead.

At this point, we started up the toughest part of the ride - a very steep, rough footing climb that had to detour around some downed trees. We started up on horseback, but quickly ended up getting off and tailing up to the top. Thank goodness DnD had had the forethought to teach their pones to tail, otherwise we would never have made it. Socks' back-end was quivering from the exertion when we finally crested out at the top, to a lovely view of the granite mountainside above Deerheart Lake (another water stop). 

We clambered around in the boulders for a while, before scrambling back on the horses and picking our way along the trail. This part of the ride was quite wild. The trail was singletrack, but a multitude of yet more downed trees, branches, rocks, and other obstacles meant we had to pick our way along very carefully. Some of the smaller trees made for fun jumping practice, and at one point we were having so much fun we completely lost the trail and ended up in a boulder field (vet Rob Lydon had told Dorothy that doing rides just wasn't worth it if you weren't having fun. We were *definitely* having fun).

Looking back at rider Ray and his horse, Boomer, high above Walker Lake.

From here it got even more fun. 

Trail? What trail?

But despite some hairy spots, the trail was loads of fun and a true testament to just how sure-footed horses can be.

We finally rejoined the dirt road and we able to get in some speedier trotting, after punily scrabbling along at 0.5 mph for the last four miles or so. At this point we were way in the back and needed to make some time.

At the end of the 30 mile loop back in camp, Socks' back was a little sore. He'd had some ongoing back issues which seemed to be being resolved with the help of specific exercises and the reactor panel saddle. I wondered if he was getting sore from our mutual unaccustomedness to each other (me riding him/him carrying me), or from me riding strangely to try and relieve my tenderness. At lunch, I padded the seat with sheepskin and wrapped my legs in shipping boots and took another handful of painkillers (just kidding - I think I took four all day) and felt that I would be riding more balanced, so hopefully would stop any further soreness developing in him (*I* was still sore, but I wasn't doing the carrying). 

Loop 2 started with some fun climbing twisty singletrack, but it was obvious that Socks wasn't feeling as energetic as he had been in the morning. Despite this, when things levelled out on yet more dirt road, we were able to make up some time fairly comfortably. There was a stretch of two-way traffic at one point, and I saw Cindy Larkin going the other way, probably about two hours ahead of us. 

Sadly, as it turns out, when we got into the vet check, Socks had an elevated pulse (despite being told he was at 40 by the PnR person - such a reportedly low pulse alone should have raised alarm bells in my head) and was very uncomfortable, so we pulled him. 

In retrospect, I felt pretty bad about it, realising I should have pulled him at the end of Loop 1 - but I was so determined not to quit because of my own discomfort, that I forgot to realise that I should probably quit for the horse's discomfort. Dope.

Luckily, the vet at this check (Dr Heidi) was the vet who had been working with Socks this year, so she immediately started some acupuncture to relieve some of his discomfort - so there he was standing in the check like a pin-cushion, screaming his fool head off after Dorothy and Elly, who carried on to the finish without us - Elly without a backward glance to her best buddy as they left the check. 

Back at camp, after supper, Socks' back was already a lot better, so investigation into what's going on with him will have to continue. 

Since I managed to miss the awards, I have no idea who won the ride, but have a suspicion that Michael Raposelli may have won best condition?

After eating, I made the two hour night drive back to Downieville to meet up with Patrick and hear about his ride, pulling in outside the hotel at 11 pm, on the edge of wooziness (I don't recommend doing this drive after ten hours of riding).

As it turns out, Patrick not only went further than me (41+ miles); he also got there quicker (it took Socks and I 10 hours to go 40 miles;  Patrick did 41 in slightly more than 7); he was in better shape (I was black and blue from my saddle rubs and am still muscle sore a week later); and he also climbed 7000' in the process. Pah. That just proves that endurance riding is harder than mountain biking... <nonchalant>.

I was very proud of him.

Many thanks to Dorothy and Dennis for a fun day's riding that I would have otherwise missed. The Patriot Day ride was a fun one and worth putting on the calendar.

State of the Trails

Canyon Creek, Greenwood

As most of you know, we’ve had some problems lately with the Canyon Creek trail being closed by a landowner between Spanish Dry Diggins Road and Canyon Creek. 

Stuart Porter has worked out an arrangement with the landowner so that the trail is no longer blocked. We have to put in 2 heavy duty pipe gates which will have a step-over for our horses to get through in order to keep out motorized vehicles and motorcycles. (Specifications had to be approved by both the landowner & Forestry.) 

We need to raise $3,000 to pay for these gates so I’ve agreed to help raise the money. As far as I know, all of you use this trail so I thought you’d be happy to donate. (please forward this on to any other riders who use this trail.) 

El Dorado Equestrian Trails Foundation (EDETF) has agreed to pay for one of the gates and I'm trying to get donations for the other one. As of today I have collected $665, but I need $835 more.

Please write your donation check to EDETF. Put “for Canyon Creek gates” in the note area on the check.. Send the checks to: Cindy Larkin, 2550 Hoboken Creek Road, Greenwood, CA 95635. 

Once the gates have been made, we’ll need volunteers to help us install them. I’ll let you know when that date is set.

Thanks,
Cindy Larkin

Cronin Ranch, Pilot Hill, Pledge Ride

The American River Conservancy (ARC) Pledge Ride to raise money for the American River Trail Campaign is scheduled for October 23rd. Please visit their website at www.arconservancy.org/octtrailride/trail.html for more details.

This will be the first public ride on the newly acquired Cronin Ranch and a chance to see this budding trails network and check out the excellent footing for trotting practice during the rainy months.

A $35 pledge entitles you to a commemorative bandana and a chance to be one of the first to ride on the property (although the ride is described as a "leisure ride" - you won't be blitzing the trail, so it might be a good opportunity to take out your greenies and expose them to a large group of slow-moving horses?). 

You can obtain a registration form, a pledge form, and a liability release form from the website. Both the registration form and release form must be returned via fax or mail by October 16th.

To help out with a donation, please visit ARC's web site at http://www.arconservancy.org/trail/trail2_2.shtml

Rattlesnake Bar Area

Donna Williams reports:  “I got an answer from the Park about that water tank at Rattlesnake Bar. David Robinson said it is too old that why it is out of service. Also he knows about the railing at Avery Pond. They need to pull off the railing and replace the outriggers which hold the railing up. The Park Maintenance will take care of it.” 

Adverts

Desert Gold Endurance Ride (25/50) 
(A Fund Raiser to help Michele Roush (Shaw) 
Get to Endurance World Championships in Dubai Next Year)
Betsy Wobus

The Desert Gold Endurance Ride (25/50) is being put on by Michele Roush's S.O., Scott Sansom, as a benefit for her travels as well. It will be the 3 days after Thanksgiving–Friday, Saturday, and Sunday–at Ford Ord, near Monterey. 

A pendant and earrings will be raffled off:

As you can see from the flyer, the raffle will be consummated there. For those who want raffle tickets, she will send you stubs if you so desire; make sure your name, address and phone number are on the check (or a piece of paper if you send cash).

Donations can also be made to the American Horse Trials Foundation: Michele was an eventer before she took on endurance riding. These donations are tax deductible if the checks are made out appropriately. They should be made out to the American Horse Trials Foundation and "Donation" should appear on the "For" line; Michele's name must not appear on the check! Michelle sends all of these checks in with her info so the Foundation knows the money is for her.

Send checks directly to Michele at:

13054 Folsom St.
North San Juan, CA 95960

or to me, Betsy Wobus, at:

10310 Penn Oak Lane
Rough and Ready, CA 95975-9785

Pasture Ornament Needs New Home:

Tripoli is a one-owner, 17-year-old bay mustang gelding with very low mileage. He is a little over 14h, very stout, good feet, excellent health. He was ridden for about 3 years when he was young but has spent the last several years turned out. Tripoli is very gentle but has some behavior problems making him unsuitable for beginners. He is pushy on the ground and, although broke to ride, tends to shy. His owner has a new baby and some family medical problems making it difficult for her to keep him. She would even be willing to pay a little board to ensure he gets a good home. For info call: Ann Blankenship: 823-7470 or annieb@foothill.net

Upcoming Dates

The aim is to get the newsletter online on Friday before the meeting.