Milwaukee Road Rail Trail - To Finish Is To Win

After trying very hard to sleep all night long and not succeeding, I noticed it getting bright outside. I got up and checked the time on the phone. 5:33 AM. How could that be? The alarm never went off on either of our phones. I peeked outside and Sinwaan was eating, it looked like Ruth had gotten up and thrown him some hay. I woke Matt up and started some water on the stove for his oatmeal. My first priority was getting Matt ready in time to get photos of the people at the start and then getting him in the truck with Gail so he could be out at the tunnel on time.

The kids woke up and my mom got up to help out. I got together a poncho (just in case of rain), two bottles of water and the oatmeal for Matt and the camera bag. We walked together over to the start, found Gail and made introductions. We stood around in the cold and waited for the clock to say 6 AM for the trail to open. Matt was freezing, even in his sweatshirt, so I gave him my red jacket to wear too. As the front runners went out, Matt took some photos as they went past and then up the hill to the rail trail above. I then left Matt and went to use the bathroom, and headed back for the camper to eat breakfast and get ready for the ride.

Ruth was lounging Otto when I heard Faith say "there are sheep over there."

What's this? Sheep? I had heard reports of sheep but not seen, nor heard any until now. I overheard some ladies saying that sheep will really scare the horses if they were near the trail. I wasn't too concerned about it since Sinwaan grew up with sheep. I pointed them out to Ruth and then grabbed the camera (Ruth was kind enough to loan me her digital camera for my saddlebags today).

For breakfast I had my usual 2 scrambled eggs with added cheese and vegetarian sausage crumbles (thanks to my friend Lara for this idea), only today I put them in a whole wheat pita. I packed my trail mix and granola bar and water bottle and gatorade in my saddlebags. I put my GPS on one arm and my HR watch on the other. Tacking up didn't take very long and we were soon ready - on time. I decided to lounge Sinwaan a little bit this morning since I had some extra time to burn. Even though Sinwaan does great in the round pen, the lounging is completely different and we weren't communicating very well so after about ten minutes of that I gave up. Mounting up about 7:45, we walked about to warm up. It was cold, and although I suspected it would heat up during the ride I was glad for my fleece (I just wish it was red instead of blue). My hands were freezing so I rode over to the camper and called out to my mom and she brought me my gloves. She is such a great crew. Most of what she does involves child care and cooking but I couldn't do it without her or my husband, thanks guys!! I must have been whining about the cold air because Ruth said it was only 39 degrees.

As I was riding around to warm up, Sinwaan was acting up like he usually does before a ride. He is not terrible, just a bit of a handful. I did my best to challenge him, tight circles, side-passing, backing up, just making his mind work as well as his body. Ruth noticed and commented that he was sure "ready to go," although when I brought him back near Otto he calmed down immediately and started grazing. Mr herd-bound. Ruth didn't think it was a good idea for us to ride out together because Otto had bucked her already and she wanted to head out slowly at the end. We had talked about this ahead of time and I was fine with whatever she wanted to do. (We subscribe to "Ride Your Own Ride"). I prefer to get going as soon as possible because I don't like to waste the clock at the start, plus moving out gives Sinwaan a mission and he stops acting ridiculous when I can propel him forward.

So I left her and walked over towards the trail. There was still some time before 8 AM so I walked him back and forth with the other horses and even though he occasionally called out to Otto, he realized quickly that his buddy was not going to be joining him. I saw Sally at the start and thought about asking to tag along with her but as it worked out when the trail was open we headed out behind about 12 other horses. Gail hollered out to me as I went past "Your husband is at the turn-around point, I didn't get him to the tunnel in time." Yikes! He was planning to walk back to camp when he was done shooting, the tunnel was about 4 miles out vs. the turn-around point was about 8.25 miles for Loop 1.

Sinwaan put forth a good effort for the first two miles and then started slowing down. I let him pick his pace as much as possible in the beginning because he takes care of himself and is not competitive, nor as fit as I would like to be able to run in front. He was trotting along in the 130s which I knew was really working him. The view was awesome from the trail. Footing was great and plenty of room for everyone. We were passed by a lot of people and eventually fell in with someone going about our speed. I introduced myself and asked if she could use some company. She was friendly and both our horses were ready to walk so we chatted and had a nice time going down the trail.

My new trail partner was Christine, astride the Morgan gelding Gus, and they were good company the entire first loop. We came upon the little Iraq training ground before I realized it, and I was not able to get a photo of the "roundabout" sign in Arabic. Although you can almost see the building and concrete barriers making up the roundabout ahead of the horses in this photo.

I did not see the train tunnel as we turned left and went uphill on the detour around it. We rode along the top of the ridge before turning right and going down a steep incline back to the rail trail. There was a lot of mud at the bottom. As I stopped and waited for Christine I looked back and at that point I did see the tunnel entrance. At some point my HRM went on the fritz, telling me Sinwaan's HR was over 200 at the walk. Grrr. As wonderful as technology is, at times it can be very frustrating. I eventually turned it off for the rest of the ride.

There was one part of trail that was my favorite of the loop. Sinwaan was feeling good and we did a lot of cantering. I think it may have been directly after the tunnel. There was a 2.2% downhill grade heading for the check point. That, and the wind at our backs, made this a most pleasant section of the ride.

After the tunnel the railbed wound around and we went over two small bridges with no sides. That was a little scary for me but Sinwaan didn't seem to notice. It was neat to be able to look ahead and see horses on a bend in the trail far ahead of us. The scenery was wonderful, big rolling hills dotted with sagebrush.

Most of the rocky sections of trail were in the cuts made for the train to go through the mountain. Someone pointed out basalt. You really needed to walk these sections or risk a stone bruise to your horse. Some of them made me wish that I had pads in addition to shoes.

We started seeing front runners come towards us and we realized we were getting close to the turn-around point. Sally went by the other direction and hollered "Bundle up, the return trip is really cold and the wind is bad!" As more and more people went by the other direction I could see their chins tucked into their necks and tears streaming from their eyes. It would be a challenge to be sure.

There was a volunteer at the check point who asked me for my vet card so she could sign it to verify you had done the whole distance. There was also water for the horses and a toilet for the riders. Matt was there in his orange vest snapping photos. I was kind of bummed out about his location because he was at the end of another cut in the rock, so it was rocky heading up to him and I was planning on walking in. I was right alongside Christine though so I went ahead and asked for a trot for a short section so I could get my ride photo.

I tried to talk to Matt but the ladies working the check-point had him running back and forth to get photos from both sides, as the longer distance horses had gone through here to a different turn-around point and were far enough ahead that he had not gotten photos of them initially. Christine and I parked our horses at the water tank and dismounted. I held her horse so she could use the restroom and then she returned the favor. I had brought my sponge along but decided against using it since the wind had kept Sinwaan dry and cooled, and getting him wet just didn't seem like a good idea.

We headed back the way we came, and the trail was fairly quiet as we were towards the back. I was a little concerned about Ruth though, I hadn't seen her yet. Our paths finally crossed about 2 miles out from the turn-around point, putting her about 4 miles behind us. Other than a 'hello' and 'it's really windy going this direction' there wasn't much said.

Heading back we did more walking and numerous times Christine pulled ahead of us for awhile while Sinwaan walked and then he would trot and canter to catch up and then fall back again. Sometimes he would tense up and look back and I would see 50s coming at us, they were all really moving, a fast trot or canter, and their energy would recharge Sinwaan for a moment and then he would slow down as they faded into the distance. I used the (walking) opportunities to recharge myself - digging out my trail mix or guzzling down some partially-frozen gatorade.

At one point we saw a woman up on the bluff above us. She was heading towards us and back down to the trail. I wasn't sure what she was doing up there and as she got closer she commented that she was looking for the trail over the tunnel. I told her she wouldn't see it until she could actually see the tunnel entrance, then the ribbons would be obvious. She sped away and I later saw her heading back uphill - far before the marked trail to do so.

When we got to the tunnel Christine led the way up the hill to bypass it and I held Sinwaan back a moment to give her some room. When I asked him to go forward through the mud and up the hill he lunged and jumped the mud and scrambled up the hill. I lost my seat and could feel his haunches with my heels. It was a bit exciting!

Finally we could see I-90 and then Ride Camp again. I wasn't really sure where to turn off the rail trail to head down towards camp, although I knew there was a dirt trail for the return to the finish line. Just about then Bob Westergard came along with about four other riders and passed us. Great timing, they saw the ribbons and turned just ahead of us, making it easy to stay on-course.

As we rode down the hill we saw a truck ambling up behind us. There was a water stop at the bottom so Christine and I pulled over to let the truck go by. I looked in the cab and saw Matt in the front seat - OH GOOD, he got a ride back to camp! But then - OH NO - Ruth was in the back seat!! And Otto was in the horse trailer! I pouted and gave her a thumbs down. She responded by nodding and returning the thumbs-down. So sad! I wondered what had happened.


Sinwaan must have smelled him, or maybe just sensed he was nearby since we were almost back to camp, and started calling. They were both whinnying for each other as I rode him in. About 1/4 mi from the finish I got off and walked him in. I called out for a pulser and the guy who took his pulse commented that "He sure has a nice strong slow pulse!" "21 is down! In time 11:07; out time 11:52 (45 min hold). Ruth came over with Otto and we talked a little bit - she said he was feeling off and just didn't seem to be himself so she pulled him at the check-point. She had Dr. Dick take a look at him and while Dr. Dick agreed that he was a little off on the rear, he wouldn't have pulled him. Oh well, Ruth wants what is best for her horse so she was done for the day. I lost Christine as I vetted through and took Sinwaan back to the trailer for some food and rest.

Ellie was asleep on my mom when I quietly stuck my head in the camper door. I was starving! I think I ate a blueberry muffin while chatting with Matt and Levi about the ride. Then Ellie woke up so I fed her. When I walked over to use the restroom I saw Sally and she asked me if I was done. DONE? No, I am just about to go back out. Was she done? Yep, 2nd or 3rd place. WOW! Before I knew it, my hold time was over. Better get back out there! Ruth took over as my crew and helped assist me with getting Sinwaan ready.

As we headed for the out timer I looked around and did not see Christine. I hoped she had gotten back out on the trail on time and not lingered around waiting for me. It was after 12 pm when we hit the trail. I was glad to see about five other horses heading out the same time as me - someone for Sinwaan to follow.

This time we followed a short double-track dirt trail to the gravel parking lot, then down the road we drove in on, walking under the I-90 overpass, then turning and going through a gate and up a steep climb to the irrigation canal pump house. This was a scary part. I didn't realize how scary it was for Sinwaan until I had my hands full of reins and camera trying to take a photo! I finally had to put the camera away and focus on my riding. On the right was a wide irrigation ditch, on the left was a channel for the water to cascade down the mountain. We were on a path only as wide as a truck with a steep incline on the left. (The pump house is the little white dot in the photo above the horses on the left in the photo).

Once you got over the water intersection (all below the dirt path) you headed back down hill and under the train trestle. Gail had told me to look up for the Owl's nest but I did not see it.

This was another enjoyable section of trail as once back to the bottom of the mountain the double-wide trail was between two irrigation ditches and it wound around through bushes and some colorful yellow-leafed trees. I wanted to really move out here but was a little worried about what might be lurking. Sinwaan had lost the other horses by this point and was lagging. As he was deciding if he should graze on the edge of the trail, along came a mule, trotting right past. Sinwaan took interest so I urged him onward, follow that mule! We tailed the mule to the next water stop, probably about 3 miles. I was very impressed with that little mule, such work ethic! A steady trot, never wavering, sometimes cantering at the same speed, he ate up that trail and helped us to put the miles behind us as well. I was so thankful for that man and his mule. It was an ideal time to have someone to follow. It was also nice to experience an energetic horse beneath me at this stage in the ride, he cantered when I asked and kept a nice steady trot the whole time we followed that mule.

At the water stop the other horses were just leaving and the mule was not interested so the man asked if he minded if he left. I told him thank you and to please go on ahead. Sinwaan drank a bit which I was glad to see, and then we turned and followed the group up another hill which put us back onto the rail trail.

The other riders were presumably 50s, or faster than I was on the 25 distance so they were soon out of sight. I let Sinwaan pick his pace which was mostly walking. After while I urged him back into a trot so we could try and catch the person I saw ahead of us. The rider was Marie and she was very nice. She explained that she was doing well until her ankles started hurting her, and she was sure glad her husband had talked her into doing the 25 and not the 50 mile ride as her first attempt. Her horse was a beautiful Arab gelding named Lazarus, and he was her first Arab. We shared stories and had a nice time on the trail back to camp.

The view from the top was very pretty, rolling hills and snow-capped mountains in the distance. We could also see the highway but somehow it did not detract from the ride. The footing on this side was very similar to the the first loop.

Before we knew it we were almost back to camp. I almost forgot to take a photo - so my apologies about the ugly power lines in the way on this shot. We walked down the hill and then it was a mandated walk on the road back to camp so I was sure Sinwaan was pulsed down and I walked him over to a timer right away. #21 is down! I removed his bit and took him for a drink and overheard some people talking about how it is tack off for all completion exams, and the one lady was saying she was going to clean her horse up before presenting him, so I decided to do the same thing.

I took Sinwaan over the trailer and un-tacked him, put on his halter and groomed him really well. He was sensitive on his right side under the saddle and upon a closer inspection I saw where the girth had rubbed him. Oh no! Poor boy. I think the saddle must have slipped forward on the hill(s) and that could have been what rendered my HRM useless also. So far every ride has been a learning experience and this ride I learned that it is worth it to double-check all your tack during your hold. If I had taken everything off, or even adjusted it to fix the HRM I probably could have also prevented the girth rub.

Once he was presentable I took him over to the vets and prayed he hadn't cramped up in the meantime. There was a bit of wind but I was comfortable so I figured he should be too. Dr Dick was our vet and he didn't miss a thing. He scored Sinwaan a B on his back and talked to me a bit about saddle fit and pads. In the past I have replaced my saddle pad every year and I don't think I have done that yet this year. He thought perhaps I could benefit from an open-cell pad or even a thicker one than what I am using. It's tough though since I have a dressage saddle, often the flaps on typical pads aren't long enough. We have never had trouble at past rides so I will start by getting a new pad like the one I currently use and go from there. The scribe noticed his girth rub but wasn't sure at first if it was freckling or a rub. We talked about that too, since that could have also had something to do with his sore back. It was an educational and informative chat and I thank Dr Dick for that. On the trot out Sinwaan had great impulsion and no other issues so we completed!! YAY! Our first completion of 2010, and this 25 added to our other rides gives Sinwaan a lifetime milage of 100 miles in competition.

All of us agreed that we didn't want to spend another night here but I insisted on giving Sinwaan a rest period to recharge before hauling home. My mother and I bartered on the time, I started with 4 hours and I think she talked me down to about 2.5-3. Sinwaan took a nap and used the time wisely. We ate lunch and again mother fed us well. She had potato salad (can you believe she makes two different kinds, one with mayo and one with Miracle Whip because she knows that is what I like!? How awesome is that?!) and fresh asparagus and shoepeg corn and black-eyed peas warmed up on our trailer stove. We also had fresh strawberries. I ate and ate and ate, I was so hungry. Ellie was so cute, she was next to me in the booth and she grabbed a strawberry off my plate and looked at me. I didn't tell her "no" so she put it to her mouth but to my surprise she did not bite it. She held it out towards me and then back to her mouth and then finally she took a tiny little bite. She had a lot of fun eating that strawberry, as it's the first time I have let her have anything in 'whole' form. When she was done nibbling on the strawberry she thought it would be funny to rub it on my arm and then on the table. What a mess she made!

We packed up camp and then I headed over to get my t-shirt. There were some really nice deep purple and teal choices but I took the one left that was kind of a sage color. I thought it was kind of an ugly color for a shirt but it was so different I had to have it. It kind of reminded me of the colors of the ride too, the sagebrush and trail footing blended together. I went into the RV to ask about my placement. Gail was in there and said #21. I told her she knows my number better than I do. She replied "Well, you always want #21!" It's true, but since I have only entered 4 rides requesting that number and she was not the ride manager for all of them I think that is pretty impressive that she knew that. The lady with the computer told me I was 37th so I thanked her and headed back to the trailer. Then I saw the orange vest on the seat so I had to return that.

By then things were pretty well packed up so I tied Sinwaan to the trailer and started taking down his electric corral. Levi came out and helped me roll up the tape and then pull out the posts. He was a good little helper and pretty happy about having a project to do. Once all that was done I put on Sinwaan's shipping boots and we loaded up the horses and then we loaded up the kids and we headed out of camp.

We had a direct and uneventful trip home, arriving by 8 pm. We unloaded Sinwaan and he looked really good. I took off his blanket and boots and turned him out in his paddock. He seemed hungry so I tossed all his hay from his trailer bag into his bucket and he dove into that. Ruth helped me unload the rest of the trailer and then we went and dropped off Otto and her trailer and that was it.

Next ride: May 15 at Mt Adams. I am excited, it's another one I have never been to. Here's hoping I can get more conditioning in so we can place a little better next time :)