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Life Lessons from Ridecamp: The Difference a Pair of Gloves Makes

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Fall brings the end of the competitive riding season, and one of the last rides held each year is the Jersey Devil Competitive Trail Ride. It's held at a club in the pine barrens and cranberry bogs, usually around Halloween, and it's always a good time because the New Jersey Trail Ride Association is a great group of people who prioritize hospitality.  In 2012, I went down to this ride with my friend Megan, and we rode for two days, 25 miles each day. Of course, 2012 was also the year of Superstorm Sandy. I slept on a bunk bed in the clubhouse and was glad to be indoors and warm as the rain, hail, and wind came through.  We rode out the first day in that weather too. I had the rump rug on John, and off we went. It was brutal, and to this day, it's the most miserable I've ever been on a horse. At some point on the first loop, Megan gave me her gloves, and it made a huge difference and is probably the reason I was able to finish the ride. Warming up my hands somehow resto

Life Lessons from Ridecamp: LD = Luxury Distance

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Pleasure ride on Remi - October 2023. Endurance and competitive trail can seem daunting to those on the outside looking in. It’s an obscure sport, someone told me once, and this is true – and those of us immersed in this obscure sport need to share it with others.  The distinctions between endurance and competitive trail can be shared another day; today I want to focus on endurance and the limited distance (LD) division. LD had a negative connotation in many parts of the country when I first started riding and it was obvious that you weren’t considered a real endurance rider unless you rode or could ride a 50-mile ride.  But we need to ride the horse we have and for some of us, a 50-mile ride just isn’t possible. For others, the LD is preferred because of their own limitations, whether they are work, physical, or something else.  Eventually, the phrase “luxury distance” in regard to LDs started buzzing around the circles that I ride in. There were 50-mile riders who said they wished th

Life Lessons from Ridecamp: Too Much of a Good Thing

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There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. We've all learned this the hard way ourselves, and it's true for our horses too. My knowledge of too much of a good thing occurred when I was about seven years old. My grandmother had made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting for some holiday or get-together. This was my favorite. I don't remember how many pieces I ate, but it was too many and I was so sick when I got home.   Early in my distance horse riding career, I attended the Eastern Competitive Trail Ride Association (ECTRA) Winter Getaway. Patti and Bob Brooks were organizing it that year, and it was down near Mystic, Connecticut, so easy for me to attend.  I primarily wanted to attend a session on electrolytes for horses; the panel seemed like it had people that really knew what they were talking about (they did), even though I had no idea who they were at the time.  The panel on electrolytes included Dr. Art King, Kathy Brunjes, and a third person with a lot of e

Life Lessons from Ridecamp: Her Heart Wasn't In It

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Disclaimer: My veterinarian and farrier have both been working with me on this horse since April, and her right shoulder was definitely sensitive when we went to vet in at the Horses Across Maine Endurance Ride.   I've said for years that even though Secret is good at endurance, she only competed to humor me because I asked. She is done humoring me. Secret turned 22 in June, but she looked fantastic early this spring. John is 20 this year, but with the issues he had with his left hind leg, I don't want to compete with him anymore, even though he is sound. So, over the winter, I set a goal to get Remi ready to compete, she's been sitting waiting for too many years, but working full-time, freelancing (horses are expensive), and trying to keep two fit, let alone three, is a lot.  I'm learning to give myself more grace, I was ambitious in thinking I could have three ready at once, but I digress. Remi is working, but not ready to compete, however, Secret came through the win

Life Lessons from Ridecamp: Know Where You're Going

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Years ago, I was at the Muckleratz CTR in Pennsylvania and went into the electric fence paddock (I unplugged it first) to tube some pre-loading electrolytes into my mare Secret. She’s not a huge fan of electrolytes (or anything in a tube, dewormer, etc.), but I didn’t think too much about it.  The Muckleratz ride camp is a huge field and it's on a hill. They can fit a lot of horse trailers in there. We were at the top of one section of the hill, and there was a huge grassy section in the middle going down the hill, with more horse trailers at the bottom. Secret was insulted by the electrolyte tubing and ducked under the electric fence gate and ran through the ride camp field to the bottom of the hill. Once she got to the bottom of the hill, she turned around and ran back up the hill to our camp spot. This all happened in a really short period of time – I was heading out after her with a bucket of grain as she was running back up the hill. It happened so fast that I’m not sure anyon

Life Lessons from Ridecamp: Get Off and Walk Every Once in a While

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One of the rules I love most in endurance rides is that you can get off and lead your horse (or run with it if you are so inclined). In competitive trail rides (CTR), it is illegal to make forward progress unless you are mounted. So, you ride the full ride (there is one disclaimer that if it's dangerous you can get off and lead your horse, but then must remount). I started riding endurance more with Secret because she needs splint boots on her rear legs to minimize the impacts of interfering. I rode more endurance with John because he was such a handful at the start, but at an endurance ride, I could go out after everyone else, and hand walk him until he settled in, mounting up somewhere a little way down the trail.  These may be the reasons why I started riding endurance more and appreciated the sport, but they are not the only benefits of getting off and walking with your horse. Hand walking on the trail is good for you and for the horse. It loosens up the muscles on both you and

Life Lessons from Ridecamp: Stopping to Help

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I went through a phase, quite a few years ago now, where it seemed like every ride I was on, there were two or three people that needed help. These were competitive trail rides (CTR), not endurance, it was back when I still mostly rode CTR. I have friends who lost an entire ride because someone lost their horse, and they went off to try and find it. The horse was eventually found, but not until days later.  On the first ride where I encountered people that needed help, I stopped once or twice for different people. A couple rides later, I realized that if I helped everyone who needed it, I might never get to ride my own horse. I remember saying to Megan, the friend I was riding with who wanted to stop that she could, but I was going to keep riding. Mind you, none of these were serious situations. A horse lost a shoe or hoof boot. Someone was adjusting tack. A bathroom stop. Some people say you should always stop because it may be your turn next.  Whatever all these situations were, all