Up before dawn, loaded up Flash (who I thought by now would be reluctant to get in the trailer, but he went in just fine!), and off to Jupiter Farms Park for the start of the 3rd and final day of the OTL ride. Sunday is the day that attracts the most people, and there were a lot more folks there than on the previous two days. Of course, once again they were still trying to round up people for the (now) 9:00 riders meeting, and when someone next to me asked the organizer if they could go, I went right along with them when they got their yes. I headed back out of the park the way I had come in yesterday, in first position, going on trails Flash and I both knew very well, as this was all in the area where we had been training for the last six weeks. We kept a nice pace, though I didn't push him too hard considering he's already got over 45 miles under his belt in the last two days. We stayed in the lead until just as we reached the Cypress Trails parking lot and headed north on the official OTL trail, when I was passed by a couple of tall, long-legged Arabe/Standardbred crosses, once ridden by a guy from Venezuela and the other a woman from Zimbabwe. They blew past me and I thought I would be left in the dust, but Flash decided he wanted company, even if he had to work for it, and he promptly started racing after them! No matter what pace they did, Flash stayed up with them, and if they got ahead, he'd catch up to them when they slowed down again, even after some very long stretches of cantering. Seems Flash was determined to stay with the herd! It turned out that the woman was a retired endurance rider, and she gave me some excellent tips when I told her that it was my plan to condition Flash for that. Once she laughingly joked (with an English-African accent) that Flash looked "like a little puppy following along," and it was true. Too cute! Anyway, we kept on the entire rest of the 19 miles like that, all the time I'm thinking, well, this is great practice if I want to come in 2nd or 3rd in a race, but it won't help me get a first! The last quarter mile or so we all cantered toward the finish, except my companions all pulled up about 100 yards out, but Flash was having none of that! It seems he sensed the end was near, and he wanted to reach it asap, so he kept right on going, passing up those two other long-legged critters, and once again, arriving at the checkpoint first! How's THAT for going out with style! Now THAT'S just exactly the kind of attitude I want in my future endurance horse! Once again, Hubby was waiting for me with the trailer, but as there was a lunch being served for participants, I stuck around and socialized for a while, chatting with the organizers, making a few suggestions for next year, which they were quite open to, and even managed to sell a copy copies of my horse camping book! I was very pleased that we made it, Flash and I, and was able to chalk up the experience. It was great having so much time together, and I'm looking forward to when we are finally back on the road full time and we can plan our travel accordingly. We packed up Flash and headed home, enjoying a nice quiet evening of well-deserved rest for both of us!
Speak Your Mind