Where do I start on this story? Was it the trail,the scenery, the birds, Karen/Thunder, or Agnes? I honestly didn't think I'd ever do a 100, at least on Agnes. The opportunities to even start a 100 have been dashed by family situations or coughs or my own health issues. The last 100 we attempted in 2005 resulted in lameness that precipitated Agnes getting ten months off. So in October of 2009 I decided that with Agnes getting on in years that I'd better get serious and put an honest effort into finishing one or call it quits and stick to 50's and multi-days. Agnes is 17 or 18. Up until the last season she's always been a difficult horse to rate. She's difficult to condition because she gets bored and likes to play "dump-the-rider." At events she thought she should go at FEI speed. I've found that fostering this attitude can lead to expensive veterinary treatments or worse.
January of this year I set out on "Plan A." I'd get Agnes ready for a slow 50 on Tough Sucker, do the 75 on Owyhee Spring and then attempt the 100 on Fandango. Things went as planned. On Tough Sucker I ended up riding with Karen Bumgarner and her horse Thunder. Since our horses paced so well together and we shared the same goals we decided that we'd do the 100 on Fandango. We also had fun together which is a must in my book. Tough Sucker was cold and windy. I wore my union suit.
On Owyhee Spring I rode with Lynne Fredrickson and PJ Blondshine. They were kind enough to invite me along since there were only three of us riding the 75. Though I rode a little faster for Agnes' conditioning we did alright. Agnes' CRI wasn't all the great but I just blamed the weather. We were still on "Plan A." Owyhee Spring was cold and windy with occasional bouts of hail/rain/snow. I wore my union suit.
So the weeks approaching Fandango I just found some long hills to ride up on weekends and jog trotted in the arena evenings after work. I found a really nice long and rocky hill along the Bennett Hills. Agnes got a good workout without having to pound her legs. Did I say it was rocky?
I packed up the trailer and off we went to Oreana Saturday morning. I was very nervous. Then I started seeing the Oregon Trail markers along SH-78. I thought to myself what a wuss I was. I was just going to ride my horse for a long day. Those pioneers were out here with no support. If someone had a toothache or dysentery or a broken bone or even a cut there was little that could be done. There were no doctors or antibiotics or hospitals along the way. If something happened to me there would be Life Flight to whisk me off to Boise and/or a veterinarian to administer meds and fluids to Agnes.
Packing for three out vet checks on a 100 just blew my mind. I managed to socialize with some friends, eat a nice supper and was off to bed for the start at 6:00am. We started out well. Agnes was as collected as I could have expected. Pedestrians at the start were not terrified and did not appear to me like living facsimiles of bowling ball pins. Nothing went wrong that day. Karen and I rode the perfect pace. Karen too the photos. There was lots of grass to eat, people to help me and hold Agnes on vet holds, water, a nice breeze, and there were only a few things that I forgot to pack. The weather was perfect. I did not wear my union suit.
The trail along the river gave me all sorts of thrills of seeing songbird species I hadn't seen or heard in years. I'll never forget the smell of the flowering old locust trees that some pioneer planted 100+ years ago. The steep grades and ruts of the Oregon trail put things in perspective. Agnes didn't even flinch at Guffy bridge and the rocky/technical section was easy for Agnes. Karen was way fun to ride with. I think if there was an award for the riders that had the most fun we would have won.
Thunder and Agnes vetted through great at 80 miles and it occurred to me that finishing a 100 was really going to happen. I was in the process of experiencing Distance Induced Mental Retardation (D.I.M.R.). I forgot what my number was.
At nine o'clock we started out on the last 20 miles as the sun was going down. We got turned around when the light was strange and could not read the map. I really understand what DIMR is now. We got into camp and finished around 1:00 am. I was tired and dizzy from riding with my headlamp. I put Agnes to bed and hung around a while to make sure she was OK. I think I hit my bed around 2:00 still all sticky because I was just too darn tired to take a shower. I was on cloud nine and remained there until Wednesday afternoon when I fell asleep at my desk.
So was it all worth it? Yep. If it had rained all day it would have been worth it. I had a great riding partner in Karen. I'd never try to do a first 100 alone. I'd do another 100 on Agnes if I could do that pace with that grass. The whole ride was a picnic for Agnes. The best thing: I have a 100-mile horse, even if she didn't do her first one until she was 17 or 18. And I'm a 100-mile rider at 49. Doing 100 miles is a whole different game than doing a 50. I had to make an effort at staying positive when we got turned around in the dark. But I never did hit that wall. Agnes is a remarkable horse. I'm lucky to have her. At 17 or 18 she's finally settling in and accepting the fact that she's a steady paced endurance horse and NOT an FEI prospect.
