year-in-review

2014: That’s A Wrap

/ Ashley Wingert / 7 Comments

I so very badly want to say “and good riddance,” but any year that sees me turned into an actual trail runner can’t be all bad.

Many things certainly did not go as planned, and I’m pretty sure I spent the least amount of time in the saddle that I have since I started riding. I think if I hadn’t had the trail running, I probably would have gone absolutely out of my mind climbing the walls, but hitting the trail with my own two feet kept me (reasonably) sane.

As far as 2014 goes, it may not have gone as planned, and I may have spent far too much time dwelling on that the past few months, but looking back, it was actually pretty decent.

Got to ride Libby again. We may not have
technically completed, since we came in
overtime, but we had a good time and got in
a good training ride.
photo by Susan Kordish

Still got some pony time in. Sensing retirement is imminent, but
will still keep taking advantage of the good days when I can and
when she says she’s feeling good.

my girls

Fun times meeting with fellow bloggers at the AERC
Convention in Atlanta. 

“Answer”
And did I ever! Some riding, and lots of
running!

Lots of time with my favorite running buddy!

Another epic Tevis crewing adventure!
(That’s Artemis’s full younger brother Spike I’m holding.)

One of my best friends got married, and I was
one of her bridesmaids. This is probably the
first and last dress pic that will grace this blog.

Seeing more of the Tevis trail!

Ran a road race (15k) — as in ran the whole
thing — and didn’t die!

But these were way more fun! Ended the year with 48 race miles
total…racked up way more run miles than ride miles. *shrug*

Semi-swimming in the Salt River.
May not have ridden much, but the
times I did, it was usually pretty fun!

I’m not one to make resolutions (“inebriated declarations of good intent”), and quite honestly, I’ve thoroughly embraced the “no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy” mentality when it comes to trying to plan things out too far in advance, since it all falls apart anyway.

I’ve got my spring roughly mapped out in terms of trail runs (which you’ll find out about as they happen, lest I alert the universe to my plans and jinx myself), and it looks like I’ll probably be doing the Bumble Bee ride again…just the fun ride this time, since my saddle muscles aren’t in shape.

Beyond that, my only immediate plans are to snore in the New Year…I generally have a rule about going out on New Year’s Eve — I don’t — and have no plans to break it this year. (Currently chuckling a bit at the all-day rain forecast, and the 29* overnight temps…that’ll put a crimp in the Fiesta Bowl and block party celebrations. And it may even put out the dog-and-pony-startling fireworks. Love fireworks, but prefer to see them in a place and environment that isn’t disturbing my animals…like Disneyland.)

Hope everyone has a fun and safe New Years Eve, whatever your plans may be, and we’ll see you in 2015!

year-in-review, 2013 edition

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

While I’m the first to admit I’m not a prolific blogger by any stretch, 2013 was my second-best year to date for actually managing to chronicle some of my adventures. It’s been my best year by far in terms of ride attendance. So, what happened this year?

January

I started the year off with volunteering at the Bumble Bee ride. Then I jumped back into the competition saddle and did my first ride in two years at Fire Mountain on friend Kaity’s horse Kody. (A road trip that also involved my first tire blowout in all of my years of travelling for rides.)

January also marked my one-year anniversary of working for Renegade.

February

Most note-worthy happening of the month was going out to the 20 Mule Team ride and crewing for friends Lucy and Kaity, riding the 100.

March

Brought a successful ride weekend at Sonoita, taking Rocco through Day Two of the ride and Frenchy through Day Three, making it my first time at back-to-back 50s.

April

Mimi was appointed the “barn babysitter” when we started going out for more trail rides with other boarders at the barn.

I did the Prescott Chaparral ride, riding Rocco on Day One, and riding and falling in love with Liberty on Day Two. Gina and I got to ride together on Day Two, which was a total blast and the first time we’ve had the chance to do so.

May

A wild mallard duck hatched out eggs in our backyard and proceeded to amuse us for the next several months with their antics as they grew up. (Incidentally, we still see “Mama” and some of the “Littles” on our morning walks.)

I rode some more on other people’s horses, then packed up and headed out to New Mexico over Memorial Day weekend for another ride, in which I had my first top ten in a 50…and turtled at the same time.

Mimi turned 20!

June

I got my first AERC mileage patches in the mail, for 250 Endurance miles and 250 LD miles.

And I rode yet another different horse.

July

TEVISTEVISTEVIS. I got to pre-ride the last few miles of the trail, and once again have neglected to write up the actual crewing part of my adventure. I crewed for my bestie Kaity and her horse Kody, seeing them to their first Tevis finish (first Tevis for both of them)! Plotting to crew for each other at Tevis has been a long time in the making, so I was thrilled to be a part of their Tevis team.

August

August was typical for Arizona — you just try to survive. Mimi got to go out several times, and was happy as a clam since she loves hot weather.

August is also my birthday month. Since it was completely unmemorable, I’m pretty sure I celebrated by doing something like working.

September

Mimi got a massage for the first time since we stopped actively competing, and it seemed to make a big difference in how she’s moving.

October

I failed to write it up (work-in-progress, kinda like my Tevis story), but I went out to Kaity’s again and rode Kody two days in the LDs at the Bill Thornburg ride. Had a blast riding with Kaity again, and Kody is always fun to ride. (Edit: Ride story is now complete!)

November

I got a puppy! Artemis will become my ridecamp and traveling companion, and she’s doing a great job of completely upending my life (in a good way).

December

We went on An Adventure — pony, puppy and I packed up and headed down to join friends Lucy and Patrick for a horse camping trip down at Catalina State Park. We had a great time, Mimi was better than she’s been in ears, and Artemis proved she’s going to be an awesome ridecamp dog.

A hat tip to 2013, and a champagne toast (if that’s your sort of thing) to a bright, productive, fun 2014!

2013 ride season wrap-up

/ Ashley Wingert / 3 Comments

Considering this weekend is the last weekend for the 2013 AERC ride calendar, and I don’t have plans to be anywhere, I can safely call it a wrap on the 2013 ride season for myself. And what a season! I ended up doing more endurance miles in one season than I had done to date, and almost as many LD miles.

Final tallies:

— 8 rides (4 endurance, 4 LD)
— 210 endurance miles
— 115 LD miles
— 4 different horses
— 4 different rides I’d never been to before
— first back-to-back 50s
— 2 100s crewed
— 2 rides volunteered at

I had a great time this year, and can’t wait to see what the 2014 season brings!

2009: A Year in Review

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment

While it’s very tempting to blow off 2009 as a horrifically crappy, overwhelming year, that just wouldn’t be entirely true.  Yes, many aspects of my life were very overwhelming, and still continue to be so, hence my lack of posting in the latter months of the year.

While I might not have gotten to near the number of rides I would have liked, I did have a successful ride year.  4 rides, 4 completions, 175 miles.  3 50s, 1 25.  2 near-turtle finishes, 1 mid-pack, and 1 top ten (that weould be the 25).  3 rides for Mimi…all 50s, one ride on a friend’s horse.  That includes finishing the notoriously difficult Man Against Horse, with ponies that were still bright-eyed and pulling at the finish.

These horses, and endurance rides, are my refuge, sanctuary, and therapy.  I would truly be lost without them, and all of my endurance friends.  I’m so grateful for the connections I’ve made…enduring friendships that I hope will last a lifetime.

So, then, to recap:

January: Mimi spent the latter part of 2008 cogitating on whether or not she really wanted to be an endurance horse, and therefore wasn’t fit for Wickenburg.  We did pull ribbons after the Valley of the Sun 3 ride, but that was one of our few outings for the month.  I took friend Cindy Brown up on her offer to ride her horse Harley in the 25 at Wickenburg.  We had a fabulous ride, and even Top Tenned, coming in 9th.  I got along really well with Harley and enjoyed riding him.  School resumed again for me, after enjoying a five week break.

February: Mimi got her head (and hocks) aligned, and we got several really good training rides in, enough to feel comfortable going for the 50 at the Valley of the Sun 4 ride.  We finished, although she could have looked better when we got home…she was dehydrated from the unexpected heat, and a little bit crampy.  She recovered within an hour of getting home, and was bright-eyed the next day.

March: Lots of training rides, filled with spring-fever energy.

April: brought warm temperatures, snake sightings, and the opportunity to go crew at Tevis. 

May: meant more warm weather, and a good excuse to take the ponies down to the river and ride around the water.  Mimi turned 16, and we celebrated with a great training ride.  School recessed for a three-week period, then resumed after Memorial Day.

June: was hot, as is expected in the AZ summer, but we still did a lot of riding.  I took Mimi barefoot in the back for the first time of what would soon become an almost-every-ride occurence.  We took a weekend camping trip to Little Elden Springs with a few other endurance friends.  (I went to look for the link to this story, only to realize I never finished it.)

July: Tevis!!!  Spent lots of time talking to rider Lucy Trumbull about crew odds ‘n’ ends, and hoof boots, then hopped on a plane for a week of Tevis fun.  I never did do the full write-up (my computer ate it), but I do have the cliffnotes, and will someday produce a full write-up of my adventures.  The next-best things are the photo albums on Facebook: riding Foresthill to El Dorado Creek and back; Tevis; and the rest of the week.

August: was quiet, and hot.  I had a few weeks off school again, and spent the time hibernating.  T’was also my birthday this month, and I got new tights from Evelyn at Just for Horsin-Round.  I have two pairs, and they’re fabulous…I’ll be ordering more soon.

September: Didn’t exist (according to my blog, at least…nothing worth reporting got blogged about.)

October: In a last-minute flurry of avtivity, we decided to go to Man Against Horse and try the 50 again.  We finished, and in fine form this time.  Both ponies looked fabulous at the end, and never lost that sparkle in their eyes.

November: Let’s go gangbusters and do a ride two months in a row!  Valley of the Sun Turkey Trot 50 was a good ride, with another sparkly-eyed finish.  Two great rides like that in a row was a good confidence booster for me.  Thanksgiving, and the start of the holidays.

Decemeber: Mom and I took a trip back to New York while the ponies got a break.  School again let out for another 5-week break.  Christmas shopping was once again easy, as there were horse things Dad needed.  Let the new ride season begin.