Superpony Rides Again

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

Mimi earned a new nickname courtesy of Kirt Lander of Renegade Hoof Boots this weekend: Superpony. And Superpony and I completed the 50 at Man Against Horse on Saturday!

Longer ride story up in the next couple of days, but the short version is both Dad and I finished, with 15 minutes to spare, with sound, happy ponies that still looked like they were ready for more. I, on the other hand, would like the next week to recover.

It was definitely the rockiest, toughest ride I have ever done, so I’m so incredibly proud of my pony. She is all heart, and one tough little mare.

Ride-Bound

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment

Yikes, where’ve I been? Almost a month since my last post? Shameful. Life’s been busy, what with school, and there hasn’t been much new to report on the horse front. However…

We’re bound for Man Against Horse this weekend! And it was a last-minute decision, made around noon today, which means a flurry of activity to get everything ready.

Quiet Happenings

/ Ashley Wingert / 3 Comments

So the blog has been quiet of late because not much has been happening. Weather has cut into our riding time…it’s been so hot and humid of late that we’ve not been very motivated to get the ponies out, and as such, have lost a lot of conditioning time. When it’s 110*, plus 40-50% humidity, there’s no sane time to ride. Even at night, temps have stayed in the high 80s/low 90s.

That, combined with rather tight finances (no thanks to school raising tuition…) means we’re skipping Man Against Horse this year. I’m sad about it, but it’s such a difficult ride that I’d feel guilty putting Mimi into it with the amount of riding we’ve been doing over the summer, especially since we haven’t done a ride since February. If she was 50-mile-over-the-summer fit, then having the last month of spotty conditioning probably wouldn’t be so bad, but that’s my paranoid ride making itself known.

Still working on my Tevis crewing story…

I did get a couple new pairs of tights in from Evelyn at Just For Horsin-Around. I’ve been a good girl and basically worn my current tights to pieces, so it was time for new ones. (I was down to one pair of publically acceptable tights for rides, and one semi-acceptable…the other are in various stages of disrepair and sheerness.) I got on pair of nice, sedate, plain purple cotton/lycra, which should be good for hot summers. The other pair, I just told Evelyn I wanted a nylon/lycra pattern with lots of purple and black in it.

I LOVE them!!!
I’ll be hard to miss at rides now…as if the rather memorable little white pony wasn’t enough, I’ll be sporting these wild numbers come ride day. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about running into myself out on trail. I just might have to worry about spooking my pony…
And I just got new insoles or my Terrains again, so we’ll see if I can make them work. They’re my favorite shoes, overall. My hiking sneakers are great for hiking, and good for riding, but can be narrow in the toes for riding and make my feet go numb after too long a period of time, especially downhill trotting. My Ariat Endurance (meshy, lighter-weight version of the Terrains, kind of) are great for riding, but my little toes jam into the sides in a weird fashion if I hike for more than half a mile in them. Overall, I’ve found the Terrains to be the best for riding and hiking, even if I think they could sometimes use a little more traction…observe as I slither rapidly down the loose granite hills and try not to fall on my bum…
Of course, looking at the underside of the Terrains, I cam to the realization that they are about seven years old…no wonder they’re a bit worn.

Coping Methods

/ Ashley Wingert / 4 Comments

Just reading through Merri Melde’s account of her Tevis ride — and finish! — I had to smile as she mentioned singing as a way of getting through the seemingly endless California Loop…apparently her music of choice is from “The Sound of Music.”

I smiled because singing has always been my coping method of choice for those endless stretches of trail, or when I get uptight on squeak-inducing sections of trail (areas of Man Against Horse in Prescott). My current selection comes from “Phantom of the Opera” and particularly the new movie version of it…they have a couple of songs that are exclusive to the movie (end credits) and for some reason, “Child of the Wilderness” stuck in my head and it’s easy to sing softly, even if I keep forgetting the exact order of the verses.

Mimi seems to like my singing, even though I’m pretty much tone-deaf. It cheers her up, and I’ve learned that as you’re singing, you have to breathe, so it’s pretty much impossible to stay tense and uptight in the saddle.

Anybody have any other music suggestions? I’m very eclectic in my music tastes, but not all of it translates over well to being sung going down the endurance trail. Something cheerful or melodic is good, or happy, bouncy, and a little bit silly. I’ve also been known to spout Disney music while trotting down the trail (is this scaring anybody off from wanting to ride with me?) from my favorite Disney offerings: “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Robin Hood.” “Anastasia” and “The Swan Princess” have given me a few good ideas, too. Sensing a trend here that I like animated movies? :)

(Just a hint: Chanting, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date” [“Alice in Wonderland”] while trying to make time can or cannot be taken as humorous by one’s riding partner, depending on the circumstances.)

Just plain musicals are good, too…”Phantom” as aforementioned, and “Wicked” are the two that I know really well. Mind you, I seem to have issues remembering the entire song, so I tend to string together a couple verses here and there from various songs. I’m a one-woman variety show. :)

I will learn all the lyrics to “Modern Major General” from “Pirates of Penzance.” It has a certain bouncy rhythm that would go well with the eggbeater’s trot, although that same quality can sometimes make it grate on other’s nerves. I try to sing quietly, and only when it’s my father and I, but I fear even he can only take so much. “It’s A Small World” is strictly forbidden.

What “coping methods” do others have out there?

Crewing Tevis: The Brief Cliffnotes

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment

I’m working on a very detailed, extensive write-up of my experience crewing at Tevis 2009 and the week-long vacation that was centered around it. My computer and I are at odds, though, and it thought it was funny to eat it. Thank goodness for MSWord Document Recovery, but the thought of having lost the three pages already written took the wind out of my sails, and I need to start back up again.

The short version: I had a grand time crewing for Lucy Trumbull and her pone Roo. She was a wonderful rider to crew for, providing very clear directions and a flexible approach (her words: “This is what I would like to happen, but am not really too particular if it doesn’t”) and Roo was an angel to take care of…cheerfully eating and drinking and not standing on us.

They did get pulled at Chicken Hawk, 64 miles in, when Roo cramped in the hind end. :(

Lucy was still very happy with how they did for their first Tevis, and Roo looked none the worse for the wear. By the next morning, he was cantering around his paddock, eyes sparkling, bossing the other pones around. You’d never know he had just done 64 miles on some of the toughest trail in the country.

Lucy is already talking Tevis 2010. :)

I got a chance to ride the trail from Foresthill to El Dorado Creek (the middle canyon) and back. Pics will be posted in the comprehensive post, but just briefly: I was pleasantly surprised. I’d read the stories and seen the pictures, and was fully expecting the trail to be a lot worse and a lot scarier. I understand that I saw the “easier” parts of the canyons, but I had expected worse. Granted, my perspective was one of a fresh rider and horse, not one who had already gone 46 miles before starting the descent into the canyons, but knowing what the last two climbs are like is encouraging.

I’ll keep chipping away at my crewing story, so look for it appearing in the next several days, most likely over several installments, complete with pictures.