Stuff and Prospects

Traveling trot!  Pic purchased from Nick Goldsmith Photography.

So, what worked and what needs tweaking:

 - The hydration bladder in backpack.  Loved the accessibility and ease of drinking.  Predictably disliked the backpack.  I was asked shortly before setting out if I really wanted to ride with a backpack.  No.  Even at that point in the day: no, I did not.  Now that I have saddlebags and time, I will be doing some tinkering.  Mel mentioned her bladder-in-saddlebag set-up in comments elseblog; I think that will be the way to go if I can get it rigged up right.  (Also I have lingering hydration-bladder-mold anxiety due to a horrifying experience with an early version I received as an REI employee gift one year.  I think I have a better handle on cleaning and storing now, but a repeat could send me back to water bottles in a flash...)

 - Tack set-up.  Surprisingly successful!  His back was in super shape.  Cool.  I would still like to upgrade my saddle pad when at some point funds and a suitable/appealing replacement occupy the same time and space and I now have a better understanding of those bridles with the snap-on bits and of the distance rider's obsession with having lots of saddle dee-rings, but I feel no urgency to swap out my basic eventer's gear at this stage of the game.

 - I did start to feel some pressure from the left stirrup leather against my shin around the 20-mile mark, and as mentioned some bilateral knee strain around that point as well.  Not sure if the former was due to a riding symmetry issue or some fatigue-related degradation of my position or what, or what to do about it.  (At this distance, "what to do about it" is probably nothing; I noticed but did not feel hampered or more than mildly irritated by it.  Going much longer might be a different story.)  The latter I'm sure was fatigue.  I remain tempted by endurance stirrups and those will probably be my next sport-relevant purchase, but at this distance they remain in the probably-nice-to-have category because...

 - My feet didn't hurt!  I made a last minute switch into a pair of Ariat Terrains that I'd lucked into half-price in the Smartpak clearance section.  Not sure if they have a better footbed than my paddock and tall boots or if they just have a newer footbed, but the combo of my foot-free stirrups (much beloved but with no special accommodations for rider comfort) and the Terrains resulted in a little intermittent tingling along the outside of both feel, but in a much more generalized way with no numbing or pain.  Superlative!  My half-chaps don't fit well over the Terrains in a way that caused zero issues with the leg in a riding position but made them a figurative pain to get on and a literal potential pain (pressure over my achilles) if I'd needed to walk/run for any meaningful length of time -- so that will need tweaking before I try an endurance ride (and will be a figurative pain, because apparently half-chaps manufacturers do not manufacture for my legs).  But for CTR with minimal off-the-horse time, it was very workable.


 - Carried a crop the whole way just in case, even though I was 95% sure I wouldn't use it.  Didn't use it.  Will leave behind next time.

 - Need a better sponge attachment point and system, and a lot more practice.  You can't see it in the picture.  It's clipped to the right side of the pommel pack and hanging against his shoulder.  I switched it to the left side after it kept getting caught up in the bight of my reins and that was better, but still tricky to reach/fuss with, tricky to get the string all coiled back up, tricky to get it hooked back on after sponging from the saddle.  I have no plan of attack for this one.  Must ponder.  Open to advice!

 - Foooooooooooooooooood!  My basic philosophy of life revolves around eating early and often and I have a pretty strong stomach, so didn't feel like I needed to be too stressy about what I brought, as long as I brought something.  Indeed, everything I had along worked just fine.  The sour gummy watermelons were a perfect pick-me-up and full credit to Amanda for that one; she introduced me to them at the Fitch's Corner HT the year it was a million degrees and they have been my favorite hot-weather-and/or-hard-work sweet snack ever since.  I am also a big fan of squeezy applesauce and was pleased to have an excuse to acquire some.  Coconut chocolate chip is the best Clif bar yet.  I do think I'll mix my Gatorade at a higher percentage next time; I usually do half-strength in my water bottles but went with "dump random amount in and call it good" for the bladder.  Ended up a bit headachy, which may or may not be related.  Yes, I am an enormous wimp.  It was not even all that hot!  But I have ridiculous stupid heat issues, so what can you do?

 - The lemon cream cake at Pi in Woodstock is amaaaaaazing.  I have never before in my life chosen to eat lemon cream cake when there was chocolate right there, but I regret nothing.  If you find yourself in or near Woodstock, you must stop in and consume a slice.  Or three.  That is all.

What comes next:

Dude, I had not even left the property before somebody asked when-is-your-first-fifty/are-you-doing-the-two-day-fifty-in-August?

And.  Um.  Maybe?

What really comes next is Huntington Horse Trials in July, so we'll inject some galloping and dressage and jumping back into the schedule starting this coming weekend.  I hear a rumor that the HT has been condensed to one day, which is sad in that this is the best-kept secret in Area 1 -- well organized with good dressage judges and a cross-country course that always rides great -- and I do not understand why they don't get more entries but nice in that it gives me the option of dropping down to Novice if I want.  I'm not sure if I do; I am confident that we can perform capably at Training and I have zero concerns and lots of excitement about the Training XC.  But Huntington's stadium can be tricky and stadium is not historically our strong point and realistically, we will probably be getting there a few gallops short.  There is some appeal to the idea of running HC at Novice and being as sure as sure can be -- freaky stuff does after all happen -- of having a good low-stress day.  So, I will ponder.

Beyond that, I already have vacation time scheduled around two more GMHA ride weekends.  I had planned on another 25 for the CTR in early August, but there is apparently a two-day 50.  The other thing on my calendar is the endurance weekend in mid-October: they'll be running an LD 30 and a 50, co-sanctioned ECTRA and AERC.

I am thinking that we will shoot for the 50 in October and see what happens?  Given how he finished up the 25, I feel like there's no question that he could handle an additional five miles, especially a slightly slower pace and the option for me to hop off and cover some ground on foot.  And I feel like a 25/25 would be a sensible next step and assessment.  I do feel like this would be venturing into even murkier territory and possibly too ambitious given that we have done basically nothing?  So I am, y'know, open to advice and to reality checks if this is insane.

There's also a CTR over Labor Day weekend with a three-day 100, two-day 60, and one-day 40, the last of which might make a nice intermediate step instead of the two-day 50.  Dunno.

And must, for any/all of these possibilities, figure out what the trailering options if any might be.  So there is that.

But yes, I think we will be doing this s'more.