Elbe Hills Endurance Ride

So to give Traveler a break from jumping & dressage I decided to do something really fun.... ha ha ha.... as it turns out - and head off to an endurance race. I have done plenty of endurance races in the past and several flat land races on Traveler, so I was sure that we would go out, do some trotting, canter a little and finish up in the middle of the pack.

I paired up the my friend and vet on her Molly mule and we coined ourselves the "odd couple" - me on my Curly stallion and her on the little mule. And off we went - up the side of Mt. Rainer and back down for 25 miles. Literally, we climbed up muddy, goat trails littered with tree roots, rocks and logs and then switched-back our way down the mountain.

38 people started the 25 mile race and 23 people finished. 15 riders were either "unfit" to finish or they pulled themselves out of the race, it was so difficult. I am so proud to say that Traveler was one of the finishers. We came in at 17th and ended up with an "A-" overall score. My poor little Curly had never climbed so much in his life.

As for the 50 milers, 15 people started the race and 3 riders finished - that gives you the idea of how tough the Elbe Hills Challenge ride was, and it was a challenge.

Here we are at the vet check cooling down to get our heartrate down. He is growing his winter coat - so we needed lots and lots of water.

This picture was taken after we finished and passed the final vet check receiving a much better score than I imagined! Good job Traveler. I actually had tears in my eyes I was so proud of my boy. He has the heart to go and go and go and finish strong.

It was a beautiful, scenic ride with breath-taking views of Mt. Rainer. But I tell you, if I had known was lay ahead on the trail........

I told Traveler I wouldn't touch him for a couple of days, but then back in training we go. We are riding on an eventing team and going to do the "Hunter Pace" in two weeks at a new equestrian park in Cle Elum. Now, that will be fun!