| On the 26th of February Romeo and I completed the 55 mile Louisiana Gumbo Endurance ride!
After almost 2 months of gearing up for this ride, clearing trails, marking trails and getting things together, Romeo and I were going to ride the 55 miler. Seems like getting TO the ride was the hardest part of the day-we were driving to the camp Saturday morning on Fort Polk and hit a chock block for a large military vehicle-either a HEMMT or a Fox. We crested a hill at 5:50 (still dark) and it was directly in our lane. With Romeo in the trailer behind me, I didn't dare try to swerve, so I hit it center on. It ripped the entire drive train out of my truck and cracked the back yoke. When a passing pickup driver let me use his cell phone I called Matt and told him what had happened, asking him to call Fred (the ride manager) and tell him I needed a ride to camp. Since start time wasn't until 6:45, and I was only 10 miles away, I figured we could make it in time.
30 minutes after that, no one had even driven past. Leslie, one of the ride volunteers from Fort Polk, pulled up, and I sent her to try to get me a ride into camp...6:20...
6:40, Matt and Stevie made it to us. I had Romeo groomed, saddled and ready, and was just about frantic while Romeo finished his breakfast. I sent Matt to borrow a friend's truck, and Romeo and I started walking towards camp.
"Lord, PLEASE, ANYTHING that can take us in to camp!" and I heard a large vehicle coming up behind us. "Anything I can do to help?" asked the young guy driving the Roll bed truck that had just come up behind us.
"You willing to haul something you've probably never hauled before?" I asked him. He said if I thought it would work, we'd try, so he lowered the deck on the roll bed and I led Romeo up to stand at the front. The driver lifted the bed and slowly eased off down the road-and let me tell you-he was smooth! If I hadn't been watching him shift through the back window, I'd have never known when he changed gears! Romeo was standing on the flat bed looking over the cab, with an expression of absolute bliss-like a beagle with his head out a truck window!
About 3 miles from camp we passed Leslie in Fred's pickup, a truck and horse trailer sent to rescue us, and Matt right behind them-I waved a thumbs up at them (everyone but Matt looked slightly stunned) and we just headed on to camp, waving like a parade float to the riders we could see along the trails by the road. The hero driving the truck eased us into camp and dropped the deck again, and I hugged his neck and headed for the trailhead. Fred met me and said he wasn't sure if I could still ride in the 55. I told him I was fine with meeting the same cutoff time as the other riders, but come hell or high water we WOULD ride the 55...quick conference with the ride secretary and they agreed that since I HAD sent word at check in time, that was fair, and Romeo and I were off!
The weather was perfect, low 60's, slightly overcast, but no rain, the trails were familiar (OK, memorized, by now) and the other riders were lots of fun to ride and talk with! We hit the trail at about 7:45, and finished the ride at 6:30 pm, with 2 1 hour holds. Romeo cantered into camp just as the sun went down like he'd just saved the day in an old Western, with me crying for pride. I had dreamed for 10 years of riding this horse for an endurance ride!
I took a lot of ribbing for my unorthodox entry that morning, but folks were certainly supportive after realizing just how determined we were to cross that finish line!
Well, it looks like we did about $4,000 in damage to the truck, and the Army says they won't reimburse me for hitting a "Common Road Hazard," so I guess it's time to sell a few horses to get out of hock... |
