Eastern Mojave Scenic Day 1

posted by Karen Chaton

Today turned out to be quite nice. I had a fantastic ride on Chief, though it’s rare that I don’t – he such a sweetheart and I so love riding him. At the start he was pretty amped up but settled in after a few miles and was pretty good all day.

I rode with Jackie Bumgardner and Tom Jenkins all day. We were all pretty relaxed and spent the day chatting away and telling stories. Jackie knows a lot of interesting history and it is always fun to hear about the past. I was extremely relieved to ride Chief all day and have him feel so solid on his feet. It was really a bummer at DVE when he felt sore over the rocks. So, BIG relief! His eyelic looks healed up and I am so hoping and praying that this is IT, the real deal….I so want my horse back!!

There were 63 riders today with 61 finishing. Doug Swingley came in first with Mindy Wolfe’s horse receiving BC. Doug, as it turns out is a well known sports hero! He has won the Iditarod four times and has 36 (I think) national titles, etc. He was gracious enough to talk to the riders tonight and answer questions – very interesting! Anything endurance is always an attention grabber for me so it’s fun to hear first hand about these incredible dogs.

EMS 2010 Eastern Mojave Day 1 022 300x225 Day 1, Eastern Mojave Endurance Ride 2010I’ve got a shoulder bothering me, and a rope burn on the opposite hand…boy is that a story! I tried to fit both horses through Nannette’s barn door and…duh…we didn’t all fit.

[...more]