We were finally going to the Moonlight 50/Vermont 100 mile ride! Ruby’s second 50 mile ride. And it would be my first time to this particular ride. This is a unique ride. As well as being an endurance ride with 50, 75 & 100 mile distances. It is also a 100 mile ultra marathon run for people. Now how insane is that? All out on the same trails at the same time. And it was the 20th anniversary for this event.
I trailer pooled with my friend Susie. We headed out early Friday morning. Also going were Susie's husband David, who was our “crew” and another friend, Barbara, who was going to be working at the ride as a scribe for the vets. Oh, and we had Susie and David’s dog Callie along as well.
We had packed everything into Susie’s trailer Thursday night so all we had to do is load up Ruby and Cody and we were off. The trip to VT was uneventful and took about 4 ½ hrs. By the time we arrived at ride camp, it was hot and humid. A friend, Terry, had saved a parking spot for us beside her. We quickly set up the portable pen for Ruby and Cody. Then set up the tent where Barbara and I would be sleeping. By now we are all drenched with sweat and wanting to jump into a big vat of ice! We checked in and got our riders packets and of course we each had to buy a 20th anniversary ride t-shirt. There were a lot of people on the grounds already. 80 horses were in the ride between the three distances. And there were 300 runners in the 100 mile run. There were two huge tents set up for meals, meeting, etc. And most all the riders and runners have crew people. Not to mention all the ride officials and volunteer workers.
After we checked in, Susie wanted to go for a quick ride before we vetted in. It would be good to stretch Ruby and Cody’s legs after the long trailer ride. And since Cody can be a handful to ride sometimes, Susie wanted to give him a chance to work “some kinks out” before the ride on Saturday. I was too hot and sweaty to really want to go but knew Ruby would be very upset if Cody left her. She was in full heat and mooning over Cody something awful. So, we saddled up and off we went. It actually was quite pleasant in the woods. We rode nice and easy for about an hour. Ruby felt good. I was worried about doing this ride because Ruby had struggled with some lameness after a bad stumble from catching a shoe and pulling it off 6 weeks earlier. The vet had seen her 2 weeks before the ride. He found her shoulder and elbow had been pulled out of alignment and her sternum had dropped. He did some work on her and told me he felt she would be fine to take to the ride. So, here we were.
When we got back to camp, we sponged Ruby and Cody down, cleaned them up and went to be vetted in. Ruby was very calm and relaxed and stood like an angel for the vet. Trot out went fine. She got straight A’s on her vet card. We were going to ride! Woooohoooooo.
We put Cody and Ruby in their pen, fed them and buried them in lots of hay. The riders meeting was at 4:30 PM. Then there was a meal provided. There was a looooooooong line for the meal with so many people there. Lots of pasta dishes. Carb loading for the runners!
We didn’t stay up long after supper. I had worked the previous night so was getting very tired. Ruby had rolled and managed to catch the fence and tear down one corner. We put it back up and she spent the rest of the evening standing near Cody and squirting at him. Hussy! We had divided the pen so we could monitor what each was eating and drinking. They were both drinking very well and Ruby was wolfing down hay, which is unusual for her. I was very pleased by this.
We were woken up at 3:30 AM by music over the loud speakers. “Chariots of fire” was being played and the running were getting ready to go. At 4:00 AM the foot race started. 300 runners, starting off in the dark all with headlamps or flashlights. Everyone was cheering and yelling to them. Many of the riders went to their pens to hold their horses in case all the commotion scared them. Some horses were upset. Ruby was fine. She watched them with great interest but was not scared at all. It was quite a sight.
Just before 5:00 am, once again the Chariots of Fire theme was played for the 100 mile endurance riders. There were 30+ horses in this distance. The race was on and they were off. This got Ruby more excited. She wanted to go with them.
We were all wide awake at this point and knew we would not be able to go back to sleep. Susie, Terry and I went into town to get some coffee and a few supplies we forgot to bring with us. When we got back, we got all of our stuff ready for the hold and packed it into Susie’s truck. After that, we didn’t really have much to do but wait. Oh, and I have to mention that during the night “Aunt Flow” came to visit me. (come on girl’s you all know who I mean….) Something I wouldn’t normally talk about in a ride story but it has later consequences…..DRAT! So, I started dosing myself with ibuprophin to kill the cramps. Well, no doubt I was going to be doing that before the ride was over anyway! My two post menopausal friends thought it was kind of funny …….
At 9:00 AM the 75 mile riders went out. There were only 5 riders in this distance. Ruby had continued to wolf down lots of hay and was still drinking well. The 50 mile race didn’t start until 2:00 PM so we still had lots of time. We hung around in what shade we could find and relaxed as best we could. Unfortunately, Running Bear Tack Shop was a vendor at the ride and it was such a good place to kill time ….. looking at tack …. Buying tack ……. Actually, I did have to buy some reflective gear. I forgot that was a requirement of the ride since we would be riding at night.
Finally, it was time to get ready. We got Ruby and Cody all saddled up and at 1:45 PM and mounted up so we could warm them up. But, being hot and humid, I’m sure they didn’t think they needed any warming up. There were 38 horses in the 50 mile race. Once again they were playing Chariots of Fire and all the horses were very charged up. Ruby was doing very well and behaving like a lady. Finally we heard the much anticipated words “trail is open” and off we went!
We traveled along at a good pace to start. Cody was VERY charged up and he was pulling Susie’s arms out of her sockets. Ruby was fabulous. She was NOT pulling. She settled into work immediately. We were only out about a ½ hr. when we started to hear thunder. Great! Not what anyone wants to ride in. We just hoped it would circle around and miss us. Yeah right. It kept getting closer and then the rain started. About 3:00 PM the skies opened and it just poured buckets. And the storm was right over us. Lightening and immediate deafening thunder! Very scary. At this point our friends Terry and Irving had caught up to us. Just when we thought it couldn’t possibly rain any harder ….. it would. Ruby and the horses were taking it all well. All of the sudden, the temperature dropped dramatically and the hail started! It was freezing and we were being pelted by hail first the size of pencil erasers, then bigger. I’m starting to get really scared wondering how big the hail is going to get! Suddenly, a huge explosion of wind, rain, hail and tree parts came blowing straight at us from the trail ahead. It hit us and for a moment completely blinded us! Cody was in front and wheeled around and knocked into Ruby. She jumped to the side and everyone just froze for a moment wondering what had just happened! I have never experienced anything like it in my life. The temperature starting rising all of the sudden, the hail stopped and it was just pouring rain again. We continued down the trail for lack of anything better to do. Not far down the trail, there was a huge tree down. All twisted and broken with tree limbs and splinters everywhere. It had been struck by lightening. We were all a bit shaken up but there was nothing to do but keep riding. The rain started to slow down but now the trails were unbelieveably muddy. And this was in the VT hills. You are either riding up or down. Not much flat going. So much water had come down so fast that the trail was like a river and we were just sliding down some of the hills. I sure was grateful for Ruby and her mule like 4 wheel drive. She handled this great. We saw a couple horses go down in the mud sliding down the hills. Anyone what to know how much water a “stayfree” can absorb? A LOT. And guess what, it won’t stick to the things it is supposed to stick to when everything is SOAKED! And it was working it’s way up towards my back. This was not good………..
Our first stop was a 15 minute stop back at ride camp. This was just a mandatory rest stop and not a regular hold with a vet check. They put this in because the first loop was 12 hard miles with lots of steep climbs and descents. Though no one knew just how hard that 12 miles was going to be. As we were riding into camp, some people started cheering and calling to me. They yelled out that they had $50 on my mule to win the race. Gee, that was cool but I felt kind of bad as I was not even planning on trying to win the race! We rode into camp and I just gave Ruby to David and asked him to take care of her so I could change into the extra DRY riding clothes I had been smart enough to bring. He informed me that my tent had been flattened. I looked over and it was still standing???? He said a pole had broken and torn through the fabric. It was actually still standing so I went in to see the damage. The floor was covered in water. I saw Barbara’s cot and sleeping bag had a big pool of water on it. Low and behold, my cot, with my bag of clothes were in the only dry spot in the tent. PHEW! I grabbed my clothes and went into the dressing room of Susie’s trailer and changed as quick as I could. And I had to keep my lower half dry somehow under my circumstances ….. (sigh) My saddle was soaked with it’s nice suede padded seat and was not going to dry anytime soon. So, I put on my dry riding pants, and then rain pants. The only dry shoes I had that would stay dry were my red (with little doggies all over them) wellie boots. I didn’t know what they would be like to ride in but I was going to find out.
David had fed Ruby some beet pulp with a bit of grain and carrots in it. And she ate all of it. I was shocked. She is usually such a picky eater. We quickly mounted up and we headed back out on trail. The rain had just about stopped now. We left Terry and Irving behind pretty soon. The trails were tough with all the mud and running water. And trees were down all over. Ride management did a fabulous of getting volunteers out with chainsaws to clear the downed trees so the ride could continue.
We got to the first hold in good time. This would be a 45 mile hold. It was very hot and humid now. I had my rain pants rolled up over my knees to help keep cool. And with my red doggie print wellies, I made quite a fashion statement. We stripped off tack and sponged Ruby and Cody down a lot. But, didn’t wait too long before going to the pulse gate. The pulse requirement for this ride was 64 bpm or less to pass. At first check Ruby was 68. Darn! I just had to go to the end of the line and come through again. There WAS no one in line but the P&R person said he could tell Ruby’s pulse was dropping fast so I just had to lead her out and then back in. She was rechecked and was 64 bpm. We did our trot out for the vet and that went great. Then on the second pulse check after the trot she was 54 bpm. Excellent! She got a mix of A’s and B’s on her vet card with a B+ overall. Cody did fine also so we took them back to our crewing area and fed them. Once again Ruby ate like a pig. She didn’t eat much beet pulp this time but gobbled down all the dengie and alfalfa cubes and carrots I gave her as well as eating some grass. I was so thrilled with her since she has not typically eaten well at the competitions. I think she is finally figuring this whole thing out and what she needs to do. And she was behaving so well on trail that I switched her from her usual bit to a light “S” hackmore so she could eat and drink easier out on trail.
Soon, we were back out on trail. We moved along at moderate pace. Susie’s horse is 21years old and Ruby just coming off a lameness, we had decided before we even started that we were just going to go easy with our goal of just finishing the ride with sound healthy equines. We rode with various riders on and off meeting some fun and interesting people. At the top of one long hard climb there was a field of beautiful clover and a beautiful view. We stopped and let Cody and Ruby eat some grass. There were quite a few riders letting their horses catch their breath here and letting them get some grass. Soon, it was getting dark and we were finally catching some of the runners. The runners we were coming on were at about 75 miles into the race. I couldn’t believe how good they looked! I just kept imagining what I’d look like after running 75 miles through the Vermont hills on muddy trails. Soon it was full dark and it was really neat coming up on the runners. You’d see their bobbing head lamp up ahead. And the trails were marked by glow stick hung from the trees. Very cool. I wondered what Ruby would think of all the people out on the road with all the head lamps. She was fabulous and took it all in stride.
We were lucky in that our crew was able to make it to all the “fly bys”. Our friend Terry was being crewed by a woman who had previously lived in the area. A number of roads were closed due to downed trees and anyone who didn’t know the area could not figure out how to get to the fly bys. But Sally, being familiar with the area, knew how to get around all the closed roads and David followed her. Ruby continued to eat and drink very well. She was hungry enough that occasionally she would suddenly pull off the road or trail and start munching grass we couldn’t even tell was there due to it being dark. We got to the second hold but this time did not have to strip tack. It was a 30 min. hold. Since it had cooled off some (though it was still quite humid) we felt we could go right to the pulse gate. Ruby was fine and pulsed at 56bpm. Trotted out sound and pulsed at 44 pbm. GREAT! Once again she got a B+ overall on her vet card. We headed out on our final loop. Terry and Irving once again caught up to us. This was Terry’s very first 50 mile ride and she was doing great. We traveled together for quite a while. It was a bit foggy but occasionally the sky would clear. There was a full moon and it was beautiful. We tried not to use our head lamps more then necessary when we were in the woods and it was dark. The horses and mule did just fine with the dark and it was better not to mess them up with the light of the headlamps. Ruby led down the roughest woods trail and did such a great job. She would put her head down and stop when we came to anything such as water or ledgey areas, take her time to check it out then go though like a pro. I was so proud of her.
The last few hundred feet of the trail were marked by glow sticks in plastic milk cartons on each side of the trail every few feet. It looked so cool and was neat to ride through. Ruby didn’t give them a second look. There was a big crowd at the finish line cheering all the riders and runners.
We went to Susie’s trailer and stripped off tack. Sponged down Ruby and Cody then went up for our final vetting. Ruby did fabulous. She ended up with straight A’s on her vet card. GOOD MULE! Our ride time was 9 hrs. and 48 min. We had come in 25th place out of 38 riders. I was just so relieved that I had finished with Ruby sound.
We settled Ruby and Cody into their pens. We put coolers on them and gave them lots of hay and some grain. It was 2:00 AM and we were all exhausted. I went in to survey the damage to my tent again to see if there was any chance of being able to sleep in there. There was still a lot of water on the floor. But, my cot and sleeping bag were dry. And, much to Barbara’s delight, her sleeping bag turned out to be water repellant so she just wiped the water off the top and she was fine also. Thankfully, we had staked the tent down well. Many tents suffered a worse fate them mine in the storm.
Sometime during the wee (or rather wee-er) hours of the morning, someone knocked on Susie’s trailer door. Susie and David were sleeping in the gooseneck of their trailer. They asked if Susie owned a mule. She said yes. They asked of she would come and get the mule. Susie answered “no that’s ok”. David waited a minute and then asked Susie is she was going to do anything about the mule. She said no, she wasn’t hungry and fell back to sleep. David woke her back up and made her get me. We had such a laugh because she thought the people were asking her if she wanted a “meal”! Susie woke me to get Ruby. She had once again rolled and caught the fence and torn part of it down. We got it back up and Ruby settled back in and we all went back to bed for a few more hours of sleep. Not easy since every time a runner or rider came in, the crowd at the finish line cheered them. The runners had 30 hrs. to finish the race.
We got up and started packing everything. Everything was wet and covered in mud. I would have to do some serious tack cleaning when I got home! The award ceremony for the riders was at 9:30 AM. Then there was a BBQ brunch at 10:30 AM. By now a steady rain has started. But, we were all under a big tent for the awards and meal. It was a great, is sometimes terrifying, ride. I can’t wait to do this ride again. Maybe 100miles next time……….
Moonlight 50 July 19, 2008 38/S - 33/F
1. 5:36 Brunjes, Kathy on Theatric BC
2. 6:24 Hutchinson, Tom on Tektonic
3. 6:24 Bean, Lindsay on Lazaarr
4. 6:29 Boyer, Susan on Daystar Chari
5. 6:41 Welles, Allen on Hawks Nest E
6. 7:12 Dorian, Lisanne on Nation's Glory
7. 7:21 Niedoroda, Susan on Izusu
8. 7:21 Stygles, Amanda on Thunder
9. 7:35 Thurber, Lorraine on Sadie
10. 7:42 Ferland, Ruth on Fire Inthe Sky
11. 7:42 Bennett, Abbie on Mecca Bey
12. 7:58 Cahill, Becky on Shaliil
13. 7:58 Fisher, Renee on CH Yaa Shaibiy
14. 7:58 Hillard, Dean on RA Saultan
15. 8:01 Sukalski, Kathy on Storms Minnietonka Apache
16. 8:48 Parsons, Amanda K. on Dime A Dance
17. 8:59 Jack, Kelley-Ann on Jahya Jamlin
18. 8:59 Jack, Sarah on Linkk
19. 8:59 Rice, Bill on Epyc
20. 8:59 Rice, Stephanie on Prymtym
21. 9:04 Soule, Leanne on Paula's Major
22. 9:04 Greenall, Susan on OXB Tyger Dann
23. 9:47 Carangia, Linda on Quest Enchantor
24. 9:47 Williams, Pamela on Valour Ruhani
25. 9:48 Reinheimer, Susan on Xavier Sunnyacres
26. 9:48 Ross, Cynthia on McAllister's Ruby
27. 9:52 York, Terry on A.D.Laureado
28. 9:52 McNaughton, Irving on RC Neon
29. 9:57 Closi, Pamela on Corkeys Pride
30. 10:16 Carter Gary on Ben
31. 10:17 Johnson, James on Youkon
32. 10:23 Gardener, Jeffrey on Gazelle
33. 10:23 Gardener, Katherine on Tremcel Ulysse Nostra
RO - LeMiddle, Alexander on Bedrocks Handsome Fellow
RO - Franklin, Pete on Royal Lee
RO - Franklin, Sandra on WVF Alebai
Lame - Fraske, Charlene M. on TA First Class
Metabolic - Foedisch, Casey on Duncan
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