FITS 2024 Day 1: Decisions

In 2023, my riding partner and I thought it would be fun to try back to back riding.  But we were not mentally ready for the full trifecta challenge.  I wanted to get as close as I could though.  So, we decided to register for a 25 mile race on day one, a 10 mile race on day two, and the final 25 mile race on day three.  I completed all three days, finishing 9th on the third day and riding the second day solo which I had never done before.  With that new found confidence in my belt, I set my goals for the 2024 FITS to be the full trifecta, the new challenge would be the night ride.  Something we had never done.

I was fully committed to finishing the trifecta.  I did not give any room for doubt in my head.  I reserved that for the night ride where I might die instead.  

We pulled into camp on Wednesday afternoon.  We got the animals settled, got ourselves settled and then started focusing on the vet-in.  

Normally, I vet Roach in barefoot and then we wear our Scoot Boot Enduros on the ride but Jesse, my friend’s horse, is tender in the arena at FITS.  It had been so wet in the lead up to FITS, I was worried about Roach being tender as well.  I decided to boot him up for the vet in.  Which I had never done. Bad idea.

Everything is fine until the trot in hand portion.  For those unfamiliar with endurance, you have a minimum of three vet checks during a ride.  In the LD (25 to 30 miles) rides, you haven three: your initial vet in to get a baseline, your vet check at the hold during the race, and your final vet check when you finish.  These checks cover everything from heart rate, dehydration, muscle soreness, metabolic issues, and, of course, lameness.  All these go on to your vet card which is basically this sport’s score card.

So, we trot down and back and Dr. Doug calls over another vet as he is completing the rest of Roach’s check.  Then, he asks me to trot down and back again. Uh-oh.  They talk for a few seconds, and they call a third vet over.  Down and back for a third time. More discussions and more whispers.  My anxiety is rising.  Embarking on a three day ride with a sub-par vet score is most certainly not ideal and that’s if we’re able to start at all.  Now hands are on his legs.  Up and down, feeling tendons, flexing the foot, more whispering. 

One thing I love about the sport of endurance, is the absolute focus on animal health.  Yes, it is a race.  Yes, you would like to finish fast. However, you can’t finish if you don’t pass your health checks.  If you ride your horse into the ground and it can’t recover its pulse, you’re done.  If you ride your horse fast through mud and it shows up lame, you’re done.   If there are no gut sounds, done.  I have learned so much about the metabolic processes of the horse and how the equine body handles stress more in this sport than I have in any other.  If there are two sports I can recommend to get the most out of your horse: dressage for body mechanics and endurance for health.

I tried to focus on how much I love the health aspect as the vets conferred over Roach.  Finally, Dr. Doug said, “Pull the boots.  Let’s see how he does then.”  I took the boots off, tossed them to the side and all three men leant back their heels, one arm over their chests and resting their chins on the other.  The universal, “Let’s see how this goes.”

Down and back we go.  Finally, we get an all clear.  One of the vets looked his feet over one more time and said, “Ultimately, it’s up to you if you boot or not, but I like him better without the boots.”

Oh, great. A decision as to whether my animal may pass or fail future checks on this ride.  Just what I love.  

As we walk back to camp, Angel and I are spiralling. Jesse didn’t have a great vet in either with her issue being wanting to fling one of her hind legs to the side.  Here we are, embarking on this big race we had been gearing ourselves up for, and we’re already starting with issues. I keep telling myself the big “S” word never showed up.  Never did one of the vets say he looked “sore”; they just didn’t like how he looked in boots.  I can deal with that.  I can handle that.  I’ve ridden the trails at FITS before, barefoot even. We can do this without boots. Easy peasy.  But, what didn’t they like? But what if he hits a rock? But what if he gets sore from the concussion? But, but, but!

That night we were treated to pizza and wine. A few glasses, I’m not ashamed to say, helped take the edge off my anxiety.  I’m sure the answer will come to me clear as day.  I have great ideas when I’m trying to sleep but am not able to.  Anxiety is great for that. Surely, my anxious brain will come up with ten different plans and twenty fallbacks.  It always does.

Morning comes. My idea does not.  As I’m walking through our camp, dumping grain and watching Roach fling his expensive supplements with all the zeal of a tantruming toddler, I decide in the words of Bill O’ Reilly, “Fuck it, we’ll do it live!” and decide to throw it back like it’s 2023.  No shoes, no shirt, no problems.  Fine, we’ll keep our shirts on for decency’s sake. But we’re going barefoot.  Here’s hoping I don’t regret my decision. 

We let the rest of the pack take off ahead of us, we don’t care much for racing on any day let alone when we have three days ahead.  And that’s pretty much the story of day one.  We completed it. We finished. I know, a whole lot of lead up for not much reporting about the race.

That’s kind of the point of this write up in a nutshell.  I spent a whole lot of time worrying about nothing.  I’m not necessarily a good rider.  I’m sure there’s all sorts of equitation I can improve on, especially when I’m tired. However, I do think I’m a smart rider.  I don’t outride my animal. I go slow (probably too slow), but we finish.  We complete. I want to start adding some speed but our big goals are to finish healthy with As and pluses and we did.