Buck Meadows Boogie
Apr 23, 2008
Dear Potato, Thank you so much for taking me to the Buck Meadows Boogie ride and allowing me to ride Zoltaan with you and Heather. It was my first multi-day ride and my first top 10 completions. WOW! What a thrill to come in top 10 back to back on a multi-day ride! What incredible horses you have! Zoltaan felt so strong the whole time. He moved ahead eagerly with his ears pricked forward. It was fantastic to move with the balanced cadence of that horse through the incredible mountain scenery. Zoltaan felt invincible, moving with steady consistency up the long hard hills and back down them again without any signs of fatigue. What an experience to ride a horse like that! Garcon is awesome, the way he floats above the ground. And Fifi! What a competitive mare! She really flies down the trail. Her pulse recoveries were absolutely incredible. I have learned some important things from you, Potato. Thank you for sharing your knowledge gained from long experience. I have seen it work! I was not sure my body would make it through two back to back 50 mile rides, but amazingly enough it did! I hardly have any soreness today at all. What I do have are great memories. What fun! What a thrill! Thanks again Potato, Heather, Zoltaan, Fifi, and Garcon! Sharon
Dear Potato, Thank you so much for taking me to the Buck Meadows Boogie ride and allowing me to ride Zoltaan with you and Heather. It was my first multi-day ride and my first top 10 completions. WOW! What a thrill to come in top 10 back to back on a multi-day ride! What incredible horses you have! Zoltaan felt so strong the whole time. He moved ahead eagerly with his ears pricked forward. It was fantastic to move with the balanced cadence of that horse through the incredible mountain scenery. Zoltaan felt invincible, moving with steady consistency up the long hard hills and back down them again without any signs of fatigue. What an experience to ride a horse like that! Garcon is awesome, the way he floats above the ground. And Fifi! What a competitive mare! She really flies down the trail. Her pulse recoveries were absolutely incredible. I have learned some important things from you, Potato. Thank you for sharing your knowledge gained from long experience. I have seen it work! I was not sure my body would make it through two back to back 50 mile rides, but amazingly enough it did! I hardly have any soreness today at all. What I do have are great memories. What fun! What a thrill! Thanks again Potato, Heather, Zoltaan, Fifi, and Garcon! Sharon
APR 30, 2008
So, you may have been wondering, like I was, if my top 10 finish on April 5th was a fluke. After all who am I? A person who has only been riding horses for about 4 years and trail riding at that. You know the type of riding I speak of; slow and leisurely, only covering a few miles and often stopping to picnic and "rest". Well I'm writing to tell you that it was not a fluke. Potato, Sharon and I left for the Buck Meadows Boogie I and II rides on April 18th. This was very exciting as this was my first multi-day ride and a test to see if I could really do it again. The ride Saturday was beautiful. in every way; the weather, the scenery, the horses, etc.. Once we placed our three horses in an order that was conducive to all (FiFi was in Heat and Garcon is a Stallion...I'll leave the rest to your imagination) we were floating down the trail and having an incredible ride. Potato always says, "just ride your ride and enjoy the day". That is exactly what we did and we had a great time. Finishing 7th, 8th and 9th. Wow! When I awoke at 5:30am Sunday morning with ice on the inside of my tent I was questioning why this was so enjoyable and having a hard time remember how great Saturday was. Not wanting to be quitters, Sharon and I mounted up and headed out for the first loop of three (Potato stayed behind with his friend Wojtek to crew for us -which made our day so much nicer) and as we headed down the trail, I "got it". There we were, out on the trail on two incredible horses enjoying Gods country without a care in the world. The sun came out, it warmed up and both horses moved effortlessly keeping a steady pace and allowing us to actually look around and enjoy the scenery. One loop, then two and finally the last 22 and 1/2 mile loop came and went and we had done it again. We finished in 4th and 5ht place, the horses sailed through the vet check with no problems and we were smiling ear to ear. I am now 1/2 way to achieving the 300 miles I need to be able to ride Tevis and I am so excited. I can actually visualize myself completing the Tevis ride where before it was just an idea. I am so thankful to Potato for giving me an opportunity I wouldn't otherwise have had. Thanks Potato and FiFi.
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Apr 30, 2008
Yes Heather it was a great week-end. The fact that Wojtek showed up at the last minute to crew for us was certainly a big plus! My giggles when I read your message was because I was wondering if the reason Wojtek and I staying behind to crew for you was the what made you say "which made our day so much nicer" or was it because you were riding without me and SMR Garcon. Wojtek has crewed for me several times on Tevis and he is a very attentive guy. I agree his company was super. I hope to keep him around till at least Tevis. He is getting hooked on riding a lot. In closing let me say that it was great that you and Sharon rode out together and your experience of riding this last few months have made you a great rider too. Now you have the confidence to do Tevis without a doubt. I hope you let me ride with you! Potato
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