Daddy's Hoofprints

One of our training rides a month or so ago out in the Manila Dunes Forest.

Well, Ewoyn is going to have to step up to the plate and fill some big shoes. My stallion, Storm, who was going to go on the Long XP ride with me this summer, is out of commission. You can read how and why, and his adventures at his blog here: http://stallionadventures.blogspot.com/
This means that now Eowyn will be going on the trip instead. She is still out of shape, and with all the rain we are having, is not going to GET in shape for 50's by late May (when we start the ride). So what we'll likely do for the first month (it's a 2 month ride, following the Pony Express Trail across the country), is just ride "Duck Miles". Meaning we will maybe start with 15 miles on 'my' (I am sharing the ride entry with my friend Terri, so we alternate ride days and crewing days) days, working up to 25 or 30, and eventually to 50. Maybe by the time we hit Utah, she'll be in shape, and we can do a few of the sanctioned 50 milers :) I am along for the great adventure first and foremost, so I don't care if I ride 50 miles, or 5. It will all be fun and a grand adventure.
And as a result, hopefully Eowyn will finally grow up. Well, she's actually doing MUCH better than she used to, in the childish, willful, brat department. :) With this kind of endeavor, she'll get all those 'wet saddle blankets' that we can't seem to find the time for here at home. Basically we will either have worked out our issues by the end of the trip, she'll have killed me, or I will have killed her, LOL. But from how she has been lately, I think we'll work things out just fine. I will just need to find a saddle seat belt or something, to sit those dorky Ay-rab spooks she likes to throw in when she is bored... Not used to having to ride those anymore, as my other horses had outgrown those years ago! Oh the joys of a greenie!
The neat thing about all this, is that her father, DR Thunder Bask, has a LOT of history on this trail. He was the highest mileage stallion in AERC, made it into the AERC Hall of Fame, and many of his miles were XP miles. Both the 'normal' rides, and the Long XPs (for more info on XP Rides, you can visit their website: http://xprides.com/). In fact, talking to his owner Cherie Briscoe recently, she said some of his first rides as a 5yo, were on one of the Long XP rides in the 80's. And he did quite well :) So Eowyn will be following in his hoofprints...she has done one 30 mile LD ride over a year ago, and that is it. So HER first rides will also be on this trail...things have come full circle I guess :) With her getting out more and being my main riding horse now for endurance, I;ll make an effort to really get this blog rolling along. I'll start with how Hoanna (her mom) and Doc (what DR Thunder Bask is known by) met..it was all an internet hookup, LOL :)
Here is Doc at the Bryce Canyon XP some years ago. Eowyn got to see Bryce too, actually...I'll do that post some later time :)

An Introduction

This is Eowyn's Thunder, aka Eowyn, or sometimes simply Eow. She's my coming 6yo 1/2 Arab filly out of my wonderful, do anything Morgan/QH mare, Hoanna. Pretty cute, isn't she?


THIS......this is what she's really like. Teenagers...sighhh... That's her mom in the background.

Some history is in order. In 2003 my friend Terri and I got into endurance. We were totally dumb Newbs at it, and managed to go over time every ride we started that year. Didn't help that no one mentioned your vet checks counted into the 6hrs you had to do a 25.... I guess that's better than going fast and running your horse into the ground at least! :) At any rate, despite the failures, we were bitten by the endurance bug.
We both were on our fairly unsuited backyard horses. Hers, a big, lanky, Appendix QH who likely could have done endurance physically, but was an emotional basketcase at rides and almost literally worried himself sick. My own mare Hoanna, was a Morgan/QH who's favorite past-time was eating and sleeping. She 'did' endurance, because she did anything I asked of her, but never had her heart in it. Thus, Terri and I both decided we needed more proper mounts. She got an Arab, who spooked and spun and dumped both of us many a time. I ended up riding him and she got an Arab/Mustang that wasn't much better. He didn't spook, but had been a top ten horse and didn't know how to do anything but grab the bit and run with the pack, and was so hard a trotter, we nicknamed him the Jackhammer. Suffice to say, I ended up riding him, too. He took me through around 5,000 miles of rides though, very happily and safely (after I spent a year teaching him it was OK to slow down, LOL). Terri finally found her horse in a little, gaited, colorful Singlefooter, and they have over 6,000 miles together and are still going strong!

At some point, I decided Hoanna was a wonderful horse in all things, but endurance potential, and though I loved her, she needed an upgrade. I thought, why not breed her to an Arab, pass on all HER good traits, and HIS endurance potential....good idea, huh?? :) I wanted a horse I could eventually do Tevis on, and Hoanna was not going to be it for sure. So hopefully her baby would? Well, we all know the saying, right? About those 'best laid plans'?? Well this blog will see if those plans will eventually work out, or not. For almost two years now, I really wasn't sure. I had quite the struggles with my willful little filly. I was on the verge of selling her a few times, but always hesitated to take that final step and advertise her.
Good thing too... I decided to toss her in the pasture for a year and let her mature a bit more, while I worked with my new stallion (see HIS blog here: www.stallionadventures.blogspot.com) and got HIM ready for endurance instead. When I pulled her out again this year and started riding her again, I got a whole new horse! Sure, still a stubborn and willful teen, but now one that was willing to at least talk about it :) We have had a few months of good riding now, and she is here to stay! So...all you, dear readers, may watch with me how things turn out. I'll start with her history and work up to today, while throwing in some current happenings as well.
I hope you enjoy the journey, as much as I have (well, except the times I was ready to kill her, LOL... but mostly she's been a wonderful light in my life :) )