Diary records will show the most recent first, working down to the earlier entries.
starting from Republic Missouri 25 May , travelling north west through Seneca, Kansas 26 May, Hanover, Kansas 27 May, then across the state boundary to Oak, Nebraska, 28 & 29 May Prairie Lakes,Nebraska 31 May, North Platte, Nebraska 6 June, Camp Charleville, Nebraska 7 June, Melbeta, Nebraska 13 June. From here they travel on through Nebraska, crossing the state boundary into Wyoming. 19 June they pass Stinking Creek,Wyoming over an 8,400 ft mountain range.The next stage of the journey takes them up and over the Laramie Mountains, Wyoming, then up and over the Continental Divide through South Pass, Wyoming. From South Pass, Wyoming they ride on to Fort Bridger Wyoming. They trail (float) their horses from Fort Bridger across the state boundary into Utah, 170 odd miles through Salt Lake City and its suburbs, then ride on to arrive at Lookout Pass, 29 June. July 3 they arrive at Ipabah Utah on the border of Utah and Nevada. They reach Ely, Nevada July 7. During the following week they ride on to Cold Springs, Nevada arriving July 15. Virginia City, Nevada is the end of the Pony Express Trail Ride, and they arrived there Sunday 17 July 2011
15 July, Day 52, Cold Springs, Nevada
We are now coming to an end with only three more ride days to go. We are
currently in a place called Cold Springs Nevada and let me say there is nothing
cold about this place at least not at this time of the year. We are on the
second day of our two day rest stop and are in an RV park with full hook up so
at least we have the air con on in the trailer.
Since I last wrote we have been travelling across
the Nevada desert region. Has not been what could be considered fun. We have
been lucky to have Lee-Anne running with us with the Pick Up and supplying
water to the horses or we could have been in serious trouble. The mandate from
the ride organiser is to take care of yourself. When at ride meetings he is
asked "what about water?" His answer is whatever your crews bring out to you.
Now we had been told that this would be the way the ride would operate from the
very beginning which is why we brought an extra vehicle with a water tank on it
but nobody else on the ride took notice of that little fact and subsequently we
have supplied water to most on track most of the time. But Lee-Anne has done a
fantastic job in not only looking after our own horses but those of everyone
else that is riding.
The trail is not marked as a usual endurance ride
with ribbons or arrows, we are given a set of GPS co-ordinates and a written
instruction sheet and away we go.
To give an example-
WPT 598 39.53.909 -115.52.205 Start along cow trail
that will become two track
or
WPT 887 42.36.145 -106.58.247 Make the best way you
can across the Bad lands
You get the drift? It sure has been an
adventure!
My brother being the mountain climber that he is
climbed another mountain the other day and as usual took our Aussie flag up to
wave it down to the camp once he made it to the top. The rest in camp thought
that enough was enough so after he had climbed down two of the guys climbed up
and left the American flag up there for all to see and had someone back in camp
to play the US anthem while they were up there. The climb was some 600 feet
pretty much straight up. Pete not to be out done woke up early the next morning
and climbed up the mountain next to the one with the US flag because it was
higher and he sacrificed one of our flags as he left it up there fluttering in
the wind. He also made sure that all the riders saw it as he played the Aussie
national Anthem for every rider that passed. If you're ever going passed the
middle of whoop woop in central Nevada look up at the mountain tops and see if
you can see the Aussie flag flying. I am sure someone over the next few years
will wonder why, when and how that flag came to be there.
Anyway we are now at the end of the ride and the
hard bit really starts as I am now looking for new owners for my horses. I took
two gals out to try Remmy and Zaf this morning and it looks like Rem is sold.
Always was going to be the hard bit.
On the injury front -Joe hasn't come off for a day
or two but that may be because Murphy is having a rest. We took him to the
hospital for X rays the last time he fell for his shoulder but it was only
bruised not broken. My thumb is definitely broken as the swelling has all gone
and I still can't use it and it hurts (I know Dale!!!) Anyway that gives me
double membership to the broken bones club and as Dale says it's too far from
your heart to kill you and what doesn't kill you makes you
stronger.
So -Virginia City here we come. We finish on Sunday
with a Dinner and then an Awards breakfast and then we are off to Vegas for a
few days of R and R before we drive to LA to deliver the trailer to the port.
Will keep in touch
Charlie
PS Got another first the other day.
Aussie Horseman
A plucky Aussie horseman
Rides the trail of the Pony
Express
This year of 2011
Crossing the mighty US
Through mud and hail and
tornadoes
Over plains and mountains
high
He takes his US ponies
On a ride of do or die
He tames his plucky chargers
Through mishaps along the
way
And together they conquer the
challenge
And win to the others'
dismay
For horses understand
courage
And rise to the rider's
request
Racing the wind as their
master
The thrill is simply the
best.
So good onya Aussie Rider
Take your deserved accolade
Ride on with your grand US
ponies
"Fortune favours the brave!"
Judy Hobson
Putty NSW
7 July, Day 44, Ely Nevada
Hi All
Well, here we are in Ely Nevada. We have only 8 more ride days before
we finish in Virginia City Nevada. They are telling us that the rest of
the ride is going to be the toughest days yet. We are currently camped at Mount
Shellbourne in the Shellbourne Mountains. We are in the first of our two rest days
before we head out across the Nevada desert. I have read Lee-Anne’s last
email and saw that she told you all how well we were doing with the horses. On the fourth day we were at the lunch vet check 40 minutes before everyone else and Cocomo's paramters were fine. The next day I came in with a
group of four, two of the group took first and
second with us for third. We then rode again yesterday. Pete rode with me on Giggles for the first
25 miles and I completed the 50 on Remora.
We have been riding through unbelievable terrain and scenery. We are
based at 5300 feet and we ride up to 8950 feet. Just to keep things in
perspective, Mount Kosciusko stands at 7310
feet. There are still patches of snow on the sides of the mountains surrounded
by wild flowers. Wait till you see the pictures. With the snow melt and the bit
of rain the streams are flowing pretty fast. One of them that we had
to cross the other day was a beauty. The
stream had cut a really deep ditch and I and three others were in the front with quite a gap to the next group when
we got to the ditch . We dismounted and let
the horses basically jump the ditch – two only just made it and had to scramble
on the far side so that they didn’t fall in – without landing on top of us and
as we rode off the other side the second group reached the ditch but hadn’t seen
how we had gotten our horses over. We could still see them after we had
travelled a few miles up the track and the group on the other side just grew and
grew as more riders reached the ditch and sat there scratching their collective
heads. It was just like in the westerns when the baddies make their escape. We
laughed all day over that.
We are sitting here in McDonalds as I write this and
looked over to Joe and said I want to figure out how to write about his bad mood
today. He says that he’s not in a bad mood just p***sed off! He has been trying
to get things done all day and everybody he has spoken to has not or could not
do what he needed and he’s not very happy. He’s actually sitting a t a different
table just in case the roof falls in he doesn’t want us to be hurt.
The horses are fine. Remora has a muscle tear in her neck
after having to jump another deep ravine yesterday but she was much better today
than what she was yesterday. Our next ride day is actually 56 miles across a
mountain range with no water or vet checks so it will be a slow ride. We are all
riding to GPS co-ordinates on this ride, not the luxury of a marked trail here.
Water is only available as you can find it or what your crew can get to you.
When we are in the mountains there are mountain streams to water the horses but
as you cross the plains or deserts you can go up to 15 miles without getting a
whiff of water so you let the horses eat as much as they like so they can get as
much moisture as possible. Anyway it’s an experience!
Charlie
3 July, Day 40, Ipabah and Wendover, Utah, border of Nevada
Hi Everyone
We have made it to Nevada...its been a dusty trail
and the horses are full of prickles and burrs but we are here on the home
stretch.
This email is being sent from a Laundromat in a
place called Wendover, about 60 miles from our campsite which is at a place
called Ibapah. Not much out here but Wendover is on the border of Nevada and
Utah and is a little oasis in the middle of nowhere buoyed by
casinos.
The fact that this is being written in a laundry
should tell you that it's not Charlie sending it, so you will just have to wait
for one of Charlie's funny stories til next time.
He has ridden Zaf, Cocamoe and Remora over the last
three days and has come in first or tied first each day. Last nights
presentation he got 1st and Best Conditioned and no one clapped, so I guess
they're over the Aussie taking their thunder.
All in all everyone on the ride is pretty good and
if we needed anything they would give us a hand.
Peter helped the landowner where we are staying now
to rebuild a 150 year old log cabin that had been dismantled and moved. He had a
ball, and the owner was very happy to get it up, they had been struggling for 3
weeks to get the first two layers of logs up and by the afternoon the roof was
on.
Now, Charlie has been riding with his broken ribs,
which are all but healed, and staying out of trouble until he got on Cocamoe
(the rib breaker) two days ago. He rode up to me at a checkpoint and showed me
his thumb, which was facing the wrong direction, apparently Cocamoe shied at a
rock on a steep incline and Charlie got his hand caught in the reins and his
mane and dislocated his thumb. I strapped it and by the end of the day it had
popped back into place, so another drama over.
Its getting pretty hot, water is at a premium, but
we are pretty well organised with supplies and fuel. Not everyone is but they
stumble their way through somehow.
Bye all, take care and will talk again
soon
Lee-Anne xx
29 June, Day 36 Lookout Pass, Utah
Hi All
Just a quick update before we retire for the night.
We are currently perched up at Lookout pass in Utah. We are still at something
like 6000ft elevation and from where I am sitting I am looking straight up at
the mountain that we have to start our ride with tomorrow morning. We are just
finishing up two rest days - not that we actually rested! It just means we
didn't ride yesterday and today. The day before yesterday we finished in Fort
Bridger Wyoming. The fort was actually flooded so we had to camp at the rodeo
grounds. Every small town out here has a rodeo ground just like every town at
home has a pub. The terrain is turning more desert like every day we move
further west. Today we trailered the horses for 170 odd miles because we cannot
ride the Pony Express trail through Salt Lake city and its suburbs. We now ride
in Utah for the next three days then its off into Nevada and the real desert.
The horses are holding up well and Remy completed her first 50 miler the other
day so we are pretty happy with that. Somewhere back in the last week Cocomo
jumped over a large rattle snake so the excitement keeps on going. That last day
that Remy did her fifty a guy riding with the group we were with fell off his
horse. The horse consequently spooked and ran about four miles down a freeway
and then along rail road tracks that had a train coming along it. We were up
high so could see it all happening down below us. The railway tracks ran right
behind where we were camping and Pete and Lee-Anne saw the riderless horse so
set off down the rail tracks after the horse. Pete said that as the train had
slowed down for the horse and he was running along side it he could've done what
they do in the westerns and grabbed onto one of the ladders and hopped on. Lucky
he didn't because the train sped up again as it slowly took over the horse. To
cut a long story short the Aussies saved the day yet again and the horse was OK
and the guy still rode it 25 miles. A lot of the rivers here are in flood so
even the small streams are hard to cross due to the large snow fall that they
have had this year. Anyway tomorrows another day. As the sun sets over the
horizon........blah blah blah - I have to get up again at 5
tomorrow!
Goodnight all
Charlie
25 June, Day 32 South Pass, Continental Divide, Wyoming
Hello
everyone
It’s
been a while since I last wrote. You really only have a few chances along the
route that we are taking and if I happen to be riding or miss an opportunity I
can lose track of time pretty quickly. So what have we been up to?
Way back in
Nebraska we
decided to retire Lady from the ride. She went lame and although she trotted
out well unsaddled as soon as we climbed on she would start hobbling so we left
her a at place called Rush Creek ranch. At the same time we picked up a new
horse called Rush Creek Remora AKA Remy. Rush Creek creek
is pretty well known here for supplying good Endurance horses to our sport. She
was broken in at 4 years old and is now 8 but hadn't been ridden since then
till I climbed on. Anyway she has now completed 3 x 25 milers and the day after
tomorrow we will see how she is at the 25 mile mark and maybe elevate up to at
the 50 at Lunch. Zaf is doing well and now completing 50's and Cocomo has
turned into a super horse. I hope he doesn't break. Every time we take him out we are at the front
of the pack. He has a couple of firsts and BC plaques to prove it. The ribs are
starting to heal and I am quite comfortably now riding 50 miles. We have
started a broken bones club with the people here and so far we have 4 members.
Over the last week we have climbed up and over the Laramie
Mountains and then climbed up and over
the continental Divide through South Pass.
Today we got hailed on but luckily we were at the lunch vet stop so could get
out of most of it. Those out behind us were not so lucky. The scenery is
spectacular. On the horses we get to go where cars cannot get to so we climb
some magnificent ridges. The Rocky Mountains
are still covered in snow and we ride through sage brush that's surrounded by
wild flowers and then round patches of deep snow drifts. Lee-Anne is out on
track supplying me and whoever happens to be with me at the time with water.
She is getting to be quite a legend out here in how she manages to find me and
is always just where I need her. One of the horses travelling with the group
got Colic and so the Aussies jumped into action and gave it two bottles of warm
beer that everyone now thinks is the miracle cure for Colic and as there are
some on this ride that rode the Santa Fe ride with us a few years back and saw
Lee-Anne's Dad do it to a horse then the legend grows! Pete and Carmen keep
moving the rigs along and we keep getting picked because we always get the best
spots for camping and with our own water truck everyone believes that we are
the most organized group travelling here. Yesterday we decided to ride Remy for
her 3rd 25 so went to start at the lunch stop. Dale has been out here with us
for three days and so Lee-Anne, Dale and I set off overland to find the lunch
stop. You should’ve seen where we ended up. We only got stuck once but came
close a lot of times. Each time we had a creek to cross we would take Remy out
of the Trailer and let Dale try and get the truck and trailer across and then
we would load Remy back up and move on to the next creek. When everyone
realized where we had actually taken the truck and trailer they knew for sure
that we are crazy, but it was fun.
Onto
tomorrow - We are riding Zaf, so we will see how we go. The horses are looking
well but they are doing a lot of miles and it is starting to show on all
the horses travelling with the group. Oh, forgot to say we had a little
excitement today - We were riding along a creek with me in front and another
horse close behind when I saw a sink hole flash under me as Cocomo shied right.
The horse behind me didn't see it till it was too late and fell right in. Only
it's head and two front legs sticking out of the hole. Together me and the
other rider managed to help the horse and drag it out of the hole. Scary moment
but the horse managed to complete so all is well. Onwards we go - till next
time.
Charlie
19 June Day 26, just past Stinking Creek, Wyoming
Hi guys
This is Lee-Anne writing as I am waiting at a
checkpoint for Charlie to come through. We stayed at a ranch last night at a
place called Stinking Creek in Wyoming. Charlie lit out at 6 am this morning
attempting his first 50 (miles) since he broke his ribs....and on the horse that bucked
him off. Hope the outcome is a better one.
We spent the last two days coming over the
mountains and we reached an elevation of 8,400 feet. About a 1,000 feet higher
than the rest of the group, cause we don't follow our goups too good.
The scenery has been magical, antelope all over the
mountain sides, some snow still on the ground and the buckets of water froze
over. And this is Summer.
Charlie just came through, 12 miles in 1 hr 40, his
horse is all worked up and wouldn't stop for water so I'm off to the next
checkpoint.
Will finish this email later.
Love from Lee-Anne xx
13 June Day 20, Melbeta, Nebraska, popn. 107 (like Putty)
Hi All
We are nearing the end of our third week and have
finally come back into a service area for our emails. So to catch up - We are in
a little town called Melbeta. Population 107. Tonight with our 100 odd people we
will nearly double the towns population. they are all so exited as we start to
roll into town - all the locals come running out and want to know what we are
doing, all about the horses and those strangers from down under. We spend an
hour talking to everybody before we can start setting up camp. So, to recap last
week - didn't do much riding. After my fall off Cocomo 5 days ago I was pretty
sore and only rode in bits and pieces where I could. Then yesterday morning woke
up in pretty bad shape so asked Lee-Anne to take me to a hospital. After a few
X-rays I was informed that I have two broken ribs. They gave me a needle that
was supposed to make me breath a little easier. It not only did that but it
knocked me out till this morning. Joe is riding the first 25 miles 0n Giggles
today and then Lee-Anne is picking him up and bringing him in. The landscape is
changing with bluffs and small hills all round us. The Platte river is due to
flood in the next 2 weeks as the snow melt travels down to these parts. As we
are travelling up river we should hit it soon. A lot of the little small towns
that we have passed are sand bagging in preparation. Forgot to say that three
days ago Pete, another guy and I went out Coyote hunting. We caught three to
the disgust of one cowboy here from California who has been trying to shoot a
coyote for the last five years. Had to walk five mile up into the hills to do it
though. That was hard on the ribs! Dale says that I should wear undies under my
skirt and stop complaining. Anyway till next time -
Charlie
Making peace with Zaf
Zaf, Lady & Cocomo Joe take a dip in Nebraskan waters
Cocomo Joe
North Platte, Nebraska
8 June, Day 15, from a carpark somewhere in Nebraska
Aussie
Riders
or Tie me Kangaroo down,
mate
6/3/2011
There’s a land down under where the
kangaroos roam
A few riders here proudly call it their
home
From the bottom of the world come these
folks of renown
Does that mean they actually ride upside
down?
Vivacious Lee-Anne is the wife of
Charlie
Pretty Carmen’s got Pete, a man so
gnarly
Then there’s Joe from Big Mo, the
honorary Aussie
He loves to ride and take care of his
hossie
Do they now and then put shrimp on the
bar-bee?
Have they ever met a man named Crocodile
Dundee?
Is this the country of success and great
feats
Or the land that was settled by thieves,
crooks and cheats?
Charlie and Joe are the Austro-Missourian
team
When riding they get up a head of
steam
Why do they ride so fast yet so
humbly?
It’s because they trained on an ornery
brumby
There’s one major problem when these two
you meet
Which one’s Charlie and which one’s
Pete?
One is bald but so is the
other
To find who’s who must we ask their
mother?
They say they’re twins born two years
apart
One needed more time to get out of the
cart
To tell which is which you need not throw
a dart
The determining factor is the smell of
their fart
These Aussies are cool, they’re really
great folks
But all day we must listen to their
terrible jokes
They can be patriotic as one of them
brags
‘Bout his country, Australia, but enough
of those flags
When asking for help they will say,
“G’day, mate,
Is this Kansas or Utah, can you tell me
which state?
They get quite confused ‘bout their XP
location
Cause their GPS’s are programmed for an
alien nation
They have their slang, as when we say “no
longer”
In Australian, it’s “dry as a dead
dingo’s donger”
When we say “crew” they say
“strappers”
When drunk they turn into Karaoke
rappers
Where do you look for an Australian
bruiser?
Seek not far, they’re down at the
boozer
Why did they come to this XP
ride?
To drink lots of booze and really get
fried
How many Aussies does it take to
screw
a light bulb into a socket or
two?
You might think the answer is found in
these four
But they can’t even find the bathroom
door
They’re a delightful gang full of vinegar
and piss
Goose them a little and they’ll give you
a kiss
They asked for a poem and now a poem they
got
They can rest satisfied and go smoke
their pot
At the XP ride’s end they’re the ones we
will talk about
As they return home from this very long
walk about
Yes, putting up with storms, heat,
thunder and hail
You know they had fun on the XP
trail
Penned by the travelling poet
7 June, Day 14, Camp Charleville, Nebraska
Hi all,
I was writing so much and so fast because I
wanted to go to bed. I really can't function on 5 hours sleep! Just before I hit
the send button last night we had a knock on our door and somebody yelling
horses loose. Well, as one would of known they were our horses. The wind had
blown up again and they were not happy chappies as we put them up for the night
and Cocomo decided that an electric fence was not going to keep him in
electrified or not so took out Giggles and Murphys yard in the process. Out we
went to catch horses and rebuild yards till midnight. This morning rode Zaf the
for the first 25 miles and apart from a buck or two (they really are super fit
and don't want to be held back) he did really well with no sign of lameness.
Then at the lunch vet check we swapped over to Cocomo. The first 8 or so miles
went well then he trod on a beer can in the long grass and it was on. I am sure
that I would of got the bell for the 8 seconds but there were no cowboys to help
me get off and I hit the ground with a thud. The group behind me knew that
something was going on because as they were on the other side of a hill they
could just see my helmet bobbing up and disappearing time after time. Anyway
after he dumped me he raced of into the wild blue yonder or here the great corn
fields of Nebraska. Well I walked a mile (felt like 10) and happened to stumble
across him. He seemed fine (I didn't feel fine) and trotted out well so I
climbed back on and away we went. That lasted till the 17 mile mark when he
started to feel off balance so call in the float and back to camp in the truck
(thank goodness) with Cocomo in the trailer. Now we don't know if it is still
the same injury as the last time he bolted or if he just hurt himself when he
went berserk today. Anyway more rest time for him. As for me - sore ribs and a
sore hip but nothing broken I think - -just hurts to breath deep at the moment
but tomorrow is another day on the great adventure. We are camped at a large
feed lot tonight with great grass and a nice breeze blowing. The flags are up at
camp Charleville and Pete is asleep under the awning. I'll see if Lee-Anne can
download some pictures and we'll try and send some.
Charlie
6 June, Day 13, North Platte, Nebraska
Hi All
A quick update
on the horses - We took Cocomo to a vet and he ruled out any Tendon issues and
thought it was more of a stifle issue, either way he is now sound and Like Zaf
hopping out of his skin ready to go. I had saddled up Zaf to ride one day last
week and by the time I had him to the start he was walking like a duck ready to
lay an egg. So that day we didn't even bother to start. He is also Ok and
rearing to go. Lady has had a Lameness issue since I last rode her and we have
been working on her legs daily. We have been a bit concerned about her but this
morning she too started to look Ok so we are going to give her the next three
days and then the one rest day off before we consider riding her again. We have
decided that for the next three days we are going to ride Zaf and Cocomo 25
miles each and see how they hold up before attempting a 50 miler on either of
them. Thee nickname for the guy running this ride in "the Duck" and if you don't
ride the 50 miles on one horse they are calling the miles you do "Duck miles and
still count towards as miles ridden but you don't get AERC miles accredited.
Giggles, Joes horse cut her leg early in the piece and that is healing quite
nicely and he should be able to ride her soon too. Murphy fell in his last
outing and he and Joe tumbled. Joe had just left Lee-Anne at a designated
meeting place and as she came over the hill she saw Joe and Murphy on the
ground. She thought that Murphy had died. As it turns out he was fine - not even
a scratch although Joes leg was a bit stiff and sore after the adrenaline ran
out. We have had an Indian raid on our camp two nights ago. I have a poster on
the side of our float taken when we were here 3 years ago with Joe and Dale as
well as me and Frank, Lee-Anne's dad, and somebody shot toy arrows that had the
sticky caps at me and Frank and left the Bow with the message - You Aussies
better watch your backs, your in Indian territory now - By the way we are camped
in North Platte Nebraska and it is 11 at night, the only time I get to write, we
are up at 5 tomorrow. North Platte is where the North and South Platte rivers
join. Tomorrow we ride west following the South Platte - along the same route as
the wagons on the Californian and Oregon trails. We are told that there is a
grave every 100 feet from here on out as a lot of the early pioneers died from
dysentery on this side of the river whereas the Mormons who had their own trail
on the north side of the river didn't have as many deaths. We have been staying
in an RV park at this rest stop on the shore of a lake. We have with us 2 large
Australian flags that we put up reach day as we make camp. The first morning we
pulled into here we put our flags up and a guy camping with his family saw that
we had our flags up so went inside his RV and brought out his little flag to out
to put up. Later that day we noticed that he was putting up a much larger flag.
Pete and I went over to have a chat to him and his made the comment that it was
not right that our flags were bigger than his so he had just come back from
Wal-Mart with his bigger flag so that he could even things up. Funny thing is
that as we travel there are more and more flags going up each day - US flags
Californian flags and Texan flags mostly but it does make a sight. I guess Dale
was right - there was a bit to write about. Two weeks down 6 to go.
Goodnight
Charlie
30 - 31 May, Days 6 & 7 - Prairie Lakes, Nebraska
Hi Guys
Well here we are in the storm shelter down under the
school. There is a really big storm up overhead and there is also a tornado
warning out for this town. It is 10.30 at night, we have loaded the horses into
the trailer to protect them as best we can and wait and see. Lightning and
thunder everywhere. Rain coming down in sheets. Most of the people travelling
with the ride are down here as well as a lot of the local townsfolk. There are
another two shelters in town. One under the only church in town and one under
the saloon. Pete is saying we should have gone to the one under the saloon.
There are a lot of dogs travelling with us on the ride and they are also down
here with us as well as one cat belonging to the guy that is running the ride.
It’s pretty loud in here now. We are just waiting and seeing. Every now and then
it all goes quiet as a news flash comes in over the radio that they have playing
down here. I’ll send an email once it is all over
Charlie
After it's all over....
As you can tell we made it alright. Some people had turned their horses
loose so had to go out and catch them in the pouring rain. Not fun in the middle
of the night.
Anyway - today was Cuomo's turn for a run and did he run! We had left the
town of Oak and were about one and a half miles from the town when this big old
stallion came running up to the fence beside the road. I was riding with a lady
and another guy. The lady's horse - an Arab - shied and went straight up an
embankment on the side of the road while Cocomo and the big Appy that the other
guy was riding bolted. Ordinarily not such a big deal especially when you have a
long straight road in front of you, but as per Murphy's law my saddle decided
that today was the best time for it to loose a stirrup. The stitching tore - we
have after careful post event deliberation decided that it must have been
damaged when I ran into the trees at the park on Willie, same saddle, same
stirrup - and the stirrup and stirrup leather went clunk on the road while
Cocomo and the Appy were at full stretch. The end result was that the harder I
squeezed my legs to stay on the further he ran. We are estimating that I went at
least half a mile at the full gallop with no stirrups. Ah well as Dale would
say - another near death experience but it was a long way from my heart so it
won't kill you! After sending back for a new saddle we continued onto the lunch
vet check. All seemed fine - although a little more subdued than during the
stallion experience - when I pulled into the vet check but once I got off and
Lee-Anne was rubbing some gel into his hind quarters he went stiff legged and
could not take a step. Well it was onto the trailer and back to tonight's base
for Cocomo. We have found a vet hospital - again after much deliberation and
consultation with the ride vet we have decided he must of clipped himself during
our episode - where we will have his leg x rayed and ultra sounded so that we
can assess how much damage and what sort of time frame he will be out for. So
end result - no riding tomorrow. I am sitting here outside our trailer as the
sun is setting behind me looking at Cocomo. He does seem to me to be walking a
little better right now so hopefully it will not be too serious. Till next time
- Good night
Charlie
28 & 29 May Days 4 & 5 - Oak, Nebraska
So here we are in the little town of
Oak out in the Nebraska farmlands. It is a really little town and with all the
rigs spread out in every available bit of green grass the town looks like it has
been invaded. Yesterday was day 4 and I rode Zaf for a middle of the pack at
12th. We went from the mud of Kansas to the hard packed gravel roads of
Nebraska. Zaf was suffering by the vet check and I was in two minds as to whether
to ride him for the second 25 miles. Lee-Anne convinced me that I should and try
to work out the soreness from his shoulders. I did a lot of walking beside him
and have the blisters to prove it but at least we got him through. I am looking
at him now grazing out behind the trailer and he is as happy as can be so no
damage done. Last night we parked on a private ranch but because it had been
raining so much not all the rigs could get into the paddock so a lot of them
parked on the side of the road spread out for a couple of K's in each direction.
At about 8 at night the local Sheriff came along and told them all that they
couldn't stay on the side of the road so they all had to pack up and move. This
morning they were spread all over the place. Anyway for day 5 we woke up to
thick fog. We knew it was going to be a hot and humid day so off we went. At the
25 mile vet check Lady felt a little off. I told the vet and he said to just
keep an eye on her. By the 37 mile mark I wasn't happy to continue so urged Joe
who was riding with me on Murphy to keep going and send Lee-Anne back for me
with the trailer when he next saw her. A little clarification - we have three
trucks with us. On Days that Joe is riding Carmen is driving his Dodge 3500 Ram
with his gooseneck trailer and Pete is driving another of Joes Rams with our
gooseneck. They pack up after I set off on the horse and drive to the next nights
camp spot. In the meantime Lee-Anne has Dales 2500 Ram towing a 4 horse stock
trailer that has all of our feed as well as a 1000 litre tank with water on the
back of the truck. She is leap frogging us along the route supplying us with
feed and water for the horses. It's not like a ride back home - here you have to
supply everything for your self. No water supplied not even at the vet
checks! Anyway Lee-Anne came back and we took off Lady's boots and massaged her but
we still were not happy so called it a day. She still had to go in front of the
vet and he was surprised that we pulled her as he thought that she was OK.
Anyway better safe than sorry, we still have a long way to go. That is our first
week, 7 to go. The Pony express ran along the same trail as the California and
Oregon trail along here so there are plenty of markers and monuments to mark all
three trails. Pete realized about an hour ago that the railway line is running
to the north of us and not through Oak so he's happy that he can get a nights
sleep without the sound of train whistles. I don't hear a thing.
Till next time
27 May Day 3 Kansas, Hanover & passing the Crossroad of the Oregon and Overland Trails
Hi All
day 3 done and dusted. 150 miles down, 1850 to go.
Today was better riding. At least it didn't rain. The ground was still wet this
morning but by mid morning the mud was starting to dry out so the horses weren't
slipping and sliding as much as they had been the previous two days. We passed
an old trail marker today that had been there so long that the inscription in
the concrete was hard to read. What I could read was "crossroad Oregon trail and
Overland ..il". For those of my endurance friends I am having limited success
with the glue on easy boots and all things "boots'. I am running our horses and
one of Joe's in the easy boot glue ons. The first day we had ridden Giggles who
has shoes on and Zaf. We lost one glue-on off Zaf. The second day we rode Lady
and Murphy and lost one boot off Lady and so I guess taking the conditions into
account that's not too bad. I had glued on the boots on those three on Sunday
but thought that I would wait till later in the week before I booted Cocomo Joe.
Another mistake. Then the rains came. We really had no choice but to use the
gloves and I swore at them all day. I lost one. Another came off a half dozen
times and then tore so had to call Lee-Anne out to bring me a replacement. And
somewhere through all that they started to rub on three legs so it was get the
vet wrap out and curash (that we brought with us from Australia - lucky can't
find it here) and prevent as much as we can. Oh, did I say we got a fourth place
today? Cocomo Joe did fantastic. Heart rates and recoveries that we couldn't
believe. He will make a great endurance horse for someone when we finish with
him. He still wanted to canter home after his first gruelling 50 miler. That's
one 50 for each of the horses. We go out with Zaf tomorrow for his second
outing. We've glued on another boot and I have promised not to swear so much
tomorrow, We'll see how I do. The local townsfolk (Hanover) have put on a dinner
for us tonight in their community hall which was great and we had our first
poem written, read (apparently its a bit of a traditional thing on these type
of rides) about all the vehicles that have been bogged (7 today) and all
the riders and crew getting lost (don't know how many but a lot - not ours today
on both counts) So till tomorrow
Goodnight
Charlie
26 May Day 2 of The Pony Express Trail. Kansas, Seneca, first of the home stations on the Pony Express Trail -
100 miles down, 1900 to go. Started
again at 6 this morning. Went out the same way we got side tracked yesterday so
at least we knew which way to go. Saw my first wild deer and Coyote today. The
Deer came out about 3 metres from under Lady and the coyote crossed the road in
front of us. For those of you that know Arabs you can guess how Lady reacted.
Whooshca!!! But I stayed on which was the best thing I could of done because
most of the day was spent travelling in mud ankle deep. At a guess I reckon 47
of the 50 miles was mud. Really hard going for the horses. And because God
thought that riding horses in those sort of conditions wasn't fair on the horses
he evened it up a bit by opening the heavens on us again today. You know your
going to get wet when you can hear the rain pelting down behind you and you
still are not getting wet. The not getting wet bit changes after about 6 seconds
and then by the 8th second your wet all the way through and your toes are
swimming. Talk about rain on the Kansas prairies. Any way after 8 hours and 25
minutes we got to the ride base for a first and second. Joe was first home an d
I got best condition so we were pretty happy with that and by tomorrow the
misery of today will have been forgotten and we head off towards Marysville. The
locals opened up their museum for us tonight as this (The town of Seneca) was
the first of the home stations on the Pony Express trail. The Pony express
riders changes horses at relay stations every 10 to 15 miles depending on the
terrain but each rider actually rode between home stations where a new rider
took over the mail delivery run. These home stations are spread about 100 miles
apart. each particular rider would then rest and wait for the return mail to
ride back to his original home station. We are about to go to bed with the wind
buffeting the float and Pete complaining about the trains sounding their horns
as they come through town every 15 minutes.
Good night all
Charlie
25 May Day 1 of the 2000 Pony Express Trail - Kansas, on the way to California
Hi everyone
50 down - 1950 to go. Well the great trek has
begun. And what a day it was. It started at 6 which meant that we were up at 5
to feed the horses and then off we went to California! The morning was a great
day for riding - it a bit on the warm side. One vet check at the 25 mile mark
and then all hell broke loose. With tornado sirens wailing from the towns that
we couldn't see the heavens unleashed! Lightning, thunder, wind and rain. The
rain was so heavy and the wind so loud that even with me screaming at my horse
he could not hear me and forget about being able to see Joe riding 3 feet from
me! I rode rode Zaf for his first completion even though the GPS co-ordinates
were down loaded incorrectly into our GPS unit. Joe and I were travelling at 7
and 8 (after all the rain we could count hoof prints) till we went 5 miles out
of the way and came in 2nd and third last.
For all of you that saw all the damage caused by
the tornado at Joplin - we had already left. Joplin is about 50 miles west of
Republic. Dales Son and Daughter live at Joplin but there places missed the
devastation although Todd's warehouse did get some damage.
So we roll along
Charlie