Descanso 50-Mile Endurance Ride 2015 Report

I decided to write up this report so I could remember the day’s events and because many of my friends care about Mimosa and would want to know the details. It’s long…like usual. I hope my friends will share their experiences too so we can all learn from each other. 

I was all ready to go with trailer attached and just needed to get Mimosa only to find my left rear truck tire was almost flat. (Was this an omen of what was to come?) I called Junction Tire frantic saying I needed a new tire because I was leaving out of town. They were absolutely awesome as usual and were able to repair it quite quickly for me (darn giant nail). I thought the universe was looking out for me because it happened while still at home (instead of out in the middle of Interstate 8 while trailering a horse). I never get so lucky as to have them be able to repair it instead of ending up needing a brand new tire. Anyway, on to Descanso.

Ready for travel;

Mimosa and I arrived there Thursday afternoon so that we would have plenty of time to stretch her legs, rehydrate and set up and get comfortable before vetting in on Friday afternoon. We met several people who were very nice and helped me set up my tent and get hay ready for Mimosa. You see, I’m highly allergic to hay and even with allergy shots I often end up needing to take a cocktail of prednisone, Benadryl and Sudafed after a day or so to get rid of my almost full body hives when I go on these trips. This trip was no exception.

Settling in

Dinner time

Ready for our Friday prep ride

Friday we went for a short stretch out ride since it had been 11 days since our last ride. We went down a trail called Dead Horse Trail. (Another omen?) There was a water crossing maybe 10 feet across and Mimosa absolutely refused to go across it. I worked with her for about 5-7 minutes then finally decided to get off and lead her across. She trusted me and followed. I got back on and we went across it 3 more times then headed back to the main trail. I thought…oh boy…I hope she doesn’t give me this much trouble crossing water on race day.

She vetted in Friday afternoon and got straight As. The race started at 6 am on Saturday morning and we started out near the front settling in with the 2^nd group of horses. 

Approaching the start line

About 3 or so miles in, we were supposed to go around a gate and head straight up a hill, but all the ribbons led us to go left. Almost 2 miles in the lead riders told us we all went the wrong way and we turned around (those ribbons were for the 12-mile fun ride, not the 50-mile ride). It’s so frustrating when people take down ribbons that race participants are relying upon. At least 20 riders ended up going the wrong way. This 50-mile race now turned into a 53.8-mile race for Mimosa and me.

Once we turned around we settled in with the 3 lead riders and Mimosa sounded (breathing) and felt great! We were nearing the 1^st vet check and we all separated a little so that we could get a good photo op of each of us as we passed the race photographer. The lead riders slowed to a walk and I hopped off Mimosa to walk her into the vet check. I wanted to take my weight off of her so that she would be able to get her pulse down more quickly. I moved her reins off her bit and hooked them on to her halter like a lead rope (thank goodness I did this!!!) She was anxious, however, because the lead riders were steadily leaving her behind. Her front left hoof caught the back of my right shoe as I was stepping and I stepped out of my shoe. She took about 3 more steps and I reached back to grab my shoe. The next thing I knew she had turned perpendicular to the trail and her front legs were in the brambles that were off the right side of the embankment. She scrambled to get back on the trail and sunk further down. Time moved in slow motion for the next few seconds as she slipped off the trail and fell onto her left side. I saw her fall down a few feet then fall again through more brush and as horrifying as it was, I knew I had to let her reins go. The last thing I saw was her precious face as I let go and she fell through another layer of bushes and out of my sight.

I was horrified! I screamed and called her name. I didn’t know what to do. The image I had burned in my brain at that moment was of a video someone posted on Facebook about a horse that suffered for an hour or more waiting to get put down by a vet after falling off a cliff. I was convinced she was going to die or was already dead. I thought about jumping offthe side of the embankment to find her then realized that was absolutely stupid and I would not be able to help her that way. I sprinted the 100 feet or so down the trail to the vet check and yelled for someone to get a vet because my horse just fell off the side of the cliff. I scrambled through waist high brambles trying desperately to get to her yelling her name. I’m certain I looked like a lunatic. I couldn’t see her at all and probably only made it 10 feet in because the brush was so thick. Next thing I heard was my friend Tammy calling for me saying she had her and she was okay. What? Oh my god! Are you kidding me?! I scrambled back to the trail and saw her ponying Mimosa down the trail towards me.

Tammy saw her fall and called out her name. Mimosa scaled that bush filled cliff to get back up to the trail and stopped right in front of her so she could grab her reins. I still have absolutely no idea how Mimosa did that! I cried a sigh of relief but was a complete wreck.

We came into the vet check and the volunteers gave me her time in card. Friends and strangers started helping me to cool her down because her heart was higher than the 56 bpm that it needed to be to pulse in and start the 20-minute rest time…no surprise there. Meanwhile, my heart rate was through the roof. People told me to go take a breather and get a drink and to move away from her because she was feeding off of my heart rate and I wasn’t helping. She was fine. She was fine? I couldn’t believe it! All she had was a few superficial scrapes!! Are you kidding? The brush must have softened her fall. Another friend Troy took off her saddle and taught me not to let her eat til she pulsed down because it can raise her heart rate. I finally calmed down enough and slowed my breathing so I could squat down and lower her head and whisper “You Are My Sunshine” to her to get her pulse down. It worked.

We let her eat and drink and then took her over to the vet to get checked out. He said all her scratches were superficial and we would watch them for swelling through the next 2 vet checks. Her heart rate was good. Her attitude was great. She trotted out fine. And the vet cleared us on to continue. My friend John said, “Don’t be nervous. Get back on the horse and ride”. I wasn’t nervous for myself at all or to ride. But I was very distraught at the incident that had just occurred and Mimosa would be able to sense this. So I sucked it up and put it out of my head and waited til later to let it truly resonate.

Right big and little toes bruised

It wasn’t until that night when I took my shoes and socks off that I realized why/how this had happened. I knew something was wrong with my foot because it hurt badly every time I hopped off Mimosa to run next to her and give her a break. But the seconds from the time I knew my shoe came off until she was falling were a blur until I looked at my foot later. I realized that when I reached back to grab my shoe, Mimosa accidentally stepped on my shoeless foot. I must have yelped because she immediately jumped off knowing she had hurt me. It was at this point that she lost her footing. Many times when horses step on people’s feet, they break bones. Anytime Mimosa has ever stepped on my foot, she immediately jumps off because she realizes she has harmed or could harm me.

Mimosa and I went on to ride the rest of the race. Surprisingly, she was not any worse for the wear. She ate and drank very well throughout the day. At lunch and at the third vet check the vets kept a close eye on her and said she was fit to continue on. She walked when she was tired. She trotted and loped when she was not. She did her usual “I want to stay with the horses that I just passed”, which we had to work through but that was not any different than usual. We crossed through all the water crossings we encountered where there was no other way across without any issue.

Rode with Kecia between vet checks 2 and 3

We loped down the soft ground at the end of the trail to the finish line where several of my friends were cheering us in and told us we finished 10^th. It was at this point when I finally let myself break down. Thank you to my friends for supporting me as I cried tears of relief and gratefulness. We untacked Mimosa so that I could be weighed with all our tack and she would not stand still at all. I don’t know if she thought we weren’t official at the finish or what, but Claire said she looked like a 100-mile horse at that point ready and willing to keep going.

Her final vet card scores are pictured at the bottom of this post. She actually improved on her gut scores by the end of the race illustrating that she ate and drank well.

Sometimes I hear people ponder whether or not we are forcing our horses into doing this sport or if it's fair to them. I believe that not all horses are able to or want to compete or even participate in this sport. But I also believe that Mimosa loves being out there. I believe that she tells me when enough is enough and that she is extremely good at taking care of herself. If you look at this next picture, I have a look of trepidation and doubt on my face. Meanwhile, you will see that she is happily eating. I have no recollection of my friend Kathy taking this picture even though I was looking straight at the camera. This was probably only 20-30 minutes after her fall.


We were planning on doing a 25-mile race today, but I decided it wasn’t worth it even though the vets cleared her to race. She had worked so hard on her 53.8-mile race and deserved a rest. So today we went for a shake out ride (maybe 3 miles). She refused to go into a trot when we were crossing basecamp. I could not get her into a trot without putting a TON of pressure on her, which I did not want to do. But as soon as we were a little ways up the trail and she heard horses coming who were participating in the 25-mile race or the ride and tie, she got all excited and wanted to join in and I had to either let her for a few minutes or put up with a big fight. She is a competitor. She enjoys the sport. But she also tells me very loud and clear when it is time to rest. We went home later today and she hung out in my yard for a bit enjoying the grass then got a bath and went back to her home to eat more and recover.

Mimosa enjoying my nice green grass

Some stats for the race: Even without the fall, this was an extremely difficult race and I have the utmost respect for how very strong my horse is physically but also mentally. Honestly, I don’t know how she did it. There are a lot of tough climbs at elevation. Here is the elevation map to get an idea. (Sorry it's in metric. 1000 meters = 3281 feet and 1500 meters = 4921 feet)

I haven’t seen the final numbers, but I heard that 23 of the 60 horses that started the 50-mile race were pulled for one reason or another and 19 of the 25 horses that started the 25-mile race were pulled. At least one I know of was because the rider didn’t want to continue…it was extremely hot and humid and she was dehydrated and did not feel well enough to continue. But we also had several horses that were injured or got into trouble metabolically. One endurance friend of mine came off her horse and had broken ribs and a punctured lung. It’s dangerous for both horses and humans but, fortunately, I believe the events of this race are the exception and not the rule. It was a really strange day, and I’m grateful that we made it through to ride again. I’m so enamored with my horse and I love her so very much. Thank you Mimosa for being such an amazing friend. I feel very lucky and am truly blessed.

(I had hoped to have more pictures of the day, but it didn't work out that way. I barely ate and drank because I was too focused on Mimosa and was quite dehydrated by the end of the day. Another thing I had heard many times but did not heed very well this time...take care of yourself out there too.)

Back of vet card

Front of vet card