By the Numbers

I must admit when I noticed Farley’s slick shiny summer coat starting to shed…I stuck my fingers in my ears, closed my eyes and said “lalalalalalalalalala”.

I could swear her nice short summer coat had JUST come in. Is it just me or do horses spend their time more furry than less?

But now, mid-September, I must face the facts. Summer is officially ending in the next week or so, the days are getting noticeably shorter, and even if it isn’t sweatshirt weather, I’ve started throwing one in the truck for the mornings and evenings “just in case”.

Farley definitely has a “spring” in her step….the late summer lethargy has disappeared and my sweet, precious pony, while not totally replaced by a fire breathing dragon, has at least progressed to a “prove to Melinda how athletic I am!” pony. Fall agrees with her and our pleasant mid-day canter on the canal quickly turned into airs above ground at a gallop……

Has it really been almost 8 weeks since Tevis 2010? I’m anxiously awaiting my buckle in the mail (any day!) but received something almost as good the other day – my official numbers!

I’ll be updating the conditioning data in my pages/tabs on the top of the blog to reflect this year’s Tevis, and through our current conditioning, but here’s a short blurb on interesting facts I took from the number sheet.

In 2010 I spent almost the exact same amount of time in the gate-and-goes (~45 minutes) as 2009. (through Foresthill)

In 2010…

• I was much faster from Redstar to Robinson
• Slower to from Robinson to Last chance
• EXACTLY the same to Deadwood
• Slower to Foresthill from chicken Hawk
  
• All the other segments were paced relatively the same in 2009 vs 2010. (except of course the race stopped at Foresthill for me in 2009).
  

In 2010, I spent a total of 82 minutes in gate and goes OR late from checks (late 4 minutes out of Robinson). This means I spent almost as much time in vet checks/gate and goes in the last 35 miles, as I did in the first 65 miles.

The official time spent at gate-and-gos may not be entirely accurate, because for G&Gs prior to Foresthill I would often vet through right away and then spend time after I had been clocked “out” letting Farley eat. I probably spent 10-15 minutes per check prior to Foresthill, regardless of what my official in/out times were. After Foresthill I spent 15-20 minutes at each gate and go. I had planned on 15 mintues at Fransico’s but Farley had different ideas (stayed ~20 minutes). I actually had no idea I spent so long at Lower Quarry (20 minutes) but didn’t feel well at that point so who knows how my brain was functioning.

Walking the ENTIRE way from the last check to the finish took me 1.6 hours (4 miles)

I didn’t always pulse in when Farley first came down – it depended on whether there were lines or, if I was letting her eat before or after the vet check.

Final P/R was 52. (pulsed right off the trail)

Scores were all A’s/B’s except for one C for gut sounds at one of the checks near the canyons. In that case, I had a HUGE crowd in front of me and vetted her in immediately off the trail, knowing she would eat AFTER the gate and go at the out timer.

• Overall “real” pace: 4.95 (takes into account time spent in checks. Because I spent more time in G&G’s than recorded, my overall actual pace was probably closer to 5mph)
• Pace based on official ride time: 4.82
• Start to Foresthill 2009: 5.60
• Start to Foresthill 2010: 5.63