2021 Virgin Outlaw XP I & II

Link to video: https://youtu.be/q03BgzidqZI

After 3 months of recovery and rehab for Demon, and a lot of work for me, too, it felt like time to get out and do a ride. Mostly I needed a chance to get away for a few days or a week, out of the day to day grind. While I certainly love my horses and my life generally, sometimes a change of scenery is required.

So, unsure how much we could or would actually accomplish, I submitted my entry for all 6 days and we hit the road.

It's been a few years since I've gone to VO, and I think I've only been once. So when I put the GPS coordinates into Maps and it told me it was 750ish miles away, it didn't seem especially unusual. I read the directions real quick but didn't commit them to memory. Seemed like I had every thing set up and ready to go.

We set out on Friday afternoon, much later than I'd hoped, and made it just under 300 miles. We boondocked at Cima Road overnight, then headed on in the morning. Had breakfast with my daughter. Continued on our way, expecting to make camp by midafternoon.

That is not what happened.

As I was driving along the 15, listening to my book, we passed what I thought should have been our exit and just figured Maps knew better than me. It wasn't until I was directed off the highway and I realized nothing around looked familiar at all I decided I'd bollixed something up.

I went back to the email, and tried again to use the GPS coordinates to no avail. Eventually I searched the road name, which seemed to put me in the right way.

I was some 100 miles out of my way.

Turned around, followed the new directions, got back where we needed to be after dark.

Then blew it at the turn down the forest road to camp.

Got turned around, got to camp, and proceeded to wander around camp looking for a place to park.

Sheesh.

Sometimes this sport makes me feel completely incompetent and before I've got the horse unloaded.

I got Demon unloaded, took him to water, and got him set up. Decided it wasn't important to get the leveling and everything done until we'd rode the first day. I was going to need to unhook the truck and head into town, seeing as I'd forgotten everything I'd been meant to take with me from the refrigerator. I even forgot to pack a blanket for Demon. We'd do the LD in the morning and figure out the rest.

Day 1

In the morning I got up and knocked on Dave and Annie's door. Let them know I was there, handed over my handheld GPS, and went to put in an entry card for the day. Went back to the trailer, finished up breakfast and groomed Demon. Took Demon back up to be vetted in. Dave pronounced him clear to go. Annie let me know the tracks had not uploaded to my handheld. I was on my own.

So I set up the tracks to download to my phone while I finished saddling up. Once I got the tracks on my phone, I noodled around with EasyTrails in an effort to set it up to follow. The tracks were mostly titled in a way that made them easy to decipher, but a few were less than entirely clear. I looked at maps trying to decide which one I was meant to follow before deciding probably the 30ish mile loop was it. 

I wasn't feeling particularly good about trying to ride out of camp, something I've never been worried about doing. Demon was certainly no more amped up than usual. Nevertheless, I ended up walking out of camp.

This of course leads to an interesting predicament. I can't get on from the ground just yet. I'm too slow. I have to use a step of some sort in order to get on without pulling the saddle over. So I fairly quickly decided I'd better suck it up and get on.

I found a likely spot in an embankment cut by a seasonal stream. It was about 2 feet high. Perfect for getting myself on. So I sidled Demon up to the downward side of the embankment and mounted up.

Now, in order to line up alongside the embankment, I had to point Demon away from the way the trail was heading and by this time we'd been passed by nearly every other horse in camp. So it wasn't particularly surprising that he couldn't contain his enthusiasm and tried to head back to the trail. Except that, instead of going forward and turning around, he chose to back up. He chose to back up and turn. He turned up the embankment. Backward. I really did not have time to orient and determine how best to help him before we ended up turned around, sort of halfway on the embankment, and he lost his footing and fell over. Fortunately for him, he was relatively close to the ground. Me, not so much. Landed hard on my right elbow and wrist as well as my ribs. 

I decided to hike a bit farther.

We reached a gather corral and the person manning the gates directed us on through. We continued hiking and reached a road, where Dave and Annie intercepted us. Dave told me I had been misled, and we were on the wrong danged trail! Our choices were to continue on (having already gone a good 2 miles) and he'd submit the ride as a 30 for those who'd made the same error, or we could turn back and pick up the correct trail.

I chose Option A.

I hiked for quite a ways further, eventually looking for a likely rock or stump to get me on. Eventually we found a fallen log sturdy enough to get on and we were off. Once I was on, Demon needed to get moving! So we had a nice trot for a while.

Because we'd ended up on the wrong trail, we got to see Thunder Mountain Trail, an extremely beautiful section of white knuckle trail with stunning views.  There are portions of the trail narrow enough Demon was knocking rocks over the edge. There are portions with sheer dropoffs on both sides. It's absolutely gorgeous. At one point I did consider whether I might be safer on foot, but quickly dismissed the idea. Odds are, I would have simply fallen off the damned trail to my death, leaving Demon to figure out what he ought to do with himself. Demon is much more sure footed than I am, that's for sure.

I decided we'd make it a fairly slow 30. Seemed like a good day for it. Especially with the number of gates I had to get off to open and close. Precious few could be opened effectively on horseback, and of the ones that could, the chains were too low for me to be able to reach without just falling off anyway. Not that Demon is especially tall, more that I am not especially flexible. Most of the gates were wire ranch gates or dragged the ground and had to be lifted, or the chains were below the level of my knee on horseback, or the chains had to be passed around a post I needed both hands for. Overall, the only practical way of handling the gates was on foot. At least most of them had something soon after which served to help get me back on. A few I wound up hiking a ways for.

On the last section before heading up to camp, Demon was getting pretty thirsty. There was a cow pond off the trail. I did not want to go into the cow pond. Demon made it clear he was getting a drink from the cow pond with or without me. I elected to dismount and let him go in alone. Even still, he did a good job of trying to drag me in after him. I might have been better off to stay mounted, but every time we encountered a cow pond, which apparently he has decided are the best water on earth, I dismounted and let him have at it. I'm going to remember this the next time he insists his stock tank at home is too icky to drink from.

I managed to find a place to get back on, and we hit the jeep road at a good clip only to discover a gate. So I had to get off and handle the gate. At least this one had a stump on the far side.

Once we made it back to camp, after a really nice day mostly on our own, I declined the offer of continuing the 50 and went back to our trailer. I still needed to level and unhook and head in to town for some food.

Day 2

In the morning, I got up and ran my hands over Demon. He had a ridiculously itchy spot just under his girth, and was rather swollen behind it. He seemed a bit sore to the touch around it as well. Other than that, he seemed fine. Maybe a little cold, since I hadn't brought him a danged blanket. 

Ultimately I elected to have a day in camp and allow him and myself a little time to recover. I applied plenty of thick cream to what I decided must be a bug bite to protect it from the flies and let him have the day to eat.

Day 3

The morning of Day 3, Demon looked pretty good. The swelling and itchiness were significantly reduced. He wasn't at all sore. So I saddled up and we headed out.

The trail for Day 3 headed around Castro Bluff and back. There was lots of single track. At some point as we went hotting along, we managed to get off trail. Despite being a ride with few ribbons, it's not a ride with no ribbons, so I was pretty sure we'd gotten off trail when I pulled my phone out and checked. Sure enough, we were off trail. I turned around and headed back up, letting the riders behind me know we were off trail. 

We got back to the so well marked turn I don't know how I managed to miss it. Unfortunately, from there, I couldn't be sure which way we'd come from and which way we were meant to go. So I picked a direction and tried to watch my phone screen to see if we were going the wrong way. Fairly quickly, a couple horses and riders were coming at us. Pretty good indication I had chosen poorly!

And then we came to that cow pond again. Despite having recently had a drink, Demon wanted a drink from the danged cow pond. So I dismounted and let him wade in. At least this time I knew there was a gate just up the road, and just stayed off until we got past it and to the extremely convenient stump on the other side.

Once again turned back the correct way on the trail, we finished the first loop in good in order, did our hold, and headed out for the second loop.

The second loop was mostly jeep trails, so fairly boring. Coupled with not being Demon's favorite part of the day (unless he can have a nap), he wanted to just walk it. But I knew we didn't have time to play at walking. So I pushed pretty hard, going so far as to set a timer on my watch. We'd trot for 10 minutes, walk for 5. This routine got us through the loop quickly enough and we finished with time to spare.

Day 4

After a rest day, we were once again ready to hit trail. Demon's bug bite did swell up again with rest, but after walking him and lunging him in camp a bit I determined it wasn't bothering him particularly and it would probably do him some good to move. I did leave his girth looser than usual, having a couple weeks earlier determined I could do so safely enough so long as I didn't try to mount from the ground.

This day headed down Castro Canyon to pick up Thunder Mountain trail the other direction. I'd entered us in the 50, having by this time decided Demon and I both were in good enough shape to complete one, despite our fall early on and the resulting sore elbow and ribs I was experiencing.

Going down Castro Canyon at a good trot, I leaned right to get around a tree. Demon wanted to go left to avoid a boulder. These two things happened at the same time. The unfortunate result was, Demon was unable to clear the boulder. His right front smashed into the boulder. He hit it hard enough to be immediately all but 3 legged lame. 

We slowed to walk as Demon considered his position. That foot stung. He wanted to go, but he had a limp for a while. About the time I was thinking I needed to call back to camp for a trailer, though, he smoothed out and trotted sound. Even trotted sound heading up into Thunder Mountain, where we would be obliged to walk for some time.

After we made it through Thunder Mountain, we got back to a wide road. We found a bucket for a good drink, and started on our way. I asked for a trot, and he was clearly off.

Knowing now we would not be finishing, but having plenty of horse, I opted to ride at a walk back to camp. The times I had to get off to handle gates, it was clear I was not going to be able to keep up with Demon on foot. He was prepared to drag me if he had to. So ride I did, albeit keeping to a walk despite Demon's demonstrated desire to at least trot.

There was another cow pond just before a gate here, into which I was obliged to allow Demon to wade without me. At least this time he didn't try to drag me in.

Back at camp, I stopped at the trailer first to strip off the saddle, knowing we were done for the day, before taking him up to see Dave. In the few minutes it took for me to untack, he went from okayish to grade 4 lame. Dave had me trot him out and we discussed the possibilities. I allowed as I thought it was probably due to striking the boulder, and I'd take him back to the trailer and pull the shoe and run hoof testers over him.

We pulled from the 50, but we got a WDRA 30 completion nevertheless. 

Back at the trailer, I pulled the shoe and ran the hoof testers over his foot. From the outside toe quarter to just in front of the last nail he was pretty reactive. There was little question it was the source of the issue. I left him be for the night after a good rubbing down, and threw him lots of hay.

Day 5

Having pulled on Day 4, clearly we weren't going to be doing anything on Day 5, but since I was in no hurry to get home, I decided we'd stay in camp for the day. Besides, I needed to nail another shoe on his foot, and being in camp would give his foot time to settle down for the long haul home.

After a little breakfast and everyone else had left camp, I took Demon for a walk around camp. He was vastly less sore than when we'd gotten in the day before. Back at the trailer, I dressed the hoof and floated the sore section before nailing a spare shoe back on it. Then we went for another walk. 

With the affected section of hoof wall now not contacting the shoe, he was almost entirely sound.

Dave drove into camp along with Hosebag (Dave Rabe) as I was finishing up our walk and asked me to trot Demon out for him. He was impressed with the improvement, seeing him as almost completely sound. He wanted to see how he would look come the next morning. I allowed as I figured Demon was much better off, but I was concerned about trying to do a ride with the massive gap I'd put between the hoof wall and the shoe. There was no way to keep debris from building up and causing an issue. 

At this point, Hosebag offered to put a pair of Easyboots over the shoes, and we could see what that would do for him. So we went over to Hosebag's trailer and got a pair of boots. We'd re-present to Dave in the morning.

Day 6

In the morning, I led Demon around camp for a bit. He looked great to me. I couldn't see a thing. So I took him up to see Dave. Dave also proclaimed him completely sound.

We tacked up and headed out for a nice, late, 8am start. 

It didn't take long, though, before it seemed to me Demon just did not feel right at all. And every time I let him trot, he seemed less right. By the time we got to where Dave was stationed to watch the horses heading out on trail, Demon was definitely off. Certainly not as bad as he'd been, but definitely we were not going to continue. I turned a very disgruntled Demon back to camp.

At the last gate before camp, I dismounted to manage it and we walked a ways so I could use the cattle corral to get back on. Just so I could see from the ground, I asked him for a trot in hand on a flat section.

Completely sound.

So basically, it was me. He was sound in hand, lame under saddle. Still an improvement. It'll heal.

Since we were now officially completely out, and with nothing in particular to do in camp, I decided to pack up and head for home. It was an incredibly lovely week. I needed it. We needed it. Despite a mishap with a boulder, we proved we're able to do this. I did a lot of work on my riding to get here. Demon had some work as well. Obviously it has paid off. We're both in a much better place.

Until the next ride....

There will be video of this ride available. I got myself a cute little action cam, which I tried out on this ride for the first time. Now I'm just hoping it'll upload to YouTube. It will be linked here once it's finished!