The Pub With No Beer Endurance Ride

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GerDay All,
The following is NOT a ride report, nor does it echo the views, opinions or impressions of the Ride Committee, other riders or, indeed, anyone else involved with The Pub With No Beer Ride. It is purely an essay, of sorts, reflecting my experience.

It will be, as is my custom, bloated, ungrammatical and conversational. If you do not wish to read something that is less than economical with words, is long winded and somewhat disjointed, I suggest you return to the main page.

I do not claim to have an ability with the language, but as no
other riders have supplied their impressions of the ride, I thought that I would make an attempt to capture the moment, to the best of my ability.

The week started off with more failures than you could poke a stick at, for me, with everything that could possibly go wrong with the installation of the P.A. system happening. If it wasn't for Joel Porter and his assistance with his time and his machine equipped to lift me up to make running repairs, there would have been no P.A. at all. More on that later. I only include it to indicate the stress levels that yours truly had been heaping upon himself! You could only imagine the relief I felt to get that part of the show working, so that I could relax and enjoy my very first involvement as a rider.

I remember, as we headed towards Booroorban, with float in tow, loaded with Indy (the horse) and Buck, the butterflies in my stomach. I was as jittery as a debutante. Nervousness is an understatement.

My trepidation was as a result of the fact that, having only been learning under Steph's expert tuition for a very short space of time, I felt in awe of the task before me. To you experienced Endurance riders, or, indeed, anyone who is competent in the saddle, a 40 Km Trainer is just a walk in the park. You see I had only every been on a horse a half a dozen times in my life! To me, it represented my "Everest", and I was concerned that I should complete the distance whilst being as easy upon Indigo Autumn as I could. With my not inconsiderable size and weight coupled with my perceived lack of riding skills, I was worried that Indy (the horse) would do it tougher than necessary and her welfare was my paramount concern.

Would I have learnt enough in the half a dozen rides I had done with Steph to ease Indy's burden? Steph is a marvellous teacher, but had I absorbed enough of what she had tried to instil in me to succeed? It promised to be a blazing hot afternoon and would I have enough know-how to ride the course under the conditions? This was the acid test!

I had a shower, dressed in my "riding clobber" and came over to where Steph had Indy all saddled and prepared for my debut! I simply had to mount up and proceed to the marshalling area for the "kick off".

I remember that my nerves were in tatters as I struggled gamely to try and recall all the instruction I had received. I wasn't afraid of riding, I just wasn't too sure I had the skills to help Indy get through! I knew that Dave Macey, who has ridden horses all his life, would be travelling with me, but the difference was that, although this was Dave's first Endurance attempt, his horsemanship skills were more than equal to the task. I felt so inadequate as I awaited the command to ride out. Also riding with us was Kim Gibbs on Shalamar, another horse person who was a skilled rider but without Endurance experience.

Five O'clock in the afternoon came and away we went at a sedate walk! Over the bridge on the Cobb Hwy we went, only to strike a couple of drover's dogs tied at the ends of the bridge! One tried to heel Buck and Dave had a moment of excitement as he controlled Buck's terror! I realised, then, that here was a horseman who would be well suited to "schooling" me.

With the temperature soaring to about 43 Deg C and with little or no breeze, I reckoned I was going to learn and learn fast about managing your mount in the desert! I have to say that this weekend saw record temperatures all over Australia and Hay was no different. It is just a shame that, a week earlier it was mild and temperatures out at Hay have already dropped down considerably. Perhaps the God's were against us?

Perry Honeyman hung back with us tail-enders for a while, imparting some valuable advice. Thanks, Perry, for being a mate and for helping me settle down and get my nervousness under control.

First stop was the ground tank (dam to the rest of us) at the 5 Km mark. Indy and Shalamar drank their fill, but Buck was more interested in playing with the water, splashing it all over the lot of us, so Dave gave it best and we continued on our merry way.

Although I had helped Gene and Steph mark the track, I have to say that you would bloody near have to be a goose to get lost! It was a well defined farm access road and easy to follow, with few, if any, off shoots. Ground under foot was just soil, with few rocks and what I would have thought was soft enough to reduce concussion, whilst hard enough so as not to have the mounts struggle for footing. In short, probably ideal footing for a flat country ride, in my not so knowledgeable opinion!

Next stop was at the 10 Km mark, where there was a radio steward! It was a new experience for me to be on the other side of a check-point! The blokes there were marvellous, handing out vast amounts of iced water, cheerful conversation and rendering every kindness upon us, without actually doing anything that could be defined as "outside assistance".

We pushed on in the sweltering heat, covered in dust and flies. Indy was her usual self ..... asleep .... Shalamar was being Shalamar .... he thinks he is a 4 legged human .... whilst Buck was trying to shy at everything he could lay his eyes on ... even a clump of horse manure! Like, those leading horses were dropping horse eating excrement!!!! Sure, Buck! Dave's horsemanship came to the fore and, pretty soon, he had Buck sorted out in grand style! I can only dream of having the level of skill of a rider like Dave.

The afternoon wore on and I tried to sing (I mean bellow) but it was too hot and I was too dry to worry about continuing! Besides, I am not so sure that my travelling companions were overly impressed with the ruckus emanating from me!

"Mount Booroorban", a huge outcrop of at least 100 foot high, came and went. Man was the view from this monstrosity spectacular! You wouldn't think that such a little molehill would give such a panoramic shot of the countryside, but it is so flat out there that we could see for what seemed forever!

Down the other side we thundered at .... a walk ... and on to an irrigation channel. A local farmer and his wife were there and they had a heap of chilled water for us to drink, but the welfare of our charges came first and we headed, first, to the channel. Again, Indy and Shalamar drank with gusto. Buck, on the other hand, was still intent on cooling us with spray! Eventually, Dave managed to curtail his enthusiasm and he, too, quenched his thirst.

From time to time I dismounted from Indy and jogged along. I don't really know why I did this, other than to give her back a spell from the weight of carrying me and the saddle AND because I had often seen riders doing this at other events when I was a check-pointer for the last 10 or 15 years! I reckoned they must have had good reason!

By this time we were definitely leading the race to be last home!

Another check-point under our belt! We were on the home stretch now!

As darkness began to fall upon us, we turned onto Tchelleri (spelling?) Road. This was 15 Km of bitumen "road". It was a high crowned affair, with a thin strip of asphalt down the middle and an even thinner dirt shoulder.

Onward, ever onward, we strove. The temperature had dropped considerably, but now we had darkness to contend with! Boy! I was learning a whole heap of skills all in one go!

Finally, after about 6 hours (I guess I held poor old Dave and Kim up all the way) the lights of the Pub came into view! I realised then and do now that I probably didn't ride anywhere quickly enough, but I had made it! A little saddle weary, a little sore but thoroughly elated, I crossed over the finishing line to the roar of the crowd! Actually, I think there was one person at the finishing line, but my sense of achievement was such that, in my mind's eye, I had scored the winning try in a test match (at rugby) against the All Blacks!

Now the strapping began in earnest! Indy is such a patient horse and has such good heart rates that all we really needed to do was cool her down a little and her heart rate was down to 40 BPM. Shalamar was the same. Buck, on the other hand, being the hyper-active so and so that he is, took a little more doing, but pretty soon, he too, was within the limits.

Over to the vetting area we went. The butterflies in the stomach were back in droves! Would we get through okay? Had we been out too long and would Indy be sore in the back? What about metabolics? A thousand doubts ran through my mind as I worried about possibly having completed the distance only to vet out at the end. I can only imagine how it must feel for all you poor buggers at the last vet check at a Quilty or a Shahzada!

Buck got through! Yay! At least one of us tail end Charlies had made it! Mind you, with a horseman such as Dave, it was no real surprise. He rides so lightly in the saddle for a solid man and looks like he and the horse are one!

Next it was up to Indy and Indy! Heart rate was 40! Good! Phew! The TPR Steward prompted me forward. The vet prodded and poked and examined every crevice and orifice (or so it seemed). Now for the moment of truth! The "trot out". Out and around the markers we went, my stomach up in my mouth and my heart racing in sympathy. Would "we" be lame? I knew I certainly was, I was just hoping that Indy would be "fit to continue".

Thumbs up! We made it! My feeling of absolute elation at completing my first Training Ride is indescribable.

I know that Kim and Shalamar also vetted through okay, but I have to admit that my emotions and relief was such that I didn't even watch them vet through. Sorry, Kim. I hope you can forgive my ignorance.

So there you have it. Indy, riding Indy had completed the first of many future adventures together. At least, I hope it is the first of many. I was a little sore and had a little cramping in the legs, over night, but I have to say that I recovered well and can hardly wait for my next encounter.

I am fully aware that a mere 40 Km is a stroll in the park for all you real Endurance riders, but to me, who had only been on a horse's back a half a dozen times, it was like the pinnacle of my life's experience, so far, and an achievement of which I am proud, whether it is justified or not.

I consider that I have just managed to pass my "learn to sit" test, and now I can start my apprenticeship as an Endurance rider. Whilst I may never achieve my aspirations to be a horseman, respected by his peers, I have made a start. Now, all the learning is in front of me.

My thanks go to Dave Macey for his expert guidance on the track, to Kim Gibbs for her company, to all the other training riders for letting me bumble along and, most importantly, to all the check-pointers, the TPR's, Stewards, Vets, Office staff and Gene and Steph for putting on such a tremendous event. I am sure that all the riders echo these sentiments and the town of Booroorban owe them a vote of gratitude for making this event happen. It is because of them and the riders who came from near and far that the weekend was as successful as it was. Thanks, also, to the Booroorban Social Club for providing the food and for the Royal Mail Hotel for the amenities.

Thanks, especially, to Stephanie Dickie for all her encouragement, her education and the loan of Indy. Without you and your support and generosity, my dream of starting out as an Endurance rider would be just that ... a dream. Thank you, too, Steph, for manning (or is that personing) the base radio and P.A. so that I could stumble my first steps toward achieving my goal.

At the start of this essay, I made a brief mention of Joel Porter and the assistance he rendered to me in erecting the P.A. system. If it wasn't for Joel, donating his time for about 2 1/2 days, and a machine (which he could conceivably hire out at about $50.00/hour), we wouldn't have had a system up and running at all and I certainly would never have been able to avail myself of the opportunity to ride. Thank, Joel. You're a champion.

Last but not least, the generosity of Gene Mitchell and Stephanie Dickie for accommodating me for so long prior to and after the ride. You are most generous and a man would go on a long march before he found nicer, more generous people. You are truly wonderful. Thank you.

Thus are Indy's impressions of his ride!

Kindest

Indy

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