I posted this over to my endurance_riders forum.  I thought you guys would like to see what I am up to now as well!

Raquel and I took Valentina and Indy to the Fireworks Ride in Santa Cruz, CA.  We entered the 25 mile.  It was an incredible course and the ride management was superb!  The entire experience was a positive and uplifting one.  

Although we came in dead last with 2.41 hours in overtime.  I didn't mind.  We have not been able to work our horses well due to the smoke in the air from all of the forest fires.  The horses were great.  They didn't even mind the river crossing with water up to their bellies.  I think Indy was a little surprised.  I think that is the very first time he experienced that.  Valentina was head strong and couldn't wait for the challenge.  Now, this same mare, freaked out at a 2 foot wide stream with black mud holes on each side!  That was just at the beginning of the ride.  She jumped and jumped again!  Into the side of a hill dumping me onto a rock.  Thank goodness I am a true believer in HELMETS!  And I was glad that I had just picked up the newest model of the Tipperary.  It has one of the highest safety ratings.  Although I was hurt and I probably should have gone back to camp.  I didn't want Raquel to think life was all about not meeting tough challenges.  So, we continued on for the rest of the 25 miles.  

The first 7 miles of the ride were the most technical that I have ridden to date.  Lots of steep climbs, steep downhills, deep sand with steep steps in and out, the river crossing with water up to their bellies.  If you stepped over a foot there was about a 4 foot drop off.  Came out of the river with lots of kudos and GREAT JOB!   That made me wonder if this had been a difficult crossing for some.  Raquel later found out that someone went into the deep end with their horse and got hurt.  So, I felt good about Valentina making that water crossing.  We got into the Vet check which was a trot through for us.  I had to stop and check tack, us the facilities (outhouse), and see if the horses wanted to take food and water.  We had about 10 minutes there and started out on the 11 mile Wilder Loop.  

The 11 mile Wilder Loop had one two water tanks.  We were not able to sponge our horses at the stop.  Which was not good because most of the ride was out in the open sun, in the heat of the day, with very little green to graze on and get moisture into the horses.  So, it was in my estimated opinion, if we wanted to have horses under us to the finish, we better take it slower than we would have liked.  We had already lost 1.5 hours by that loop and needed the loop to make up lots of time.  I'd rather have a healthy horse than a good finish time at that rate. 

We got back into the vet check.  Valentina pulsed down to 40 within seconds!  I was AMAZED!!!!   She didn't want to drink much water and she didn't want anything to eat at first.  It took her about 10 minutes to calm down, watch other horses eating, and drinking, that she decided she could take the time to eat and drink.  Indy didn't wait he dove in right away.  I don't ever worry about if he is going to take care of himself or not.  We had a 30 minute hold time and headed back to the vet check to clear.  They said, "you can be trailered back or continue on, your horses are cleared, but you won't make the 1pm cut off."  It was 1pm at that time.  I said if the horses are okay then we will finish the last 7 miles.  

The last seven miles were the longest seven miles I have ever ridden in my life.  I wanted to get off my horse and never get back on a horse the rest of my life.  I didn't put any aspirin in my crew bag at the vet check - which was the first thing on my things to remember to do list!  It would have saved me lots of pain on the way back.  I would have not spent so much time on Valentina's back.  I couldn't post after 20 miles so I had to sit the trot.  And believe me all she wanted to do on the way back was TROT~  

We got into the finish and they thought we were some of the 50 milers coming in until they saw the color of the chalk numbers on the horses butts!  LOL!  They were like ohhh, dear, well, ahhhhh you have a 2.41 overtime - sorry!!!  I said no problem!  And the P&R people checked the horses and were like WOW!~   That made me feel good.  We finished and the horses finished very well.  The vet said Indy had some gut sounds to be cautious about but at that point no worries.  We kept a good eye on him and he ate and drank well and had no problems throughout the night.  I was glad that we had holding pens instead of having to high tie them or have them in small holding pens.  I think it helped to have the larger area for them to move around in.  

The food was great.  The awards banquet was nice.  There were lots of people there from our area.  It was the first ride that most could get to that had not been canceled due to smoke problems.  I got to see Joell there and her wonderful Sam!  I just love him.  He is a track rehab and man has Joell done the best job on this guy.  I also got to meet one of her friends, Leah, and her horse.  Another well put together muscled out TB.  I didn't get to spend much time with them and they had left before we got back.  I hope they will be at many more rides!!!

I am still a little sore.  I know that I want to continue with endurance riding.  I just need to address some smaller issues to insure the same mistakes are not duplicated that happened on this ride.  Raquel did FANTASTIC and could have done the ride all by herself if the rules had let her.  Because she is under 17 with less than 500 miles she has to ride with a sponsor.  So, I'll see if she can ride with someone else.  I will only hold her back and that might spoil the experience for her.  And she needs to learn to keep her horses safety and well being first and foremost.   The only way she will learn that is through first hand experience.  Ahh to be that young and 'know it all' would be so refreshing.

The next ride is September 20th.  If I start work I hope that I can get that weekend off.  It will be outside of San Jose.  This will be the first year for this ride.  The ride management, on the other hand, are not new.  I would suspect that it will be a very good ride. 

When Katie, Les, and I went to the UK two years ago I had the good fortune to make two wonderful friends in the Town of Winwick. Dave and Adam, from the Winwick Post Office, have sent letters, email, and kind thoughts over the last two years.

I would walk up to the Post Office every morning from my hotel and post mail. Adam, a young man who works at the Post Office, always had a great smile to greet me with. One morning, I asked a question about St. Oswald's Church. It was closed and I was unable to get the answer from the caretaker. Adam says, "just a minute I'll run and get the caretaker to open the church for you to tour!" And off Adam went to get the church opened. I had a lovely tour, hosted by the caretaker, who took pleasure in providing me with all of the answers to all of my questions. Even allowing me to take photos inside of the church. Here is a link for you to see the St. Oswald's some of it's history.

http://darcylynne.smugmug.com/gallery/111155751727505

Dave and Adam also directed me to the horse races at Haydock Park. Where Katie and I had the best afternoon ever! We watched the races, bet on the horses (and WON), and ate great food! Well, it was not GREAT, but, it hit the spot and we had a great time. We met two women, a mother and daughter, who worked at the bar. They bought us a round of beers. We drank, laughed, enjoyed the horses, and the people. Truly a fun day! Here is a link to some pictures.

http://darcylynne.smugmug.com/gallery/111159351729733

I have not, as all of you well know, been in too much of the holiday spirit this year. I did manage to get my Christmas Cards out early! First time in 10 years. And yesterday, in the mail, from Winwick, UK, I received a Christmas Card from Dave and Adam. It has a picture of St. Oswald's on the front of the card. As you can well imagine - I cried! It made me feel so happy and so special to have these two people remember me in such a kind and generous way. Made me want to move to Winwick! Who would have thought that one would travel so far from home to feel so close to home! I must send them something very special.

So, there you have it, Christmas Spirit arrived today, in the mail, from the UK! Reminding me that there is life out there - beyond the imprisonment of the front gates of life. Life as I know it, right now, on this ranch. Thank you - Dave and Adam!

How can you see into my eyes
Like open doors?
Lading you down into my core,
Where I've become so numb.

Without a soul,
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold,
Until you find it there and lead it back
Home.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside.
(I cant wake up)
Wake me up inside.
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run.
(I cant wake up)
Before I come undone.
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I've become.

Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave me.
Breathe into me and make me real.
Bring me to life.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside.
(I cant wake up)
Wake me up inside.
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run.
(I cant wake up)
Before I come undone.
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I've become.

Bring me to life.
(I've been living a lie.
There's nothing inside)
Bring me to life.

Frozen inside without your touch,
Without your love, darling.
Only you are the life among the dead.

(All of this sight,
I can't believe I couldn't see
Kept in the dark
but you were there in front of me)
I've been sleeping a 1000 years it seems.
I've got to open my eyes to everything.
(Without a thought
Without a voice
Without a soul
Don't let me die here.
There must be something more).
Bring me to life.

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside.
(I cant wake up)
Wake me up inside.
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark.
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run.
(I cant wake up)
Before I come undone.
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I've become.

Bring me to life.
(I've been living a lie. There's nothing inside)
Bring me to life

Does the electoral college process confuse and/or aggravate you? Do you wish there was something that you could do to help affect change? Would you like to feel that your vote counts? If your answer is a resounding YES click on the following link to cast your vote, in support of, Electoral College Reform.

http://www.calcounts.org/

There is some work required. You have to actually download the form, fill it out, and mail it! Otherwise it will not amount to a hill of beans. So, just do it!

Thank you,

D'Arcy

My son-in-law, Les Carter, has been working on this bit of code writing for Karma. Les and a few of his mates do DJ'g on the side as a hobby and outlet from their very hectic professional lives. He has just made their DJ mixes available with an online radio program. Enjoy the music. And if you are in the Bay Area don't forget to catch one of their sets. You can subscribe to Karma on Myspace.com to get weekly notifications on where they will be doing their thing!

http://karmasj.com/

And don't forget to leave Les and/or Karma feedback on the online radio!

D'Arcy

Well, Thanksgiving was truly a day to be thankful! We started our day with a breakfast of oatmeal with lots of goodies in it. This, of course, was to fortify us for the 5K! Which is peanut chump change for triathlete Katie? However, good sport that Katie is she did the WALK with me! Raquel on the other hand wanted to RUN. So, run she did! Raquel averaged a 10 minute mile. Not bad for the first time ever run. Not to mention that she didn't have any training to do a run! She is all jazzed up to go into training with Katie for future 5K and 10K runs to start with. Raquel is aiming for a 5K in Auburn on New Years day. Will keep you all posted.

Thanksgiving Dinner: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm - Katie out did herself, as usual, without a whimper, complaint, or moment’s hesitation. This is amazing due to the fact that she was not feeling well! Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams with marshmallows, green bean casserole, dressing, with a nicely selected Holly's Hill Viognier. Dessert was pumpkin pie with cinnamon whipped cream (Les's favorite)! Oh and not to forget the cute little crescent rolls! :) This seemed to be a favorite as well. Because there was not one left the next morning to snack on! LOL!

We watched a GREAT film after dinner - Freedom Writers. Check it out on Netflix or at your favorite DVD rental place. Freedom Writers is an autobiographical film about a naive teacher from the 'white' America beginning her teaching career in a recently integrated school with kids 'bussed' from Compton/Watts area of LA to a 'white middle class' neighborhood school. I won't give away any more details other than to comment it was an eye opener and enjoyable giving the fact that it was based on fact!

Next morning we went to breakfast with Katie (Les still not feeling well) to our favorite Hobbie's Restaurant. I LOVE their cinnamon tea! Not to mention their dishes are truly innovative and original. And who doesn't love their blueberry coffee cake and cranberry coffee cake? Mmmmmmmmmmmm! Had to resist the butter and only ate half of the serving though. :) After breakfast we took a rather long walk (.02 miles) to Barnes and Noble! LOL! I didn't know that I could meet such a minute challenge after completing a 5K but I did and had a great stroll through books. My favorite place in the entire world! I love books! As my rather extensive book collection (which takes up half of the storage unit right now) is a testament to!

We headed home around 2pm. Had several errands to run before heading back to Placerville. Then started back. The traffic was not too bad. Slow from the start of Tracy downgrade to Stockton. Got through to Waterloo Road and then was smooth sailing the rest of the way! Got home and Dylan had already fed and left. We had a very quiet evening. The heat in the house had been off so it was 63 degrees and took a few hours to get the house back up to 68.

Thank you, Katie, for such a GREAT Thanksgiving. And the Turkey Trot went really well this year. Very organized. With far less complication and stand around waiting to start time! Meal was fantastic and the company superb. Even though the two of you were under the weather sickest...you were gracious none-the-less! I Love You!
Mom

0

May all of your day be full of Love, Joy, and Happiness!

"Live and let live."

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
God gives every bird its food,
But He does not throw it into its nest.
He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses more;
He who loses faith, loses all.

Beautiful young people are acts of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others.
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
The tongue weighs practically nothing,
But so few people can hold it.
Friends, you and me....
you brought another friend...
and then there were 3...
we started our group...
Our circle of friends...
and like that circle...
there is no beginning or end..

[Author unknown]

Noisy horses!

This is a sample shot of the leaves around the ranch today after a rather strong rain and wind.

this is a cross post from Flickr.com I did not write this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hotair2112/1721845011/

Sorry I don't know how to do the cut thing!!!!

(Taken on my Apple iphone, straight from phone cam, no computer enhancement, my Nikon D50 is broken. Location is Artesian Road in Rancho Santa fe)

We saw these horses standing here right in the middle of all the smoke and fires smoldering and the aftermath of the main fire that ran through here. I almost couldn't believe that about 25 horses were standing here and their fences had all melted or burned away.

Their owners had escaped but they were unable to evacuate the horses. The horse evacuation area at the Del Mar race track was already full with 1800+ horses, so they just left them in this large open space area which was the safest thing for the horses.

A neighbor had called the horse ranch owner Debbie, and told her that the worst of the fires had already passed, so they returned and I offered to help round up their horses.

It was extremely smokey, hot, windy. I could feel the radiant heat from glowing embers everywhere, there were flames all around and lots of smoke. All the surrounding hillsides had flames advancing. I am not much of a horse person but I figured I could handle it so i started grabbing the horses by the bridle, one or two at a time and leading them back to the safety of the barn, soon I got ahold of some lead ropes to clip to the horses which helped.

I was worried the the horses might freak because of all the surrounding flames and glowing embers but they seemed follow my lead ok. I wanted so bad to get better photos but I also wanted to help these people and horses so I had to make do with the situation.

After we got all the horses to the safety of the barn, we picked up shovels and started shoveling dirt on all the various burning flames and embers flying all around towards the barn. I didn't know these people or barely what I was doing but they were thankful for the extra help, so I kept working as long as I could.

It was just two ladies there to safeguard about 40 horses, they wanted one of us to stay but we couldn't. Getting in and out of this area was so difficult. The smoke was so thick I could barely breathe or see.

I told the ladies I would come back and I asked them what they needed, they said water and buckets to give water to the horses, (their water was not flowing). I was afraid the cops would not let me return to the area if I left, then I found a working hose and many buckets at a neighbors ranch. So I filled a bunch of buckets with water, put them in my jeep and returned back to the horses and ladies. They said I was like an angel and thanked me for the help.

There were a number of cops around questioning my movements but I had to just confidently act my part, like I belonged there, if I was to get through and continue to help these horses and ladies. At one point I asked why there were so many cops suddenly out on the street and he said to protect homes from the looters who were out doing their thing.

The neighbor from where I borrowed the water and buckets was also frantic and asking for help. One of her hoses had sprung a major leak and she asked if I could do something about that. I said I had duct tape in my jeep that could probably fix it. So with my flashlight I searched for and found the duct tape and I wrapped it in tight layers across the hose.

Some cops came down the long driveway and were announcing that we had to leave because of the mandatory evacuation. The lady told me they could go to hell because her life was tied up in this multi-million $$ home / horse ranch property, she had just acquired the whole thing in her recent divorce, and there was no way she was going to leave. So she asked me to drive down the hill to avoid the cops and to check on a major finger of the fire advancing up the hill in her direction.

When we got down the hill we could see huge flames and widespread fire working its way up the canyon. There were people there with hoses fighting the fire back from their home also. They wanted to know if there were more threatening flames on the other side of the hill where we had come from. I told them that the worst of it was right where they were.

All I can say is that this was the most intense part of this entire firestorm for me, helping to save these horses and the ranches. I was especially glad I could do something worthwhile to help, rather than just look around and take photos.

This photo was picked up by Yahoo News, so the views are skyrocketing. Also it is moving up in Explore. It's from my iphone cam and I'm thrilled because this is the proof I was looking for to help people understand (including me) it is the photographer, not the camera that counts.

Light is meant to be shared. If you try to horde it or keep it covered, out of everyone's sight, you'll just end up smothering it. Try to close it in your fist so it doesn't get away, and it burns you. You can't possess light. All you can do is appreciate it, use it and help others use it too.

In the same way, your life is also meant to be shared. Many people look upon their lives as something scarce that must be jealously protected and stowed away. They block out others and are afraid to share their time. What happens? Their spark suffocates. But there are others who have an abundance mentality. They believe, correctly so, that there's plenty of light to go around, that all flames get brighter when we share them. They know that when we invest energy in others, we get even more in return. Don't sacrifice your chance at a bonfire because you're too busy trying to keep a tiny match from going out.

Share your light with someone today!

Happy Birthday, Desertbon, may you have the best of birthdays. I hope the sun is shining and if not at least it is shining in your heart!

Happy Birthday captinthehaffie hope you had a very special and happy one.

D'Arcy

Happy Birthday to Myrdhinn! May the sun reach down to kiss your face. May the green grass feel good under your feet. And most of all may the wind never catch you sleeping!

D'Arcy

As I strive for perfection in my life I am but reminded of the one poignant quote of Salvador Dali. Where by Dali reminds us that perfection is a journey not a destination with his quote, "have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it!"

Therefore, do I cease to chase the ideal of achieving perfection. No, I think not. What this means to me is to overcome my fear of trying to achieve perfection. And what is perfection in my life?

Perfection for my life would be to compete on my mare to the highest level possible for both her and I. Perfection would be to eradicate all of the chaos that relationships seem to create in my life.

True perfection in life would be as perfect chocolate as possible. :)

If I could be just one day in the life of myself I wonder what that day would be like! Always chasing myself trying to get everything done that I can. And never feeling like I have accomplished anything. In this chess game called life...there are no checkmates. Just stalemates with no place to move on the board! And where on the chess board is the position for the condition called love?

I wonder if there really is a condition called love. I really wonder if the human heart knows anything except how to pump blood! What does the human heart know of love? Humans toss around the word 'love' like it is a ping pong ball. We toss our hearts around like they are invincible. Then we wonder what we did and what we can do to ever repair the damage.

Damage from a broken heart tormented by the loss of the sanctity of marriage. Violating the very core of our existence within our relationships. Such violation we can not comprehend without knowing and feeling physical cruelty. Leaving us to postulate heart knows and feels love. Leaving us sprawled in the sea of broken hearts. How do we survive this condition called broken heart? If a healthy diet lends to a healthy heart. What then heals the broken heart? How is the broken heart repaired.

The only possibility for reparation would be to carve out the broken heart. Rip the tired lonely soul of despair away. Leaving an open vulnerable; gaping; bleeding hole of emptiness. Leaving a new condition called distrust. Never again to trust the sanctity of marriage that leads to the horrible pain of betrayal.

Carry on my lover; my friend, my confidant; my betrayer - for surely your job is not done. There are others yet to claim. May the Karma that you desire always live at your door. Like the incurable disease that eats at your lover's soul. For me, I choose to close the gaping hole of distrust and despair by healing my broken heart; soul; and mind. In order that I may live and live well.

Funny thing...last year I was contacted by the very person I had a crush on at the age of 12. It was hysterical and we are great friends. It was such a wonderful thing to be in touch with someone 45 years later.

Anyway, he was the cutest blonde boy, I had ever met. We were in boarding school for the summer together. We shared the same interests in hobbies, sports, and music. We spent some much time together talking and laughing. Oh yeah, he was the first boy to kiss me and it was very nice. He went home to Rhode Island and went home to California. We never spoke again until last year. To this very day, even after all of the trials and tribulations he still has a very sweet aura about him.

He is married to a preacher's daughter. Has a wonderful loving relationship with her family and I am so looking forward to meeting them all some day.

endurance_rider welcomes TheLadySkye to our community. I know she will be an absolute asset to this community.

Mengus, I love you for who you are! Thank you for the introduction to Alexyss Tylor! As soon as I can get myself up off the floor from laughing so hard I'll have something clever and witty to say - I am sure! Or I'll just go into a state of eternal bliss and be happy I died laughing my heart out.

If you could travel back in time to spend a day with someone, who would it be and why?

It would be with my Father. If I could have just one more day with him - before his last stroke - I would take him out for dinner and to get cheesecake for dessert (his favorite). Most of all I would let him know how much he meant to me and how much I loved him!