The Ride Analysis

The adrenaline has finally left my system and I have been able to spend a little time thinking about the ride and Riyah's experience on Saturday. I am encouraged. I know she had moments I was not comfortable with, but I feel she showed great promise! The good, the bad, and the ugly are analyzed below:

The Good: Riyah was relatively good when we arrived. Anxious, yes, but not totally frantic. Despite the rough start, after the first five miles she settled down into a sort of rhythm at least, and was fairly sensible if you don't count spooking at trail ribbons and rocks. She was forward and enthusiastic, even if not necessarily for all the right reasons. She ate and drank on the trail, which is a great attribute in her favor. A lot of anxious horses simply refuse to eat and drink. She was (mostly) OK with being behind another horse, and she was quite happy to lead out in front. She recovered very quickly and easily from the ride. It certainly did not stress her physically. She looks great!

The Bad: OK. The start was bad. Quite bad, actually. But for a young (mentally very young!) horse who was seeing her first endurance start, it wasn't totally unexpected. She has not yet learned to control her emotions and deal with the anxiety. Anxiety, frustration, and even anger at being held back resulted in her upset behavior at the start. I saw exactly the same behavior at the end of the ride when the horse took off and left us behind. So she is emotionally and mentally very young. I can help her grow up and we can work on helping her deal with these issues.

The Ugly: There is just not much I can do about that trail. Hell's Kitchen Canyon has been there forever and it's always going to be a scary, steep, take-your-life-in-your-hands trail. Don't stress over what you can't change. The sheep stampede was pretty ugly, too. Maybe not to Riyah, who handled it well, but it was to me. I guess it just wasn't my time to go!

All in all, I have to say that the good out-weighed the bad at this ride. Riyah showed promise. If she had never settled down and continued out of control and over-emotional the whole time, then maybe I wouldn't say that. But I have confidence in her ability to learn and grow. She is going to be a good endurance horse, maybe even a great one. Just give us some time to work on a few things.