DAY 1
We departed for the competition on 26 Sep with nine riders, eleven horses, and three vet clinic personnel. We loaded two trailers with horses and the third with hay and equipment. We split the trip to El Reno, Oklahoma into two days and spent the first night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We had arranged to board the horses at a horse motel on the south end of the city called the Broken M Ranch. We arrived with plenty of daylight to spare. After putting the horses away, feeding them, and dropping the trailers we continued on to our hotel for the evening. We checked into our rooms and then assaulted a nearby Mexican restaurant with our mob. After a long but entertaining dinner, we called it a night.
DAY 2
The next morning the stable crew checked out of the hotel early to go feed the horses an hour before the rest of the group arrived. All the horses were in good shape and hungry. A good sign as sometimes the older horses have trouble with traveling. Working in the dark, we hooked up the 8-horse trailer and made other preparations until everyone else arrived. We groomed and loaded the horses and off we went to Oklahoma.
We made good time and got to El Reno well before dark, but because of traffic congestion, part of the convoy missed the exit and then inadvertently explored the local area before finding Fort Reno. After the customary abuse for this transgression, we found our stabling area. As soon as we got there we noticed that one of the tires on the 8-horse trailer was flat. Since this is a common occurrence on long trips, we quickly got it changed.
The stable facilities at Fort Reno were better than we usually see at the NCC. The event organizers had put up temporary pens inside a couple of large empty barns. For once, our stalls had not been given to some other group and we were able to stable all our horses together. We had brought plenty of shavings and hay so the horses were well taken care of. The vet checked all the horses to make sure they were okay and then we departed for our hotel in Yukon. Once again, after checking in, we sought out a local eating establishment for sustenance. We quickly zeroed in on an Italian restaurant and managed to get seated before closing. However, several other cavalry groups were there also, so it was a loud and boisterous evening for the restaurant staff.
DAY 3
The day before the competition starts is a warm up day and several training clinics are offered to competitors. I went in early to feed the horses as usual and then went to get the flat tire repaired before it was time to mount up. All the other riders in our group went to the military horsemanship clinic that morning while I decided to work the Wonder Horse off alone where he couldn't hurt anyone. I tried to warm him up with some trotting and cantering in a figure-8 pattern. Within fifteen minutes he was completely lathered and covered in foam. This was a little alarming, but not unexpected. He does not like any changes to his routine and, being a high strung horse, tends to get worked up easily. After warming (foaming) him up, I took him over to where the others were participating in the clinic. All our horses were lined up quietly and relaxed. I put Apache on the end of the line where he continued to exhibit his dissatisfaction with the whole affair. My teammates gazed at me as I sat upon the dripping wet, head tossing, snorting, Wonder Horse and shaking their heads in amusement. "He's a little agitated," I said making an obvious understatement. They smirked at me in response. *Sigh*
After the clinic, we found an open area to practice our riding demonstration. I expected this to go poorly, but Apache for some reason behaved himself. I suppose it was something familiar that he could latch onto in the strange new surroundings. In any case, it went a long way toward calming him down. His glistening coat soon dried out and he began to look and act like a normal horse. Likewise, Big Cal, our new Canadian Warmblood, did well in the practice although he had never seen the demo or participated in it before.
In the afternoon, the jumps were set up so the competitors could practice with their horses. I did not take Apache as I figured it'd be counterproductive. I went over and watched to see how our horses were doing and to see what the competition looked like. It is always interesting to see how other people ride over the jumps. You can quickly tell who knows what they are doing and who is just on a good horse. I was pleased to see most of our own riders displaying correct form and technique on the jumps, not that technique necessarily has any bearing on success in this competition. The jumps are usually so low that anyone who rides a horse that is unafraid of obstacles can win as long as he stays in the saddle. However, those who were not riding experienced jumpers were having trouble with refusals and run outs since their lack of technique did not afford them any hope to correct their horses at the critical moment of the jump.
At the end of the day, we groomed and fed our horses and headed back to Yukon to get cleaned up and find some chow. We selected a steak house to invade and, once again, enjoyed an evening of good food and ridiculous conversation. We did not stay up late as the next day was the first day of competition and everyone wanted to be ready.
TO BE CONTINUED
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