The Old Warriors Water Hunt was held the weekend of April 27 just north of Los Angeles. Even though it's just minutes from LA- the isolation from civilization is complete. It's in the San Gabriels - steep lofty mountains, miles of cold windswept ridges with wildflowers, waving grasses, and clear streams coming down the mountainsides into the canyons. Thirty-five riders - many returning and a few new - meet at ride manager Vicki Green's home for this 50.

The ride is difficult. Typical winning times in the past have been 7-8 hours depending on weather conditions, with only two 30 minute vet checks. Ridecamp is at 1100 feet and the first loop of 18 miles climbs 2400 feet in a short 10 miles with the last 8 miles downhill. You can see the first vet check from way up. The next loop is 21 miles and rises out of Delta Flat at 1800 feet, going up to 5500 feet in the next 7 miles. Nearby there are peaks rising to 7900 feet in the surrounding mountains. This loop is both beautiful and difficult. As we go up the mountain starting the loop, we cross the stream coming down many times, with rocks and small boulders at every crossing. Trees line the creek with lots of fresh grass along the bank for the horses.

The air is fresh and with the scent of water along the stream that most western rides don't have. When your stirrups push through the brush along part of the trail – you can smell the plants that line these single track trails. The cloud cover from the rain the night before disappears and leaves shadows that drape the mountains with graceful curves of light and dark.

The weather was good for the horses - cool to cold – and with measurable rain the night before. This is the only part of the country I've seen where the rain is often considered "immeasurable" or not enough to measure. The day of the ride was that of the full moon - still visible as we got up at 5 AM to start at 6.

I’m told this ride is what some would consider an "old time endurance" ride. It's very social, with a band at the awards ceremony and plenty of time to talk to other riders before and after dinner. In past - warmer weather -  rides, riders have involuntarily ended up in the pool after a dinner with wine. For completion awards, riders bring brown paper bags containing an item of their choosing and everyone picks out a bag at the end.

Management’s humorous write-up about the ride contains phrases like "When you leave the first vet check – management would like you to take trail tools along and spend an hour or two trimming bushes and throwing rocks off the route. Wear your helmet, your gaiters, your gloves, and bug repellent, and carry guns and knives”.

Dinner is served Friday and Saturday nights in Vicki's home, next to the pool with a view for miles out over the countryside. Her home contains paintings, prints, photos, and sculptures of horses and cats - photos of Cougar Rock, Bev Dolittle prints, and with old tack hanging from the ceiling beams – an extraordinary home focused on horses and cats (the cats are locked in the garage for the duration).

The ride was won by Suzy Kelley with Ernie Lohman in second place.  Suzy was first last year on the same mare and second on another the year before.  Her horse - La Petite Dancer - received BC this year. Riders seemed prepared for the difficult conditions, as 33 of 35 finished the ride under head Vets Larry Connelly and Hugh Hewitt.

The ride is held as a benefit for Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times with half the entry going to support their work. Camp Good Times provided the excellent awards dinner of roast beef, chicken, and turkey - one of the best I've had at a ride. The volunteers at this ride are great - well organized at the vet checks - covering the road crossings for the riders, and providing water everywhere it's needed on the trail.

Some observations on the ride:

You notice something unusual about rider Fritz Bronner when he passes.  Instead of the usual endurance rider clothing, he’s dressed in a uniform from the 18th century with a saber at his side. He's been in several other Pacific South rides and always in a different costume from the Bavarian or Prussian Dragoons.  He's a member of the War Horse and Military Heritage Foundation, an organization whose goal is to provide education about the role of the horse in military history. He's passionate about it when we talk at dinner - saying he wants to tell people about the spirit of the horse in the world’s history.  And he gets to combine it with endurance.

There are lots of wildflowers in hues of reds, blues and golds, and one that someone riding with me calls "fried eggs" - white with a yellow center. They line the road where we ride in spots - not in the areas with water but out in the dry areas in the sun. It's as if the harsher conditions bring out the beauty possible in the flowers.

I rediscover something that I've forgotten – that sometimes horses pay more attention to scent than eyesight. There are emus right next to our ridecamp. Horses seem to do fine looking at them until they smell them - then they want no part of them.

I really like the long downhills - we get off to walk and jog down a 4 mile stretch going into the first vet check.  When I get a chance to do this - I feel like I've actually contributed something to the day’s effort. Of course my horse wants to go faster and keeps nipping at my sleeve - but he's better off even if he doesn't think so.

I compare this second loop of just 21 miles - that has climbs that never seem to stop - with 50s I've done in flatter country. I've done a number of complete 50s in less time than the 4:50 it takes me to do just this loop. It's the toughest ride I've done other than Tevis. Coming downhill on this loop, there are clouds drifting by just overhead and you realize how high you are.

Finally at the end of the ride, coming down a dry wash into civilization again, we pass mounted cowboys, polo players, and people taking lessons in an arena - all of them seeing us and wondering what these people on the small  (often grey) horses, with water bottles, plastic containers cut into scoops, and brightly colored tack, are doing out there trotting along like they are going someplace no one else can see....

This ride brought home what endurance is really about - getting out in beautiful country and seeing things we never do in the cities - taking care of your horse so that you can make it through a tough ride, and the fun we have talking about  our horses and the things we do in this sport at dinner after the ride is over.

It was a great ride - Vicki - and even though you say you are not doing it again - people say you've said this before.
You should put it on again next year. Thanks for putting on the "Water Hunt".

Mike