Disclaimer: This Series is part 4 of a special edition. Because of the length of our experience the post has been broken into several smaller posts. For the full recap I recommend starting with:
- Classic: Our Journey to The Waredaca Classic Three Day Event DAY 1
- Classic: Day 2 & Officially Kicking Off the Waredaca Classic Three Day Event
- Classic: Day 3 & Two Thoroughbreds and a Fell Pony at Waredaca Classic Three Day Event
Synopsis
Endurance day finally came. Cross country is always the most exciting day for the big horse events. At Fair Hill the atmosphere is pulsing with anticipation. Nerves. Jitters. Excitement. Eagerness. With this being a classic we had our own excitement. This is the day that sets the classic apart from other 3-phase horse trials.
Endurance day begins with Phase A….Roads and Tracks. The phase is a warmup for the day ahead, Suzie and Tiger will do 3300meters at 220mpm. In other words they have 15 minutes to complete this phase. For each second they are over time they are penalized 1 point (very expensive).
Phase A ends at the start of Phase B; the steeplechase. Phase B begins shortly after roads and tracks is finished. For the steeplechase Suzie and Tiger will have 2 minutes to gallop an 800m track over 4 brushy steeplechase hurdles. They ideally will be traveling at 400mpm.
Once Suzie and Tiger cross the steeplechase finish line the steeplechase time ends and the timer on Phase C begins. They will have 15 minutes again to complete the 3300m roads and tracks course. As with Phase A points for being over time are very costly here.
Once Phase C is finished the rider dismounts and the horse is presented to the vet. He is jogged and vitals are taken and then sent to the 10 minute box where the horse is given water, sponged, and walked out. The rider has a moment to sit down, get water, snack, and breathe before Phase D.
As time counts down from the 10 minute box the rider is once again mounted back on the horse and they make their way to Phase D. The cross country course. Suzie and Tiger will have 7 minutes to tackle 22 efforts (19 numbered obstacles with 3 being combinations) along a 2450m course at 350mpm.
At the conclusion of Phase D the horse is once again presented to the vet and once cleared he can be brought back to the barn for further care.
Rise and Shine
Suzanne and Tiger were schedule to begin the Beginner Novice division of endurance day at 11:05am. We rose early but not quite so early as the previous couple days. Now we had Nick and her mom plus two more dogs (three total) with our crew.
We did our morning walk, stall cleaning, and breakfast routine. Then at 8:00 sharp Jocelyn Hawe and Fiddlehead, a grey thoroughbred Tiger’s age (12) began their roads and tracks…one of only 2 entries in the Modified division. Phase A was the same for all divisions. After that, the levels took their own set difficulty.
We were still a ways before Suzie’s set start time. In one of our briefings Sharon White had advised us on how to prep for our day. Part of this included a nice brisk walk to encourage the horse to empty its bladder. She also advised us to withhold breakfast if riding in the morning and pull hay a couple hours before start time so they’d be lighter. Tiger doesn’t eat grain and he wasn’t going until 11am anyway so we fed as normal. We did take his hay away for a bit and let him nibble the scraps on the floor.
If you’ve followed me long enough you’d understand that pulling food is the last thing I would normally do. That said the line of thought makes sense to me and we were not withholding food for more than four hours. Tiger would still have food in his tummy just not enough to feed a family…and would return to hay after his work was done….roughly an hour later. So we let him nibble on scraps and a small amount of Purina outlast for a couple hours. He was no worse for wear.
At 8:15am the announcer came on the loudspeaker and rallied everyone to crowd the fence-line as Fiddlehead and his rider started the day’s Steeplechase event. It is customary for the entire audience to rally and cheer for the first pair to go.
What we saw blew me away. It gave me fire in my core. It sparked my guts and my heart rose a few beats per minute.
The modified steeplechase is 1650meters at 550mpm….3.7 laps around and over 7 huge brush jumps. The pair FLEW around this track and took the jumps at this fast pace like nothing. They took out strides and made it look like cross rails. Just another day in the office. Holy moly I was in awe. We cheered and cheered for this team and the second team in the division.
We returned to our normal routine…and began prepping for Tiger and Suzanne’s big day.
I put Tiger’s cross country boots on and got his studs put in. I was so glad I had done them the day before for steeplechase practice. Yesterday’s taps were so clogged with dirt and crap it took forever to get them in. Today they had been plugged and stayed perfect. The studs went in beautifully.
I packed my to go bags. We left a chair, buckets, sponges, and other goods in the 10 minute box. I packed my backpack with other possible essentials. Water. Snacks. Leather punch. Diapers. Duct Tape. Extra Boots. Whatever they might need I had it in that bag. It would come along with me to Steeplechase and again into the 10 minute box.
Before we knew it we tacked up and Suzanne got on. It’s GO Time!
Phase A: Roads and Tracks
3300 meters
Time Allowed: 15:00 minutes
Pace: 220 meters per minute
Penalties: 1 point per second over time
Gates/Checkpoints to cross through: 7
Start Time: 11:05AM
Tiger and Suzanne passed through the start flags of phase A at an easy trot. They made their way up the hill and disappeared out of sight.
I didn’t realize it until several seconds had passed but I forgot to start my own timer! I brought my own XC watch to keep track but I already bunged it up! I had confidence they’d make time just fine.
I brought Nick and her mom over to the steeplechase field and continued up to the finish of Phase A. In less than 15 minutes our team came into view and passed through the finish flags. Tiger looked no worse for wear, boots and shoes were all fine. Next up: Phase B!
Phase B: Steeplechase
800 meters
Time Allowed: 2:00 minutes
Pace: 400 meters per minute
Penalties: 0.8 points per second over time
Speed Faults: 01:42 (0.4 points per second under time)
Jumps/Efforts: 4
They galloped around the track and took all four jumps fine. Over fence 3 Tiger let out a buck but they kept going fine.
They came in just a few seconds over the SPEED time…well within the allowed 2 minutes. We used to joke about Tiger’s speed and conservatory approach. We never imagined he’d be risking a speed fault in his lifetime.
Phase C: Roads and Tracks (round 2)
3300 meters
Time Allowed: 15:00 minutes
Pace: 220 meters per minute
Penalties: 1 point per second over time
Gates/Checkpoints to cross through: 9
I watched them cross the finish of Phase B, reset my watch to start Phase C, and started my video recording to check for lost shoes. With the buck I wondered it he had pulled one.
Suzie brought Tiger to a trot as they passed us and I confirmed we had all boots and shoes where they needed to be. I gave her a thumbs up and sent her on her way. Nick, mom, and I made our own way to the 10-minute box to wait for her arrival.
As we approached 13 minutes I started to wait closer to the finish line so I could catch her and let her get off. I planned to present Tiger and jog him so she could get herself some water and a couple moments to relax. Fourteen minutes came and I just started to see her coming up the hill. There was no way they’d make it in time. I started to bounce with nervous anticipation. She saw me and read my body language and kept making her way back home.
Tiger crossed the finish line over time but looking good.
10-Minute Box
We brought Tiger in to see Dr. Chad Davis and his vet students. I jogged Tiger for him and they took his vitals. Tiger received high praise for his condition so we moved on to our box. Nick took the reins and walked tiger around while I showed Suzie to her seat with water bottles waiting. I grabbed a water bucket and offered some to Tiger while also sponging water down his chest and legs. This was the time to get him cooled down and recovered as much as possible before they go out to cross country.
Phase D: Cross Country
1650 meters
Time Allowed: 7:00 minutes
Pace: 350 meters per minute
Penalties: 0.4 points per second over time
Speed Faults: 05:50 (0.4 points per second under time)
Obstacles: 19, 3 AB combinations
Efforts: 22 efforts
I felt like we blinked and all of a sudden the steward told us we have 2 minutes left before cross country. I tightened the bridle and girth, dried the reins off with a towel, and Suzanne got back on. They walked out of the box and up towards the cross country start box. We watched from afar as the pair got counted down.
Ten, nine, eight…….three, two, one…..Have a Nice Ride!
I could see Tiger hesitate right at the very first jump! Come on dude you got this!
I didn’t have much time but I wanted to get over to the back field to see them canter through the back of the barn area and into the large back field. I jogged all the way but still missed them come through. I could hear the announcer as they came upon each jump.
They got over the ditch.
Great! He’s ditchy.
They refused the bank.
Dammit.
He refused again.
No!
A third refusal meant Tiger and Suzanne would be walking back with a technical elimination.
Dang-it T-Man!
Once Suzie and Tiger got back to the vet box he was once again checked over by a different vet. We were able to fully untack him now and sponge him down again. We let him walk for a bit and when the team was happy we were cleared to return to the barn.
We got Tiger back and I began removing his studs. He enjoyed a protein shake and Suzie brought him for a bath. Once he was back she poulticed and wrapped his legs.
Although the day didn’t end the way we had hoped it was exhilarating! Tiger got all the love he deserves and a promise to school more down banks next year.
Now we had a few hours to simply settle down and relax. We all went to the Waredaca Brewing Company onsite and enjoyed a beer while the horse trials continued. The Beginner Novice Classic Three Day was over but the day continued with the single day horse trials. Saturday they were running Starter, Beginner Novice, and Novice divisions. Sunday was Training, Modified, and Preliminary. While we enjoyed our beverages Philip Dutton, Tim Bourke, and Marilyn Payne were competing at the very same venue.
We made our way to the stadium jumping ring where we had a course walk with Kathy White and Sharon White (no relation). I had helped Kathy with the stadium ring the day before and had a blast but I enjoy the walk regardless. She even mentioned me during her talk to the group! It felt so nice to be seen.
Throughout the day we talked with several people in the barn about their plans for the next day. We originally had planned to stay until Monday but with the elimination we toyed with going home early. Yet at the same time we wanted to enjoy our full visit to beautiful Maryland.
As it turns out every single person we talked to planned to go home Sunday after stadium jumping. That meant Tiger would be all alone Sunday night. That could be a conundrum. We decided to mull it over but be prepared to leave the next day, regardless.
For dinner the four of us opted to get some dinner. I was craving a steak so we visited a place called Firebirds Wood Fired Grill in Gaithersberg, MD. The parking was scary…it was spacious but it was also very full and the parking spaces were made for compact cars. We had two large Ram trucks with crew cabs. Nick and Suzie parked like pros but the spaces were TINY.
We walked in and the spirits display behind the bar was WILD! It was organized by color and three full units high. It must have been 15ft high, right up tot he ceiling. We were seated in the dining room and the wine display was just as impressive. Our waiter was wonderful. He was kind and had a great sense of humor. Unfortunately he told us they had run our of bread.
It wasn’t his fault but how does a restaurant run out of bread???!!! It seems so simple and basic. Management could have at least run out and bought some somewhere or offered something different. They lost some points with us for that.
Despite BreadGate we enjoyed a phenomenal meal after a grueling day. The menu offered a “Three Courses” option so I had a BLT salad with grilled sirloin and finished with a brownie sundae. I ordered rare but got medium rare at best. I found it very peculiar that you couldn’t swap out a side item. I enjoyed my sides but for those who don’t eat a particular item the restaurant has some weird (dumb) rules.
Overall our meal was great and I was able to bring a good amount home for leftovers. https://firebirdsrestaurants.com/gaithersburg
Please join me tomorrow at 9am EST to get the Final Edition of the Special Classic Series recap!
The Green Horseman 
Leave a comment