I drove down from Glen Arbor, to south of Holland Michigan to the town of Hamilton heading for Silver Creek Park where the Oak Leaf Run AERC ride was being held. This park has over 25 miles of riding trails with lots of shady single track trail, some sand and gravel roads and mostly flat.
When I pulled in to ride-camp. the ride manager, Barb, said that she had a campsite available. I was thrilled to hear this. I had tried to book a campsite a few days earlier through the park but they told me that once it is five days before the time of use, the park will not take any more reservations and campsites are first come, first serve.
Since I was riding and had no crew, I didn't want to have a campsite far from the vet check. My camp site was perfect.
I took a few things down to the crew area including tubs for water and a hand-held heart rate monitor. At each vet check, I planned to check my horse, Eli's, heart rate then get him vetted through then I would go back to my horse trailer where my horse and I could rest. This is important because without a crew, if I was parked really far from the vet check then I would be doing a lot of walking back and forth and that takes a lot of energy and I am ready to rest when I come in from riding.
We rode four loops for the 50 miles. Orange loop, pink loop then repeat each loop again. The trail was very well marked and water was available either in water barrels or the horses could drink from the large puddles. The park has had a lot of rain recently and a few parts of the trail were soggy but mostly there were some really large puddles.
The heat was a major factor and the humidity was high also. A nice lady who was out on the roads crewing for her rider also helped our horses by spraying down their legs and necks with cool water. She did this twice for us. That was very appreciated. It is important to keep a horse's body temperature down when it is humid and hot and spraying their legs and necks with water helps them cool down. But the cool water on a hot horse heats up fast and must be scraped off so it doesn't raise their body temperature...cool water on the horse, then scraped off then repeat with more cool water, scraped off, etc.
By the end of the third loop I was starting to feel light-headed and tired. I was feeling the effects of the heat. At the last hold, I changed my saddle to the Wintec, changed my riding boots to another pair, and really poured a lot of water on my head and arms to cool down. I felt ready to go for the last loop- a 10 mile loop.
During the last loop ...almost at the end of the loop, I knocked my knee hard on one of the trees. We had to trot in areas that had a lot of trees close along the trail and the trail was twisty. I wasn't paying attention and we brushed hard against a tree. That caused just enough pain to send a strong wave a nauseousness over me. I was so close to camp there wasn't any doubt I would be OK but I still was feeling ill when I arrived in camp. Fortunately, another rider helped my horse pulse down and he even trotted my horse out for the vet! That kindness really helped me because I was able to sit down and rest.
I took care of Eli back at the trailer and went inside the trailer to get out of my hot clothes. I lay down for awhile and rested and began to feel better. I went to the pot-luck dinner and someone had brought watermelon cut in chunks. That watermelon hit the spot.
I am trying to understand how I can keep myself better hydrated. I know a few things I can be more aware of for next time. For example, I wore a black helmet that absorbs the sun and makes my head feel hot. I wore black Irideon tights which I find comfortable but in the heat they don't breathe and are hot. My shirt was nylon and did not breathe either. I did not drink any electrolyte drinks. Also I had not eaten any protein all day.
Things I can change for the next ride on a hot day:
- Wear a white or light-colored helmet.
- Wear cotton tights that can breathe.
- Wear a cotton tank top.
- Drink some electrolyte drinks in addition to more water.
- Drink more often while out on the trail.
- Nuts, trail mix
- Sports drinks, water
- Bananas
- Apples
- Crackers like Triscuit, Wheat Thins, Saltines
- Ginger: Gingersnaps, Ginger Ale, Ginger candy, Ginger flavoured teas
- Sprig of Mint/ Mint flavoured teas
- Watermelon and cantaloupe cut up in cubes
- Cheese and crackers
- Peanut butter and crackers
- Yogurt
- Peaches
- Apples
- Cherries
- Chicken Salad
- Pretzels
- Pringles
- Salty chips
- Applesauce
- Licorice
- Lemonade
- Iced tea
- V-8 juice
- Water
- Electrolyte drinks
On my next ride I am going to be better prepared.