Even if it killed me

While they said day 3 was going to be the hardest, day 4 was actually the most frustrating for me. It started out pretty good: that morning was the first time we woke up to clear skies. We seemed to have some trouble getting ready in the morning, we were allowed to ride out at 6.30 but so far, we hadn't started before 7. We were getting better at it though and we left HS8 only a little late. I got a little bay horse that was really herd sour. The herders didn't want me to take the first horse I picked (which Tag ended up taking) for some reason and they recommended this one. The first part of the leg, I was constantly trying to keep him on the path and going in the right direction. Every time we saw a herd of horses, he tried to run towards them. It got better when Anne started riding behind me to push him on. We rode through a pretty flat area with nothing around for miles, I was glad it was still early and we wouldn't have to camp here.

I don't remember exactly when the idea of the 'Last Place Alliance' or LPA first arose. I think it was on the second day when Ella, Tag and I rode out last and made a promise that we were going to make it all the way, even if we finished last. On day four, the LPA had grown to include Catherine, Katie and Francis as well. That morning though, while trying to keep up with their faster horses, I pushed mine a little too hard. He didn't seem that tired but we did canter almost the whole way. Unfortunately that's when I left the LPA. While their horses' heartrate went down pretty quick, my mount was struggling. After 30 minutes, his heartrate was still higher than 56, which meant I got a two hour vet penalty at HS9. Catherine and Anne also got penalties so we spend the time chatting to Rendell and Ella who had joined the bloodwagon while trying to dry our stuff in the sun.

After we filled our stomachs and relaxed in the ger, Catherine, Anne and I rode out of the station together. While Catherine and my horse were pretty fast, Anne's was crazy and she soon sped off into the distance. By now, we had gotten used to our GPS and navigating to the station went pretty well. We made good time and covered the leg in 2,5 hours. We didn't push too hard though because it had gotten quite hot and we didn't want to risk another penalty. It was nice to ride together and get to know Catherine better. When we got to the next station, Anne was already there waiting for us. I almost got another penalty because my horse was so bothered by the flies, his heartrate stayed around 60. Thankfully it went down just in time so we got on our next horses and rode out again.

The third leg of the day led us around the river, through sand dunes and over some really sandy tracks. It was still really warm as well. It was a hard stretch for the horses and I could tell straight away that my guy wasn't the quickest. The first time we cantered them, he was already slow and it got progressively worse. Anne got another fast horse so she sped away while Catherine and I tried to keep our steeds moving. We tried to stick to a 'schedule' of 10 minute canters followed by 5 minutes of walking. Eventually though, it got to a point where my horse couldn't even canter for two minutes. It didn't matter how much I shoo'd, kicked or smacked him, he just wouldn't go faster than a jog. When he would barely walk anymore, I felt ready to cry. If this was how I had to complete this Derby, by pushing this horse past what he could do, I didn't want to do it. This wasn't how I wanted to treat a horse, it just wasn't worth it to me. I told Catherine to ride ahead and as soon as she left, my horse stopped dead. I dismounted, sat down in the grass and cried.

At that point we were only 8 km from HS11 but it was almost 8 o'clock. I was at the back and I didn't really fancy camping out there, by myself, so I asked for a vet assist. I got a message on my tracker saying someone was on their way so I just sat there and watched the sunset. The view from my spot was beautiful. The sun was slowly sinking behind a mountain range and there was a river not far from there. I told myself to savour the moment. Yeah I was really frustrated with my horse, myself, the race, everything basically. But I was in this beautiful country, doing something most people don't even think of doing and I was going to enjoy it even if it killed me!