Fireworks 2019:

36 Years Old and Counting

by Debbie Boscoe

SCCHA Vice President, Fireworks Ride Manager

 July 13^th, just before 6am.  Cool with fog.  Fifty-seven horse-and-rider teams mill around the start line, waiting for the word “Go.” Then it is time, and one designated rider leads the others off on what is known as a controlled start:  all horses walk single file, through the opening single-track trail and creek crossing, up about a mile where they are released.  The endurance racers move out, and the endurance riders pick up a relaxed trot. Forty-nine more miles to go before they get back to camp.

Endurance has morphed into two different sports:  The first is a race, where finishing in the top ten is the goal, and Best Condition is the ultimate prize.  The second is a more relaxed ride, where the American Endurance Ride Conference’s slogan “To finish is to win” is the guiding principle.   There’s room for both in any given ride, happily.

When the 50-mile horses have been gone an hour, the 34 horse-and-rider teams riding the 30-mile course set out with their own controlled start.  They head out through the Henry Cowell redwoods, past the observation deck, and down to the San Lorenzo River,where they face their first big challenge. The faster horses will have already crossed the river, but the slower 50-mile horses begin to merge with the 30-mile horses as they wait their turn to cross.  For many riders, crossing the San Lorenzo is what kept them up at night, and has taken on grand proportions.  And for most riders it is a nice surprise to find a clear, sandy channel for crossing, which takes about seven seconds to complete. 

The majority of horse and riders cross with little fanfare, although their expressions show determination and nervous excitement. Some horses however make a bigger splash! Note that this horse and rider were wet but fine, aside from a few bunps. Every year we’ve had the ride, and therefore the river crossing, we get a few “swimmers.”  And in no year has there ever been more than lots of excitement, a few bruises, and the occasional cut.

So much about our ride is the same as it has been for 36 years, and yet so much has changed.  First of all, we now do it in conjunction with the Quickilver Endurance Club.  They are all endurance riders and have been a huge help in staffing, helping figure things out, and running the vet check.  Kudos to Quicksilver! 

Next, our base camp is waaaaay nicer with the clubhouse, toilets and showers, 45 stalls, and lots of room for big rigs to park.

A long time ago we camped at the Dimeo landfill on the coast and, even after we moved to the current location, we had a vet check out there, having the riders pass the dump at least once in the ride.  We have also had a vet check on the UCSC campus, and one along the west side of the river.  Today we have one vet check just inside Twin Gates in a big field.  The course for both distances is out and back, camp to the vet check, then different loops in Wilder Ranch and on some private property bordering Wilder. 

As the heavy winters pass and the number of bikes increases, Wilder trails have gotten hard packed and rutted.  Horses do better with softer, less rocky footing, and so we continually look for those kinds of trails.  We’ve been so lucky to have a couple landowners share their trails with us; and not just share but get out and clear, and then set up water for the horses and hang out with snacks to greet the riders.  Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) have also been benefactors by improving the trails in Wilder:  this year our horses used the new Engelman’s trail, which is just exquisite.

Speaking of bikes, in years past we had a running battle with the mountain bikers.  Many hated horses on the trail and moved our markings so that horses were redirected or completely lost.  We tried various kinds of marking in Wilder but whatever we came up with, they could sabotage.  This finally led to a concerted effort from both the horse and bike community to learn how to play nicely together.  Today they are some of our best friends: we still can’t mark in Wilder, so we use spotters at the critical turns and the spotters are, you guessed it, mountain bikers.  We now work closely together on trail planning and building, and help each other on our various activities.

As the horses move through the course, they have to pass specific criteria at the vet checks.  In general the pulse has to come to 60 beats per second within 30 minutes, after which a 45 minute hold begins.  During that hold the vets examine the horses pulse again, check hydration, gut sounds, soundness, and general deportment.  Horses that fail the check get a nice trailer ride back to camp.  Riders can also decide they want to stop for their own reasons (fatigue, injuries, or deciding that their horses have had enough) and opt to trailer back to camp.

This year we had about an 78% completion.  It is a tough course, and those who complete are in a special class.   We have another distinction: we get a lot of first-time riders and juniors.  We take special care of them and applaud them whether they finish or not:  this is an extreme sport and just getting to the place where you and your horse can start is a real accomplishment.

All the horses that completed the course did so on time, which is not always the case.  30-milers get 7 hours, 15 minutes and 50-milers get 12 hours; they have to finish on time and reach  criteria within 30 minutes for a completion.   And then the partying begins!

For appetizers, we had super-fresh ceviche (the fish was caught by the cook three days earlier) and amazing tacos with fresh guac and salsas for dinner, and cakes for dessert.