Riding
Awareness of the outside world. Lots of nasty in the news: Afghanistan, Ida, and so on. I have not commented here because a) you are already well aware of it, & b) I have nothing to add to the conversation other than ‘Ick’. [Taking a Poll]
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With an average speed of 2 mph, our 100 miles is going to take us almost 50 hours, most of that at a relaxed walk. Therefore, I have been amusing myself with exercises to do at a walk.
Heels down. Let your weight sink down. Feel what this means.
Sit up. Stretch up. Shoulders back. Practice all those position pointers that you are usually too busy to perform.
Eyes up. Look around. See how the movement of your head affects your balance.
Look up. Look at the tops of the trees. Keep that up for a set distance.
Keep your center line over the center line of the horse.
Notice how the movement of the horse’s back shifts your position.
Overall, the walking has been a great attitude-building experience for both horses. I think it gets overlooked as a tool because it’s not flashy and it takes time.
Turtle power!
Where are we virtually?
Milestones. Milton.
Milestones. Rodney.
Map. 63 & 71 miles in. Graphic from Tevis Cup: About the Trail, shading mine.
Tevis Cup: Trail Sections & Historic Notes
Data dump
Tuesday, August 24 – 1.89 miles, 51 minutes
Wednesday, August 25 – Milton 2.14 miles, 52:49 minutes/Rodney 1.72 miles, 55:08 minutes. Rounding up recorded time.
Thursday, August 26 – Milton 2.28 miles, 56 minutes/Rodney 1.94 miles, 52 minutes
Friday, August 27 – 2.08 miles, 56 minutes
Saturday, August 28 – 2.13 miles, 57 minutes
Sunday, August 29 – Milton 3.59 miles/Rodney 3.09 miles/both 1 hour 30 minutes. Rodney stood while Milton did ring work. Full Circle Horse Park.
Monday, August 30 – 1.63 miles, 41 minutes
Distance this week – Milton 16 miles, 15 Rodney miles
Time this week – Milton 6 3/4 hours, Rodney 6 1/2 hours
Rides this week – 7
Total distance – Milton 71 miles, Rodney 63 miles
Total time – Milton 30 3/4 hours, Rodney 28 1/4 hours.
Total rides – Milton 32, Rodney 30
Total days – 38
Pace, time to go one mile – 26+ minutes, per VT results page
Numbers rounded off for ease of reporting. May not add up as given.
My Links
Last week [Milton Takes Point, Virtual Tevis, 55 & 48 Miles, 31 Days]
[VT Archives]
Official Links
Tevis Cup: Virtual Tevis 2021
RunSignUp: 2021 Tevis Cup – Virtual Western States Trail – 100 Miles in 100 Days
RunSignUp: VT results
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
Two mph? Is that right? I walk about 3 mph.
Yeah. 2 is about right. I walk faster than they do even when I stroll along. Part of the time includes waiting for this or that (peeing, pooping, watching Milton). Mostly, Milton is slow and Rodney is being encouraged to chill.