American River 30

Princess and I finished the American River 30. I am so, so proud of her!! She is 22 years old, but strong. She had 3 babies in the past 5 years, but she really likes trail riding! As a matter of fact, she was perfectly behaved the whole day, and I loved every second of the ride. It was the hottest day of the year, about 85 degrees, and the trail was technical - lots of boulders, rocks, gullies, and fall-off cliffs. The last 3 miles were so steep - the cardiac trail which takes you from the bottom of the American River up to Auburn in like 1 mile. I got off and tailed it. Princess had 4 Renegades on her hooves and they fit wonderfully and I never had to adjust the boots - not once - during the whole ride. Thank goodness, we have a good fit! No rubs, no twisting, they stayed in place, even up the really steep hill and through some mud bogs and over technical trail. I picked up my friend Donna and her horse Venita for the ride. Venita and Princess are best friends for life. They stayed together the whole ride. They camped well (Princess was curled up in the middle of the night on the ground), drank and ate okay throughout the ride. I don't think I have ever had a more enjoyable ride. Thank you Princess, Venita, and Donna! Oh, Venita did the ride barefoot! She is one of my trimming customers, I am so proud of her. I wish I had a photo to share, but I don't... if anyone out there does, please send it to me.