Joint Base Lewis-McCord Endurance Ride
Location: TA 13 of JBLM via a special use permit
Website: https://home.army.mil/lewis-mcchord/index.php/about/Directorates-support-offices/DPTMS/training-division/dptams-range-branch Access Permits: iSportsman JBLM Getting ThereYou will need a permit to ride on the JBLM land.
1) Visit https://lewis-mcchord.isportsman.net/ 2) Email ID to: [email protected] 3) Once ID is Verified Visit: https://lewis-mcchord.isportsman.net/login.aspx and login and purchase a permit 4) Check open area calendar, plan visit and check in and out the day of riding. |
Once you have a permit you must call the area access office to check in before entering the recreation space.
Call the area access phone number: 253-967-6277 or check in on ISportsman.
Call the area access phone number: 253-967-6277 or check in on ISportsman.
Heather lives next to the open space and hosts several endurance rides and competitive trail rides several times a year. I was lucky enough to visit her home for the 2023 Battle of the Flatlands endurance ride. From Boring, Oregon it was an easy, flat and straight drive up I-N for almost 3 hours.
Looking at the area map below you can see the ride location is area TA13.
JBLM Atlas Map Link
JBLM Atlas Map Link
To find the current schedule of use go to the isportsman website and select areas open on the left side of the screen.
Next you check the schedule and see which days TA 13 has an O to signify that it is open to public use. You can ride in any of the green areas on the map if you can check the schedule and make sure they are open. Next, check in and then out on the isportsman website.
If you are not attending an organized event you can still ride on the JBLM land TA 13 if you have a permit and it is open. You can park at GPS coordinates: 47°01'58.4"N 122°27'16.4"W, (47.032896, -122.454553) which is off Rice Kandle Rd S.
Ride Camp
I will talk a little bit more about my first endurance ride camp experience. We were lucky enough to be hosted in Heather's pasture which is right across the road from the jblm TA 13 open space. This family hosts many CMO and ride and tie events throughout the summer. Another option for camping is Legacy Stables, a new place to camp that just opened in 5/2023. Legacy Stables Facebook Page.
Driving into a field completely packed with horses and trailers was a little overwhelming for Sam and I. It was so neat to see so many participants. I talked to people that live in Roy and ride the JBLM land all the time and endurance addicts that drove over 6 hours to compete. Ride camp was busy! People arrived and departed during the day. Groups went out to pre-ride the trail, out for night-rides, so much activity! I loved it, Sam was happy with so many horses around.
Driving into a field completely packed with horses and trailers was a little overwhelming for Sam and I. It was so neat to see so many participants. I talked to people that live in Roy and ride the JBLM land all the time and endurance addicts that drove over 6 hours to compete. Ride camp was busy! People arrived and departed during the day. Groups went out to pre-ride the trail, out for night-rides, so much activity! I loved it, Sam was happy with so many horses around.
Horse Containment
Horse containment options varied from campers with portable corrals, hi-ties, chicken wire corrals, horses just tied to trailers and panels that were rented from ride management. I was nervous about horse containment. I have a hi-tie but Sam has not slept on it overnight. We practiced for a few hours but with all the activity I had him sleep in the corral I rented from Heather. If corrals had not been available I may have sprung for a portable corral.
Luckily Sam loves cows. We have tried to chase them before and it is a no-go. Sam loves to give them kisses through the fence and doesn't want to chase his friends.
Vet Checks
The vet-check is the great equalizer. It means that there is a fair amount of strategy to win a long endurance ride. The vet-checks take the place of judges in the English show world. I loved it because it was straight-forward and not vague. There were objective parameters that you could control to do well.
Body Condition Score The body condition score for an endurance horse is very different than the one I am used to as a pleasure horse owner. I have a hard time keeping weight on Sam and he ranked as a 7/9 which the key called "fleshy". The top finishing horses were lean and mean. It is like looking at the body of a marathon runner compared to the average weekend hiker. The top horses were all muscle, you could see ribs and had no extra fat. I am very glad Sam is "fleshy" and I am proud of this score. Pre-ride Exam When we first arrived we had to "vet-in". This means Sam was examined so that the vet approved of him being entered in the ride. The first thing I had to do was hand-trot your horse in a straight line. Sam and I weaved like a drunkard. Trotting your horse in-hand is a good thing to practice at home. After riding 15 miles this trot out was a much harder task for me. One of the key factors in the exam is his initial pulse. It should be under 60bpm to continue, and at each ride hold, needs to remain under 60bpm. Next, they look at muscling and gait, check for lameness, hydration, impulsion, wounds and gut sounds. It is not uncommon for horses to step off the trailer with a new injury and be barred from being entered into the ride. Gut Sounds Gut sounds are the most vague parameter that was examined. You want to be able to easily audible gut sounds in each of the 4 quadrants. Generally, increased gut sounds can also signify intestinal pathology such as colitis. However, in the endurance horse you are making sure their gut sounds are not quiet. Quiet gut sounds can mean a horse is dehydrated, starting to impact colic, are exhausted, stressed, or too sick to continue. |
Sam's gut sounds were great when we arrived but after a brisk 15 miles they were less than stellar. This is shown in the picture to the right. I saw some riders gallop, stop at grass, let their horses eat grass then gallop off again. I am not sure if this strategy worked for them to improve their horses' gut sounds. I think the galloping is risking lameness and exhaustion.
Other professional riders had a crew. As soon as they arrived at camp for the vet check their horse had mash and all sorts of hay to browse while their pulse lowered. As soon as their pulse lowered they were in line for the vet-check but kept their horse eating mash and hay until it was their turn. You get intestinal motility when the intestines are distended with fiber and stimulated to contract. This means more roughage is better and you need enough volume to stretch the intestines. For 25 mile riders, they did a 15 mile loop, returned to camp, had to have their horse pulse down to 60bpm or lower and get a vet check all within 45 minutes. Next, they headed out again for a 10 mile loop. Upon returning their pulse was checked and they were unsaddled and vet-checked again. You could be disqualified if your horse's pulsed did not lower to 60bpm in 45 minutes or if you failed the vet-check or for any reason the vet thought your horse was "unfit to continue". Reasons that riders got disqualified included: Heart rate too high even after a recheck Vet noted lack of impulsion or reluctance to move Any consistent lameness was noted Any metabolic or fitness concern was noted For 50 or 75 mile riders and horses there were two or three mid-ride vet checks. At each vet-check you had a risk of being disqualified for any reason that the vet thought your horse was not well enough to continue the ride. I love the emphasis on vet-checks for a few reasons. First, it puts the emphasis on the horse's wellbeing. In many equine sports, horses are pushed for maximum performance by compromising their longevity and their health. It also means that the AERC's slogan "To finish is to win" is quite literal. |
If you ride in first place for 50/75 miles but get disqualified or "pulled" for a high heart rate and lack of impulsion at the 50 mile vet check then you get no credit for the miles you did ride. In the top ride of the endurance world, the Tevis, in California, less than half of all riders that start actually finish! That means your incentive is to take care of your horse during the ride so that you can help them feel as good as possible for each vet check. Second, your horse can win the "best condition" award even if you don't finish first. In fact winning the "BC" award is a source of pride for many owners.
Ride Day
I was so excited to go ride! Unlike the typical jumping or dressage show I was going to get to ride my horse for 3-4 hours each day! To me this is a dream! Once upon a time I participated in jumping schooling shows. It was a lot of dressing up, tight breeches and uncomfortable show boots that you need special tools to rip from your body. I prepped for 6 hours for 5 minutes of riding the jump course, so nervous and frazzled that I couldn't remember what brightly colored spectacle I was supposed to jump. I made up my own course and got no added points for style or innovation. Endurance is the complete opposite!
On endurance ride day I woke up next to my horse in my camp clothes, saddled Sam, pulled on my riding tights and Sam-slobbered vest and waited for my ok to start. I sat on Sam for about 5 minutes before I could start riding. Once they told me the trail was open, off we went! The day was perfectly overcast, ideal for riding a black horse with temps in the 50's, and we rode in our raincoat, expecting some sprinkles. The footing was soft and the trails were flat. On a better day you could see Mt. Rainier over the grasslands.
On endurance ride day I woke up next to my horse in my camp clothes, saddled Sam, pulled on my riding tights and Sam-slobbered vest and waited for my ok to start. I sat on Sam for about 5 minutes before I could start riding. Once they told me the trail was open, off we went! The day was perfectly overcast, ideal for riding a black horse with temps in the 50's, and we rode in our raincoat, expecting some sprinkles. The footing was soft and the trails were flat. On a better day you could see Mt. Rainier over the grasslands.
Day One - 15 Miles - Riding With A Group
Total Miles: 15.2 miles
Time Taken: 2 hrs 10 min Ascent: 157 feet Average Speed: 5 mph Max Speed: 14.1 mph, long-trot 15 mile Pink/Blue Loop GPS Track There are two ways to do an endurance ride. One is to ride with your friends or in a group. One way is to ride "your own ride". I tried both strategies. Day one I randomly happened into a nice group to ride with. I was so excited to start my ride. The ride start can be critical and many times riders are unseated before they even begin. I watched the experienced riders start their longer rides at 7am and 8am. A few yahoos started fast but most of the rest of the group filed out the gate at a slow and controlled pace. The 75 miler riders started at 5am, 50 milers 7am and 25 mile riders at 8am. It is the longer distance riders that start the slowest. They have the longest distance to go and try to start slow and do each proceeding loop slightly faster. |
The 75 milers rode the loops in the order of 15 miles, 20 miles, 15 miles, 10 miles. You can see the schedule and the order of loops in the picture on the right. The way they staggered riders make it less crowded out on the trail. By the time I was riding the pink/blue loop on Saturday I should have been ahead of the 50 mile riders but may meet some of the faster 75 mile riders.
During my division 1 other rider started with me and a few waited to start 5 minutes behind us. The rider with me was on a lovely gaited horse. We happened to go about the same pace. We chatted excitedly as our horses long-trotted together. At the first "Y" we totally went the wrong way. So, we got lost on the very first turn! This is with a well-marked trail. We were following pink and blue ribbons and had a GPS track on our phones in Gaia. We went about 100 yards before we figured we were lost. We back-tracked and saw other riders going the right way and were able to get back on route. Getting lost is a great way to make a friend. I was so happy to ride with Linda. Later we picked up Megan and her lovely palomino. It is really fun to long-trot side by side and talk at the same time! Linda and Megan were wonderful. |
It is fun having friends to talk to. They both waited patiently as I lost EVERY hoof boot one at a time! By the time I lost the 3rd boot Linda and Megan were so relieved that they could take a break and empty their bladders on the trail. That is another tough thing, if you have to pee and you are 10 miles away from the porta potty, you pee on the side of the trail, while you hold your horse. It is just a thing that has to be done! We took a break for water and carrots and Sam graciously dropped carrot pieces for the other horses to pick up. We had no strategy other than to enjoy each other and enjoy our horses.
Below: A wonderful water crossing!! So awesome, Sam loves water and walked right in!
We rode through lovely single-track soft footing and beautiful forest.
The downside of riding with a group or becoming attached to other riders means that your ride's priority becomes other people instead of your horse. I do like socializing but Sam gets frustrated when I am the middle or last horse in a line. When this happens I spend the whole ride pulling on him to slow him down. Towards the end of the ride we moved to the front and we were both much happier. Riding with a loose rein is a great joy, and we were all more relaxed from mile 10-15. However, galloping side-by side in a group of 3 horses is an amazing feeling and the horses seemed to enjoy it as well. I was not used to riding with such confident, fearless riders. As I left Linda in our dust I yelled back to make sure she was ok with Sam speeding up and around her. Linda was confident and smiling and having a good time. I was so excited to be surrounded by daring, somewhat crazy and ambitious female riders! We were all excited when our horses passed their final vet-check. Sam's heart-rate went down to 54 then 48 pretty quickly after we returned. Linda and Megan cantered while Sam long-trotted faster than their canters, and we all had a good time. I went into the weekend with a preconceived stereotype of endurance riders as "crazy". What I found instead was endurance riders are, "been there, done that," confident riders that can stay on a spook or a gallop but ultimately make decisions that take care of their horse!
Day Two - 10 Mile Loop - Riding by Myself
Total Miles: 9.7 miles
Time Taken: 2 hrs 16 min Ascent: 137 feet Average Speed: 4.3 mph Max Speed: 8.1 mph GPS Track Link 10 Miles Blue/White Loop By day two I knew what to expect. I also started with zero boots so I would have no boots to lose in the muddy and slick footing. Luckily our vet-check post ride on Saturday was also our pre-ride vet check. All I had to do was to be ready to ride at 9am. The benefit of riding the "trail ride" was I got to watch all of the competitive longer distance riders start their loops and then check in with the vet after their first loops. I happened to ride the 10 mile blue and white loop at the same time as some of the faster longer distance riders. I determined that I would have a more relaxed ride if I started the ride by myself and rode alone. However, I still had to manage Sam as other riders passed us.
Getting Lost |
The trail was well marked and most riders had a GPS app and a track downloaded showing the correct loop. However, this did not stop many riders from getting lost. During the first 5 miles I watched two riders get lost. The first rider galloped past me and Sam and I watched them head straight as I followed the ribbons to the left. I tried to call to them but they were going straight at a run. I shrugged and took the turn and figured they would realize they were off course. As I continued along, another competitive rider galloped past me on the left. He ran off into the distance and I practiced my "bending to a stop" with Sam until Sam calmed down.
We continued on. To my surprise, the same rider then galloped back towards me! He double checked that he didn't miss the turn and then spun around and again galloped off in front of me and Sam! Wow, we had a lot of practice keeping our shit together as other horses left us at a run. The biggest lesson Sam and I learned that day was how to go from excited and elevated to calm and thinking. We had to yo-yo back and forth between these emotions as each horse passed us. By mile five Sam was bending his neck to eat granola bars from my hand. This is a clear sign that his emotions calming down and we were both being present with each other and enjoying our ride.
When we had about 3 miles left to ride, the first rider I watched get lost, finally past us . She again past us at a gallop and her horse was extremely sweaty and full of adrenaline. I just had to laugh. Sam and I had been doing a 5 mph relaxed fast walk and we had almost finished ahead of a galloping, detour-taking, lost horse.
I also got lost. It is funny because the blue and white loop was similar to the pink and blue loop that I rode the day before and I STILL got lost. You can see the jagged line on my Gaia track. I am now an endurance rider with a story!
The bottom line is that even if you finish first your horse still has to pass the vet-check. One of the riders that galloped past me did not pass the vet-check. I really enjoyed my ride and Sam pulsed down rapidly and did better with his post-ride gut sounds. The best part about a long trail is being able to focus on your horse. You are a team and you have to trust and rely on each other!
When we had about 3 miles left to ride, the first rider I watched get lost, finally past us . She again past us at a gallop and her horse was extremely sweaty and full of adrenaline. I just had to laugh. Sam and I had been doing a 5 mph relaxed fast walk and we had almost finished ahead of a galloping, detour-taking, lost horse.
I also got lost. It is funny because the blue and white loop was similar to the pink and blue loop that I rode the day before and I STILL got lost. You can see the jagged line on my Gaia track. I am now an endurance rider with a story!
The bottom line is that even if you finish first your horse still has to pass the vet-check. One of the riders that galloped past me did not pass the vet-check. I really enjoyed my ride and Sam pulsed down rapidly and did better with his post-ride gut sounds. The best part about a long trail is being able to focus on your horse. You are a team and you have to trust and rely on each other!
15 Mile Red and White Loop Option
Here is an alternative option for getting a 15 mile loop in for TA13. I did not personally ride this route but look forward to doing this loop next year! In the picture with the two tracks I rode the purple track during the endurance ride. The 2nd option for 15 miles is shown by the red track.
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20 Mile Loop Option
Here is another riding loop option if you would like to increase your mileage. I have not personally ridden this loop. As an endurance rider it is really nice to have a longer loop with no intersecting sections of trail. The intersections can cause a lot of confusion and it is really easy to take the wrong turn. If you use "Ride with GPS" you can import this GPS track and then use the "Navigate" option to get verbal instructions as you ride!! This will keep you from getting lost, even without flags or other riders.
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Summary/Rating
I am hooked on endurance riding! Or maybe I should say, hooked on "wanna-be intro rides, at endurance rides, riding." I got to go fast, have riding "supervision", meaning "someone was waiting for me to get back to camp and make sure I was ok," supervision. I got to ride alone, and in a group of riders on open space, on beautiful trails. I got to camp next to my horse and wake up and just get to riding without any standing in line or waiting for my number to be called. I got to ride in my t-shirt and tights and was not judged on anything but the condition of my horse. I got to meet crazy ladies that like to gallop and hoot and cheer each other on. I got to spend 6 hours in the saddle with Sam and all day and night long listening to him and watching him, and noticing everything about him. There was a taco truck and a professional photographer! I would call endurance rides a great way to camp for seasoned riders and nervous beginners alike. I cannot wait to do it again!!