Spotted on my travels (18)

News from Chamfron Colorado

A tough 60km at Dores for Jessica and Chamfron Colorado last week, according to Jessica's watch they did 1130m of ascent and descent, HR out 48 and return 36.  Colorado is sponsored by Flexi boot and wears them for all his rides, the latest limited edition colour launch is hot pink, I'm not convinced he thinks he can pull it off though!  I have been impressed with these boots, absolutely no evidence of the rubs I was used to seeing at Endurance rides with other makes and I am now seeing several Chamfrons using them, Jessica says his first set have done over 1500km on mostly hard forestry tracks and are still in use.  He has also been spotted in Endurance magazine with super crew Fraser Mackay and on his holidays on the Dell Estate.

Summer Solstice steps (3)

My annual tally of effort for the previous twelve months, randomly calculated from the Summer Solstice. Well, we have recently fallen off the walking wagon, conferences and training staying away from home, a job that has me tired but not really walking three days a week and the lethargy of Covid has meant that the last six weeks have been an extremely week effort.  However this year I did manage 2248 miles (walking or occasionally riding) and 4,755,143 steps which is nearly 200 miles more than last year but considerably less steps!  Sadly I did not break the five million barrier. Best day was the 16th August 2021 with 31,434 steps and 14.5 miles (Ben Nevis, all done before lunchtime!) and the best month was July 2021 for a total of 517,439 steps and 245 miles.  I cannot imagine I can improve on this total over the next twelve months so there will have to be different targets, a bigger daily total is certainly do-able. 

The Woodshed

A long weekend in the Woodshed near Penrith and we found ourselves in a hive of activity.  A walk up to Aira Force found us in the middle of the Hotrod and Hills drive out and they were quickly followed by the RS owners club!  On Sunday I noticed that Appleby Fair had moved from it's normal date due to the Platinum Jubilee weekend and as we were practically round the corner we popped down.  It was very quiet but in my usual style I immediately spotted some long ears waving above the (much reduced) crowd and hunted down the big Spanish mule.  History did not repeat itself and we remain a one pony family.  

Man Versus Horse

This event was conceived in June 1980 following a chat over a pint (or three) in the back bar of the Neuadd Arms Hotel. The then Landlord, Gordon Green, overheard two men discussing the relative merits of men and horses running over mountainous terrain. The enterprising Gordon, never one to miss an opportunity to promote Llanwrtyd Wells and improve business at his hotel, decided to put it to the test.  So began Green Events and its first, longest standing and now internationally acclaimed event, Man v Horse. The course was changed in 1982 to provide a more even match between the man and the horse, resulting year on year in very close finishes - sometimes with the horse winning by only a few seconds. It took 25 years before a runner finally beat all the horses - in 2004 Huw Lobb won in 2hrs and 5mins, beating the fastest horse by 2 minutes.  The escalating jackpot for a runner who beats the first horse and rider, starts at £500 and increases by £500 each year the event takes place until it is won, stands at £3500 for 2022. The first jackpot received by Huw Lobb in 2004 had reached £25,000!  So 2022 saw the very first Chamfron competing with Christine taking Tizona out onto the Welsh hills.  Finishing in 3 hours 52 minutes, with a heart rate of 48 half way and 46 at the end, she impressed the vets and was awarded the best turned out award.  With the rain coming down and the course rather slippery 2022 rather favoured the runners and it was a win once more for "Man".

More Prickle and Alma!

Chamfron Outings

This week Chamfron Nicobar was at Bramham for the NAF BE80 Championships, not in the places this time but an excellent clear cross country.  Chamfron Bellini got her PetPlan summer festival qualification and Chamfron Paloma was at Sovereign Quarter Horses camp, complete with her Jubilee bunting.  She ended the weekend with a 1st in Novice Pleasure and 2nd in Novice Horsemanship, fabulous photos of Paloma with thanks to Jemma Davies.