It's happened thousands of times before, all over the world. One morning you ride out onto your favorite trails and have a ride so wonderful that you are bursting to share the trail with friends. It happened to me last year.

I'm relatively new to the sport of distance riding. I've trained for several years, but in Maine we have a lot more competitive trail rides (CTR) than endurance rides. So my ride record is mostly CTRs with only one endurance ride.

Then I took 2005 off to get married and buy a house. We moved into a wonderful home in semi-coastal Maine's prime riding country, and the fever set in.

I spent the fall and winter riding across five towns, camera in hand, writing stories of my adventures and sharing them online with friends old and new. Their response was always that they wished they could come ride here too. One day I said to myself, why not? Sure, I've only competed for two years. Sure, I've only competed in one endurance ride. Sure, I've never even volunteered at a ride. Sure, I've got nobody to help me and no free time.

But, why not? There have only been two endurance rides in Maine for the last few years, and in 2006 it was dropping to only one ride, so this seemed to be the perfect time to contribute to a sport that has captured my heart so completely.

Learn as you go

And so the Hot Toddy Hustle 25/50 was born. It is set for August 12. Writing this in May, I feel nowhere near finished planning but I've learned a lot along the way that I'd like to share.

Almost the same week that I decided to jump off this particular cliff, the new Yahoo group for AERC ride managers was created. That group has been an amazing resource for me; the experienced managers have provided input on tried-and-true methods, and the newer managers have contributed fresh ideas. Also the ride manager's handbook and the vet handbook and video are great resources for someone as naive as me.

One of the first things I learned was that it's not as overwhelming if you take it one step at a time and always keep the most important things in mindÑa well-measured and well-marked trail and plenty of good vets. The other stuffÑawards, food, everythingÑis also important but not anywhere near as important as the trail and the vets!

Getting started

Most people would think this next part of the planning was done backwards but I will explain my reasons, hoping you will understand my way of thinking.

Name, flyer, website, vets. The first thing I did was pick a ride name and commission an artist to create a logo. Then I signed up three really good vets, drafted up the ride flyer, and created a ride website (www.zegifts.com/HTH/hot-toddy-hustle.htm) before I even approached the largest landowner for permission. That initiative showed the Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust (GPMCT) that I was serious, committed, and would do anything it took to make this ride happen. Their board of directors gave permission unanimously. Once that was done I was able to begin approaching the other landowners with the weight of the largest landowner helping to persuade them.

Trails. Measuring the trails was more of a challenge. Many of the trails are hilly and heavily wooded, so GPS measurement wasn't an option. I don't have an ATV with odometer and I wasn't about to walk 50 miles with a surveyor's wheel. One day while out riding I stopped to speak with a landowner about permission to use his land for the ride, and as a side thought I asked if he had an ATV. He did, and was willing to help me measure! But as it turned out, I didn't need his help because the one friend I hadn't yet asked did have an ATV with odometer and was able to help. So then I had great trails and great vets covered and was able to focus on awards and the rest of the details. I decided that since this was the first year, and since this ride is more than four hours away from any previously existing endurance ride in Maine (and all the CTRs except one), that I would need to do two things very well to ensure my ride's financial success.

Publicity. First, I would need to get the word out in every possible way -- to distance riders, the general horse world, and to the non-horse world. I contacted the owner of a local PR firm and convinced him to give me a little pro bono media consulting. He drafted a press release based on my ride flyer, and suggested various newspapers and TV stations where it could be submitted.

Making sure the distance riding community was excited about the ride would help me get entries, making sure the horse world knew about it might draw people to the sport or at least net me some volunteers, and making sure the general population was aware would help keep my riders safer on the roadsides. I even attended a barn meeting at the local university's equestrian facility to beg for volunteers.

The website I created has been one of the best ways I've gotten the word out to the distance riding community; the gorgeous trail pictures plastered all over it are already prompting inquiries from riders as far away as Canada and southern New England. Another way to get the word out has been my partnership with the GPMCT; their trail system is brand-new so they're interested in promoting my event in conjunction with promoting awareness of their trails.

Minimizing costs. Second, I need to keep expenses low in case I don't get many entries! To help with this, I've decided to offer only a minimum number of awards and have been actively seeking donations for them. The one exception will be the completion awards: I'm buying T-shirts myself and hoping that their wearers will help drive awareness for next year's ride.

Food. The local Australian Shepherd rescue group offered to sell snacks and drinks throughout the weekend as a fundraiser for their group. I considered not offering an evening meal included in the ride fee, just ride-day breakfast, but fellow managers convinced me to include something -- anything -- if at all possible. So I managed to find someone willing to do the cooking for free as long as I provide the food. Burgers and dogs, here we come!

Extras. Another cost-saving measure will be to beg and borrow as many of the accoutrements as possible: canopies for the food and vets, handheld monitors and stethoscopes for the P&R teams, and anything else that would otherwise come out of the ride budget.

Assistance. I've come to realize that as much as I'd like to, it's just not possible for me to do all this alone. At the very least I need someone by my side as moral support, to share the stress and help with the logistics and trail marking. While publicizing the trail system on an online bulletin board for Maine horse people, I was lucky enough to meet Chantel Flewelling, a local woman who is interested in someday competing in distance riding. Chantel signed on to be my assistant ride manager. Her husband, Russ, is the Hot Toddy's trail boss and head chef.

I've got a long way to go but I'm excited about it and I know that I will get there, especially with the help of the other ride managers. I'll keep you all posted, and send an update to EN after the ride.