Basin Ride Report

Submitted by John Haeberle

Memorial Day weekend for our family was spent in Basin, Wyoming and the Wyoming Ride, and it was a great chance to get out and showcase the EasyBoot Glue-Ons, trudging through wet betonite.  For those of you who don’t know betonite, it’s the most mud-suckingest mud that God ever made, but the Glue-Ons had no trouble at all.

I was happy to crew for my wife, Yvette and our 15 year-old son, Joe. Yvette’s Paint-Arab, Roscoe, ran barefoot. EasyCare had set us up with some EasyBoot Glue-Ons for Joe to use on his grade gelding, Scooter, earlier this year, but this has been our first chance to really get out and start the season.

Basin, Wyoming is in the northern part of the state, between the Absarookas and the Bighorns, and the surrounding territory is a sage-and-betonite badlands. The trail was beautiful, with many small canyons, sage flats and stunning vistas of the mountains. But by Saturday afternoon, a warm and calm Wyoming day turned to rain, and the trails turned to a boot-sucking muck.

Joe and Scooter started the season a little slow, coming in 41st out of 41 at the Kenlyn Urban Challenge 25 mile event (OK, the reason he was so slow in that event was because he chose to go bareback.) But Scooter was ready to rock in Basin, taking 1st and BC in the 50 on Sunday, and claiming 1st in the 25 on Sunday.

The Glue-Ons worked very well. See how Scooter has a fine heel-first landing.

And the boots stayed on in spite of the thick mud and the fast pace.

EasyCare has a great product here. Scooter trains barefoot or in the Gloves, and competes in the Glue-Ons, and (including last year’s short season of 3 rides) he has 2 BCs in 50-milers using the Glue-Ons.

You can bet they’ll be on in two weeks at Fort Howes, Montana, and now that Joe and Scooter won a ride entry for the Bighorn 100, they’ll be there, too.

Keep bootleggin’.

John Haeberle