Biltmore 100...Razz and Me

by Mike Everett
May 7 2015

"The time is now!" Those are the words I used to motivate myself to get Razz and me ready to do my first one day 100 mile race. Razz was approaching his 21st birthday and I was bearing down on turning 61 on April 1st 2015. It was time for Razz and me to have our own special time together.

I first saw Razz when he was less than 24 hours old and knew he was for me. He was an impressive Anglo/Arab baby. I finally bought him when he was four years old from his breeders Claude and Marion Brewer. He was Marion's baby. When I bought him she cried as I pulled off. Marion was concerned I would ride him hard and use him up.

Razz was my first round draft pick and my plans were to make him the best possible athlete I could without compromising his wellbeing and long term comfort. He would define my skills as a coach. To everybody's surprise I turned him out for two years to mature.

We started conditioning him at six years old and he has had a stellar career.

I have always been on the cusp through the years of doing a 100 mile race myself but have deferred to Ruth Anne riding and me crewing because it was best for the performance of the horse. Plus, I can't express enough how much satisfaction I get watching Ruth Anne riding and enjoying her time competing.

But, "The Time Is Now!"It was time for Razz and me to do our 100 together. We owed it to each other at this point. So I committed and set a realistic goal to do Biltmore and keep it a priority.

I consulted my neurosurgeon and we made a plan to time my spinal stenosis therapies with the training and ride schedules Razz and I needed to accomplish our goal at Biltmore. Everything went as planned for the most part; almost perfect, really.

The most comforting aspect came into play when Ruth Anne stepped up a couple of weeks before the ride and told me she was going to crew for me. Then Elise Rogers agreed to crew too. We were set. I was confident with the crew in place. I was getting extremely excited to accomplish my goal with Razz.

Razz and I could complete The Biltmore 100 if I rode smart. It was all on me! He was ready and needed me to lead.
The ride began and Nancy Sluys and Zanie and Razz and I started in the rear at a controlled pace. Our horses really paced out well together and came into the first check well. Razz did not drink at all on the trail or in the hold. He is always that way at the first check. Makes me worry but I know he will be fine after a few more miles and he was. He started drinking like a fish and eating everything in sight. He looked stronger as the day went on. He and Zanie became girlfriend and boyfriend. It was fun.

After about 35 miles, in camp I was asked if I was having a good time and I said it was the best time I have ever had at a ride. They said, "yeah but you have only been about 35 miles."I said, "Yes, that is true but it is the first time I have ever been 35 miles on my way to 100 miles." I was so pumped to have this challenge before me.

Nancy Sluys and Zanie and Razz and I came in to the 86 mile vet check. On that loop we had come up on a rider on his final leg of the 75 and a lady on her last loop of the 100. It was a rather slow pace but fun in the dark as Nancy started singing one of her favorite endurance songs. Full moon, dark woods and Nancy Sluys singing. How sweet it was!

Razz vetted through with all As and only 14 miles to go with an out time of 12:44 AM. I was pumped and I felt really good. Home stretch...baby!!!!

Then BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Zanie was tight in the rear and Nancy pulled! I had lost my prescription glasses and Nancy led us the whole previous loop because I could hardly read the signs. I was not sure I could follow the trail and was talking about pulling. Everybody was rallying around me and telling me I could do it. I was contemplating a rider option but when I said it, I felt soooooo empty. I felt really good and Razz felt really good. As everybody kept cheering me on, I processed the loop in my mind's eye. Pam said, "Trust Razz". Sudi said, "Razz knows the trail now". Elise said, "There is no reason to stop". A turning point was when my lovely and calm wife looked at me and said, "Dad you can do this". Debate over! We tacked up Razz and he trotted out of camp. We were going to complete.

Razz and I trotted about a half mile out and when we got to where our horse trailer was parked he stopped dead cold. When Razz stops.......Razz stops! He would not go. So I got off and hand walked him while he continuously jerked back for almost three miles before I got in the saddle to continue.

Little did I know Stagg Newman had a plan to see me through. All through that loop Stagg, Ruth Anne and Pam Burrows were at different points to cheer me on and let me know how far it was to the finish. This loop was the most fun loop of the whole race. I really was confident and comfortable at this point. God's full moon was shining in the partly cloudy sky and it silhouetted the big trees with definition. Deep in the woods it was magical. I felt like I was following the yellow brick road in The Wizard of Oz. I was waiting on the trees to throw apples and start shouting at me. Ha, Ha!

Finally we passed the big sheep pen where the big dog had been and then on past the cows to the top of a hill overlooking the Biltmore House on the left. Spectacular place. I reached in my pommel bag and got a container of Razz's sire's cremated ashes and sprinkled them from the top of the hill. The gray ashes sparkled in the moonlight as they drifted to the ground. The moment was so moving to me to be with Razz, my first draft pick, on The Biltmore Estate at 4:00 am spreading his Daddy's ashes.

I have always understood the definition of the AERC motto "To Finish Is To Win" and thought it was just ok. On this magical morning, I felt it's meaning. Razz brought me on in for the win

2015 Biltmore - Heather Reynolds

Reynoldsracing.us - Full Story

by Heather Reynolds

May 7 2015

This year the Biltmore was absolutely beautiful. We (Jeremy) booted all four of our horses with the Easyboot Glue ons (we always use them for races) earlier in the week, before we made our drive. This year we would be taking 2 horses each so we could ride both days. Jeremy would be riding Fiddlin on the first day on his first 2* 75 mile race and Honor on the second day for another 2* 75. I would ride Errow on his first 1* 55 miler and King on his first 3* 100 miler.

We pulled out of our driveway at 7 am on Wednesday and roughly 9:30 uneventful hours later we arrived at the stunning landscapes of the Biltmore Estate. Every time we pull into this venue it amazes me how beautiful the grounds are.

We unloaded and took care of the horses. All four had traveled well and it really helped that it was pretty cold out compared to Florida! The low was calling for 37 degrees and in Florida the low had been mid 60's. After all of the horses were cared for we drove into town and had dinner with Lynn Kenelly, Sarah Engsberg and Emmett Ross. We went to a great Greek restaurant. It was a fun evening.

The next day we set up our crew area that Melody Blittersdorf had saved for us. It was perfect, Thanks Mel!! Then we spent the day in the usual, day before race fashion scurrying about. Jeremy was doing hooves for people and we also pre rode all 4 horses and checked in, vetted in and weighed in. Our friends Lynn and Mark Ashby came in that day as well as Amy Hall. The day ended with the ride briefing and off to bed.

The 2* race at the Biltmore on Friday was the Pan American and Young Riders time trial for riders wanting to make the teams. There was a great turnout for this. Our new Chef, Mark Dial and new team veterinarian Ann Christopherson were there at full attention as well...

Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/513/biltmore_2015

Nevada Derby I, 50 miles. Flying On The Ground.

EasternSierraRider Blog - Full Story

April 9 2015
by Jennifer Langlo Sheldon

Peter, Rio, Hana and I arrived at ride camp at Washoe Lake, NV. on Friday, April 4th in the late afternoon. Rio and I would be riding the 50 mile endurance race the next day. After setting up our nice camp site, taking Rio through his pre-ride vet check as well as taking him and Hana on a few walks, then going to the ride meeting, I went to bed early and fell asleep instantly.

The 50 mile race would be starting at 7 a.m. I set my alarm to wake up at 5:30, but I had such a great night sleep that I woke up at 5. After dressing and putting water on for coffee, I went out to give Rio his breakfast. Although I had gone to bed with a bright full moon, it was pitch black at 5 a.m. A lunar eclipse was happening. Beautiful! I was happy to see that Rio had ate all his dinner and drank quite a lot. I fed him his breakfast of grass hay, and then went inside to get ready.

In the last two endurance rides/races that we have completed this year, Rio has proven to me that his fitness level is to the point of finishing his last 10 miles as fast, or faster, than his first 10 miles. I feel that I am doing him justice and allowing him to be the exceptional athlete that he is by going a faster pace now that he has proven himself. He is either pulsed down upon arriving at a vet check, or within 4 minutes. He takes good care of himself, and his attitude is great!

For me, racing Rio to be in the top ten depends on a combination of things, including the pace of other riders, and how Rio is doing that day...

Read more here:
http://easternsierrarider.blogspot.com/

Eastern Mojave Scenic XP 2015: Sweet and Sour

RedHeadedEndurance Blog - Full Story

by Aurora Lily Grohman

Sunday, February 15, 2015
Eastern Mojave Scenic XP 2015: Sweet and Sour
Let me tell you a story. It's a winding tale of ups and downs of a horse and rider who have spent the last year and a half ironing out their game, and fortunately it's all mostly already been told. From the first AERC ride together after purchase and back soreness at Gold Country 2013 to the first RO at Chamberlain Creek, to the first 50 completion with back soreness at Derby 2014 and on to the RO at Gold Rush Shuffle 2014 for poor behavior (but no back soreness!). Not featured so prominently in those blogs because I really only care about my horse and have been battling it forever, are my migraine/heat issues that take me down at or after nearly every single ride. Endurance is called what it is for a reason, certainly.

So now we come to Scrappy and I merrily setting off for Eastern Mojave XP, 4 days of riding that I hoped would calm down the race brain exhibited at Gold Rush Shuffle. It was a 12 hour haul and quite interesting to pull into unknown desert ride camp in the dark, alone, and find a spot and pitch my tent, but it was done quite handily if I do say so myself...

Read more here:
http://redheadedendurance.blogspot.com/2015/02/eastern-mojave-scenic-xp-2015-sweet-and.html

2015 Seasons first ride ~ Blackbutt 80km - Mindy Nguyen

ToCompleteIsToWin Blog - Full Story

2/2/2015

30 January 2015 I got up at the crack of dawn to ride Azzaro at home. He wasn’t doing a ride for a few weeks but I was starting to leg him up slowly in preparation for a 40km sometime in the coming weeks. We rode up into the hills where we watched the sun rise over the Surfers Paradise high rises and filter across the long stretch of Gold Coast beaches. Then we climbed even higher into mountain goat country. I jumped off and climbed up the steepest sections to get some fitness for myself. Azzaro wasn’t training for the Quilty so it wasn’t necessary to make him carry me up but this climb was the perfect way for me to prepare my own fitness for Teddy. Azzaro did well and I was feeling great!

Afterwards about lunch time I packed up my car and headed to my best friend Monique’s place to pick her up. We were on our way to the season’s first ride at Blackbutt, north of Toowoomba. Monique is now expecting… a very proud mummy to-be of a little girl so she wasn’t riding but was coming along to have some fun in the atmosphere she missed so much. She always looked after me so well and I often called her my “wifey” as she even knows me better than I do sometimes and we tend to fuss over each other a lot especially when our husbands aren’t around to do the fussing.

At Blackbutt we would meet up and camp with Karen and Mick. They were bringing Teddy down so that I could do the 80km ride in an attempt to get him qualified as “Open” in preparation for the Tom Quilty in June. Karen was also collecting her new horse Pumpkin from the ride and doing her first 20km. We were all bubbling with excitement with so much to look forward to.

I really love rides that are close to my home town of Toowoomba. Any chance I get to go that way I love to drop in and see family. So Monique and I went via my Grandparents where we had lunch and spent some time with them. Then we collected some Splendacrest riders who were going to be riding for Nicholas on two of his horses in the 80km. It was a long but fun drive along picturesque roads, good music and in great company...

Read more here:
http://www.tocompleteistowin.com/mindys-blog/2015-seasons-first-ride-blackbutt-80km

On The Edge Day 2 - Heather Reynolds

Reynoldsracing.us - Full Story

by Heather Reynolds
25 January 2015

This past weekend we did the "On The Edge" ride at Black Prong. On Thursday afternoon we loaded up Sudden, Errow and Jetta to go vet in for the following days 50. I would ride Sudden (of course, he's one of my favorite horses!), Jeremy would ride Errow and Cynthia Peticulous would ride her horse Jetta (that we have at our house, in training). We put the horses in our small 4 horse to have a trailer to haul home and back during the weekend. It was calling for rain both Friday and Saturday so we also took our LQ so that while it was raining we would have a place to hang out during our holds. Lucky for us the race is only a 20 min drive.

Just before we went over to the ride we realized that for the ump-teenth time our trailer wasn't charged. It had been plugged in but everything was dead... very depressing as we have recently had it in the shop several times for this very issue. We got the tractor and jumped the batteries so that we could operate the jack legs and put in the slide outs. We were taking this trailer come hell or high water!

After the circus of getting both trailers road worthy we headed over to the ride. Cynthia met us over there and Jetta went to her rig for the night. I went and got our paperwork and then we vetted in Sudden and Errow. This was Sudden's second time at this venue and he seemed like he knew what was going on this time, he was so much more relaxed. Errow was cool as usual. They both vetted great.

We had to use our smaller rig to jump the LQ batteries so that we could put out our slides on the LQ, oh what fun!...

Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/510/on_the_edge_2_day

Kevin Myers and Far, Tevis 2009

Tevis Ride Stories Blog

Quoting Julie Suhr: How Will You Know How Far You Can Go Until You’ve Gone Too Far?

Far and I took on the ultimate challenge last weekend and I daresay we are both stronger beings as a result of it, and I have yet to find my own answer to Julie Suhr’s question. . .

Far: who could resist?

I have felt drawn back to the Tevis trail since riding it two years ago on a wonderful horse lent to me by a generous friend. There is not a more challenging trail and there may only be a few trails on earth more beautiful and more liberating than the Western States Trail. I have yet to find them. I rode in Easyboot Glue-On boots this year, and the difference from riding in steel shoes was quite remarkable.

Far is one of those horses you know will only cross your path once in your life. I am fascinated in his curious mind and by a fire that burns in him very deeply. He grew up in the large open spaces of the mountains in the interior of British Columbia and he loves life...

Read more here:
http://tevisride.blogspot.com/2015/01/kevin-myers-and-far-tevis-2009.html

Dubai Wrap Up - Heather Reynolds

ReynoldsRacing.us - Heather's Blog

Wednesday, 14 January 2015
by Heather Reynolds

Pictured above: Riverwatch on his 3rd loop

We went to the race venue on Friday afternoon. We walked around briefly and then had lunch there. The venue was beautiful. The permanent vet check makes it very nice and established.

The hold area is landscaped. You arrive off of the trail on a track with gaurdrails. You go through something that looks like a ticket window counter. There is a walkway/bridge to get from the one side of the venue to the other, above the ticket counter window/walk throughs (kind of like you are entering a castle). There are about 6 or so arrival walk throughs. There is also a tower on both sides of the bridge for the announcer to view the race from.

The horse wears a GPS tracking system which is on a headstall that is put on by the vet staff when you vet in. It stays on for the whole event. This system is the system that registers your arrival time. When the horse passes through the arrival gate (ticket window) it registers to a computer system. Then you proceed across the cooling area. This is a wide area with many, many garbage cans full of water to cool the horses from. In this section, whoever designed it had great foresight. The whole ground is covered with rubber mats and there is a drainage system to recycle the water. If you have ever done mass crewing with a lot of water, you would appreciate the fact that you won't be in a swamp of crazy mud by the middle of the race. From the cooling area you proceed through another electronic time gate for your pulse. Once the horses crosses over that line your recovery time is recorded. Then the vet takes your heart rate with a hand held heart rate monitor and the pulse displays on a big digital read out so anyone watching can see the pulse. This area is very nice, green grass. Then you proceed to the trot out lanes, again being very nice green grass. You stand for vetting as usual and then, when ready, you trot down and back on the manicured grass lane for the vet...

Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/509/dubai_wrap_up

Greenway Gallivant - Heather Reynolds

Reynolds Racing Blog - Full Story

January 5 2015

This past weekend we did the Greenway Gallivant 2 day ride. It was really fun. The camp had changed locations from years past and with that there were entirely new trails. The best part was that we had an FEI ride in OUR town!!!

Nicki and Andy came up, so it was fun to see them as well:) When they arrived we loaded up our four horses and drove over to the ride site, a whopping 25 mins. Part way over to the ride we got a text from a young rider who needed her horse's feet done. Jeremy got out of the truck and he and Andy doubled back to get the size Easy shoe that was needed for her horse while Nicki and I continued on.

We got the four horses all settled. King and Rictik would do day 1 so they stood on one side of the trailer, while Sam and Fiddlin were doing day 2 and they were on the other side. After getting all of them hay and water I went and got the paperwork taken care of and then Jeremy was there and we vetted in King and Rictik.

Nicki was going to ride Ellen Olson's horse, Scarlett on the 2* for day 1. I would ride King on the 2* and Rictik and Jeremy Reynolds would do the 1*...

Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/505/greenway_gallivant

The “C” Word - Kat Irvine

from Kat’s adventures in Abu Dhabi for the Al Maktoum Cup

January 6, 2015 - It was quiet at the barn this morning. We put our last ride before the race on the horses with bending and stretching exercises and turned them out for the day with fly sheets and masks without having getting the sweated up. The barn inside was quiet with horses getting last minute, feel good treatments and there was even a saddle being cleaned. This would be the last quiet moments because when the crews got there, the pandemonium would start.

In those moments, before the distraction would start I had to approach Jess with a subject that is sensitive between us. She rolls her eyes when I dare to use the "c" word. Camel market.

The camel market and the village is the center of the camel racing culture. As we come into the village there are miles of race tracks and not unusual to see a trainer with half a dozen or so camels of all ages as they exercise along the track. The all have racing silks of sorts, matching blankets on them and some have the colourful crocheted muzzles.

I had made no secret to Jess I wanted a muzzle. Besides, it was time to pick up fresh alfalfa. And given that our vet Dr. GlenN, who is known far and wide for his advocacy of date syrup, would love to have some of the local produce, Jess agreed that it would be okay if we went "just this once".

I love the camel market. I love the little stores filled with all kinds of things- rainbow stacks of feed tubs and buckets, carpets, robot jockeys, hay, etc. Just to be clear, this is not a tourist place. There is dust on everything, the store owners don't speak English, and why would anyone want a robot jockey anyway?

Camel racing is one of the UAE's traditional sports and an important part of the region's heritage. However, there was vigorous international criticism of the use of young children to ride camels during long and hazardous races. Many of they children are said to be have been kidnapped and trafficked from South Asia.

Robotic jockeys were invented to take the place of small children in order to lower the level of child labor as well as the risk attached with the lives of those young children.

I didn't want a robot jockey, I wanted a camel muzzle.

"Why do you want a camel muzzle?" Asked Jess.
"Because not everyone has one." Was my reply.
There is no arguing with that kind of logic.

So off we went the first thing we did is pick up our fresh alfalfa or "grass" as our driver, Madhu, has learned to call it. He, as usual does the dealing and wouldn't you know it our bundles are getting cheaper all the time!

Then off to find the camel muzzles. Our first store owner was uncooperative. After we (Yep, she got into the spirit) had gotten all excited about picking out our colours and tying our fastening strings in, Madhu said, "leave it".

We carried on and in a few steps we came across our date vendor. That's all he had to sell, dates and date syrup in 2 litre pails and little containers that look like they hold about a litre. Great, the horses and we will have our power boost.

Next store we had better luck with the camel muzzles and got a really them at a good price.

Follow the rest of Kat’s adventures at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/UAE/2015MaktoumCup/

How to avoid getting lost: from the rider's perspective - Endurance Granny

Endurancegranny Blog - Full Story

December 19 2014
by Endurance Granny

Boy oh boy...do I wish I had all the answers to that one! Other than something happening to my horse my #1 fear at a ride especially at a longer ride (50 mile) is getting lost. Talk about the ruination of an otherwise great day! There have been two instances where I got lost and it cost me my ride. After spending months of preparation for both of those rides on different horses it was a terrible let down.

The first time I got lost I had decided to start with the pack to try and position my horse nearer the front of the pack to try and get an alone bubble to ride in "somewhere in the middle" as the ride progressed. This was on Phebes, and we had managed to finish 7th on our previous ride with good vet scores, so I figured if I could position myself in the middle we'd have some sort of a shot at 10th-? depending on how the day went. Well----it didn't go too well. Putting her near the front at the start got her all worked up, and me focusing on control, and soon finding ourselves IN FRONT within a quarter mile of starting and me still trying to get some kind of reasonable control of her rate...so at a canter we blew right past the blue ribbon (at first light of the morning I can't seem to see blue) and we were off...following ribbons, blue ribbons, in THE WRONG DIRECTION. At this point in our education I was not aware the ribbons should always be on my right (except at a turn) and I wasn't the only one...another rider was hot on my heels and we trucked right on seven miles THE WRONG DIRECTION until we met up with the pack head on coming THE RIGHT DIRECTION. That was embarrassing, humiliating, and a big old learning lesson right there. Phebes by that point had herself so worked up that I was worried she'd have a metabolic issue, so I rode back to camp and took a rider option as I could not see her finishing the ride with a do over as torqued up and sweated out as she was. It was kind of a hard lesson, but I learned it. Phebes wasn't ready for middle pack, especially not be starting in the front group. Race brain took over and the day ended badly with getting lost, which was probably in our favor...chasing the front all day would have been bad.

Now how could I have avoided all that? I could have let all the front runners leave, wait for some of the mid-pack riders to leave, looked at my watch and let about four minutes pass and walk on out to the trail and start. Things would not have been so excitable and my chances of missing the first turn would have been low. I'd still most likely have finished back of the pack, but I WOULD HAVE FINISHED...

Read more here:
http://endurancegranny.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-to-avoid-getting-lost-from-riders.html

Like A Phoenix Rising, Lincoln Trail 2014

Shawneesunrisefarm.net - Full Story

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Keith Kibler

SOMETIMES LIFE DEMANDS that you refocus.
My wife Sandy and I love the sport of endurance riding. We train and compete gaited horses, and endurance has been an
important part of our empty nest years. We both compete mainly at the 50-mile distance but she does some LDs and I compete in some 100s. Sandy has a long list of autoimmune disorders that would leave most grandmas at home in the recliner.

In September of 2013, I came into a vet check in a 100 and she was sitting in a chair with a bloody rag on her head. She had fallen and hit her head while walking her Missouri Fox Trotter, Samba, who had been pulled with a lameness issue.
A couple of months later, we found out that Samba had EPM. It became so bad that you could push on the horse’s hip and it would almost knock her down. Samba had also lost hundreds of pounds and no amount of feed and hay would put weight back on her.

Sandy fell again a month later on a bluff overlook in the Shawnee National Forest. After that, she was diagnosed with an ultrarare autoimmune disorder called Stiff Limb Syndrome. She is one of 400 people in the
world with that diagnosis. She was put on once-monthly immunoglobulin IVs. We treated her horse and we treated her.
Cancer tends to run with this strange disorder and Sandy was found to have liver cancer too. Her medical team took out the cancer and part of her liver in February of this year. For a month she lived and slept in a recliner next to our bed. Sandy dreamed of getting outside and riding a horse again. I kept treating the horse and then training the horse with the help of friends.

In April, several of my friends and I put Sandy on the tailgate of a pickup truck and we helped her carefully onto a horse for the first time since that fall in October. She refused to give up, and neither did the rest of us...

Read more here:
http://shawneesunrisefarm.net/wordpress/?p=313

Enduring the Endurance Ride

Kyhorse Blog - Full Story

by Kyhorse

November 26, 2013 by kyhorse
endurance1
That’s not me. We stopped for happy hour at the creeks. The winners kept going.

I just finished my first Endurance Ride.

A caveat about what follows: It may sound like I’m whining. I’m not. But I wanted to give you a true glimpse into what it’s like to start this very tough sport late in life, and still survive.

For those of you who don’t live in the horse world, or perhaps even for those who do, an Endurance Ride is 25, 50 or 100 miles long, and in a natural setting: pastures, woods, gravel trails, etc. Winners are determined by fastest ride times plus time for horse’s heart rate to pulse down to an acceptable level (usually 60-64 BPM)

Hint: I signed up for the 25 mile ride, the lowliest of the low. Something the “50-milers” scoff at. To 50-milers…. well, 25 miles is just a frolic in the park for a few hours. But I have no pride. 25 miles is PLENTY for me...

Read more here:
http://kyhorse.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/enduring-the-endurance-ride/

End of Season Notes - JayaMae Gregory

Enduranceriding.me - Full Story

December 5 2014

It is difficult to describe the feelings I am feeling right now. There are many who, looking in from the outside, did not see the effort, the trials, the tears, the doubts, and the great fear that I have experienced in the last few years. And there are many more who know little of my life before Asali, for before her, I was a girl searching for a direction, but constantly losing my way. JayaMae is not my given name, you know. It is a name I gave myself. It has great personal meaning and I adopted it at a time when I wanted to leave behind a very painful past and take on a metamorphosis. I shed my skin, picked myself up, and moved my family 500 miles away, to begin a new life. That is when, quite by accident, I found Asali. What I have discovered in the last few years since we have entered into a partnership and taken on a sport I never thought I would endure – endurance – is that I am the same girl, in the same brown skin, that I was years ago. The only difference is that I have found a strength within myself I did not know I had before. I have learned to believe in myself.

Endurance is a sport that stretches beyond just knowing how to ride. It requires a true partnership with an animal ten times your own size. It is a sport that challenges your very core — physically, mentally, and emotionally. Endurance taught me to overcome the elements of the backcountry, to learn to be alone and comfortable in silence, to trust my mount and to trust myself. It taught me to take things as they come, that the best fun in the sport is when, despite a fall or a runaway horse or getting lost on the trail, you can smile through it all and keep riding anyway. The rides we did not complete forced me to reevaluate my training, my riding ability, and my horse’s ability. It was each non-completion that taught me that change is okay. And it was in those failures that I was hit with something very valuable, in the name of humility. Every ride, even those that are successful, somehow humbles me, for it is more than my own talents that get us to the finish line...

Read more here:
http://www.enduranceriding.me/

2014 France WEG Recap - Heather Reynolds

Reynoldsracing.us - Full Story

1 December 2014
by Heather Reynolds

So France was an adventure. After my 2 days of flying right after Tevis I was really walking like a crippled person. It took a couple of days to work the kinks out.

Jeremy had driven our two horses, Chanses and Gold Dust Rising to the USEF headquarters in New Jersey before the flight so they could be inspected one last time by the team vet. It was decided that both horses were ready for the trip and were a part of the traveling squad for Team USA.

Jeremy flew with the horses while I flew by myself from California to New York to France. I arrived in New York late at night but the next day I met up with Meg Sleeper and Ellen Olson, two of my teammates. We had a good time in the VIP lounge, a little too good of a time! We almost missed our flight, and we were there most of the day!

The flight was alright but we were all really disappointed that we had booked ourselves onto an over seas flight that didn't have personal entertainment. Darn. Lucky for me I was good and tired.

We landed in France and found my rental car that we all piled into. The drive to our house we were staying in was about 4 hours away. Good times. We stopped and had a coffee on the way.

We finally found our B&B and got the tour. It was super cute, with a country flair. We tried to then navigate to the stable as the horses would be arriving at o'dark 30. We wandered around for a long while and gave up and had pizza instead! (By the way our B&B was more of a bed than a breakfast we found out!)

Jeremy Reynolds, Jeremy Olson and Lynn Kennely arrived with the horses and got to the B&B late that night. It was good to see Jeremy and hear how the horses were doing.

The next couple of weeks were a slow blur of meetings, paddock watch, trot outs, riding, eating pastries at the bakery down the lane, staying out of the rain, starring at the horses, eating more pasteries, keeping dry, standing around, trying to find trail checkpoints, watching the local guy who we rented the stable from work his thoroughbreds, riding in the least muddy area possible, putting horses on the walker, cleaning stalls and eating pastries. We also ate pastries...

Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/484/weg__france

2014 Fort Valley 50 - Liz Stout

Liz-Stout Blog - Full Story

October 27 2014

The Short:
Amazing ride. Loved the trails (again). Q was pretty stellar all day as long as she wasn't leading. Pulled at the finish due to a cramp in her rear end. She was fine within a few hours - body sore, but fine.

The Long:
Thursday
The weather at home had been a steady mist - not rain or fog but mist - for days. It had been cold and froggy, too, the kind of weather that makes you want to do nothing more than sit indoors curled up doing nothing. The kind of weather that makes it hard to do anything on time out-of-doors. As such, I was running a bit behind my scheduled departure time.

I made it to the barn about 30 minutes later than planned. Fortunately, the trailer was packed because I'd done that on a whim on Monday night. All I needed to do was bring the mare in, dust off most of the mud, hook up the trailer, put her on the trailer, check all tires on the way out of the driveway (garage with air compressor is on my way out), and be off!

So much easier said than done...

Read more here:
http://liz-stout.blogspot.com/2014/10/2014-fort-valley-50.html

The Haunting - Karen Bumgarner

Karenshorsetales Blog - Full Story

Monday, October 27, 2014
by Karen Bumgarner

As fall settles in so does crazy weather! When my bestest buddy, Colleen Martin, and I cooked up the idea of her meeting Beth Nicholes and I at Fort Rock for an endurance ride, the weather was gorgeous! A week ago it was still tank top weather. Rain settled in a few days before the ride and the weather report was a dismal 90% chance of rain on Friday, and 70% for the weekend. But we are endurance riders, and our young cohort, Beth, said, "I'm not afraid of rain!" So us two old ladies couldn't wimp out on the kid.

Besides I have known Tribby's for nearly half my life, and their place is gorgeous! It had been two years too long since I had ridden over here. This site, known as the historic Gebhard Well, was also a vet check at one of the old endurance rides put on by George Behee in the 80's. I have many great memories from rides, horses and people in this area in the old days. Shoot, Andi did her first endurance ride out here, in utero, I was 7 months pregnant when I rode the old Cabin Lake 60 on Tonka in 1982!...

Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-haunting.html

Maryvale 40km ~ My worst Nightmare

ToCompleteIsToWin Blog - Full Story

by Mindy Nguyen
25/6/2014

Maryvale was the third ride for 2014’s season with a 40km and an 80km ride on the Sunday. I couldn’t wait for it, as this would be Mr.T’s second 40km ride of the season and I would get to ride with Monique. I really hoped I would get to ride with Sascha again too.

Sascha and I don't live close to one another so doing endurance together has been our regular opportunity to spend time together in a hobby that we are both madly passionate about. Every ride together was a blessing and we just couldn’t get enough. But Sascha’s team Splendacrest was still on a break and Zafire the beautiful stallion she loved riding still hadn’t been brought back into work yet.

Team Surch had a new horse called Zac. Gary took him in the 20km at Boonah a few weeks earlier and he was the coolest, quietest little dude at the ride. Sascha is a really good little rider too so Sue and Gary offered for her to ride him at Maryvale.

Monique and I loved riding together so much because we knew how to look after each other. We knew exactly what to do to help each other out if we were struggling with our horses. Like at the beginning of a ride when the roadside can be very dangerous we put whatever horse is calmest in front and stick to single file. Without words we always just did what had to be done to keep ourselves and our horse’s safe so we knew Sascha would fit right in riding with us...

Read more here:
http://www.tocompleteistowin.com/blog/maryvale-40km-my-worst-nightmare

2014 Indian Territory - Susan Young Mock

The 22nd Annual Indian Territory Elevator Ride is in the history books!  The weather was perfect and the trails were in the best shape they've been in for quite some time, thanks in large part to the herculean efforts of Dr. Jim Baldwin!  He has faithfully brush hogged trails, cut up fallen trees, pushed windfall off trail, and built/repaired bridges for over 20 years and we all appreciate his effort, time, money, blood, sweat, and probably a few tears.

Friday and Saturday evenings were in the 50s which made camp fires, S’mores, and camaraderie the call of the evening.  What a wonderful way to spend the weekend visiting with friends while listening to the calming munching of our favorite equines.  There were 9 new riders whom the other riders welcomed them with open arms and invited these new and potentially new AERC members into their camps.  Each new rider had a mentor on trail as well.  Did I mention this was a GREAT weekend?!

Thank you for marking, unmarking and trimming trail Jim Baldwin, Gail, Rob, and Christina Kimery (with a friend of Chris’), Alexis Jones (with husband Rich and his cousin), Kathy Crothers, Rick and Julya Humphrey, Link Mock, and various pleasure riders.  After the start of the ride, volunteers POURED out of the woodwork!  Thank you Nona Broussard, Rick Humphrey, Ann and Fred Spencer (Fred worked after completing his ride), Caleb “Will Work for Chocolate Milk” Minnick, Kirsten Scott (started working after finishing her ride and mentoring a first-time rider), Link Mock (after finishing his FIRST ride!), and Dr. Jim Baldwin (not only did he help vet, he trained a new veterinarian!).  All of us appreciate your efforts before, during, and after the ride!  A young lady approached me early Saturday morning stating she had done the Intro Ride at the Frank's ride in late June and that she wanted to learn more about our sport by VOLUNTEERING TO HELP!!!  THANK YOU Trisha Williams!

A special word of THANKS goes to excellent ride veterinarians Leon Self, Camilla Jamieson, and Jim Baldwin.  We all learn so much more about our precious equines thanks to caring professionals such as these.  Their conscientious efforts and attention to detail helps us be better riders.

While pulling ribbon, I met Diane Day and her lovely daughter Anniska on trail.  Diane wants to help work on trail and hopes to be at the Jo Tate Fall ride at the Frank's Ranch October 18.  Can this weekend get any better?

YES!

Thanks to the generosity of endurance riders, the Shriners Hospital in Shreveport, LA, will have well over 30 gift cards to give to their young patients!  Your selfless devotion to the welfare of others will bless these children in ways we’ll never know.  THANK YOU!!!

The Limited Distance Ride had 21 starters and 21 finishers!!  Mary Heberling and her wonderful Pinto x Arabian gelding Hajar earned Best Condition with a score of 751.5.  Hajar also tied for High Vet Score with 480 points.  Nikki Bridwell’s horse “Deals Kamil Jr” also had the High Vet Score of 480 points.  Kudos to the first-time riders Carole Watt and her darling mule Leroy, Travis Brinck and her SC Akil Gassur, Donna Fearing and her Paint Cheyenne, and Link Mock and his Friesian cross Captain.  Kathy Crothers was “Middle of the Pack” and Link Mock was “Turtle”.

The Endurance Ride had 20 starters and 17 completers.  Congratulations of Rosemarie Doyle’s horse “Santa Alpha Lucia”, ridden by Debra Stockwell, on completing her first 50!  Gunnar Frank won with a ride time of 6:07 and also won Best Condition with a score of 730.  Julya Humphrey’s  Spanish Mustang “Copperhead Road” had the High Vet Score with 430 points.  Sue Phillips-Jaffe and her awesome Quarter Horse mare “Sussie Prize” was “Middle of the Pack” and Debra Stockwell was “Turtle”.  Congratulations to all!

We are looking forward to the 23rd Annual Indian Territory October 3, 2015.  Hope to see you all there!

 
Susan Young Mock

Just Start (Sooner or Later You'll Finish)

by Lynn White

What I love about endurance riding is that we embark on long journeys with particular goals in mind only to end up experiencing and learning things we never thought about.   In 2000 I started trail riding with some endurance riders and decided to enter a 25-miler for the fun of it.   After that I was quite happy doing LD’s on my mare Agnes.  In 2002 we entered a 50 on a lark and never rode another LD again:  Never wanted to.   When Agnes was 18 we completed our first 100-miler.  When I drove to my first endurance event I never dreamed of finishing a 100-miler nine years later.

As much as I loved Agnes she terrified me at ride starts.   She was tough as nails and an excellent trail horse, but she’d morph into this crazy Banshee at endurance rides.  Agnes behaved like she had a neodymium magnet in her nose that was strongly attracted to the rear end of the nearest horse in front of her.    In her previous life she had been a pack horse, and considered her endurance career way more fun.  Agnes loved endurance so much she’d run herself to death if allowed.   During our eleven seasons together there wasn’t a ride where I didn’t question my sanity within the first 10 miles.    But when Agnes was on and things went well riding was magic.  I think this is why I kept coming back with her year after year.  I learned a lot from Agnes, most importantly how NOT to start a horse in endurance.   I often wonder how far she could have gone with a more  talented and knowledgeable rider.
Starting a horse from scratch and getting them through their first 50-miler puts a whole new perspective to AERC’s “To Finish is to Win” motto.  This is probably not a big deal to people who grew up on horses.  But for those of us that took up serious riding as an adult and  emerged from the mid-life crisis needing a challenge, it’s like taking up BASE Jumping.   Belesemo Moon is the first horse I actually started in endurance.  When I bought Moon (whom I lovingly refer to as “Roger”), Agnes had recently died from colic.   I had seen a photo of a cute unstarted Belesemo-bred horse on a bulletin board at the Teeter Ranch during Fandango in 2012.  He obviously had some Appaloosa in his lineage.    I recall looking at the photo for a while thinking what an oddly colored little horse he was. 

A week after Agnes was gone I was looking at horses for sale on Endurance Net and there he was again.  I called Carol Brand of Lost Juniper Ranch.    We talked for a while and I found myself saying something like, “Yeah, I’ll take him,” and Carol saying something like, “So when will you come pick him up?”  My problem really wasn’t getting Roger, it was convincing my non-horsey spouse that a second horse was needed on our place.    Equine procurement with my husband is always a tricky issue requiring the diplomatic skills of a Cold War era envoy.

Mid-July of 2012 I took a day off work, drove to Lost Juniper Ranch, and picked up Roger.  I took him directly to a pre-purchase examination.  Not only did he pass with flying colors, but he behaved remarkably well for all the commotion going on at the clinic.  There were bulls banging around in trailers, someone cutting dead trees with a chain saw, horses screaming for each other, and people milling about.  This little Arab in the Appy suit impressed me from the start.    A couple weeks later Roger went to “Joe-the-Trainer” for 30 days.  

Joe is a Quarter Horse trainer.  His equine passion is team roping, and he’s pretty good at it.   Joe puts a great start on young horses but he has a jaundiced eye towards Arabians.  He compares riding an “Aye-Rab” to riding a kite, or something to that effect.   Really though, starting a horse is pretty much just starting a horse.  It doesn’t matter what sport one is riding because horses all have to learn the basics and respect.  Joe doesn’t get attached to horses he’s starting.  Joe’s honest and fair and if a horse has some quirk or serious behavioral flaw Joe will find it, deal with it, and help you deal with it.    Joe really liked Roger which translates to, “Roger is a really nice horse.”   At 30 days Roger was ready to be picked up.  The rest of the 2012 summer we trail rode with  PJ Blonshine and her horse Pascha.

In 2012 was I focused (more like obsessed) at getting my seven year old Akhal-Teke going.  He was what is referred to as my dream hose.  I had waited seven years to buy my Teke as a weanling, and waited another three to start him.   There were some big dreams attached to this horse.   He turned out to be  a horse way beyond the skill level of a shorter than average 50-year-old “kinda-timid” rider.   For two years I tried to get comfortable riding this horse.  We never clicked.  He wasn’t the problem, it was me.   He belonged with a bold aggressive rider.  He’d never be happy as a mild-mannered endurance horse.   After his last drop-spin landed me on my head, rattled my brain, and cracked my helmet I was relieved to see him go down the road and thankful this adventure didn’t include a helicopter ride to a trauma center.   By the time of my shoulder reconstruction during the autumn of 2012 there was enough fear ingrained in me to question if it would ever be possible to ride without that nagging sense of impending doom. 

Around February of 2013 it was time to get back on a horse.   I spent a week doing ground work with Roger.  When the big day arrived for riding I saddled up and realized there wasn’t enough strength in my shoulder to hoist myself on.  Next day I bought a mounting block and we were back on schedule.   Except now I had those anxious thoughts of falling off and messing up my shoulder.  My new shoulder wasn’t needed because of some riding accident; it was just worn out from getting older.  But it’s the most aggressive joint surgery one can get.   It took about 18 months and lots of therapy before it was 100%.  Plus it cost the equivalent of a new-to-me pickup even after the health insurance coverage.   But the old ’77 Ford can be nursed a couple more years and living 100 miles from Oreana (AKA The Nexus of the Endurance World) means I can get to rides without ever having to brave the Interstate.    I’m lucky.  All I need is tenacity and courage.  Lots of courage. 

In April of 2013 we went to Oreana for our first LD.  We made it about 200 yards before I quit. Yes, 200 YARDS.   I was an unsteady mass of anxiety and Roger knew this.  This LD seemed more like enduring a 100-miler during a blizzard with cougars around every rock.   Roger is a sensitive horse and he’s only as brave as his rider.  He can sense the slightest shift in my seat or shrill tone in my voice.  This would have never become apparent without actually starting a ride.  Every horse and rider team has to start some time, somewhere.   Later that summer we managed to finish three LD’s.  I think we turtled two of them. 

Thinking we finished a couple LD’s with hills, we had to be ready for a bona-fide 50-miler (“thinking” is the key word here).   Last ride of the 2013 season we were at it trying our first 50.  We were doing alright alone until I took a wrong turn.  Then the hot-shoe  LD’s caught and passed us.  On top of that, duck season had opened and the sounds of shotguns echoing up and down the Snake River Canyon pretty much blew Roger’s little mind.  When I did muster up courage to trot, Roger started bucking.    We walked most of that 25-mile loop and immediately rider optioned out at the vet check.   Winter of 2014 was spent reading up on training, arena work, and some trail riding.  I had to get Roger’s bucking worked out.  

We were back for Round Two at Fandango during the 2014 Memorial Day weekend.  That was another not-gonna-finish ride.  Someone saw Roger pee and said it looked dark.  My heart starting pounding (panic attack or one of my many health issues), so it was another walk into ride camp for a rider option out.   As it turned out, Roger was in dire need of a sheath cleaning. 

I needed to get serious about conditioning and get used to the heat.  Agnes never much required much formal conditioning.  She came as a horse with a foundation so all I needed to do was just take her on a couple 20-mile training rides and we were good to go.   Roger presented the challenge as an overweight sensitive horse that had never gone farther than 25 miles.  It was time for faster solo rides with hills, rocks, sand, and heat three times a week.  We had six weeks to get ready for the next ride.   

Nasty horse wrecks tend to illustrate just how unforgiving gravity becomes as one ages.  So far my wrecks have happened at the beginning of trail rides with friends or close to home.   I’ve had one wreck that had the potential of being tragic.   So it’s a little scary trailering and conditioning alone.   I leave detailed maps for my husband so he knows where to come looking for me.  I joke that I wear colors that can be spotted from a helicopter, but I think it’s just smart to have a something-will-go-wrong plan when horses are involved.   My opinion about search and rescue personnel is this:  Most are volunteers, so make it easy for them to spot your sorry ass.  Ironically, riding alone is the best way to bond with a horse.      

Within a couple weeks of rocky trails and heat my irrational fears dissipated.  Roger and I had fun finding new trail together, learning how to open BLM gates, eating along the trail, learning to move out when the footing allowed, and then more eating while walking.  Roger’s heart rates began to drop.  He was calmer.  We were a team.  Instead of dreading the rides, I found myself looking forward to finding new places to explore and spending the time alone with my horse. 

Mid July of 2014 we wound our way on the back-roads for Round Three at the “Almosta Silver City”  ride.  Originally, Steph Teeter was going to put on a ride at historic Silver City in the Owyhee’s.  Finding passable trail in that area became an issue so Steph opted for a low key ride out of their ranch in Oreana.  Perfect first 50 for Roger.  The only real challenge would be finding someone else who wanted to do an eight-hour 50.   An endurance ride is kind of like going to a tent revival meeting:  Everyone has similar ideas of general outcomes, but one never knows who is going to show up and what is going to happen. 

I struck up a conversation with Merri Melde who had one of Roger’s relations, Belesemo Dude.  Dude, better known as “Dudley,” had been off and on and out of endurance riding for six years.  Merri had been working very hard with Dudley and was hoping for a completion of his second 50.  She asked me how “fast” I planned on riding.  Fast to me on a young horse is seven miles an hour so I told Merri between 6 and 6.5 mph.  We decided to start together.  It would be really cool to get two Belesemo horses through a 50 together. The theme for us was going to be “Roger and The Dude.”  It sounded more like a 1970’s era TV sit-com. 

At six o’clock the next morning we were off and rode together the entire ride.   We completed that ride in 8.25 hours and tied for 11th place.  I don’t remember the heat or the sun or the dust.  But I don’t remember thinking I was crazy for doing endurance, which was a definite first.  I remember that feeling after the vet hands me my card to say, “Congratulations,” and how much fun Merri and I had.  
 
My mountain of anxiety and irrational fear had been defeated by managing a newbie horse through his first 50.   Roger still has some crow-hop issues, but he’s not trying to unload me, he just gets excited.  I can handle this.  Roger is actually a very brave and honest horse as long as I am.  He’s exactly the type of horse I need at this stage of my life.  I don’t really know how fast we’ll be able to go, if we will ever be a team to be reckoned with, or if we will be able to get to do a 100-miler together.  I just ask a little more from Roger each time, and if he’s up to it he gets a little stronger and a little faster.  We are not in a hurry:  The ultimate goal is another Decade Horse, but a lot can happen in 10 years.

I really believe our endurance horses find us.  We can scour the earth for our dream horse only to find the one meant for us on a bulletin board or a classified add at just the right moment.   All we need is courage enough to let things happen while on this journey we call endurance riding.   Finishing a ride is easy; it’s getting a horse to that starting line which requires the effort.