Wednesday, December 21, 2011

AERC Decade Team: Karen Chaton and Granite Chief+/

Enduranceridestuff Blog - Karen Chaton

Riders Name: Karen Chaton

Horses Name: Granite Chief+/

Region: West

Current Rider Lifetime Mileage? 30,530

Endurance: 30,530 (12,000 of that is with Chief)

Limited Distance: 25

Tell us about your horse. When/how did you come to get him/her? Chief was given to me by his breeder. He thought I would be a good match for him; he wanted Chief to ‘do something’. I told several of my friends about these horses in the bay area that the owner wanted to find good homes for. Nobody else was interested, I think everybody thought a ‘free’ horse meant something was wrong with it. That couldn’t have been further from the truth! I took Chief home, dropping him off at the vet clinic on the way where they gelded him the next morning. Chief was almost 6 years old at the time.

What is your horses breeding? Classical Spanish and CMK, Arabian.

Sex: Gelding

DOB: 4/7/1995

Horse height: 15 hh

Approx. Weight: 930

Color: Fleabitten grey

Shoe size:

Or, hoof boot size: 1

Why did you decide to purchase this horse (or if you didn’t purchase, why did you choose to use this horse in endurance)? I liked how this horse was put together. He had nice feet and a good disposition too. You’d never have known he was gelded so late as he was always well mannered. He had not been started yet so I was starting with a clean slate on a horse already old enough to start steady work.

Did you do endurance with any other horses before this horse? Yes, Dream Weaver and Rocky. Chief is my third endurance horse, and I’m the only one that has ridden him in an endurance ride.

How many different horses have you ridden in this sport? A total of six.

Do you participate in any other horse sports or activities? Not so much any more. I used to show and do a lot of play days, plus trail riding.

How many years have you been involved with horses? In endurance? I had horses as a kid, then went twenty years without. I got started in endurance riding in 1994.

What got you interested in endurance riding? What was it that kept you interested? I wanted to do the Tevis. It’s close to where I live, and I heard a lot of stories about it. I went camping with friends to Robie Park and was mesmerized by the stories from endurance riders who were there. It took me three years to finally reach that goal, and in the meantime I realized that it wasn’t so much the destination as the journey that was the best part. I was having a great time.

How old was your horse when first started? First ride? Chief was started when he was 6 years old and did his first ride after he turned 7. I like starting my horses a little older now. I started Chief out on a multiday ride...

Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/aercdecadeteams/2011/12/karen-chaton-granite-chief/

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