Vintage grad Graham, horse Monk among finishers in Abu Dhabi

Napavalleyregister.com - Full Article

ANDY WILCOX | Posted: Thursday, February 16, 2012

Lindsay Graham rode 10-year-old gelding Monk to a 32nd-place finish in the annual 100-mile President’s Cup Endurance Ride on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Graham, a veterinarian at Napa Valley Veterinary Hospital, said only 46 of 140 starters finished the prestigious event.

The 2000 Vintage High School graduate went into the six-loop race planning to ride at a competitive but comfortable pace.

She wanted to make sure Monk, owned by Chris Martin of Penn Valley, would come home healthy and be ready for their bigger goal — a successful tryout next month in Texas for the biannual World Endurance Championship that will be held in England in August.
Graham and Monk finished in 8 hours, 53 minutes.

The only other American invited to the race, four-time Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion Doug Swingley of Montana, finished 38th.

“The race went really well,” Graham said. “The day went as I had hoped for, to start off in the back and keep a steady but slowly increasing pace throughout the day...

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