Ann Hall of Auburn, California, took home her 7th buckle (in 8 attempts), and her mount HCC Zara RR completed her 2nd Top Ten finish (in as many starts), and received the Best Condition award at the 46th annual Virginia City 100 on September 21, 2013, in Virginia City, Nevada.
The Virginia City 100 was a competitive ride this year, with winners Nicole Chappell riding Golden Knight, and Diane Stevens riding Banderaz LC tying for first place, finishing 20 minutes ahead of a crowd of horses: the next 6 finishers were within 6 minutes of each other. "Zara" was one of those, in 5th place.
"We came into the last vet check, the Cottonwoods, with 4 other riders," Ann said. "Zara recovered immediately and had a strong finish; she covered the last 9 miles in 45 minutes. At this point, she is getting stronger and consistently has a big push the last 10 miles of the ride."
The desert endurance riders experienced every kind of weather during the ride, except for summer. "The early morning ride was beautiful with a spirited breeze and a bright moon making the traverse through the dark 7-mile canyon lovely," Ann recalled. "By the mid afternoon we had strong winds, then strong rain, and by the time riders were climbing Mount Davidson they were riding in snow. Once the weather front had spent itself, the skies cleared and riders had a brisk clear night ride."
The Hyannis Cattle Company-bred 12-year-old mare HCC Zara RR now has 1935 miles in her 5-year endurance career, with 30 completions in 31 starts, 7 hundred mile completions in 7 starts, and 4 Best Condition awards.
For a previous story on Ann Hall and HCC Zara RR, see http://merritravels.endurance.net/2011/02/ann-hall-and-hcc-zara-rr-catch-me-if.html
36 of 49 riders finished this year's VC 100, 19 of them for the first time. 3 Juniors started and finished. Connie Creech received her 22nd VC 100 buckle, and Nicole Chappell received her 21st buckle. Horse and rider team Gina Hall and Fire Mt. Destiny for the 9th time.
For the complete order of finish and a couple of stories on the ride see
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2013VirginiaCity100/
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