The world’s toughest pony? Film tells inspiring story of history-making duo

Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article

January 24, 2023
Horsetalk.co.nz

Just days after its premiere, more than half a million people have watched a documentary about a young girl and her pony who became the smallest horse ever to finish the world-famous Tevis Cup.

Based on the book Race Against Time by Claire Eckard, the documentary Two Enduring Spirits; The Inspiring Journey of Kyla Law and Her Pony Flash is part of the 2023 Equus Film and Art Festival.

Two Enduring Spirits tells the story of how Kyla Law and Piece of Perfection (aka Flash), her “wild” 11.2hh part Hackney pony, overcame insurmountable personal odds and together entered the history books of the world-famous Tevis Cup endurance ride. The Tevis Cup is one of the most challenging rides on the planet, covering 100 miles of brutal terrain in the Sierra Nevada mountains that must be crossed in no more than 24 hours...

Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2023/01/24/tough-pony-film-history-making-duo/

US Equestrian Announces Team for 2022 FEI Endurance World Championship

USEF.org

by US Equestrian Communications Department | Jan 18, 2023, 3:15 PM EST

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the athlete/horse combinations that will represent the United States at the 2022 FEI Endurance World Championship, scheduled to take place February 25, 2023, at Butheeb, United Arab Emirates.

The following combinations will represent the U.S. Endurance Team and are listed in alphabetical order:

Marissa Bartmann (La Plata, N.M.) and RGS Rollo Ze Monarch, a 2010 Arabian gelding owned by Jessica DiCamillo

Karen Binns-DiCamillo (Las Cruces, N.M.) and RGS Ragnar Ze Monarch, her own 2009 Arabian gelding

Jessica DiCamillo (Las Cruces, N.M.) and I Remember September, her own 2009 Half-Arabian gelding

Jeremy Reynolds (Dunnellon, Fla.) and Treasured Moments, a 2010 Arabian mare owned by Jeremy and Heather Reynolds

Cheryl Van Deusen (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) and JG General, her own 2012 Arabian gelding

The following combinations have been named as alternates to the U.S. Team for the 2022 FEI Endurance World Championship and are listed in ranked order:

Karen Binns-DiCamillo and Just Believe, a 2008 Arabian Mare owned by Jessica DiCamillo

Jessica DiCamillo and Just Believe, her own 2008 Arabian mare

Heather Davis (The Plains, Va.) and Shyrocco Rimbaud, her own 2006 Anglo Arabian gelding

Holly Corcoran (Stroudsburg, Pa.) and Lorienn, her own 2012 Arabian mare

Competition Information

The FEI Endurance World Championship will consist of a 160-kilometer ride at the Butheeb International Endurance Village in El Khatim, Abu Dhabi. The ride will start at 5:45 a.m. local time on February 25, 2023. Learn more about the competition here.

First Season Success for NW Junior Lavway and Hackney Pony 'Tol'

by Shelah Wetter
January 18 2023

Aaby Lavway and her Hackney pony Truly A Surprise (AKA Tol) win PNER 'Champion Junior Best Condition Horse' as well as several other awards in their first season in endurance.

Aaby's story starts In my lesson program as a shy, small, blond haired blue eyed little girl. Little did I know what awaited her. She spent several years riding lesson horses. Then she moved on to leasing a couple of big strong and stubborn been there done that geldings who taught her a whole lot about how to handle horses with big personalities and opinions. They happened to be the perfect predecessors for the small but mighty Tol.

Tol is a Hackney pony bred by the same farm as the infamous Flash. Surely they grew up together. Tol came to me a year and a half ago as a very, very green broke 13-year-old who, like Flash, grew up in a huge pasture with minimal handling. I have a long history with the Hackney pony breed and also I have a habit of buying ponies I can't ride... Well, because they are cute and absolutely irresistible. I knew I would have to find Tol a kid at some point, or maybe get him pulling a cart well & sell him, as all of our horses must have a job.

Aaby's parents weren't quite ready to purchase a horse in the fall/winter of 2021 but she very much wanted to be a part of our endurance team... And I happened to have a half wild pony I couldnt ride... So I told her if she could ride him she could come along... And the game was on!

When Aaby and Tol met, he was absolutely terrified of her. She had to start from the beginning with him, as if he'd never been ridden at all. It took many months, but Aaby persisted and at just about 7 months since they started working together, they did their first endurance ride together. Still just a touch wild, I held his halter every time she had to mount or dismount. EDRA 30 mile endurance ride was a success and they earned the coveted award JR Best Condition. At the second ride they did their first 50, Tol didn't look tired at all. And 2 weeks later again they did a 50. Tol finished strong and bright eyed. Not a puff or a sore part on him. They again earned Jr Best Condition.

They have been working hard to be ready for the next ride season, watch out 2023, here they come!!

Apply for the 2023 Anne Ayala Scholarship - Deadline February 1

AERC.org

AERC members from senior year through age 21 are invited to apply for the Anne Ayala Scholarship. Applicants must have a minimum of 500 AERC miles and an unweighted GPA of at least 3.0. Other requirements and application instructions:

2023 Scholarship Application

Applications must be received by the AERC office by February 1, 2023.

US Equestrian Congratulates 2022 Endurance Award Winners

©Becky Pearman Photography

USEF.org

by US Equestrian Communications Department | Jan 11, 2023, 1:00 PM EST

Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian is pleased to announce the top endurance athletes from the 2022 competition season. Cheryl Van Deusen (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) will receive the Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award as the top U.S senior endurance rider. Avery Betz-Conway (Kingsland, Ga.) will receive the Brunges Junior/Young Rider Trophy as the top U.S. junior or young rider.

Cheryl Van Deusen

Van Deusen has maintained an exceptional level of success in endurance competition for many years, and 2022 was her sixth consecutive year finishing at the top of the U.S. senior rankings.

In the 2022 season, Van Deusen completed numerous CEI3* rides on several different horses, including the Greenway Gallivant with her own 2007 Arabian mare, Nazeefs Flashy Rose, and January’s Ride in the Low Country and Spring Ride in the Low Country in April with Tru Beau Sardi, her 2013 Arabian gelding. She finished in first place with her 2012 Arabian gelding, JG General, in three CEI3* competitions: Ride in the Low Country, Celebration 2022, and Spring Ride in the Low Country.

Avery Betz-Conway

Avery Betz-Conway started the 2022 season off with a completion in the Greenway Gallivant CEIYJ1* riding RR Soldier, Stephen Rojek’s 2012 Arabian gelding. The pair went on to win the Ride in the Low Country CEIYJ2* and complete the Spring Ride in the Low Country CEIYJ2*.

With Djets Mojo, a 2014 Arabian gelding owned by Christina Betz, Betz-Conway won the Ride in the Low Country 80 km ride and won the CEIYJ1* at JD’s Carolina.

The Maggy Price Endurance Excellence Award is generously sponsored by Gold Medal Farm and Larry and Valerie Kanavy in memory of Maggy Price. Price was the 1992 FEI Endurance World Championship silver medalist and was instrumental in developing international endurance in the U.S. The Brunjes Junior/Young Rider Trophy is awarded in memory of Kathy Brunjes, a successful endurance athlete and active supporter of the junior/young rider program.

2023 January's Horses in the Morning Endurance Podcast

Horsesinthemorning.com Endurance Podcast - Listen

Endurance: Race Against Time, Rider Fitness and Ride Times for Jan 10, 2023

Jan 10, 2023

Author Claire Eckard joins us to talk about her new book “Race Against Time: A Girl, a Pony & the Toughest 100-Mile Race in the World”. It is the amazing story of Kyla Law and Her Hackney Pony Flash, the smallest horse to ever finish the Tevis Cup. Sarah Cuthbertson from Ride Like an Athlete helps us with what conditioning is needed for distance riders and Karen shares how she calculates ride times and speed. Listen in...

https://www.horsesinthemorning.com/endurance-race-against-time-rider-fitness-and-ride-times-for-jan-10-2023/

Thomas Lee Sherwood, U.S. Veteran, 1939-2022

NevadaAppeal.com

February 9, 1939 - December 12, 2022

Thomas Lee Sherwood 83, of Carson City, Nevada passed away peacefully at home on December 12, 2022. He was born to now deceased parents, Elbert Owen Sherwood and Ruth Evelyn Jones February 9, 1939 in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

He served as a Corporal in the US Marine Corps and was honorably discharged in 1968. Tom worked for the Local 16 Union of Asbestos / Insulators workers of Northern California and Western Nevada for 35 years. He was an avid horseman and ultra-runner, participating in endurance riding competition for 50 years, Ultramarathons, Ride & Tie, back country horse packing, Pony Express Re-ride and Nevada Day Parades. He holds the coveted 1000 mile 10 day buckles for the renowned Western States Tevis Cup and the Virginia City 100 mile endurance rides, as well as the Western States Ultra 100 Mile Run from Squaw Valley to Auburn, Ca. He was a conservationist, explorer and trail blazer. He spent many hours building, restoring and maintaining trails in the Sierra and local area. He was a member of the Nevada All-State Trail Riders, American Endurance Riding Conference, National Endurance Driving Association and National Pony Express Nevada Division.

Tom is survived by his beloved wife of 26 years, Sala (Firth) of Carson City, his brother Sam and sister-in-law Judy Sherwood and his sister Susie Lindstrom.

A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held later this spring, the place and date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his name to the Western States Trail Foundation 150 Gum Lane, Suite 103, Auburn, CA 95603 or Nevada All-State Trail Riders, Inc. P.O. Box 4014, Carson City, NV 89701.

A final mile: Local Wyoming endurance rider covers thousands of miles during career

Abby Vander Graaff/Boomerang photo

WyomingNews.com - Full Article

Abby Vander Graaff | Laramie Boomerang
Jan 5, 2023

When visitors come to ride horses with Bonnie Swiatek at her home in Rogers Canyon, the first thing she does is point at the steep hill shooting up outside her dining room window.

“I’ll ask anybody who says they can ride well, ‘can you ride up that?’ That’s one of my tests,” she said.

While they may seem formidable to some, steep inclines and high altitude are two of the elements that drew Swiatek into the sport of endurance riding 22 years ago...

Read more here:
https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/a-final-mile-local-endurance-rider-covers-thousands-of-miles-during-career/article_67909aee-8b95-11ed-961f-e70fa9d805e6.html