ASuddenGift MHF Overcomes the Odds to Win Best Condition at the 2019 50-Mile AERC National Championship

Story and photos by Merri Melde-Endurance.net
January 10 2020

This gelding’s mysterious, undiagnosable, painful back condition almost ended his endurance career

Any time you’re around Heather Reynolds when she’s riding ASuddenGift MHF, you’re likely to hear a version of this: “He is my favorite horse! I love this horse!”

Heather first laid eye on “Sudden” at a racetrack in California as she was shopping for potential Arabian endurance horses. “I never got his name, and I never saw him outside of the stall, but I really liked the look of him.” But he was too short; the Reynolds prefer horses 15.2 or taller to buy and re-train and re-sell, as that’s what a majority of endurance riders prefer.

Fast forward six months, and Heather saw a 15.2-hand gray horse for sale on Facebook that she really liked the looks of. She bought him sight unseen. “He arrives,” Heather said, “and he comes off the trailer and I thought, oh my gosh, he’s so little. He was lucky if he made 14.3 hands. And then I took a closer look, and I thought, this is the same horse!”

ASuddenGift MHF is by Sudden Mischief, a stallion that stood at Michelle and Dr. Mickey Morgan’s Mandolynn Hill Farm in Texas. The dam, AER Wiqueen, by Wiking, was owned by Longin Blachut, and he’s the breeder of ASuddenGift MHF.

Sudden had been a decent racehorse, with a record of 2 firsts, 1 second, and 6 thirds in 12 starts over 2 seasons, and total earnings of $14,547.

All started out well on Sudden’s endurance career with Heather, and he was happy to start going down the trails. But after a couple of rides, his back started getting sore. After he and Heather did their first 50 together, the whole length of his back, from withers to loin, was swollen and had a lot of heat radiating from it. After a few days he recovered and went back to training. Heather switched saddles. But Sudden’s back issue continued.

“It would vary from decent to absolutely debilitating,” Heather recalled. She tried 15 different saddles. The Reynolds (Heather and her husband Jeremy comprise Reynolds Racing, based out of Dunellon, Florida) tried a variety of things. “We had accupuncture treatments, chiropractic Treatments, thera-plate sessions, tried injections in his back, we also did ground poles and collected work, nothing really helped him.

“His back would get so sore that he would show lameness in various limbs. It was never an injury; he’d be lame, then he wouldn’t be lame within an hour or so, but his back would be horrifically painful.”

The Reynolds asked every new veterinarian they encountered, telling Sudden’s story again and again. One vet Xrayed him and diagnosed him with kissing spines. The Reynolds gave Sudden the entire summer off, and his back was just as sore after 3 months off as it was before. “So then I brought him into the clinic to have the surgery for kissing spines, and the vet that was going to do the surgery re-Xrayed him, and said he didn’t have kissing spines.

“We even had a specialist down from southern Florida who does all the top end dressage and jumping horses. She came up and ultrasounded and Xrayed his entire top line and even did a rectal ultrasound of his S.I. (sacroiliac). I mean, we went as far as we could go to try to figure him out.”



Then after about 4 years of trying to figure out Sudden’s back issues, at South Carolina’s Broxton Bridge ride in January of 2018, Heather told yet another veterinarian (this one from South America) the story.

“She said, ‘Whether it seems like he has it or not, just treat him for EPM.’” Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis is a neurological disease that results from ingesting the Sarcocystis neurona or the Neospora hughesi protozoan from contaminated feed or water. (The oppossum is the main host for the protozoa.) Typically it penetrates into the gastrointestinal tract and enters the bloodstream and central nervous system, and horses usually exhibit hindlimb weakness, muscle atrophy, and incoordination. Without treatment it can progress to severe symptoms in hours, or years, and is largely diagnosed by clinical signs supported with serological testing.

Heather was taken aback. Sudden had never presented with any of the classic symptoms of EPM. “He’s always been super muscular, not atrophied anywhere, super coordinated, very ambidextrous; but she said it didn’t matter. Just treat him. He might not even have EPM, but those drugs sometimes fix back issues. And she said if we got results within 4 days, the drug was working.

“What did I have to lose? I ordered the drugs and treated him. And it was like magic. On day 4 his back felt fine. At 10 days he was great.” The Reynolds treated him again a few months later, and he was drastically better.

Since then, Sudden has lived up to the potential Heather knew he had. Returning to the endurance trails late in 2018, the 11-year-old gelding had no back issues, and he completed 2 50-mile rides. In 2019 he finished first in two of his five ride completions. He and Heather attempted his first 100-mile ride in the Tevis Cup; he finished fifth but was pulled for foot lameness at the finish line because of a boot malfunction. That didn’t diminish Heather’s enthusiasm for Sudden. She said afterwards, “I am so excited about this horse. His attitude was excellent, he took care of himself as well as me. Best of all his back is 100%. I am very proud of my horse. His first 100, he crossed the finish line in 5th place and he was darn close to completing. This also validated why I’ve kept this horse and worked through his issues for so many years. He is my favorite horse.”


Heather and Unicorn Sudden riding with Spiderman Jeremy Reynolds and Treasured Moments in the AERC Nat'l Championship 50

Sudden’s next ride was the 50-mile AERC National Championship in Ridgecrest, California on October 31st, where he placed 6th, 13 minutes behind the winner, (and Heather was first Lightweight), and received the Best Condition award, a validation of years of frustration, perseverance, and ultimate success.

(And two weeks later, the pair finished second by a race-off nose in the 75-mile USEF Regional Championships in Florida.)

“Most people would probably not still own this horse,” Heather said. “But if he hadn’t been sorted out, no one could have really used him. And I liked him so much, it was a big fear of mine that he’d end up just being put down, because he would not be a useful riding horse.

“I love this horse! He’s always happy and willing. He’s always got that little twinkle in his eye, and he’s just ready to do whatever it is you’re asking him to do.”


Sudden, happy to wear a Halloween costume as a Unicorn carrying a Princess, in the AERC Nat'l Championship 50

Never Quit: Ciera Schwartz Rides Blue Hearrt to 2019 AERC Junior Championship

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net
January 2 2020

14-year-old Ciera Schwartz's journey from zero endurance miles to 2019 Junior AERC National Champion in one season (in less than 6 months!) is nothing short of extraordinary.

"She had to go from zero! Think about that. From zero to 505 miles. Really think about it. It's amazing - amazing what that young girl pulled off!" says Robert Weldin, Ciera's sponsor and mentor during the 2019 AERC season in the quest for the Championship.

Along the way it's taken a village of enthusiastic, selfless supporters who helped her get there.

It was Marilyn Scholl who first introduced Ciera to endurance riding in 2016, near her home in Winters, California. "When I met her, she asked me if I could ride with her," Ciera says. "I was like, yea, I don't know what you're talking about though." Ciera started riding at age five in an all-around discipline barn. "I decided to do Western Pleasure in general." But thanks to Marilyn, it was endurance that became her métier and passion.

Marilyn sponsored Ciera on two Limited Distance rides in 2016, and one in 2017, aboard Marilyn's gelding Khavasea. When Marilyn didn't have a horse to ride with Ciera in October at Lake Sonoma, she asked Robert Weldin if he'd sponsor Ciera. "I did a pre-ride with him, got to know him a little bit," Ciera says. "Then we went out and we placed top 10 on the LD that day.

"Robert really liked the way I did things, so he told me that if I needed a mentor any other time that he would most definitely do it."

After Jaya Mae Gregory sponsored Ciera aboard Khavasea on an LD ride in April of 2019, Robert then stepped up in a big way. Not only did he become her sponsor and mentor for the season, but he also provided her with a fine 10-year-old gelding to ride, Blue Hearrt.

Ciera says, "I went with my grandpa to Robert's house [in Wellington, Nevada] for a visit. He had Blue, and he’d been working with him a little bit. (Blue was owned and campaigned the two previous seasons by Melissa Harris.) And Blue’s a real powerhouse, so Robert was looking for somebody that could handle him. And he let me hop on him and ride him around on his property, and we hit it off right away. So Robert was like yep, you’re the one."

Ciera makes it sound easy, but Robert points out Blue Hearrt is anything but.

Robert says, "Blue's 16 hands, and a very, very powerful horse - one of the most powerful horses I've ever had. She had to learn how to manage his strength and his power, because all he wanted to do was power through everything. She had to learn to teach him, hey, we've got to do this together."

Ciera's and Blue's first endurance ride together was so memorable in so many ways. She says, "We had Torre Creek Pioneer lined up (a 3-day Pioneer in Eureka, Nevada). Marilyn was nervous about me going to that because it was my very first 50. And 55. And my very first multi-day.

"So we went there, and it was raining, it was hailing; the weather was not on our side! But we finished all three days."

Robert says, "It was storming, raining, so bad, several people came up to Ciera and told her, it's OK to quit. And she dug deep, and continued on when it was cold and icy. She was able to get through all that, all 155 miles."

It would have been tough for a seasoned veteran endurance rider to finish three days in challenging weather, much less a 14-year-old on her first 50-mile endurance ride(s). "Oh, I felt tired," Ciera admits. "But I felt very accomplished. And afterwards, when I crossed that finish line I was so happy, pumped up with adrenaline. But a couple hours later I felt tired, sore, and wanted to go home!"

"She learned about not quitting," Robert says. "And she was always, from the start of our very first ride at Lake Sonoma to the very end, very, very humble. And she always, always put Blue first - at every vet check, everywhere we went, even when she couldn't stand up, the thought was Blue."

Finishing that first Pioneer ride cemented the vague thought of the National Championship 100 on November 2 in Ridgecrest, California.

"It was Robert's idea," Ciera says, "and everybody thought he was crazy, because this was my first season of really doing endurance. My grandpa and Marilyn were like - we’ll see.

"And Robert was like, she can do it! And I was with Robert on it, yep! Let’s do it! I don’t see why I can’t."

Setting that National Championship ride as their goal, and needing to qualify for it, they determined that Ciera needed 400 endurance miles on any horse, and a 100 miler on Blue. So in June, Ciera finished her second Pioneer ride, the 155-mile Wild West (two days on Rio, also owned by Marilyn, and one day on Blue), followed by a 50 on Khavasea in June, and a 50 on Rio in July.

Next came the Virginia City 100, a notoriously tough and rocky and (usually) hot 100. "I thought that was a really tough one because there aren't very many places where you can move out," Ciera says, "and because of all the elevation, between going up and down, and up and down, and the footing. That was a really amazing experience.

"And Nationals was a breeze, compared to VC!"

Ciera makes the AERC National Championship 100-mile ride sound easy, though in a way, it was another very difficult ride, because after 50 miles, she started getting shin splints. Anybody who's ever had these knows how painful it is to walk, much less ride a tough horse who's pulling on you because, as always, Blue wanted to go.

Robert himself was having trouble also, with his bad knee (he scheduled knee surgery for the end of December, so he could finish the entire endurance season). "We kind of had our goal on the Junior Championship, and we were sitting pretty well, but Ciera got leg splints, and at about the 50 mile mark, my knee just blew up.

"I had to lift her off the horse and carry her at the 50-mile vet check. I said, 'We can quit. It's OK. You have nothing to prove to anybody.' She couldn't stand up; her leg was all black and blue. My knee was the size of a volleyball. And she kept shaking her head no. She said just to give her the hour time. I said, 'Look, let's just slow down. We've got 50 miles to go. Let's just stay focused on what we came here for, on getting the completion of the 100.

"We iced her legs, she took some Advil, and she got back on; and we did the next 50 miles and finished at 4:20 in the morning.

"And the next morning, to Ciera's amazement - she didn't know it till they called her name out - she was able to win the Junior division."


Ciera naturally focuses more on Blue's accomplishment than on her trials in the National Championship. "Blue was really happy that he got to do his thing without a bunch of rocks [as at Virginia City] being underneath him. He really, really wanted to go, and he did not stop pulling on me. He is a real powerhouse, and I love that about him. He loves what he does."

It was an emotional moment for Ciera's fan club at the next morning's ceremony when Ciera accepted her awards, which included a Stonewall saddle. It's a tossup, but one could say Ciera's grandparents are her biggest fans. Russ Vancuren, who comes to Ciera's every endurance ride, agrees: "I am Ciera's head crew chief, biggest fan and one part of her large support base, and her grandfather. We all are so proud of her accomplishments this year."

"He is my number one support," Ciera says. "Well, a lot of people are, but he’s really been supportive of me, ever since I was little. And my grandmother supports from home."

Robert's wife Sharon also plays a major support roll behind the scenes, as does Marilyn Scholl, and Jennifer Sorrells, who drives a trailer to the 100-mile rides for Ciera to stay in. "It was a good team," Robert adds. "So many people were supportive."

I asked Ciera what she learned from Robert this endurance season, and this perceptive 14-year-old answered with advice many older, much more experienced endurance riders can take to heart. "Take it slow. It’s not a race, and it never should be. It's about you and your horse. It’s not about other people. And you pay to be out there, and you get to see these amazing things that not a lot of people get to see.

"Some little tricks here and there that I learned about getting through vet checks are really helpful, so we breeze through vet checks no problem. And there are just little things that you pick up from everybody. Robert would point out things that other people are doing, and he’d say ‘Hey go do that, see if that works.’

"So opening up your mindset is another thing that he taught me."

"She has really taught me a lot of things as well," Robert says. "She never complained. She was always, always taking care of Blue first. Even when she couldn't stand up, her thought was Blue.

"A couple of times we had a few tears together, but she never, never, never, never wanted to give up. That's one thing that really stood out with me. And she's been very humble, since the first time I met her until we got off our horses at 4:20 in the morning at the National Championship.

"And she always had a smile, from the start of the ride till the end of the ride.

"She's an amazing young woman."

Jeanette Mero’s Ozark Kaolena SWA Wins Best Condition at AERC National Championship 100

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net
November 19 2019

Receiving the Best Condition award for the 2019 AERC National Championship 100-miler in Ridgecrest, California, was a perfect ending to an outstanding endurance season for Dr. Jeanette Mero’s mare Ozark Kaolena SWA. In the November 1st ride, Jay and Lena finished fourth in a ride time of 12:10, and next morning the mare was judged to be the best of the seven Top Ten horses showing for the BC award.

Most remarkable, this was Lena’s first season of endurance. The 7-year-old mare, by Kaolino X FMR Ozark Eklipse, by Cassels Roszlem, has achieved a record of 20 finishes in 21 rides, four of them wins, and two Best Conditions. Earlier this season they had easily satisfied the entry requirements for the National Championship, of 500 lifetime miles each (Lena now has 1110 miles; Jay has 5760), including completion of either a Pioneer ride together (they did several) or a 100-mile ride together. That was fulfilled with a 17th place finish in the Tevis Cup.

Lena was a former winning racehorse at four and five in Texas and California for breeder/owner Dr. Jim Wetsel and trainers Ken and Valerie Danyluk. A friend of Jay’s recommended Ozark Kaolina SWA as a prospective endurance horse; Jay put a deposit on her and another colt, and made a trip to Texas in March of 2018. “When I got there, the mare was everything that her picture showed - her body conformation is quite nice. She’s got a lot of depth and she’s very correct,” Jay said.

“So I basically met them, met the horse, put her in the round pen and said, ‘Yep, I’ll take her!’

“She went into heavy training with me and didn’t come out to an endurance ride till Death Valley nine months later. And she did a lot. I would use the XP rides to basically prep, harden, toughen her up, to get her ready for longer rides.”

As the 2019 season progressed, Jay knew she had a mare with not only a wonderful mind and a desire to compete, but one with great recoveries. That became evident on the Tevis ride.

“Most of the racehorses are reasonably good with their heart rates and recoveries, but you never know. I have never, ever had one that was having recoveries like this mare was,” Jay said. “She was coming into Deadwood, Chickenhawk, and - boom - her heart rate was down to 55. It was ridiculous!

“Her pace is just very methodical. Basically my plan for this Championship ride was, ok, she’s already spent almost a whole year doing a lot of sand work, which is perfect for this desert ride. And I was just going to ask a little bit more from her on pace - we’d been anywhere from eight to nine miles an hour - and the rest of it, we’re just going to see what happens.”

What happened was a lot of riders may have underestimate the course - which looks deceptively easy, and may have started out too fast in the beginning, and had less horse left at the end. (36 of 67 completed the 100-mile Championship.) After the 65-mile loop, Jay had a horse that was raring to go. “We left the 65 mile hold in eighth place. We had to go up a very long deceiving grade, and that’s where we caught seventh place, and then sixth and fifth place.

“At the last hold [at 90 miles], Lena immediately came down. She was just a freak all day - a minute, two minutes [to pulse down]. CRI’s of 50-50, 48-48. It was crazy!”

The last 10 miles was a repeat of what they’d done on the first loop, and Lena was feeling great, so they went for it. “We left at a canter. And the mare had so much gas, it was so much fun. And we did that same loop at the same speed we did it in the daylight, in a little over an hour.”

They crossed the finish line in fourth place at 9:20 PM. “Her finish CRI was 48-48. I mean, you could’ve picked me up off the floor.”

Just as astonishing was the announcement of the Best Condition winner the next morning by head veterinarian Dr. Michael Peralez: Ozark Kaolena SWA. “I knew the mare showed well,” Jay said, “but I didn’t really even factor into it. So it was just like - WHAT!?”

Actually receiving the award may have been a surprise, but during the ride it became a goal. “I’d say it was about after the 65-mile hold where my brain started thinking, ok, we’re not going to go for a win, of course - I’m not going to burn this horse up - but, you know, let’s be careful and cognizant of BC.

“And we had talked about that earlier in the days and weeks before. We knew we were not going to go after it for a win. I did not want to take that mare that speed. But there had been, in the back of my mind, if we did get high enough up in the overall Top Ten that maybe we would make an effort at BC.”

Lena’s entire season had been carefully orchestrated. “Like I said, I picked her up in March of 2018, and didn’t even bring her to a ride till nine months later, and she was just working, working, working at home getting ready. It was methodically planned out.

“It was a great season, and she’s a great mare.”