October 31, 2011
Contact: Peg Greiwe, BCHA
1-888-893-5161
by Sarah Wynne Jackson
Of all the trails advocacy organizations in the United States, Back Country Horsemen of America has become one of the largest contributors of volunteer service. In 2010, they gave 345,000 hours of volunteer service with a value of over $7,500,000. Considering today’s economy, that’s quite an accomplishment.
What exactly do Back Country Horsemen do during all those volunteer hours? From clearing trails and hauling gravel for improving campsites, teaching folks responsible recreation habits and how to pack, improving water crossings and building camping facilities, there’s plenty to get done. BCH people even do some things you’ve probably never thought of!
Transporting Fish?
Back Country Horsemen are always eager to show how useful pack stock can be, especially in remote and protected areas where motorized vehicles are impracticable or would damage a delicate ecosystem. The Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee is reestablishing the Southern Brook Trout Hatchery at Pheasant Fields in the Tellico Ranger District. The rebirth of the hatchery is part of a larger brook trout restoration program that has the support and the horsepower of the Southern Appalachian Back Country Horsemen behind it.
Late last year, a coalition of the Cherokee National Forest, Southern
Appalachian Back Country Horsemen, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Trout Unlimited and Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards came together to conduct a trial run of one important element of the Brook Trout Restoration Program: transportation.
The test was a big success. Using pack stock provided by members of Southern Appalachian Back Country Horsemen, 140 rainbow trout were moved two miles with a 100% survival rate for the fish. This test was critical to determine the viability of using horses and mules for transportation, as many of the habitats and locations for restoration are isolated or in federally designated Wilderness Areas.
In the future, pack stock will be used to transport brook trout from existing population centers to the reopened Fish Hatchery just before spawn. The offspring of this breeding cycle will become the foundation of future population restoration efforts. Back Country Horsemen members will be called back into action when the time comes to transport these offspring to their new habitats, returning native brook trout to their historic rivers and tributaries.
Promoting Safety
Head injuries account for approximately 60 percent of deaths resulting from equestrian accidents. Because horse racing organizations require approved helmets, jockeys now suffer fewer head injuries than pleasure riders. Despite those facts, some people remain averse to wearing helmets when riding, especially those who ride western. Wyoming Back Country Horsemen put a priority on changing that.
WBCH volunteered their time to raise the funding to buy fifty helmets in various sizes to create a “lending library” of helmets. People will be able to check out one or more helmets when they need one for a short time, such as when members have visiting children who want to ride. Wyoming Back Country Horsemen especially targeted young people, hoping that the helmet-wearing habit will continue into adulthood.
In addition to the helmets, they volunteered their time to acquire funding for professionally made safety posters aimed at horsemen. Young Cloud Peak BCH member Mariah McFaul modeled for the safety poster. She posed with her horse putting on her helmet and as a wounded horsewoman. The posters will be displayed in schools, hospitals, and other appropriate places.
Keeping Trails Open for Everyone
Each year, volunteers from the Gila Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of New Mexico clear many miles of forest trails to keep trails open to equestrians and other recreational users. Over the last four years, the Gila Chapter has cleared over 260 miles of trails.
Even though the snow caused them a late start, they still cleared 50 miles of trails in 2010. GBCH trail work has taken place primarily in the Silver City District and the Wilderness District of the Gila National Forest. Trails cleared have included parts of the Continental Divide Trail, trails along the Mimbres River in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness and several other popular recreation trails. To accomplish this work, they put in 777 accident-free volunteer hours and 119 stock use days.
In 2010 their most ambitious project was opening trails along the Mimbres River. From June 30 to May 3, volunteers camped at the Mimbres River Trailhead and cleared the first seven miles of the main trail. Weather added to the challenges; on May 2, they rode out in a snowstorm. By the time it stopped, there were four inches of snow on the ground.
The second project to clear Mimbres River Trails took place May 7-13. GBCH volunteers along with the Wilderness District Trail Foreman packed in 600 pounds of horse feed for the upcoming work. They then rode horses and packed camp equipment and food into the camp spot near the forks of the Mimbres River.
On May 9, clearing work began. The group worked on the lower portion of the Middle Fork Trail and the South Fork Trail for the next four days. By the time the group packed out to go home on the 13th, over 100 trees had been cut with crosscut saws or moved from the trails and another four miles were clear. This trail had not been cleared in over four years, so downed trees had entirely blocked the trail.
The efforts of the Gila Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of New Mexico resulted in the completion of the South Fork Mimbres River Trail and completion of the North Fork Mimbres River Trail (an additional seven miles).
About Back Country Horsemen of America
Obviously, BCHA folks understand the value of hard work. Protecting our right to ride isn’t just a philosophy; it’s a responsibility that requires action in a variety of forms. Back Country Horsemen of America is proud to live up to that and get the job done.
BCHA is a non-profit corporation made up of state organizations, affiliates, and at large members. Their efforts have brought about positive changes regarding the use of horses and stock in the wilderness and public lands.
If you want to know more about Back Country Horsemen of America or become a member, visit their website: www.backcountryhorse.com; call 888-893-5161; or write PO Box 1367, Graham, WA 98338-1367. The future of horse use on public lands is in our hands!
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Guidelines created for performance horse treatment
AVMA.org
October 26 2011
Most equine veterinarians, at least those who are American Association of Equine Practitioners members, work with nonracing performance horses during their years of training and competition. These animals compete in a wide range of athletic activities encompassing everything from rodeo to dressage to endurance riding.
To better assist its members, the AAEP has developed guidelines for veterinarians who treat horses competing in athletic events other than racing. The document, "Clinical Guidelines for Veterinarians Treating the Non-Racing Performance Horse," promotes medical practices the AAEP believes place the appropriate emphasis on the health, safety, and welfare of performance horses.
Focusing on the highly competitive performance horse environment, the guidelines address the importance of obtaining a specific diagnosis before administering treatment.
"The current use of medications to manage competition horses is often permissive and excessive. This environment is propagated by owners, trainers, and veterinarians who fail to appreciate the potential harm to the horse inherent in the excessive or frivolous use of multiple medications and supplements in the quest for competitive success," according to the guidelines.
All medical treatment of performance horses should be based on a veterinary diagnosis with appropriate time allowed for an evaluation following treatment to ensure the horse has recovered before it competes again, the guidelines go on to say. Administering joint injections without a specific medical indication is listed as an example of underdiagnosis and overtreatment. The competition schedule should not be the primary factor when evaluating a horse's need for medical care, the guidelines contend.
In addition to medication administration, the document addresses the use of shockwave therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and cold therapy. Also included are recommendations for veterinary medical records, drug compounding, and infectious disease control at competitions and sales. The guidelines will be updated as research provides new data about the medical care of performance horses.
The clinical guidelines were developed by the AAEP Task Force on Medication in the Non-Racing Performance Horse, a group composed of private and regulatory veterinarians involved in a wide range of sport horse disciplines. Dr. Nathaniel A. White II, AAEP immediate past president, served as task force chair.
"While the guidelines were written for veterinarians, we hope our recommendations will resonate with owners, trainers, and organizations involved with competitions," explained Dr. White in a Sept. 19 AAEP press release. "Everyone involved in the care of the horse must appreciate the potential harm that may come from the excessive use of multiple medications. Simply giving a horse time off from competition is often the best medical choice that can be made."
The clinical guidelines are at www.aaep.org/white_papers.htm .
October 26 2011
Most equine veterinarians, at least those who are American Association of Equine Practitioners members, work with nonracing performance horses during their years of training and competition. These animals compete in a wide range of athletic activities encompassing everything from rodeo to dressage to endurance riding.
To better assist its members, the AAEP has developed guidelines for veterinarians who treat horses competing in athletic events other than racing. The document, "Clinical Guidelines for Veterinarians Treating the Non-Racing Performance Horse," promotes medical practices the AAEP believes place the appropriate emphasis on the health, safety, and welfare of performance horses.
Focusing on the highly competitive performance horse environment, the guidelines address the importance of obtaining a specific diagnosis before administering treatment.
"The current use of medications to manage competition horses is often permissive and excessive. This environment is propagated by owners, trainers, and veterinarians who fail to appreciate the potential harm to the horse inherent in the excessive or frivolous use of multiple medications and supplements in the quest for competitive success," according to the guidelines.
All medical treatment of performance horses should be based on a veterinary diagnosis with appropriate time allowed for an evaluation following treatment to ensure the horse has recovered before it competes again, the guidelines go on to say. Administering joint injections without a specific medical indication is listed as an example of underdiagnosis and overtreatment. The competition schedule should not be the primary factor when evaluating a horse's need for medical care, the guidelines contend.
In addition to medication administration, the document addresses the use of shockwave therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and cold therapy. Also included are recommendations for veterinary medical records, drug compounding, and infectious disease control at competitions and sales. The guidelines will be updated as research provides new data about the medical care of performance horses.
The clinical guidelines were developed by the AAEP Task Force on Medication in the Non-Racing Performance Horse, a group composed of private and regulatory veterinarians involved in a wide range of sport horse disciplines. Dr. Nathaniel A. White II, AAEP immediate past president, served as task force chair.
"While the guidelines were written for veterinarians, we hope our recommendations will resonate with owners, trainers, and organizations involved with competitions," explained Dr. White in a Sept. 19 AAEP press release. "Everyone involved in the care of the horse must appreciate the potential harm that may come from the excessive use of multiple medications. Simply giving a horse time off from competition is often the best medical choice that can be made."
The clinical guidelines are at www.aaep.org/white_papers.htm .
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Pocatello woman makes top 10 national equine endurance race
Idahostatejournal.com - Full Article
October 20, 2011 12:24 am
Pocatello woman makes top 10 national equine endurance race By Vanessa Grieve vgrieve@journalnet.com Idaho State Journal | 0 comments
After working with her Arabian gelding for about five years, Pocatello’s Laura Yost saw the opportunity for her horse to “open up,” earning ninth place in a nationally esteemed endurance race.
Yost, 36, competed with her horse, O.T. El Din RSI, in the Tevis Cup or Western States Trail Ride on Oct. 8. The race is 100 miles across the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Truckee, Nev., to Auburn, Calif., fluctuating in elevation from 8,700 feet to 700 feet.
“It was a dream come true,” Yost said. “This year I changed his conditioning and workout to cater to the Tevis to handle the elevation change and faster pace. I decided this was the year to let him go.”
Yost said she was on “cloud nine” after the experience. She said the morning following the race, the top 10 winners showed their horses to judges and an audience as veterinarians inspected the animals with a “fine tooth comb” for metabolic and physical soundness. Yost said El Din was quite energetic...
Read more here:
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/article_51f7a928-fae4-11e0-bf7c-001cc4c002e0.html
October 20, 2011 12:24 am
Pocatello woman makes top 10 national equine endurance race By Vanessa Grieve vgrieve@journalnet.com Idaho State Journal | 0 comments
After working with her Arabian gelding for about five years, Pocatello’s Laura Yost saw the opportunity for her horse to “open up,” earning ninth place in a nationally esteemed endurance race.
Yost, 36, competed with her horse, O.T. El Din RSI, in the Tevis Cup or Western States Trail Ride on Oct. 8. The race is 100 miles across the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Truckee, Nev., to Auburn, Calif., fluctuating in elevation from 8,700 feet to 700 feet.
“It was a dream come true,” Yost said. “This year I changed his conditioning and workout to cater to the Tevis to handle the elevation change and faster pace. I decided this was the year to let him go.”
Yost said she was on “cloud nine” after the experience. She said the morning following the race, the top 10 winners showed their horses to judges and an audience as veterinarians inspected the animals with a “fine tooth comb” for metabolic and physical soundness. Yost said El Din was quite energetic...
Read more here:
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/article_51f7a928-fae4-11e0-bf7c-001cc4c002e0.html
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Endurance athletes of the horse world train, compete just like human marathoners
Austin360.com - Full Article
Pam LeBlanc, Fit City
Oct. 15, 2011
ROUND MOUNTAIN — Toodles doesn't look like a long-distance runner.
She's sturdier and more stout than most marathoners. But this four-legged endurance athlete — a Polish Arabian mare — has plenty in common with her human counterparts.
She spends months building endurance. She tapers, easing off on training in the days before an event. And her owner carefully monitors her nutrition on game day, giving her electrolyte paste and the equine equivalent of energy bars to keep her from bonking.
"It's just like a human athlete," says Elaine Swiss, a retired high-tech executive and Toodles' owner and partner in competitive trail riding, one of two types of long-distance riding events popular in Central Texas.
At competitions, Swiss and Toodles follow a marked trail, tackling obstacles along the way. Judges lurk in bushes, scoring each horse-rider team as they pass through gates, scamper up and down steep hills, cross streams and negotiate special tasks. Teams must finish within a designated time window, but the first team across the finish line doesn't necessarily win.
Endurance races, the other type of long-distance riding event, are pure races. The winning horse is the first to cross the finish line.
In both types of competition, veterinarians check the horses periodically, looking for pink, healthy gums and sloshing belly noises to make sure the animal athletes are well-hydrated and capable of completing 25, 50 or 100-mile rides...
Read more here:
http://www.austin360.com/recreation/endurance-athletes-of-the-horse-world-train-compete-1915073.html
Pam LeBlanc, Fit City
Oct. 15, 2011
ROUND MOUNTAIN — Toodles doesn't look like a long-distance runner.
She's sturdier and more stout than most marathoners. But this four-legged endurance athlete — a Polish Arabian mare — has plenty in common with her human counterparts.
She spends months building endurance. She tapers, easing off on training in the days before an event. And her owner carefully monitors her nutrition on game day, giving her electrolyte paste and the equine equivalent of energy bars to keep her from bonking.
"It's just like a human athlete," says Elaine Swiss, a retired high-tech executive and Toodles' owner and partner in competitive trail riding, one of two types of long-distance riding events popular in Central Texas.
At competitions, Swiss and Toodles follow a marked trail, tackling obstacles along the way. Judges lurk in bushes, scoring each horse-rider team as they pass through gates, scamper up and down steep hills, cross streams and negotiate special tasks. Teams must finish within a designated time window, but the first team across the finish line doesn't necessarily win.
Endurance races, the other type of long-distance riding event, are pure races. The winning horse is the first to cross the finish line.
In both types of competition, veterinarians check the horses periodically, looking for pink, healthy gums and sloshing belly noises to make sure the animal athletes are well-hydrated and capable of completing 25, 50 or 100-mile rides...
Read more here:
http://www.austin360.com/recreation/endurance-athletes-of-the-horse-world-train-compete-1915073.html
Monday, October 17, 2011
Heraldic - One Determined Horse Part 2 (The Return) - by John Crandell
Heraldic and John Crandell are in Chile preparing for the 2011 Pan American Endurance Championships on October 22, 2011. This is Part II of a story about Heraldic, written by Crandell.
My heart sank that day in August of 2008. Heraldic was in training for the 2008 FEI World Endurance Championship in Malaysia, and only a few weeks from departing to a training camp in Florida. He had been moved to a smaller meadow the evening before and was slated for shoeing in the morning. As I approached to bring him in, I realized something was terribly wrong. Heraldic looked both ways, contemplating evasion as always, but never moved. Getting closer I could see his left hind leg was bloodied from a 2.5 inch diameter open wound medial on the stifle; Grade 5 lame.
I hobbled Heraldic 50 yards to a nearby shed for treatment. Dr. Jeannie Waldron rushed over and we begin what I already knew would be a long ordeal.
There was little need for sonograms to visualize the critical tissues around the stifle; we could see it all with the naked eye. The collateral ligaments were visibly bruised but intact, and we saw no evidence that the integrity of the joint capsules critical infection barrier had been compromised. By extremely narrow margins, we were spared these aspects of athletic career ending injury, but there were still huge uncertainties that threatened not just his athletic ability, but his life itself.
Dr. Waldron thoroughly cleaned stones and debris out a nine inch deep pocket of loosened skin extending below the stifle, and installed drain tubes to allow the wound to expel fluid as it healed from the inside out. We anticipated that we would have a critical recovery period in a the next weeks as the bruised ligamentation around the joint went through an even more fragile stage in the early phases of healing, so the same shelter just yards from his injury was prepared to be the site of a long convalescence; as fully immobilized as a horse can survive.
The Barbaro tragedy demonstrated to the world how difficult it can be to survive a horse through an extended period with a non-weight bearing limb. It is the opposing sound limb that must bear the load of the horses’ weight without a moment’s relief that is prone to the most irreversible demise. We were fortunate that Heraldic seem comfortable to face down-slope in his shed stall, providing some physical load relief to the overburdened hind limb. We selected bedding that would fill the concavity of his hoof for the most diffused support possible. Now there were weeks of careful monitoring, and wound nursing, and hoping ahead.
It was more than a month before Heraldic could bear weight for even a moment on the left hind leg.
It would be several more months before Heraldic would walk freely in a paddock. His entire left hind quarter was completely atrophied, which stood in stark contrast to the muscular right. The wound itself had healed as flawlessly as we could have ever hoped, but the road back to the athletic wonder that Heraldic had been before would be a very long one. It was like starting his endurance racing development all over again, with additional attention needed on rebalancing.
We will never know exactly what caused the accident, which was probably just a high speed fall and skid on the abrasive soils in the mountain meadow. Something must have startled him for such a violent wipe-out, but those reasons why are lost in the dark of that night in August.
Starting all over again has not been without some benefits. My extended family is always improving our training processes, and raising the standards of education we expect of our horses as they advance in a physical fitness program. Every endurance trainer struggles between the investment of time toward more refined training standards, and the rigors of a fitness program. With more effective training techniques we are able to set higher standards early, which leads to better efficiency later in the program. This integration is pivotal to raising the ceiling of performance. It’s not just about grinding workouts; it’s about working hard without sacrificing precision. It’s about eloquent sweat.
After a year and half invested in the therapy and retraining, Heraldic came out of the ordeal re-educated, more disciplined, and better prepared to train for fitness than ever.
The 2010 Old Dominion 100 was the first ride we attempted after his two year absence from the endurance scene. Just as in developing a new endurance horse, his fitness program to this time had favored certainty that his soundness durability had been fully developed. He was still not at peak physical performance, but like the Tevis, the Old Dominion tests fitness and a lot more. Heraldic at 90% fitness is still not shabby, and the Old Dominion is our home turf (rock and sauna). We were first place and BC by a modest margin.
Two weeks of rest after Old Dominion and then several cardio/muscular focused workouts had us physically right where I felt we needed to be for Tevis. Greyson had been on a similar work schedule all season, and was performing flawlessly, so he was the clear choice for an alternate. It takes a lot of investment of time and logistics to prepare for the Tevis from out of the region. It’s both practical and fairest to the horses not to put all that pressure on one horse.
To have Shannon Constanti ride Greyson, was a late opportunity offered by Linda Glaiser, who with Roger Yohe had been a trusted friend and gracious host in our Tevis adventures for several years. Heraldic is strong and focused to the end with or without company, so we had always performed in quiet solitary for most of our endurance races. I estimated that the rider weight difference between us would be a just enough of offset the very slight difference in the ability of the two horses, and that they would be very well matched together. I was determined to ride each horse to its own best advantage, but new that we just might be able to stay together all day.
I realized as I woke the morning of the Tevis that the high altitude temperature was freakishly warm. I knew that we were as well prepared for heat as anyone could be, so it only bolstered my confidence. The “new” Heraldic gave me the calmest, most disciplined start ever, so we warmed up and moved out with excellent early efficiency.
I never have as much concern about the competitive racing aspect of the challenge as most people would think. To me the day is simply an opportunity for a nature based test of training theories and techniques, and other riders in the field are simply providing welcomed additional benchmarks. I was a little concerned that I might be over-pacing when we pulled into Red Star Ridge only a few moments behind the leaders, but the horses pulsed faster than I could take a wiz, and we were on our way.
With careful regard to the low oxygen levels at that elevation we cruised along at a very conservative pace to Robinson Flat. These horses have trained at <15 mph paces through extended mountain grades, so the pace we held was comparatively lazy. The trail after Robinson Flat is dominated by gentle downgrades on fair footing. These are bone-jarring to horses that are not well educated for a controlled and collected ride, but they are an opportunity to demonstrate low stress “free mile” canters for the well prepared. While the Western States Trail is often referred to as a tough and rugged course, I’d like to offer another perspective that better describes this tests value as a benchmark for horse and horsemanship. To simply say this is a tough course is really only a comparison, relative to the modern norm in endurance riding today. Against the whole of challenges in the evolution of horses and horsemanship, this test is not really such an extreme. The Tevis race is really much more than just a grueling challenge. In fact, only a modest proportion of the 100 mile distance is really all that arduous. We spend a lot of our time in those more rugged sections of the course, but they are not really as large a part of the total miles of testing. It’s the complement of other parts of the course that offer different challenges, test different aspects, that make this course such a comprehensive assay. This is a FULL SPECTRUM test that considers many criterions. This creates potential for broad separation of the field of competitors. Great performances here don’t come by excellence in any one aspect, but by scoring not badly in EACH AND EVERY of many aspects. The hot canyon lands passed smoothly. As always, I was much too focused on taking optimal care of my own horses to pay much attention to what the rest of the field might be doing. We passed through each vet station as efficiently as possible. We departed each check-point carrying out nibbles of food for the horses’ consumption elsewhere along the trail were the pause was more comfortable and effective. Hot and humid weather conditions are extremely critical of finer details about how the work is approached. Advantage goes to those that press on with care and reverence, and avoid the need to stop completely for rests, for this spoils the apparent breeze and compromises the efficiency of vascular circulation. “Never Hurry, Never Tarry”-- Matthew Mackay-Smith After showering away the high sierra and a change of clothes at Forest Hill, I did happen to ask “where is everybody else?” and was told by a member of the crew that the next horses where about half hour behind. This turned out to be incorrect. We later supposed that someone had miss-read across the lines of the leaderboard, and compared the next horses’ departure from Chicken Hawk, the previous vet station. Leaving Forest Hill with gross misinformation of where the other horses in the field were really didn’t affect our pacing judgment. As I’ve said before, I ride to give my horses their optimum test result. The competitive placing is a secondary concern. Our horses were rolling for home smoothly, with plenty of untapped energy waiting at our request. It was simply a matter of getting them home for dinner at the healthiest hour. No other riders showed up at Fransisco’s, and I didn’t think to ask if they had any statistical information. We lingered just a few moments extra for forage, and then moved on with more feed in hand as usual. It wasn’t until we rode into Lower Quarry, when Dr. Fellers offered that we were three hours ahead of the next horse, did it occur to me that I might for once adjust my pace due to the competition. I reasoned that we were well poised for a notable finish, where a few minutes more or less would be forgotten. We basked in those last miles at “zero risk” pace, stopped to bath the horses for cleanliness in presentation more than cooling, and generally just allowed ourselves to enjoy the moonlight trail ride. Critiques about not holding a negative split pace, or boasting about completing the last leg faster than the winner really have no credibility when the front runners are so securely apart from the field of competition. Since the 2010 Tevis, Heraldic has continued to be only wiser and stronger. We had a rare non-completion after he broke through a sub-surface hole at the AERC Championship, but he quickly recovered from that shoulder sprain. Early this year we comfortably turned out a 7:58 hr. winning hundred and BC in the sands of Florida, demonstrating the range of Heraldics athletic prowess, and making it clear that Heraldic is back, better than ever before. A background of training toward FULL SPECTRUM tests like the Tevis leaves us confident and prepared over the earth’s full range of terrain and course profiles. We are currently fund-raising and training for a bid to represent the U.S.A. in the Pan-American Championship in October. - John Crandell III See more on Heraldic and John Crandell here: http://heraldic.yolasite.com/
Follow Heraldic's training in Chile here on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heraldic/246652352042241?ref=ts
Follow the Pan American Championships here on Endurance.net:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Chile/2011PanAm/
My heart sank that day in August of 2008. Heraldic was in training for the 2008 FEI World Endurance Championship in Malaysia, and only a few weeks from departing to a training camp in Florida. He had been moved to a smaller meadow the evening before and was slated for shoeing in the morning. As I approached to bring him in, I realized something was terribly wrong. Heraldic looked both ways, contemplating evasion as always, but never moved. Getting closer I could see his left hind leg was bloodied from a 2.5 inch diameter open wound medial on the stifle; Grade 5 lame.
I hobbled Heraldic 50 yards to a nearby shed for treatment. Dr. Jeannie Waldron rushed over and we begin what I already knew would be a long ordeal.
There was little need for sonograms to visualize the critical tissues around the stifle; we could see it all with the naked eye. The collateral ligaments were visibly bruised but intact, and we saw no evidence that the integrity of the joint capsules critical infection barrier had been compromised. By extremely narrow margins, we were spared these aspects of athletic career ending injury, but there were still huge uncertainties that threatened not just his athletic ability, but his life itself.
Dr. Waldron thoroughly cleaned stones and debris out a nine inch deep pocket of loosened skin extending below the stifle, and installed drain tubes to allow the wound to expel fluid as it healed from the inside out. We anticipated that we would have a critical recovery period in a the next weeks as the bruised ligamentation around the joint went through an even more fragile stage in the early phases of healing, so the same shelter just yards from his injury was prepared to be the site of a long convalescence; as fully immobilized as a horse can survive.
The Barbaro tragedy demonstrated to the world how difficult it can be to survive a horse through an extended period with a non-weight bearing limb. It is the opposing sound limb that must bear the load of the horses’ weight without a moment’s relief that is prone to the most irreversible demise. We were fortunate that Heraldic seem comfortable to face down-slope in his shed stall, providing some physical load relief to the overburdened hind limb. We selected bedding that would fill the concavity of his hoof for the most diffused support possible. Now there were weeks of careful monitoring, and wound nursing, and hoping ahead.
It was more than a month before Heraldic could bear weight for even a moment on the left hind leg.
It would be several more months before Heraldic would walk freely in a paddock. His entire left hind quarter was completely atrophied, which stood in stark contrast to the muscular right. The wound itself had healed as flawlessly as we could have ever hoped, but the road back to the athletic wonder that Heraldic had been before would be a very long one. It was like starting his endurance racing development all over again, with additional attention needed on rebalancing.
We will never know exactly what caused the accident, which was probably just a high speed fall and skid on the abrasive soils in the mountain meadow. Something must have startled him for such a violent wipe-out, but those reasons why are lost in the dark of that night in August.
Starting all over again has not been without some benefits. My extended family is always improving our training processes, and raising the standards of education we expect of our horses as they advance in a physical fitness program. Every endurance trainer struggles between the investment of time toward more refined training standards, and the rigors of a fitness program. With more effective training techniques we are able to set higher standards early, which leads to better efficiency later in the program. This integration is pivotal to raising the ceiling of performance. It’s not just about grinding workouts; it’s about working hard without sacrificing precision. It’s about eloquent sweat.
After a year and half invested in the therapy and retraining, Heraldic came out of the ordeal re-educated, more disciplined, and better prepared to train for fitness than ever.
The 2010 Old Dominion 100 was the first ride we attempted after his two year absence from the endurance scene. Just as in developing a new endurance horse, his fitness program to this time had favored certainty that his soundness durability had been fully developed. He was still not at peak physical performance, but like the Tevis, the Old Dominion tests fitness and a lot more. Heraldic at 90% fitness is still not shabby, and the Old Dominion is our home turf (rock and sauna). We were first place and BC by a modest margin.
Two weeks of rest after Old Dominion and then several cardio/muscular focused workouts had us physically right where I felt we needed to be for Tevis. Greyson had been on a similar work schedule all season, and was performing flawlessly, so he was the clear choice for an alternate. It takes a lot of investment of time and logistics to prepare for the Tevis from out of the region. It’s both practical and fairest to the horses not to put all that pressure on one horse.
To have Shannon Constanti ride Greyson, was a late opportunity offered by Linda Glaiser, who with Roger Yohe had been a trusted friend and gracious host in our Tevis adventures for several years. Heraldic is strong and focused to the end with or without company, so we had always performed in quiet solitary for most of our endurance races. I estimated that the rider weight difference between us would be a just enough of offset the very slight difference in the ability of the two horses, and that they would be very well matched together. I was determined to ride each horse to its own best advantage, but new that we just might be able to stay together all day.
I realized as I woke the morning of the Tevis that the high altitude temperature was freakishly warm. I knew that we were as well prepared for heat as anyone could be, so it only bolstered my confidence. The “new” Heraldic gave me the calmest, most disciplined start ever, so we warmed up and moved out with excellent early efficiency.
I never have as much concern about the competitive racing aspect of the challenge as most people would think. To me the day is simply an opportunity for a nature based test of training theories and techniques, and other riders in the field are simply providing welcomed additional benchmarks. I was a little concerned that I might be over-pacing when we pulled into Red Star Ridge only a few moments behind the leaders, but the horses pulsed faster than I could take a wiz, and we were on our way.
With careful regard to the low oxygen levels at that elevation we cruised along at a very conservative pace to Robinson Flat. These horses have trained at <15 mph paces through extended mountain grades, so the pace we held was comparatively lazy. The trail after Robinson Flat is dominated by gentle downgrades on fair footing. These are bone-jarring to horses that are not well educated for a controlled and collected ride, but they are an opportunity to demonstrate low stress “free mile” canters for the well prepared. While the Western States Trail is often referred to as a tough and rugged course, I’d like to offer another perspective that better describes this tests value as a benchmark for horse and horsemanship. To simply say this is a tough course is really only a comparison, relative to the modern norm in endurance riding today. Against the whole of challenges in the evolution of horses and horsemanship, this test is not really such an extreme. The Tevis race is really much more than just a grueling challenge. In fact, only a modest proportion of the 100 mile distance is really all that arduous. We spend a lot of our time in those more rugged sections of the course, but they are not really as large a part of the total miles of testing. It’s the complement of other parts of the course that offer different challenges, test different aspects, that make this course such a comprehensive assay. This is a FULL SPECTRUM test that considers many criterions. This creates potential for broad separation of the field of competitors. Great performances here don’t come by excellence in any one aspect, but by scoring not badly in EACH AND EVERY of many aspects. The hot canyon lands passed smoothly. As always, I was much too focused on taking optimal care of my own horses to pay much attention to what the rest of the field might be doing. We passed through each vet station as efficiently as possible. We departed each check-point carrying out nibbles of food for the horses’ consumption elsewhere along the trail were the pause was more comfortable and effective. Hot and humid weather conditions are extremely critical of finer details about how the work is approached. Advantage goes to those that press on with care and reverence, and avoid the need to stop completely for rests, for this spoils the apparent breeze and compromises the efficiency of vascular circulation. “Never Hurry, Never Tarry”-- Matthew Mackay-Smith After showering away the high sierra and a change of clothes at Forest Hill, I did happen to ask “where is everybody else?” and was told by a member of the crew that the next horses where about half hour behind. This turned out to be incorrect. We later supposed that someone had miss-read across the lines of the leaderboard, and compared the next horses’ departure from Chicken Hawk, the previous vet station. Leaving Forest Hill with gross misinformation of where the other horses in the field were really didn’t affect our pacing judgment. As I’ve said before, I ride to give my horses their optimum test result. The competitive placing is a secondary concern. Our horses were rolling for home smoothly, with plenty of untapped energy waiting at our request. It was simply a matter of getting them home for dinner at the healthiest hour. No other riders showed up at Fransisco’s, and I didn’t think to ask if they had any statistical information. We lingered just a few moments extra for forage, and then moved on with more feed in hand as usual. It wasn’t until we rode into Lower Quarry, when Dr. Fellers offered that we were three hours ahead of the next horse, did it occur to me that I might for once adjust my pace due to the competition. I reasoned that we were well poised for a notable finish, where a few minutes more or less would be forgotten. We basked in those last miles at “zero risk” pace, stopped to bath the horses for cleanliness in presentation more than cooling, and generally just allowed ourselves to enjoy the moonlight trail ride. Critiques about not holding a negative split pace, or boasting about completing the last leg faster than the winner really have no credibility when the front runners are so securely apart from the field of competition. Since the 2010 Tevis, Heraldic has continued to be only wiser and stronger. We had a rare non-completion after he broke through a sub-surface hole at the AERC Championship, but he quickly recovered from that shoulder sprain. Early this year we comfortably turned out a 7:58 hr. winning hundred and BC in the sands of Florida, demonstrating the range of Heraldics athletic prowess, and making it clear that Heraldic is back, better than ever before. A background of training toward FULL SPECTRUM tests like the Tevis leaves us confident and prepared over the earth’s full range of terrain and course profiles. We are currently fund-raising and training for a bid to represent the U.S.A. in the Pan-American Championship in October. - John Crandell III See more on Heraldic and John Crandell here: http://heraldic.yolasite.com/
Follow Heraldic's training in Chile here on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heraldic/246652352042241?ref=ts
Follow the Pan American Championships here on Endurance.net:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Chile/2011PanAm/
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Heraldic - One Determined Horse Part 1 - by John Crandell
Heraldic and John Crandell are in Chile preparing for the 2011 Pan American Endurance Championships on October 22, 2011. This is Part I of a story about Heraldic, written by Crandell.
We had driven many hours to pick up a young horse that was been donated to the Old Dominion Rides for a fund-raising raffle. As we walked out into the meadows and mucky winter barnyards in Sink Hole, West Virginia we saw a scene that seized our attention like one wild horse watching another come over the horizon.
There were forty or so horses in one group, excited by the appearance of strange humans in a field and charging back and forth in front of us. There in the middle of the herd was one of the most striking movers we had ever witnessed. It was evident that he wanted to hide himself more in the middle of the group as much as he could, but he couldn’t seem to avoid outpacing all his companions. With an effortless, floating motion he would propel himself from the back to the front, just as the herd was doing an about face, placing him in the back again, and repeating the cycle.
This was Asgard Arabians, and there was not a shabby mover in the lot. If any of the other horses were placed in a more common group, they would have stood out just as clearly. Here we knew we were witnessing something that was an astounding exception, something that was distinct even among the very best. My father was absolutely smitten.
Stood still, he wasn’t particularly more striking than some of the other great specimens in the lot. Identifiable by a distinctive and complex blaze, and one white eye, but coloration means little to us. He had good proportions, as best as can be discerned in a two year old, with muscles flowing well down his limbs. Well formed joints. He had a particularly generous separation of tendon and bone through the cannons. There was an overall image of great strength, without being the slightest over-built… design eloquence.
Truthfully, there were a lot of horses there that fit that description, and many of them have gone on to become renowned endurance horses, but when we saw this one move, we realized Heraldic was in a class all by himself. There was something about the smooth, highly coordinated way he engaged his muscles that inherently made him move faster, with less energy, than all the rest.
Heraldic did not want to be anybodies pet. Life was good there-untamed, racing his siblings in the large pasture back at Asgard. I take great pride developing a good man-horse bonding with the horses I develop. I want my horses to feel good about working with me. Heraldic is Heraldic. I am just lucky he enjoys doing some of the same things I do.
I have never seen a horse with such self identity, and reliance only on himself. Heraldic needs no one, man or beast. Heraldic trusts no one, he can look out for himself. He seldom more than lifts his head when his pasture mate is taken out, and never has particularly bonded with another horse. On exercise runs, he works alone as aggressively as with company, although he does take considerable pleasure in showing the hairless side of his tail to other horses.
It is obvious that Heraldic wants to be known for his physical gifts, and only for them. The image he projects to other horses is little different than the face he shows me. When turned out with a group of horses, he will never allow himself to be beaten in a challenge run, and yet seems completely uninterested in marking his status in the herd. He doesn’t care to be an alpha, and yet won’t tolerate being pushed around. He is just there of his own identity. He works well in the group, but has no dependency on it. Heraldic is Heraldic. His coat of arms is the flare of his nostril, a piercing eye, and a cloud of dust.
Catching Heraldic is a fine art, and it’s not that he is against going out to work, he actually likes that part. Any excuse to run around a while and show independence is a good one. If you want him to run a long while, that is no problem. “How about 200 miles right here in this pasture?” Heraldic seems to offer. Trying to access natural horse instincts and hook him up is like pulling in a whale with kite string. This horse could be all alone in the wilderness and quite content. All the other horses here, other Asgards as well, are conditioned to come running across the pasture to me as soon as I call. Heraldic has taught me a lot about catching loose horses, what works a little on him, charms others. I’m going to go put a halter on some white-tail deer next.
Heraldic is naturally sensitive to aids. So sensitive that it has been a challenge to teach him to relax and to forgive an occasional imperfection of contact, such as will happen when you are running in a group over rough terrain. This has been the only real challenge in developing him to be an endurance horse. His physical conditioning and every other aspect of his maturation has bloomed with gifted ease.
Heraldic knows the task at hand like he was somehow pre-wired for exactly one purpose, endurance racing. It has taken a little extra time to convince him that there was any need for me to come along. He has the program and is quite confident he could do this all on his own.
Of course no hot-blooded horses inherently rate themselves properly at the start of a race. When free horses race, the game is won for who ever is in front when all others throw in the towel, an indefinite distance race. Doing very arduous 100 milers like the Old Dominion and the Tevis most quickly develops a horse’s sense that there is a purpose behind being rated. The fact that these courses run overland without at lot of looping back creates a keen awareness that there is a certain distance to be done, a place to get to. Sometimes people are surprised that I bring some fairly inexperienced horses to these tough rides. I never shortcut on long and careful physical development before a horse does any race. Taking a new horse to one tough race, develops more maturity and wisdom than you will achieve running a dozen fast courses. The stalwart competitor we all strive for is created with less risk and less wear all in all.
The greatest reward of all from this grand racing season is knowing that I have a much better working companion now than when the year started. He is also quite physically undaunted from the season, more fit and fresh than ever. Heraldic is even adding just a little bit of a healthy social exchange to his character. Just the other day was a milestone, I got a little bit of a pleasure reaction out of him while grooming. I’m sure I have done things that felt good before, I’ve certainly tried, but he is only now allowing himself to show it. At this rate, in another 20 years even Heraldic will let himself be a pet.
I am certain that if the world changed overnight and there were suddenly no more organized endurance rides I would still be doing this, and challenging myself just as hard, even if all alone. Heraldic makes it clear that there are horses of the same mind.
See more on Heraldic and John Crandell here:
http://heraldic.yolasite.com/
Follow Heraldic's training in Chile here on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heraldic/246652352042241?ref=ts
Follow the Pan American Championships here on Endurance.net:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Chile/2011PanAm/
We had driven many hours to pick up a young horse that was been donated to the Old Dominion Rides for a fund-raising raffle. As we walked out into the meadows and mucky winter barnyards in Sink Hole, West Virginia we saw a scene that seized our attention like one wild horse watching another come over the horizon.
There were forty or so horses in one group, excited by the appearance of strange humans in a field and charging back and forth in front of us. There in the middle of the herd was one of the most striking movers we had ever witnessed. It was evident that he wanted to hide himself more in the middle of the group as much as he could, but he couldn’t seem to avoid outpacing all his companions. With an effortless, floating motion he would propel himself from the back to the front, just as the herd was doing an about face, placing him in the back again, and repeating the cycle.
This was Asgard Arabians, and there was not a shabby mover in the lot. If any of the other horses were placed in a more common group, they would have stood out just as clearly. Here we knew we were witnessing something that was an astounding exception, something that was distinct even among the very best. My father was absolutely smitten.
Stood still, he wasn’t particularly more striking than some of the other great specimens in the lot. Identifiable by a distinctive and complex blaze, and one white eye, but coloration means little to us. He had good proportions, as best as can be discerned in a two year old, with muscles flowing well down his limbs. Well formed joints. He had a particularly generous separation of tendon and bone through the cannons. There was an overall image of great strength, without being the slightest over-built… design eloquence.
Truthfully, there were a lot of horses there that fit that description, and many of them have gone on to become renowned endurance horses, but when we saw this one move, we realized Heraldic was in a class all by himself. There was something about the smooth, highly coordinated way he engaged his muscles that inherently made him move faster, with less energy, than all the rest.
Heraldic did not want to be anybodies pet. Life was good there-untamed, racing his siblings in the large pasture back at Asgard. I take great pride developing a good man-horse bonding with the horses I develop. I want my horses to feel good about working with me. Heraldic is Heraldic. I am just lucky he enjoys doing some of the same things I do.
I have never seen a horse with such self identity, and reliance only on himself. Heraldic needs no one, man or beast. Heraldic trusts no one, he can look out for himself. He seldom more than lifts his head when his pasture mate is taken out, and never has particularly bonded with another horse. On exercise runs, he works alone as aggressively as with company, although he does take considerable pleasure in showing the hairless side of his tail to other horses.
It is obvious that Heraldic wants to be known for his physical gifts, and only for them. The image he projects to other horses is little different than the face he shows me. When turned out with a group of horses, he will never allow himself to be beaten in a challenge run, and yet seems completely uninterested in marking his status in the herd. He doesn’t care to be an alpha, and yet won’t tolerate being pushed around. He is just there of his own identity. He works well in the group, but has no dependency on it. Heraldic is Heraldic. His coat of arms is the flare of his nostril, a piercing eye, and a cloud of dust.
Catching Heraldic is a fine art, and it’s not that he is against going out to work, he actually likes that part. Any excuse to run around a while and show independence is a good one. If you want him to run a long while, that is no problem. “How about 200 miles right here in this pasture?” Heraldic seems to offer. Trying to access natural horse instincts and hook him up is like pulling in a whale with kite string. This horse could be all alone in the wilderness and quite content. All the other horses here, other Asgards as well, are conditioned to come running across the pasture to me as soon as I call. Heraldic has taught me a lot about catching loose horses, what works a little on him, charms others. I’m going to go put a halter on some white-tail deer next.
Heraldic is naturally sensitive to aids. So sensitive that it has been a challenge to teach him to relax and to forgive an occasional imperfection of contact, such as will happen when you are running in a group over rough terrain. This has been the only real challenge in developing him to be an endurance horse. His physical conditioning and every other aspect of his maturation has bloomed with gifted ease.
Heraldic knows the task at hand like he was somehow pre-wired for exactly one purpose, endurance racing. It has taken a little extra time to convince him that there was any need for me to come along. He has the program and is quite confident he could do this all on his own.
Of course no hot-blooded horses inherently rate themselves properly at the start of a race. When free horses race, the game is won for who ever is in front when all others throw in the towel, an indefinite distance race. Doing very arduous 100 milers like the Old Dominion and the Tevis most quickly develops a horse’s sense that there is a purpose behind being rated. The fact that these courses run overland without at lot of looping back creates a keen awareness that there is a certain distance to be done, a place to get to. Sometimes people are surprised that I bring some fairly inexperienced horses to these tough rides. I never shortcut on long and careful physical development before a horse does any race. Taking a new horse to one tough race, develops more maturity and wisdom than you will achieve running a dozen fast courses. The stalwart competitor we all strive for is created with less risk and less wear all in all.
The greatest reward of all from this grand racing season is knowing that I have a much better working companion now than when the year started. He is also quite physically undaunted from the season, more fit and fresh than ever. Heraldic is even adding just a little bit of a healthy social exchange to his character. Just the other day was a milestone, I got a little bit of a pleasure reaction out of him while grooming. I’m sure I have done things that felt good before, I’ve certainly tried, but he is only now allowing himself to show it. At this rate, in another 20 years even Heraldic will let himself be a pet.
I am certain that if the world changed overnight and there were suddenly no more organized endurance rides I would still be doing this, and challenging myself just as hard, even if all alone. Heraldic makes it clear that there are horses of the same mind.
See more on Heraldic and John Crandell here:
http://heraldic.yolasite.com/
Follow Heraldic's training in Chile here on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heraldic/246652352042241?ref=ts
Follow the Pan American Championships here on Endurance.net:
http://www.endurance.net/international/Chile/2011PanAm/
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Exploring northern California
Stuff.co.nz - Full Article
JULIE MILLER
Last updated 05:00 12/10/2011
Arriving into the northern California town of Mendocino in a bright red Smart car is a little like landing in a miniaturised Tardis, such is the curiosity it garners.
"What is that thing, a rollerskate?" one local chuckles, while a weathered, ratty-haired woman dressed in a felt coat, ugg boots and a red sequinned scarf circles my rental vehicle whispering, "Whooooaaaa!", clearly having some sort of acid flashback.
Born in the logging heyday of the 1860s but peaking in the 1960s when it was rediscovered by Bohemian artists, Mendocino, three hours' drive north of San Francisco, is a town frozen in time.
With pastel chocolate-box houses and wooden water towers, this quaint village perched on a peninsula overlooking the wild, woolly Pacific Ocean is seemingly uprooted from east coast Maine, impossibly endearing and as pretty as a Hollywood set.
It seems fitting, then, in this outpost of fewer than 1000 permanent residents, that I am temporarily trading in the Smart car for a more timeless form of transport - the four-legged variety.
I have been lured here by the reputation of Ricochet Ridge Ranch, widely considered among the equestrian community as one of the premier trek operators in the world, as well as by the promise of riding both on the beach and through the redwood forests that are so symbolic of this region.
With the afternoon sun victorious after a squally start to the day, it's the former attraction that Ricochet's owner, Lari Shea, is anxious for me to experience first.
"Quick, let's get you to the beach while this weather lasts," Lari, distinctively clad in red western shirt and cowboy hat, says as she greets me in the lobby of the Mendocino Hotel, my accommodation for the next few nights.
She then whisks me off to her stables 16 kilometres north in Fort Bragg. En route, this energetic, glowingly beautiful, 66-year-old dynamo shares a potted history of her credentials as one of the US's top endurance riders...
Read more here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/5769240/Exploring-northern-California
JULIE MILLER
Last updated 05:00 12/10/2011
Arriving into the northern California town of Mendocino in a bright red Smart car is a little like landing in a miniaturised Tardis, such is the curiosity it garners.
"What is that thing, a rollerskate?" one local chuckles, while a weathered, ratty-haired woman dressed in a felt coat, ugg boots and a red sequinned scarf circles my rental vehicle whispering, "Whooooaaaa!", clearly having some sort of acid flashback.
Born in the logging heyday of the 1860s but peaking in the 1960s when it was rediscovered by Bohemian artists, Mendocino, three hours' drive north of San Francisco, is a town frozen in time.
With pastel chocolate-box houses and wooden water towers, this quaint village perched on a peninsula overlooking the wild, woolly Pacific Ocean is seemingly uprooted from east coast Maine, impossibly endearing and as pretty as a Hollywood set.
It seems fitting, then, in this outpost of fewer than 1000 permanent residents, that I am temporarily trading in the Smart car for a more timeless form of transport - the four-legged variety.
I have been lured here by the reputation of Ricochet Ridge Ranch, widely considered among the equestrian community as one of the premier trek operators in the world, as well as by the promise of riding both on the beach and through the redwood forests that are so symbolic of this region.
With the afternoon sun victorious after a squally start to the day, it's the former attraction that Ricochet's owner, Lari Shea, is anxious for me to experience first.
"Quick, let's get you to the beach while this weather lasts," Lari, distinctively clad in red western shirt and cowboy hat, says as she greets me in the lobby of the Mendocino Hotel, my accommodation for the next few nights.
She then whisks me off to her stables 16 kilometres north in Fort Bragg. En route, this energetic, glowingly beautiful, 66-year-old dynamo shares a potted history of her credentials as one of the US's top endurance riders...
Read more here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/5769240/Exploring-northern-California
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Did shorter route, no High Sierra riding, tarnish Tevis?
Auburn Journal - full article
By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer
The 56th Tevis Cup ride was like no other, with early autumn snow keeping the endurance event’s equestrian teams out of the High Sierra and shortening the usual 100 miles of hard riding.
But that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of rookie rider – and new Tevis Cup buckle recipient – Charles Cowan of Yacolt, Wash. for this year’s event.
“It never crossed my mind,” Cowan said Monday. “I was happy all the way.”
Cowan picked up his prized Tevis – “100 miles in 24 hours” – buckle at the awards ceremony in Auburn on Sunday. He was one of 123 finishers from a starting field of 176.
“I’ve never been to an endurance ride so well-organized, particularly in relation to what happened,” Cowan said.
This year’s ride was in danger of being shut down by snow not once but twice. In June, Tevis organizers decided snow depths were too heavy in the Sierra to allow the ride July 16 and it was postponed until Oct. 8. Then a freak, early snowstorm – the earliest in recent memory – dumped 22 inches of snow at the start line.
The Western States Trail Foundation board decided Thursday to remap the Tevis route so that the ride could go on this year at lower, snow-free elevations. The postponement came three years after heavy smoke and the threat of wildland fire cancelled both the Tevis ride and Western States 100 endurance run from high in the Sierra to Auburn.
Kathie Perry, president of the Western States Trail Foundation and 21-time Tevis finisher, said Monday that riders were given the option of pulling out after the route was changed Thursday and getting their fee refunded. On Friday, the number of riders was down to 187 from 198 and by start time, 176 were at the Gold Country Fairgrounds.
The race started and finished in Auburn for the first time. Normally the riders would start out from Robie Park in Truckee on Saturday morning in August or July. The postponed ride was to start at Truckee.
Perry said the board could have chosen to cancel the ride. But with cooperation from the state Parks Department, the U.S. Department of Forestry and the CHP, clearances were given to reroute the Tevis to start in Auburn, travel out to a point 38 miles east near Michigan Bluff and then double back on the trail to Auburn’s Gold Country Fairgrounds and the traditional finish line at McCann Stadium.
“What I’ve heard is people loved it because we put a ride on for them,” Perry said.
Rain and cooler temperatures which would have put a damper on the ride, were back by Monday.
“We got some luck and a window of good weather on our side,” Perry said.
Perry said that the shorter distance – about 89 to 91 miles instead of the usual 100.1-mile route – didn’t tarnish the luster of an event with an international reputation among riders for its tough conditions. About half of the Tevis horse-rider teams usually finish and earn buckles. This time around, the buckle percentage was up to 70 percent.
“It just adds to what we’ve accomplished,” Perry said. “To the board’s credit, we showed we could put it on, no matter what.”
Greenwood’s Potato Richardson, a 21-time Tevis finisher, was one of the riders who ended up without a finisher’s buckle. Richardson’s Arabian mare completed the route but was pulled at the McCann Stadium veterinary check. Richardson said he felt there was “plenty of horse left” and that he’ll be advocating a rules revamp for more clarity on defining horse health.
Richardson said he knows at least a couple of riders who pulled out because the Tevis ride this years wasn’t the same traditional route.
“You could say it was just two back-to-back, 50-mile rides and that it didn’t go over Cougar Rock (a landmark high point in the Sierra),” Richardson said. “But cancellation would have been financially catastrophic for the ride committee. They had a big task and they pulled it off. And finishers this year can come back next year to earn their Cougar Rock buckle.”
That group of returnees is likely to include Washington state’s Cowan, who said he’s already looking ahead to Tevis in 2012 – and climbing Cougar Rock.
“The ride itself was just magnificent,” Cowan said.
By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer
The 56th Tevis Cup ride was like no other, with early autumn snow keeping the endurance event’s equestrian teams out of the High Sierra and shortening the usual 100 miles of hard riding.
But that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of rookie rider – and new Tevis Cup buckle recipient – Charles Cowan of Yacolt, Wash. for this year’s event.
“It never crossed my mind,” Cowan said Monday. “I was happy all the way.”
Cowan picked up his prized Tevis – “100 miles in 24 hours” – buckle at the awards ceremony in Auburn on Sunday. He was one of 123 finishers from a starting field of 176.
“I’ve never been to an endurance ride so well-organized, particularly in relation to what happened,” Cowan said.
This year’s ride was in danger of being shut down by snow not once but twice. In June, Tevis organizers decided snow depths were too heavy in the Sierra to allow the ride July 16 and it was postponed until Oct. 8. Then a freak, early snowstorm – the earliest in recent memory – dumped 22 inches of snow at the start line.
The Western States Trail Foundation board decided Thursday to remap the Tevis route so that the ride could go on this year at lower, snow-free elevations. The postponement came three years after heavy smoke and the threat of wildland fire cancelled both the Tevis ride and Western States 100 endurance run from high in the Sierra to Auburn.
Kathie Perry, president of the Western States Trail Foundation and 21-time Tevis finisher, said Monday that riders were given the option of pulling out after the route was changed Thursday and getting their fee refunded. On Friday, the number of riders was down to 187 from 198 and by start time, 176 were at the Gold Country Fairgrounds.
The race started and finished in Auburn for the first time. Normally the riders would start out from Robie Park in Truckee on Saturday morning in August or July. The postponed ride was to start at Truckee.
Perry said the board could have chosen to cancel the ride. But with cooperation from the state Parks Department, the U.S. Department of Forestry and the CHP, clearances were given to reroute the Tevis to start in Auburn, travel out to a point 38 miles east near Michigan Bluff and then double back on the trail to Auburn’s Gold Country Fairgrounds and the traditional finish line at McCann Stadium.
“What I’ve heard is people loved it because we put a ride on for them,” Perry said.
Rain and cooler temperatures which would have put a damper on the ride, were back by Monday.
“We got some luck and a window of good weather on our side,” Perry said.
Perry said that the shorter distance – about 89 to 91 miles instead of the usual 100.1-mile route – didn’t tarnish the luster of an event with an international reputation among riders for its tough conditions. About half of the Tevis horse-rider teams usually finish and earn buckles. This time around, the buckle percentage was up to 70 percent.
“It just adds to what we’ve accomplished,” Perry said. “To the board’s credit, we showed we could put it on, no matter what.”
Greenwood’s Potato Richardson, a 21-time Tevis finisher, was one of the riders who ended up without a finisher’s buckle. Richardson’s Arabian mare completed the route but was pulled at the McCann Stadium veterinary check. Richardson said he felt there was “plenty of horse left” and that he’ll be advocating a rules revamp for more clarity on defining horse health.
Richardson said he knows at least a couple of riders who pulled out because the Tevis ride this years wasn’t the same traditional route.
“You could say it was just two back-to-back, 50-mile rides and that it didn’t go over Cougar Rock (a landmark high point in the Sierra),” Richardson said. “But cancellation would have been financially catastrophic for the ride committee. They had a big task and they pulled it off. And finishers this year can come back next year to earn their Cougar Rock buckle.”
That group of returnees is likely to include Washington state’s Cowan, who said he’s already looking ahead to Tevis in 2012 – and climbing Cougar Rock.
“The ride itself was just magnificent,” Cowan said.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Tevis Start Location Changed to Auburn Fairgrounds!
Thursday October 6 2011
NEW START TIME AND LOCATION FOR THE TEVIS CUP: Due to the excessive snowfall in the high country and at the usual starting line of Robie Park on Wednesday and Wednesday night, the 2011 Tevis Cup will start and finish at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. The start will be at 6:30am Saturday 10/8 and go up to Foresthill. Rider Check-In begins at noon at the Fairgrounds on Friday 10/7. More details coming soon at http://www.teviscup.org/.
NEW START TIME AND LOCATION FOR THE TEVIS CUP: Due to the excessive snowfall in the high country and at the usual starting line of Robie Park on Wednesday and Wednesday night, the 2011 Tevis Cup will start and finish at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. The start will be at 6:30am Saturday 10/8 and go up to Foresthill. Rider Check-In begins at noon at the Fairgrounds on Friday 10/7. More details coming soon at http://www.teviscup.org/.
A Man to Match These Mountains
Colfaxrecord.com October 6 2011
photo: Wendell T. Robie bought his first horse, a mustang from Nevada, for $20 of his own savings. With a little help from his grandfather, he broke, then rode, the horse all over Auburn to do errands for his father. He was 7 years old at the time.
Previously in this column, we shared the tale of the Pullman railcar at the Historic Passenger depot complex. Immediately, requests were voiced for the story of Wendell Towle Robie, in whose honor the US Bank gave the rolling hunk of metal to the Colfax community. This is, albeit brief, a summary of the man and his legacy to the Sierra.
A native of the Placer County seat, Auburn, born May 28, 1895, his ancestry dates back to New England colonists originating from Derbyshire, England. Henry Robie came to America and is a charter signer for the new town of Exeter, N.H. on July 4, 1639.
Wendell Robie’s great-grandfather, Bracket Towle, was an officer in the Revolutionary War.
Robie’s grandmother was the younger sister of the three Towle brothers who answered the call to the gold fields of California in the early 1850s. Ethan Allen Towle, the first to head west, reached Dutch Flat in 1851. He quickly realized there was a better fortune to be made in supplying the miners. Having had a lumber operation in Vermont, he knew the formula for success. He convinced his two brothers – George Washington Towle and Edwin Warrington Towle – to join him. After his sister May married John Henry Robie and had their child, Edwin Towle Robie, Towle invited them to move west and join the operation in 1870.
By 1889 their company became one of the largest lumber operations in California.
In 1887, J.H. Robie moved his family to Auburn in order to take charge of the Towle Bros. lumberyard. The primary reason for the transfer was to allow his son, E. T. Robie, to attend Sierra Normal College. He majored in business accounting and graduated in 1888. It was there “E.T.” met and later married Ina Stone in 1894. Shortly thereafter their first child, Wendell, was born.
When E.T. Robie became secretary of the Towle Brothers Company, he moved back to Towle. That’s where Wendell T. Robie began his schooling. The town was near Baxter and Alta but was subsequently removed for the construction of Interstate 80.
In 1900, George W. Towle, the only surviving brother, sold the sawmill business and retired. J.H. Robie, E.T. Robie and Lathrop Huntley purchased the Towle firm in Auburn and renamed it the Auburn Lumber Company. E.T. was named president. Under his direction, he and his associates expanded operations to Colfax, Truckee, Dixon, Woodland, and Tucson, Ariz.
In 1901, the company obtained a charter for a savings and loan association; it was the forerunner of Central Bank of California and Central California Building and Loan. Years later, the Robie firm was to become Heart Federal Savings.
In this rich environment and family history, Wendell T. Robie grew into self-confidence. He became president of the 1912 Placer High School graduating class. The assumption that he would follow the family tradition of taking over the business was a given. First college was on the menu. However, he was more interested in being a prankster than studying. The result was a failed attempt at the University of California, Berkeley almost ending in expulsion. Money and influence prevailed and after a short intermission and a bit of maturation, Robie transferred to the University of Arizona.
While at Arizona, Robie began his lifelong practice of getting involved in community. He also met and married his life companion, Inez Benzie. They had one son, John Henry.
The continued success of the family business through the years allowed him to pursue his avocations with vigor. The list of his dedications is long. It ranges from president of the Placer High Alumni Association to Lions Club, Auburn Volunteer Fire Department, Native Sons of the Golden West and E Clampus Vitus. Not just a joiner, he was a visionary and a doer. He formed ski clubs, along with other sporting groups. He was politically minded as well serving on several commissions and committees, often as chairman. Robie was a major player in not only bringing the Winter Olympics to Squaw but also seeing that Interstate 80 was completed to get spectators to the event.
One would be hard pressed to find disagreement that his greatest contribution, through vision and tenacity, is the construction and preservation of the Western States Trail. As founder of the WST Foundation in 1955 and the ride commonly called the Tevis Cup, Robie offered to the entire world his dream of a continuous trail, through the high summit at Squaw Pass and traversing the best scenic areas and maintain an absolute wilderness character. The 100-mile trail starts at Lake Tahoe, runs down the Foresthill Divide and ends in Auburn. The 56-year-old horse endurance contest and its younger two-legged runner version – the Western 100 – are internationally famous. The foundation protects and maintains the trail to this day.
Wendell Towle Robie literally worked until the day he died, October 31, 1984, at 89 years. He was wearing his Lions Club vest.
photo: Wendell T. Robie bought his first horse, a mustang from Nevada, for $20 of his own savings. With a little help from his grandfather, he broke, then rode, the horse all over Auburn to do errands for his father. He was 7 years old at the time.Previously in this column, we shared the tale of the Pullman railcar at the Historic Passenger depot complex. Immediately, requests were voiced for the story of Wendell Towle Robie, in whose honor the US Bank gave the rolling hunk of metal to the Colfax community. This is, albeit brief, a summary of the man and his legacy to the Sierra.
A native of the Placer County seat, Auburn, born May 28, 1895, his ancestry dates back to New England colonists originating from Derbyshire, England. Henry Robie came to America and is a charter signer for the new town of Exeter, N.H. on July 4, 1639.
Wendell Robie’s great-grandfather, Bracket Towle, was an officer in the Revolutionary War.
Robie’s grandmother was the younger sister of the three Towle brothers who answered the call to the gold fields of California in the early 1850s. Ethan Allen Towle, the first to head west, reached Dutch Flat in 1851. He quickly realized there was a better fortune to be made in supplying the miners. Having had a lumber operation in Vermont, he knew the formula for success. He convinced his two brothers – George Washington Towle and Edwin Warrington Towle – to join him. After his sister May married John Henry Robie and had their child, Edwin Towle Robie, Towle invited them to move west and join the operation in 1870.
By 1889 their company became one of the largest lumber operations in California.
In 1887, J.H. Robie moved his family to Auburn in order to take charge of the Towle Bros. lumberyard. The primary reason for the transfer was to allow his son, E. T. Robie, to attend Sierra Normal College. He majored in business accounting and graduated in 1888. It was there “E.T.” met and later married Ina Stone in 1894. Shortly thereafter their first child, Wendell, was born.
When E.T. Robie became secretary of the Towle Brothers Company, he moved back to Towle. That’s where Wendell T. Robie began his schooling. The town was near Baxter and Alta but was subsequently removed for the construction of Interstate 80.
In 1900, George W. Towle, the only surviving brother, sold the sawmill business and retired. J.H. Robie, E.T. Robie and Lathrop Huntley purchased the Towle firm in Auburn and renamed it the Auburn Lumber Company. E.T. was named president. Under his direction, he and his associates expanded operations to Colfax, Truckee, Dixon, Woodland, and Tucson, Ariz.
In 1901, the company obtained a charter for a savings and loan association; it was the forerunner of Central Bank of California and Central California Building and Loan. Years later, the Robie firm was to become Heart Federal Savings.
In this rich environment and family history, Wendell T. Robie grew into self-confidence. He became president of the 1912 Placer High School graduating class. The assumption that he would follow the family tradition of taking over the business was a given. First college was on the menu. However, he was more interested in being a prankster than studying. The result was a failed attempt at the University of California, Berkeley almost ending in expulsion. Money and influence prevailed and after a short intermission and a bit of maturation, Robie transferred to the University of Arizona.
While at Arizona, Robie began his lifelong practice of getting involved in community. He also met and married his life companion, Inez Benzie. They had one son, John Henry.
The continued success of the family business through the years allowed him to pursue his avocations with vigor. The list of his dedications is long. It ranges from president of the Placer High Alumni Association to Lions Club, Auburn Volunteer Fire Department, Native Sons of the Golden West and E Clampus Vitus. Not just a joiner, he was a visionary and a doer. He formed ski clubs, along with other sporting groups. He was politically minded as well serving on several commissions and committees, often as chairman. Robie was a major player in not only bringing the Winter Olympics to Squaw but also seeing that Interstate 80 was completed to get spectators to the event.
One would be hard pressed to find disagreement that his greatest contribution, through vision and tenacity, is the construction and preservation of the Western States Trail. As founder of the WST Foundation in 1955 and the ride commonly called the Tevis Cup, Robie offered to the entire world his dream of a continuous trail, through the high summit at Squaw Pass and traversing the best scenic areas and maintain an absolute wilderness character. The 100-mile trail starts at Lake Tahoe, runs down the Foresthill Divide and ends in Auburn. The 56-year-old horse endurance contest and its younger two-legged runner version – the Western 100 – are internationally famous. The foundation protects and maintains the trail to this day.
Wendell Towle Robie literally worked until the day he died, October 31, 1984, at 89 years. He was wearing his Lions Club vest.
8 Inches of Snow Falls on Squaw Valley
The first winter snowfall brought 8 inches of snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains around Robie Park and Squaw Valley through which the 56th annual Tevis Cup traverses. Starting time for the ride is scheduled for 5:15 AM Saturday October 8th.
The chance of snow drops to 40% today at Robie with a predicted high of 41*. Overnight temperature will be 23*; Friday calls for mostly sunny with a high of 53*, and ride day sunny and 64*.
A message from the Ride Director on the Teviscup.org website says, "Ride management is aware of the cold front preceding this weekend's ride. We are working to ensure that the ride camp and trails are ready regardless. We are staying informed with weather updates and the weather will not stop the event."
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Greenville hosts major endurance ride
Plumasnews.com - Full Article
Feather Publishing
10/5/2011
In December 2009, local CHP officer Kassandra Tucker was asked by the United States Equestrian Federation to host the North American Endurance Team Challenge in Indian Valley, after successfully hosting the 2009 American Endurance Ride Conference National Championship in the same location.
After a year and a half of preparation, training and detail oriented planning by Kassandra Tucker and Greenville Rotary President Centella Tucker, the North American Endurance Team Challenge finally arrived.
The event happened Sept. 24 in Greenville, and it was the last of three rides that were major fundraisers for the Greenville Rotary Club. The event was good for the local community, bringing hundreds of competitors and their crews to the community for as long as eight days.
Base camp was located at the beautiful and spacious Coppercreek Camp. Although the competition did not start until Saturday, preparation for base camp began Sunday, Sept. 18, with local rancher Andy Meyers, who delivered corrals for competitors whose horses had left a week earlier and traveled across the United States to compete in this event. The first horses and competitors arrived the evening of Sept. 18.
The countries represented in the North American team competition were the United States, fielding nine teams, and Canada, which brought one team. Other countries competing in open international competition were Sweden, United Kingdom and Romania...
Read more here:
http://plumasnews.com/sports/8679-greenville-hosts-major-endurance-ride.html
Feather Publishing
10/5/2011
In December 2009, local CHP officer Kassandra Tucker was asked by the United States Equestrian Federation to host the North American Endurance Team Challenge in Indian Valley, after successfully hosting the 2009 American Endurance Ride Conference National Championship in the same location.
After a year and a half of preparation, training and detail oriented planning by Kassandra Tucker and Greenville Rotary President Centella Tucker, the North American Endurance Team Challenge finally arrived.
The event happened Sept. 24 in Greenville, and it was the last of three rides that were major fundraisers for the Greenville Rotary Club. The event was good for the local community, bringing hundreds of competitors and their crews to the community for as long as eight days.
Base camp was located at the beautiful and spacious Coppercreek Camp. Although the competition did not start until Saturday, preparation for base camp began Sunday, Sept. 18, with local rancher Andy Meyers, who delivered corrals for competitors whose horses had left a week earlier and traveled across the United States to compete in this event. The first horses and competitors arrived the evening of Sept. 18.
The countries represented in the North American team competition were the United States, fielding nine teams, and Canada, which brought one team. Other countries competing in open international competition were Sweden, United Kingdom and Romania...
Read more here:
http://plumasnews.com/sports/8679-greenville-hosts-major-endurance-ride.html
Tevis: Snowing at Robie Park
With a winter storm warning in effect, snow has begun to fall in Robie Park in the Sierra Nevadas - the starting line of Saturday's Tevis Cup.
Wednesday's forecast for the Robie area is total daytime snow accumulation of 3-5 inches possible, with a west wind between 15 and 25 mph, gusting as high as 35 mph. Overnight the temperature will be around 27*F, with wind between 10-15 mph and new snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. By Thursday the chance of snow showers will decrease to 40%, with a daytime high of 36*. Friday should be mostly sunny and 50*F, while ride day, Saturday, should be sunny with a high of 58*F.
As of October 4, 190 horses and riders are pre-entered in the ride.
For updated entry list, more news, stories, and photos, see
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2011Tevis/
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Tevis 2011: Date Change Means Cooler Competition Weather
Thehorse.com - Full Article
by: Marsha Hayes
October 03 2011, Article # 18909
When the Tevis Cup endurance competition kicks off at 5:15 a.m. on Oct. 8, more than 200 horse and rider teams will attempt to travel 100 miles from near Lake Tahoe, Calif., to Auburn, Calif., in 24 hours or less. Greg Fellers, DVM, veteran head veterinarian at the ride, will oversee a team of 16 additional American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC)-certified veterinarians to make sure the horses navigate the trek safely.
Traditionally held during July, heavy snowfall along the traditional route in California's High Sierra Mountains forced ride management to reschedule the event to October. Never before has the ride been held in the fall, and the date change brings both new concerns and potential advantages.
"The weather could about 20 to 25 degrees cooler than a traditional Tevis date, and there could be a problem with a hot, hardworking horse coming into vet checks and standing," Fellers said. "It will certainly behoove both riders and vets to expedite the (vetting) process as quickly as possible."
Should hot equine muscles cool too quickly or thoroughly, muscle stiffness could result and injuries are more likely, Fellers noted...
Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18909
by: Marsha Hayes
October 03 2011, Article # 18909
When the Tevis Cup endurance competition kicks off at 5:15 a.m. on Oct. 8, more than 200 horse and rider teams will attempt to travel 100 miles from near Lake Tahoe, Calif., to Auburn, Calif., in 24 hours or less. Greg Fellers, DVM, veteran head veterinarian at the ride, will oversee a team of 16 additional American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC)-certified veterinarians to make sure the horses navigate the trek safely.
Traditionally held during July, heavy snowfall along the traditional route in California's High Sierra Mountains forced ride management to reschedule the event to October. Never before has the ride been held in the fall, and the date change brings both new concerns and potential advantages.
"The weather could about 20 to 25 degrees cooler than a traditional Tevis date, and there could be a problem with a hot, hardworking horse coming into vet checks and standing," Fellers said. "It will certainly behoove both riders and vets to expedite the (vetting) process as quickly as possible."
Should hot equine muscles cool too quickly or thoroughly, muscle stiffness could result and injuries are more likely, Fellers noted...
Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18909
Monday, October 03, 2011
Swingley leads team to endurance victory
Missoulian.com
By the Missoulian missoulian.com | Posted: Monday, October 3, 2011
A four-time champion of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has a new kind of feather in his hat.
Doug Swingley of Lincoln led the Mountain A team to the gold medal at the 2011 North American Endurance Team Challenge in the Cascade Mountains near Greenville, Calif., on Sept. 25.
Swingley rode his horse Pal of Mine in the 100-mile U.S. Equestrian Federation event. He placed fourth overall in a time of 8 hours, 56 minutes after leading for 30 miles during the middle part of the race. Veteran rider Suzanne Hayes of Ovando and Suzanne Hedgecock of Park City, Utah, helped the Mountain team clinch the win. Teammate Christoph Scholk of Moab, Utah, was eliminated at the fourth gate.
Swingley became the first non-Alaskan to win the Iditarod in 1995, and followed with consecutive wins in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He announced his retirement from long-distance sled racing in 2008.
Read more: http://missoulian.com/sports/catch-all/article_84b2ee9c-ee1c-11e0-ae57-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1ZmXtc9AU
By the Missoulian missoulian.com | Posted: Monday, October 3, 2011
A four-time champion of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has a new kind of feather in his hat.
Doug Swingley of Lincoln led the Mountain A team to the gold medal at the 2011 North American Endurance Team Challenge in the Cascade Mountains near Greenville, Calif., on Sept. 25.
Swingley rode his horse Pal of Mine in the 100-mile U.S. Equestrian Federation event. He placed fourth overall in a time of 8 hours, 56 minutes after leading for 30 miles during the middle part of the race. Veteran rider Suzanne Hayes of Ovando and Suzanne Hedgecock of Park City, Utah, helped the Mountain team clinch the win. Teammate Christoph Scholk of Moab, Utah, was eliminated at the fourth gate.
Swingley became the first non-Alaskan to win the Iditarod in 1995, and followed with consecutive wins in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He announced his retirement from long-distance sled racing in 2008.
Read more: http://missoulian.com/sports/catch-all/article_84b2ee9c-ee1c-11e0-ae57-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1ZmXtc9AU
It Has Nothing to Do with Age
October 3 2011
Frank Lieberman has written "It Has Nothing to Do with Age: Stories of driven athletes who compete in extraordinary Sports", a testimonial to the 65 and older age group who push their physical, mental, and emotional limits to unfathomable levels. Explore the underlying motivation of these passionate men and women as they undertake such grueling athletic endeavors as The Tevis Cup, The Hawaiian Ironman, The Molokai to Oahu Outrigger canoe race, and the Swanton Pacific 100 mile Ride and Tie. Let inspiration consume you through the powerful drive and determination of these extreme athletes who undeniably prove they are not defined by their age.(less)
The book was published September 15th 2011 by Winter Goose Publishing and is available at Barnes N Noble and online.
See details here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12729898-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-age?cid=28&pid=2942&utm_medium=wall_invite&utm_source=facebook.com
Frank Lieberman has written "It Has Nothing to Do with Age: Stories of driven athletes who compete in extraordinary Sports", a testimonial to the 65 and older age group who push their physical, mental, and emotional limits to unfathomable levels. Explore the underlying motivation of these passionate men and women as they undertake such grueling athletic endeavors as The Tevis Cup, The Hawaiian Ironman, The Molokai to Oahu Outrigger canoe race, and the Swanton Pacific 100 mile Ride and Tie. Let inspiration consume you through the powerful drive and determination of these extreme athletes who undeniably prove they are not defined by their age.(less)
The book was published September 15th 2011 by Winter Goose Publishing and is available at Barnes N Noble and online.
See details here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12729898-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-age?cid=28&pid=2942&utm_medium=wall_invite&utm_source=facebook.com
Snow Forecast for Robie Park on Wednesday
October 3 2011
With less than 5 days left in the countdown, the first winter storm of the season in the Sierra Nevada range will add an element of intrigue to the 56th Tevis Cup, which is being held for the first time in October, after being postponed from its regular July date because of too much late snow on the trails.
This is the official weather forecast by the National Weather Service for the Robie Park area (the Zero Milepost for the Tevis Cup).
The current forecast (as of Monday morning) shows a winter storm watch about 7000 feet, and indicates a 100% chance of snow on Wednesday, stating:
"HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL FALL TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY... WITH ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA. THOSE PLANNING TRAVEL OVER THE SIERRA THIS WEEK SHOULD PREPARE FOR WINTER CONDITIONS NOW TO AVOID BEING CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY THIS EARLY SEASON STORM.
* TIMING: HEAVIEST MOUNTAIN SNOW LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO
WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUING INTO
WEDNESDAY EVENING.
* POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: UP TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET
ALONG THE SIERRA CREST...WITH A FEW INCHES POSSIBLE AT LAKE
LEVEL.
* WINDS: SOUTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.
RIDGE GUSTS UP TO 90 MPH.
SNOW LEVELS: 8500 FEET FALLING TO 6000 FEET BY WEDNESDAY
MORNING."
Chance of snowfall will taper off Wednesday into Thursday, with temperatures rising. The expected high Friday is 51*F and Saturday 59*F with mostly sunny skies.
This moisture from the snowfall should help to minimize the dust from the trail-bed from the hoof-beats of 206 horses.
The following link is for the approximate latitude & longitude and elevation of Robie Park, so that it is slightly different from Truckee or Squaw Valley.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.236507954871094&lon=-120.1849365234375&site=rev&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text
With less than 5 days left in the countdown, the first winter storm of the season in the Sierra Nevada range will add an element of intrigue to the 56th Tevis Cup, which is being held for the first time in October, after being postponed from its regular July date because of too much late snow on the trails.
This is the official weather forecast by the National Weather Service for the Robie Park area (the Zero Milepost for the Tevis Cup).
The current forecast (as of Monday morning) shows a winter storm watch about 7000 feet, and indicates a 100% chance of snow on Wednesday, stating:
"HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL FALL TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY... WITH ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SIERRA. THOSE PLANNING TRAVEL OVER THE SIERRA THIS WEEK SHOULD PREPARE FOR WINTER CONDITIONS NOW TO AVOID BEING CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY THIS EARLY SEASON STORM.
* TIMING: HEAVIEST MOUNTAIN SNOW LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO
WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUING INTO
WEDNESDAY EVENING.
* POSSIBLE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: UP TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 7000 FEET
ALONG THE SIERRA CREST...WITH A FEW INCHES POSSIBLE AT LAKE
LEVEL.
* WINDS: SOUTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.
RIDGE GUSTS UP TO 90 MPH.
SNOW LEVELS: 8500 FEET FALLING TO 6000 FEET BY WEDNESDAY
MORNING."
Chance of snowfall will taper off Wednesday into Thursday, with temperatures rising. The expected high Friday is 51*F and Saturday 59*F with mostly sunny skies.
This moisture from the snowfall should help to minimize the dust from the trail-bed from the hoof-beats of 206 horses.
The following link is for the approximate latitude & longitude and elevation of Robie Park, so that it is slightly different from Truckee or Squaw Valley.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.236507954871094&lon=-120.1849365234375&site=rev&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text
Sunday, October 02, 2011
178 Pre-Entries in Tevis
October 2 2011
With less than 6 days till the Start of the 56th annual Tevis Cup, 178 riders are signed up to ride. As of September 28, the starting list includes 2 Australians, 2 Japanese (including Mr Seiichi Hasumi, going for his 8th buckle in a row), 1 Canadian, 1 South African, 1 Netherlands, and 2 UAE riders.
Volunteers are still needed at the Foresthill Vet Check - minimum time frame is 3 PM to 10 PM on October 8. You can sign up on the Tevis.org website: http://www.teviscup.org/how-you-can-help/volunteering/ride-volunteer-signup-form or send an email to Joanne Hoefler directly: joannehoefler@hotmail.com.
See the entry list here
With less than 6 days till the Start of the 56th annual Tevis Cup, 178 riders are signed up to ride. As of September 28, the starting list includes 2 Australians, 2 Japanese (including Mr Seiichi Hasumi, going for his 8th buckle in a row), 1 Canadian, 1 South African, 1 Netherlands, and 2 UAE riders.
Volunteers are still needed at the Foresthill Vet Check - minimum time frame is 3 PM to 10 PM on October 8. You can sign up on the Tevis.org website: http://www.teviscup.org/how-you-can-help/volunteering/ride-volunteer-signup-form or send an email to Joanne Hoefler directly: joannehoefler@hotmail.com.
See the entry list here
EquiSearch.com Launches Tevis Cup Blog with Endurance Rider Jenni Smith
PR.com
Award-winning website EquiSearch.com announces the launch of its new blog, “Journey to the Tevis Cup.” Jenni Smith, a competitor in the 2011 Tevis Cup, will chronicle her preparations for the grueling ride, which takes place October 8.
Gaithersburg, MD, September 30, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Held annually since 1955, the Tevis Cup (also known as the Western States Trail Ride) covers 100 miles of demanding terrain across the Sierra Nevada in California. Riders aim to complete the 100-mile ride in under 24 hours. In “Journey to the Tevis Cup,” Smith will cover all aspects of her preparations: Readers will learn about proper training, conditioning and care specific to endurance horses. Smith will also post videos from her training rides, giving readers an inside view into how she gets herself and her horse ready.
Smith, the director of brand marketing for Ariat International, began endurance riding in 2001 because of her love for Arabian horses, a breed that dominates the sport because of its stamina. She is approaching 2,500 American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) miles, rides at the international level and is working on her FEI (International Equestrian Federation) four-star qualification. An experienced Tevis competitor, Smith has attempted the ride seven times, finished five times and finished in the top 10 in both 2002 and 2003. This year she will ride BA Bearcat, a 16-year-old Egyptian Arabian, owned by Barry Waite and Jennifer Nice.
“I hope the blog is enjoyable to read and gives interested readers - from those who think ‘someday maybe’ to those who think ‘no way ever!’ but are curious about it just the same - some insight into what it’s like to be caught up in the whirl that is Tevis,” Smith says. Smith will blog in the weeks leading up to the October 8 ride and blog post-ride about her experience.
To read the “Journey to the Tevis Cup” blog or subscribe to the RSS feed, visit http://blogs.equisearch.com/jennismith/.
Award-winning website EquiSearch.com announces the launch of its new blog, “Journey to the Tevis Cup.” Jenni Smith, a competitor in the 2011 Tevis Cup, will chronicle her preparations for the grueling ride, which takes place October 8.
Gaithersburg, MD, September 30, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Held annually since 1955, the Tevis Cup (also known as the Western States Trail Ride) covers 100 miles of demanding terrain across the Sierra Nevada in California. Riders aim to complete the 100-mile ride in under 24 hours. In “Journey to the Tevis Cup,” Smith will cover all aspects of her preparations: Readers will learn about proper training, conditioning and care specific to endurance horses. Smith will also post videos from her training rides, giving readers an inside view into how she gets herself and her horse ready.
Smith, the director of brand marketing for Ariat International, began endurance riding in 2001 because of her love for Arabian horses, a breed that dominates the sport because of its stamina. She is approaching 2,500 American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) miles, rides at the international level and is working on her FEI (International Equestrian Federation) four-star qualification. An experienced Tevis competitor, Smith has attempted the ride seven times, finished five times and finished in the top 10 in both 2002 and 2003. This year she will ride BA Bearcat, a 16-year-old Egyptian Arabian, owned by Barry Waite and Jennifer Nice.
“I hope the blog is enjoyable to read and gives interested readers - from those who think ‘someday maybe’ to those who think ‘no way ever!’ but are curious about it just the same - some insight into what it’s like to be caught up in the whirl that is Tevis,” Smith says. Smith will blog in the weeks leading up to the October 8 ride and blog post-ride about her experience.
To read the “Journey to the Tevis Cup” blog or subscribe to the RSS feed, visit http://blogs.equisearch.com/jennismith/.
Ride and tie the Cool thing to do
Ben Furtado • Auburn Journal
Tony Brickel, left, and Frank Lieberman
run the last stretch of the 12-mile loop
on the Olmstead Trail near Cool,
where the Coolest Ride and Tie will
take place Saturday.
By Sara Seyydin Journal Staff Writer
Dr. Frank Lieberman believes “It has nothing to do with age.”
So, the 71-year-old psychologist from Cool set about discovering what compels senior citizens to compete in extreme sports. He chronicled their stories of triumph in his newly released book.
“People are looking at what we do, not at why we do what we do. Why do we push our bodies?” Lieberman said. “How does the mind and body relate to all of that stuff?”
The Auburn area, which hosts events like the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run and the Tevis Cup, was the perfect backdrop to his research. Lieberman already knew many local seniors testing their competitive limits — partially because he is one of them.
Since he turned 60, Lieberman has completed Western States, the Tevis Cup and the Swanton Pacific 100 Mile Ride and Tie.
Saturday, the 6th annual Coolest Ride and Tie gallops into Cool, an event that Lieberman and his wife, Linda, produce...
Read more here:
http://edhtelegraph.com/detail/189220.html
Mountain A Wins North American Endurance Team Challenge
Mountain Zone (Photo: Melinda Cassol)
Release: September 29 2011
Author: Leah Oliveto
Lexington, KY - Taking place across the rugged terrain of California's Cascade Mountains, the 2011 North American Endurance Team Challenge drew 10 teams from the U.S. and Canada race for medals. In addition, five individuals representing four countries vied for individual honors.
Finishing in a combined time of 31:07:13, Mountain A took the Team Gold medal. Doug Swingley aboard Pal of Mine lead the team effort, riding into three of five vet checks in the lead, he finished in a time of 8:55:54. Also across the finish line for Mountain A was Suzanne Hayes with Greenbriar Al Jabal and Suzanne Hedgecock with Aireagle; teammate Christoph Schork was eliminated at gate four.
"I was riding a fairly young horse, he was only an 8-year-old and was only his second hundred (mile race)," said Hayes. "I wanted to test him a little bit - which we did. He shows a lot of promise as far as increasing his speed in the future. The Mountain Zone worked really well as a team. Everyone that was on the team worked really well together to solidify our performance as the gold medal team... The course was very well suited for us. We live in Montana - we train in the mountains, we are well suited for that."
Taking the Team Silver was Northeast -North. The team completed the course within seconds of each other for an overall time of 33:57:29. Kyle Gibbon and Soho, Steve Rojek and Beaujolais, and Gene Limlaw and Con La Garcia were the team's counted times as Kathy Brunjes and Frontier Random were eliminated at the finish.
The Northeast proved to be a dominate zone, as their second team, Northeast-East, captured the Bronze medal in 35:53:31. Leading the team was individual Silver medalist Meg Sleeper, who blazed to the finish in 8:17:34 with her own Syrocco Reveille. Sleeper was followed by teammates Lisa Green with LR Amana Tabi and Holly Corcoran with DJB Santanas Chief. Melody Blittersdorf was eliminated at gate three.
The Individual medals were determined by a race to the finish line as Jeremy Reynolds (Pacific South) and A Kutt Above outran Meg Sleeper and Syrocco Reveille by a mere second to take the Gold in 8:17:33. Becky Hart with No Repeat, riding as an individual for Pacific South, took the Bronze medal in 8:38:30. No Repeat also earned the coveted Best Conditioned Horse award.
Horses' health is primary concern during Tevis Cup 100-mile ride
Sacbee.com - Full Article
By Sam McManis The Sacramento Bee
smcmanis@sacbee.com
Much as we might be inclined to anthropomorphize horses – Mr. Ed, anyone? – much as we'd like to put faith in rugged-as-Robert Redford "horse whisperers" to intuit deep meaning from every neigh or nod, the sad fact is that even the elite equine athletes in the Tevis Cup 100-Mile Trail Ride are sorely lacking in one important area.
"They don't talk," said Garrett Ford, last year's winner of the Haggin Cup, awarded to the top-10 finisher in the Tevis whose horse was judged as best conditioned. "That, obviously, is the challenge."
Oh, but think how much easier caring for and racing endurance horses would be if a common interspecies language were indeed possible.
They could tell riders and race veterinarians when, and exactly where, they are hurting...
Read more here:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/29/3945848/horses-health-is-primary-concern.html
By Sam McManis The Sacramento Bee
smcmanis@sacbee.com
Much as we might be inclined to anthropomorphize horses – Mr. Ed, anyone? – much as we'd like to put faith in rugged-as-Robert Redford "horse whisperers" to intuit deep meaning from every neigh or nod, the sad fact is that even the elite equine athletes in the Tevis Cup 100-Mile Trail Ride are sorely lacking in one important area.
"They don't talk," said Garrett Ford, last year's winner of the Haggin Cup, awarded to the top-10 finisher in the Tevis whose horse was judged as best conditioned. "That, obviously, is the challenge."
Oh, but think how much easier caring for and racing endurance horses would be if a common interspecies language were indeed possible.
They could tell riders and race veterinarians when, and exactly where, they are hurting...
Read more here:
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/29/3945848/horses-health-is-primary-concern.html
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tevis Cup Gallops into Auburn
9/21/11
Autumn start is unprecedented for 100-mile endurance ride
By Sara Seyydin Journal Staff Writer
Tevis Cup riders may be from different walks of life, but they share a common addiction.
They live for seeing the Sierra whiz by them on horseback, leaving billowing dust clouds in their wake, while forging an unforgettable bond with a natural athlete.
The 100-mile endurance horse ride, from Tahoe to Auburn, features some of the most unforgiving terrain, yet continues to call to them year after year. Riders, like endurance trainer Janine Esler, of Granite Bay, continue to test themselves, and their horse, for 24-hours, against the elements.
The reward? A silver buckle — and a challenge that never seems to get old.
Esler said Tevis continues to thrill her, even nearly a decade after her first ride.
“I thought it was the most frightful thing I had ever done, but addicting. I finished smack on 24 hours. I didn’t have a second to spare,” Esler said. “Since then I have completed seven buckles and a very close completion. I call it my elusive eighth buckle.”
During that race Esler’s horse got stuck in a thorny berry bush about half a mile before the finish. A testament, she said to the unpredictability of the race. Last year, Esler finished fourth on Cool resident Diana Lundy’s horse, C.R. Sampson.
“He was the first horse to start dead last and place in the top 10,” Esler said. “We kind of made a little bit of history there.”
This year’s race, scheduled for Oct. 8, should be even more unpredictable than usual, according to Esler. Unusually heavy snow-melt, caused race organizers to push the race back from its original date in July. The unprecedented move means riders will be traveling in darkness for an extra couple of hours, and experience cooler temperatures.
Esler said she isn’t sure the pros of an autumn race will outweigh the cons.
“The light isn’t going to be out until approximately 7:30 (a.m.). We will be at High Camp before we see any light. I personally am very unexcited about it. It presents things that could be extremely dangerous to your horse. An extreme challenge will be the cold,” Esler said. “We are starting approximately in the teens, normally we start in the 50s. When horses are cold, they are far more reactive.”
She said the cooler temperatures should make for a pleasant ride going down the Canyon from Foresthill, but will certainly be different than the hot, dusty conditions the ride is renowned for...
Read more here:
http://auburnjournal.com/detail/188348.html?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=tevis+cup+gallops+into+auburn&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id=
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
2011 Tevis: 2 Weeks 3 Days Away!
Riders and horses are gearing up for the 56th annual Tevis Cup, which will be held October 8.
Agenda for Ride week can be seen here.
The checkpoint card for riders can be seen here.
166 riders are pre-entered as of September 1st - you can see the list here:
http://www.teviscup.org/index.php/news/2011-tevis-cup/2011-tevis-cup-rider-list
More information can be found at the Tevis website:
http://www.teviscup.org/
Agenda for Ride week can be seen here.
The checkpoint card for riders can be seen here.
166 riders are pre-entered as of September 1st - you can see the list here:
http://www.teviscup.org/index.php/news/2011-tevis-cup/2011-tevis-cup-rider-list
More information can be found at the Tevis website:
http://www.teviscup.org/
This Is No Joyride
Sportsillustrated.cnn.com - Full Article
September 14, 1987
Demmie Stathoplos
The Tevis Cup, a 100-mile cross-country horse race, is a real cliff-hanger
It's past 4 A.M. in Squaw Valley, Calif.—the dead of night, the hour of the wolf, when sane people are sleeping under warm blankets, not standing in the chilly blackness at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada waiting for a horse race to begin. Phantom horses with ghostly riders, or so they seem in the silver wash of the spotlights, clip-clop toward the starting line of the Western States 100 Miles One Day Ride, otherwise known as the Tevis Cup. This is the toughest single race in the world of endurance riding, a once-obscure sport now blossoming in the American West and around the world.
As the five o'clock starting time draws near, 271 horses and their riders crowd behind the low aluminum barrier that serves as a starting line for the race. To start the race, the horses pass, two by two, through a gap in the barrier. The mountain air trembles with sound: A thousand hooves scrape the gravel, and horses nicker and scream as their riders, some wearing surgical masks to keep from breathing the clouds of dust that fill the air, urge them toward the clogged gap. The onlookers—family and friends who will serve as support crews—call out words of encouragement as the horses thunder by like an Old West posse. A young girl shouts, "Good luck, Mom!"
There are a lot of moms in the Tevis Cup; in fact, more than half of the riders on this August morning are women. One of them is Juliette Weston Suhr, a 63-year-old grandmother from Scotts Valley, Calif. who's here to ride in her 23rd Tevis Cup. Her 39-year-old daughter, Barbara White, is riding in her 19th, and her husband, Bob, 68, heads their support crew, aided by son John and his wife, Stephanie.
The 100-mile race from Squaw Valley to the little town of Auburn (pop. 8,500) will be run over a trail, once used by the pony express, that climbs treacherously through the rugged mountains, traverses snow-filled passes and descends into canyons where the temperature may hit 120°. It's a test of stamina, courage and horsemanship. The idea, of course, is to finish first, but most of the riders have a more modest objective: to finish within the 24-hour limit. Those who do so win a silver belt buckle. Suhr already has 16 of them, and in the 1987 Tevis she's trying to become the first rider since the event was founded in 1955 to win 17. She is, she admits, addicted to this race.
Suhr is a handsome, whipcord-thin woman with a relentlessly sunny disposition and a will of steel. She's riding her 11-year-old Arabian bay gelding, H.C.C. (for Hyannis Cattle Company in Nebraska, where he was bred) Gazal, for the sixth straight year, and she's worried because Gazal has a crack in his left forehoof. "Before a race I get very nervous," she says. "I'm sure the horse is going to break a leg in the trailer, or come down with flu the day before, or fall off a cliff during the race." Clearly her concerns are not for herself but for her beloved Gazal; together they've won the Haggin Cup—given to the rider whose horse finishes in the top 10 and in the best physical condition—a record three times. This trophy is considered by many as important a prize as the Tevis Cup (named after Will Tevis, a famed American horseman in the early 1900s), which is awarded to the winner.
Suhr has never won the Tevis, but she has come close, having finished second in 1985 and third last year. Both times she held Gazal back in the final 15 miles to spare him, but she has no regrets. "I can honestly say the Haggin Cup is more important to me," she says. "On Sunday morning at the judging for the best-conditioned horse, some of those horses are pretty dragged out. Gazal has always whinnied, had his head up, and his eyes have been clear. It's always been my proudest moment to present him to the veterinary committee and the crowd in that condition."
Women do extremely well in the Tevis Cup race, and Suhr thinks it's because they have more empathy with their horses. She looks lovingly at Gazal. "He has such a kind eye," she says...
Read more here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066451/1/index.htm
September 14, 1987
Demmie Stathoplos
The Tevis Cup, a 100-mile cross-country horse race, is a real cliff-hanger
It's past 4 A.M. in Squaw Valley, Calif.—the dead of night, the hour of the wolf, when sane people are sleeping under warm blankets, not standing in the chilly blackness at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada waiting for a horse race to begin. Phantom horses with ghostly riders, or so they seem in the silver wash of the spotlights, clip-clop toward the starting line of the Western States 100 Miles One Day Ride, otherwise known as the Tevis Cup. This is the toughest single race in the world of endurance riding, a once-obscure sport now blossoming in the American West and around the world.
As the five o'clock starting time draws near, 271 horses and their riders crowd behind the low aluminum barrier that serves as a starting line for the race. To start the race, the horses pass, two by two, through a gap in the barrier. The mountain air trembles with sound: A thousand hooves scrape the gravel, and horses nicker and scream as their riders, some wearing surgical masks to keep from breathing the clouds of dust that fill the air, urge them toward the clogged gap. The onlookers—family and friends who will serve as support crews—call out words of encouragement as the horses thunder by like an Old West posse. A young girl shouts, "Good luck, Mom!"
There are a lot of moms in the Tevis Cup; in fact, more than half of the riders on this August morning are women. One of them is Juliette Weston Suhr, a 63-year-old grandmother from Scotts Valley, Calif. who's here to ride in her 23rd Tevis Cup. Her 39-year-old daughter, Barbara White, is riding in her 19th, and her husband, Bob, 68, heads their support crew, aided by son John and his wife, Stephanie.
The 100-mile race from Squaw Valley to the little town of Auburn (pop. 8,500) will be run over a trail, once used by the pony express, that climbs treacherously through the rugged mountains, traverses snow-filled passes and descends into canyons where the temperature may hit 120°. It's a test of stamina, courage and horsemanship. The idea, of course, is to finish first, but most of the riders have a more modest objective: to finish within the 24-hour limit. Those who do so win a silver belt buckle. Suhr already has 16 of them, and in the 1987 Tevis she's trying to become the first rider since the event was founded in 1955 to win 17. She is, she admits, addicted to this race.
Suhr is a handsome, whipcord-thin woman with a relentlessly sunny disposition and a will of steel. She's riding her 11-year-old Arabian bay gelding, H.C.C. (for Hyannis Cattle Company in Nebraska, where he was bred) Gazal, for the sixth straight year, and she's worried because Gazal has a crack in his left forehoof. "Before a race I get very nervous," she says. "I'm sure the horse is going to break a leg in the trailer, or come down with flu the day before, or fall off a cliff during the race." Clearly her concerns are not for herself but for her beloved Gazal; together they've won the Haggin Cup—given to the rider whose horse finishes in the top 10 and in the best physical condition—a record three times. This trophy is considered by many as important a prize as the Tevis Cup (named after Will Tevis, a famed American horseman in the early 1900s), which is awarded to the winner.
Suhr has never won the Tevis, but she has come close, having finished second in 1985 and third last year. Both times she held Gazal back in the final 15 miles to spare him, but she has no regrets. "I can honestly say the Haggin Cup is more important to me," she says. "On Sunday morning at the judging for the best-conditioned horse, some of those horses are pretty dragged out. Gazal has always whinnied, had his head up, and his eyes have been clear. It's always been my proudest moment to present him to the veterinary committee and the crowd in that condition."
Women do extremely well in the Tevis Cup race, and Suhr thinks it's because they have more empathy with their horses. She looks lovingly at Gazal. "He has such a kind eye," she says...
Read more here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066451/1/index.htm
GEORGE B. HATLEY, “MR. APPALOOSA,” DIES AT 87
GEORGE B. HATLEY, “MR. APPALOOSA,” DIES AT 87 George B. Hatley, past executive secretary of the Appaloosa Horse Club and one of the breed’s most tireless supporters, died September 16 (2011) in Moscow, Idaho, of causes related to age. He was 87.
He was widely known in the horse world as “Mr. Appaloosa” for his efforts to preserve and promote the Appaloosa horse, and is a member of the Appaloosa Hall of Fame.
Hatley was born July 18, 1924, to Ray and Neva Dole Hatley on the Hatley ranch south of Pullman, Washington. He attended elementary school at the Irene country school near Union Flat Creek, riding horseback to the schoolhouse. He was exposed to Appaloosas and stories about them at a young age. A great uncle had fought in the Nez Perce War of 1877, and a smattering of area farmers, cowboys, and native Americans still possessed the occasional Appaloosa.
In 1936 Hatley’s family moved to a farm west of Moscow, near the present location of the Appaloosa Horse Club. He graduated from Moscow High School in 1942. He acquired an Appaloosa stallion, Toby II, during this period, and after reading an article about Appaloosas in an issue of “Western Horseman,” joined the newly created Appaloosa Horse Club as member No. 45.
Hatley worked on the construction of Farragut Naval Training Station and later took basic Navy training there. After discharge from the Navy , he met ApHC founder Claude Thompson, who soon appointed him to be his assistant. Hatley took the reins as executive secretary in 1947, the same year he married Iola Golden. He attended the University of Idaho on the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1950 with a bachelor of science degree in animal husbandry.
The couple’s son, Craig, was born in 1955. Hatley worked as executive secretary of the Appaloosa Horse Club for 31 years, the early ones without pay. He started the association’s magazine, “Appaloosa News” (now “Appaloosa Journal”), published its first studbooks, implemented the first National Appaloosa Show and Sale (held in Lewiston, Idaho, in 1948 and 1949), and started the Appaloosa Museum.
He wrote hundreds of articles and several books, including “Horse Camping,” a classic now in its third printing. He was instrumental in development of the Chief Joseph Appaloosa Trail Ride, and rode the 1,300-mile route of the Nez Perce War Trail twice. He also completed the 100-mile, one-day Western States Trail Ride, or Tevis Cup, across the Sierra Nevada. Hatley enjoyed horse racing and had two winning lines come from his breeding program.
The Appaloosa racing stallion Double Patch won 22 races, and another stallion, Apache Double, won 18 races and went on to become an all-time leading sire. He was a longtime cattleman who also enjoyed driving horses and collecting horse-drawn vehicles. He made his Deary, Idaho, ranch available for Pony Club, dressage and combined training, 4-H trail rides, and driving events.
The Apalousey Trail Ride and Dutch Oven Dinner, a benefit for the Appaloosa Museum, has been held there the past 14 years. Hatley received numerous honors throughout his life, including membership in the Idaho Hall of Fame and a showcasing in “Sports Illustrated.” In 2004, the United States Pony Clubs designated Hatley a legend for his efforts on behalf of USPC. He greatly prized an honor presented to him during a Lewiston Roundup by the Nez Perce tribe, where he was presented with a pair of beaded buckskin gauntlet gloves and a Pendleton blanket.
Hatley is survived by his widow Iola at their Moscow home, along with son Craig and daughter-in-law Cheri Hatley in Deary, plus grandchildren Justin Hatley and Danielle Hatley Pierson (Derek), and a sister, Veletta Frink. He was preceded in death by his parents and by a sister, Berneda Hamilton. Details of a memorial service are pending. Burial of ashes will be at the Hatley Cemetery south of Pullman.
Hatley left an epitaph for his gravestone, which is to read, “He has returned to the hills he loved as a boy, and will be a part of them forever.” Memorial contributions may be made to the Appaloosa Museum, 2720 West Pullman Road, Moscow, ID 83843, and the Hatley Cemetery, P.O. Box 1035, Pullman, WA 99163.
He was widely known in the horse world as “Mr. Appaloosa” for his efforts to preserve and promote the Appaloosa horse, and is a member of the Appaloosa Hall of Fame.
Hatley was born July 18, 1924, to Ray and Neva Dole Hatley on the Hatley ranch south of Pullman, Washington. He attended elementary school at the Irene country school near Union Flat Creek, riding horseback to the schoolhouse. He was exposed to Appaloosas and stories about them at a young age. A great uncle had fought in the Nez Perce War of 1877, and a smattering of area farmers, cowboys, and native Americans still possessed the occasional Appaloosa.
In 1936 Hatley’s family moved to a farm west of Moscow, near the present location of the Appaloosa Horse Club. He graduated from Moscow High School in 1942. He acquired an Appaloosa stallion, Toby II, during this period, and after reading an article about Appaloosas in an issue of “Western Horseman,” joined the newly created Appaloosa Horse Club as member No. 45.
Hatley worked on the construction of Farragut Naval Training Station and later took basic Navy training there. After discharge from the Navy , he met ApHC founder Claude Thompson, who soon appointed him to be his assistant. Hatley took the reins as executive secretary in 1947, the same year he married Iola Golden. He attended the University of Idaho on the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1950 with a bachelor of science degree in animal husbandry.
The couple’s son, Craig, was born in 1955. Hatley worked as executive secretary of the Appaloosa Horse Club for 31 years, the early ones without pay. He started the association’s magazine, “Appaloosa News” (now “Appaloosa Journal”), published its first studbooks, implemented the first National Appaloosa Show and Sale (held in Lewiston, Idaho, in 1948 and 1949), and started the Appaloosa Museum.
He wrote hundreds of articles and several books, including “Horse Camping,” a classic now in its third printing. He was instrumental in development of the Chief Joseph Appaloosa Trail Ride, and rode the 1,300-mile route of the Nez Perce War Trail twice. He also completed the 100-mile, one-day Western States Trail Ride, or Tevis Cup, across the Sierra Nevada. Hatley enjoyed horse racing and had two winning lines come from his breeding program.
The Appaloosa racing stallion Double Patch won 22 races, and another stallion, Apache Double, won 18 races and went on to become an all-time leading sire. He was a longtime cattleman who also enjoyed driving horses and collecting horse-drawn vehicles. He made his Deary, Idaho, ranch available for Pony Club, dressage and combined training, 4-H trail rides, and driving events.
The Apalousey Trail Ride and Dutch Oven Dinner, a benefit for the Appaloosa Museum, has been held there the past 14 years. Hatley received numerous honors throughout his life, including membership in the Idaho Hall of Fame and a showcasing in “Sports Illustrated.” In 2004, the United States Pony Clubs designated Hatley a legend for his efforts on behalf of USPC. He greatly prized an honor presented to him during a Lewiston Roundup by the Nez Perce tribe, where he was presented with a pair of beaded buckskin gauntlet gloves and a Pendleton blanket.
Hatley is survived by his widow Iola at their Moscow home, along with son Craig and daughter-in-law Cheri Hatley in Deary, plus grandchildren Justin Hatley and Danielle Hatley Pierson (Derek), and a sister, Veletta Frink. He was preceded in death by his parents and by a sister, Berneda Hamilton. Details of a memorial service are pending. Burial of ashes will be at the Hatley Cemetery south of Pullman.
Hatley left an epitaph for his gravestone, which is to read, “He has returned to the hills he loved as a boy, and will be a part of them forever.” Memorial contributions may be made to the Appaloosa Museum, 2720 West Pullman Road, Moscow, ID 83843, and the Hatley Cemetery, P.O. Box 1035, Pullman, WA 99163.
Support the North American Endurance Team Challenge riders (and you could win some very cool prizes)!
Horsereporter Blog
Posted on September 17, 2011 by worldreporter
September 17 ~Manufacturers and retailers involved in the equestrian industry have come together to put on a raffle to raise funds for the teams. In addition ride managers and individuals wanting to support the teams are also donating prizes you could win. Total value of the prizes to be given away is in excess of $5,000! Check out the prizes — they are amazing!
Members of the American Endurance Ride Conference-International (AERC-I) and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will be heading to Greenville, California for the North American Endurance Team Challenge (NAETC) September 23-25. Each AERC-I region will be sending a team comprised of horses, riders, crew and veterinarians.
Here’s your opportunity to help offset the costs of this first-ever event — you decide the region your donation will benefit.
http://stores.homestead.com/HealthyAsAHorseNETwork/-strse-66/.-Raffle-to-support/Detail.bok
Your purchase of a raffle ticket ($5 each or buy four and get one free) will support the AERC-I region of your choice. Winners’ names will be announced at the NAETC Ride.
In order to keep as many dollars as possible getting to the teams, those companies and people donating prizes have also agreed to cover the cost of shipping each prize to the winner.
Click on the “Detailed Description” tab for a list of prizes. There are lots of cools prizes to win. If you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win anything; if you buy lots of tickets you have a better chance and you also will be supporting these international U.S. teams in their quest for endurance excellence.
Thanks for your support of the USEF/AERC-I riders going to the NAETC!
Special thanks for Susan Favro of Healthy As A Horse Network for organizing this raffle and hosting the entry forms on her website.
http://stores.homestead.com/HealthyAsAHorseNETwork/-strse-66/.-Raffle-to-support/Detail.bok
Posted on September 17, 2011 by worldreporter
September 17 ~Manufacturers and retailers involved in the equestrian industry have come together to put on a raffle to raise funds for the teams. In addition ride managers and individuals wanting to support the teams are also donating prizes you could win. Total value of the prizes to be given away is in excess of $5,000! Check out the prizes — they are amazing!
Members of the American Endurance Ride Conference-International (AERC-I) and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will be heading to Greenville, California for the North American Endurance Team Challenge (NAETC) September 23-25. Each AERC-I region will be sending a team comprised of horses, riders, crew and veterinarians.
Here’s your opportunity to help offset the costs of this first-ever event — you decide the region your donation will benefit.
http://stores.homestead.com/HealthyAsAHorseNETwork/-strse-66/.-Raffle-to-support/Detail.bok
Your purchase of a raffle ticket ($5 each or buy four and get one free) will support the AERC-I region of your choice. Winners’ names will be announced at the NAETC Ride.
In order to keep as many dollars as possible getting to the teams, those companies and people donating prizes have also agreed to cover the cost of shipping each prize to the winner.
Click on the “Detailed Description” tab for a list of prizes. There are lots of cools prizes to win. If you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win anything; if you buy lots of tickets you have a better chance and you also will be supporting these international U.S. teams in their quest for endurance excellence.
Thanks for your support of the USEF/AERC-I riders going to the NAETC!
Special thanks for Susan Favro of Healthy As A Horse Network for organizing this raffle and hosting the entry forms on her website.
http://stores.homestead.com/HealthyAsAHorseNETwork/-strse-66/.-Raffle-to-support/Detail.bok
Monday, September 19, 2011
EHV-1 in East Tennessee
Sunday, September 18, 2011
As you may have heard, there is immediate concern in our area about the presence of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1), a very contagious and potentially fatal equine virus. Last Thursday a horse from the Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area was admitted to the UT Vet Hospital with a neurological form of the virus and subsequently euthanized. The Vet School is under quarantine for a minimum of 7 days; it has released an official statement here: http://www.vet.utk.edu/news/story/important-information-about-equine-herpes-.html.
The best-case scenario is that this as an isolated case. However, there is concern circulating among local vets and horse owners that until further information is gathered it is not a situation that should be lightly considered. EHV-1 is EXTREMELY contagious and spreads via aerosol (airborne) and formites (feed, clothing, boots, hands, etc.)
This is a critical time for the local horse community to work together to prevent the spread of this virus. There's no reason to panic; however, if all area horse farms dedicate themselves to taking the appropriate precautions, we can minimalize the potential of EHV-1 spreading.
The best way to prevent EHV-1 exposure is to quarantine your horses and barn from other equine traffic. CDCTS has, smartly, cancelled its schooling show for next weekend. Here at Ridgemor, we've decided that it's in the best interest of our horses to mandate a quarantine on our farm until we know more about the situation. We hope other area farms will consider adopting similar measures until the situation has been resolved. Other precautions you can take include exercising bio-security measures (disinfection, etc.) if traveling from barn to barn and carefully monitoring your own horses for symptoms.
As you may have heard, there is immediate concern in our area about the presence of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1), a very contagious and potentially fatal equine virus. Last Thursday a horse from the Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area was admitted to the UT Vet Hospital with a neurological form of the virus and subsequently euthanized. The Vet School is under quarantine for a minimum of 7 days; it has released an official statement here: http://www.vet.utk.edu/news/story/important-information-about-equine-herpes-.html.
The best-case scenario is that this as an isolated case. However, there is concern circulating among local vets and horse owners that until further information is gathered it is not a situation that should be lightly considered. EHV-1 is EXTREMELY contagious and spreads via aerosol (airborne) and formites (feed, clothing, boots, hands, etc.)
This is a critical time for the local horse community to work together to prevent the spread of this virus. There's no reason to panic; however, if all area horse farms dedicate themselves to taking the appropriate precautions, we can minimalize the potential of EHV-1 spreading.
The best way to prevent EHV-1 exposure is to quarantine your horses and barn from other equine traffic. CDCTS has, smartly, cancelled its schooling show for next weekend. Here at Ridgemor, we've decided that it's in the best interest of our horses to mandate a quarantine on our farm until we know more about the situation. We hope other area farms will consider adopting similar measures until the situation has been resolved. Other precautions you can take include exercising bio-security measures (disinfection, etc.) if traveling from barn to barn and carefully monitoring your own horses for symptoms.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The Cup At The End Of The Mountain Trail
Sportsillustrated.cnn.com - Full Article
September 26 1966
The horses and their improbable riders gathered at Tahoe City, Calif. for the yearly Tevis Cup race across the winding paths and hazardous streams of the Sierra to Auburn, 100 miles away
Alice Higgins
What the Boston Marathon is to the distance runner, the Western States 100-mile, one-day ride for the Tevis Cup is to the endurance horseman. And, like the marathon, the California race over the rugged Sierra from Tahoe City to Auburn attracts some improbable but wonderful people. Among the 92 riders who started this year, there were a couple on their honeymoon, a 12-year-old girl, a 72-year-old man who had put off a hernia operation in order to compete, an Indian ranch hand, some polo players, a woman believed to be a Cherokee princess, an assortment of mothers, secretaries, factory workers and businessmen and a man with a gray vandyke beard who was described as a retired capitalist.
The stallions, mares and geldings entered were just as surprisingly diverse, and included just about everything found in a horse encyclopedia: Arabians, Anglo-Arabians, a Peruvian Paso, quarter horses, Appaloosas, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Morgans pure and crossed with all the others, Pintos, buckskins, palominos and even a plain old western mustang. The horses were brought to Tahoe City's ball park the day before the race to be examined by eight veterinarians. Any horse whose condition was the slightest bit questionable was disqualified. "It is the integrity of the ride that matters," said Will Tevis, who, with his brothers, contributed the cup in memory of their grandfather. "We want to be sure that the horses are sound at the start and are humanely treated. A winning racehorse can finish lame, but here no unsound horse can win. In fact, he would probably be caught at one of the checkpoints [there are four], instantly disqualified and removed by trailer." One of the requirements of the Tevis Cup is that the winner must be serviceably sound in the opinion of the vet examining board, and another prize, the Haggin Cup, is offered to the horse that finishes in the best physical condition among the top 10. Many riders enter with no hope of winning but just to complete the 100 miles. If they do, and their horses pass examination, each is awarded a sterling silver and gold buckle. This specially designed and highly prized trophy is worn by only one man who has not competed in the race. He is 76-year-old Will Tevis, who holds the world record for riding 200 miles in about 10 hours and who in 1923 helped to defeat an Army team in a reenactment of the Pony Express ride from the Nevada border to the Pacific.
Although he did not ride, Tevis had several horses entered whose training and conditioning he had planned. Another nonrider with multiple entries was Wendell Robie, who originated the 100-mile ride. In the early '30s he was guided over the almost-forgotten trail by Robert Watson, a son of one of the area's pioneers. Some months later Watson was killed in a fall, leaving Robie and a handful of friends the only men with an intimate knowledge of this onetime gold-rush and Pony Express route. The trail is as hazardous as it is historic, going up to almost 8,000 feet at Emigrant Pass, where glaciers still lie in pockets, and snaking close to 2,000 feet into canyons where the temperature can reach 110*.
This was the test that drew horses and riders to Tahoe City in the chill, dark dawn. The ride is always scheduled when there will be a full moon to light the trail, but this year the skies remained perversely overcast. The riders, astride English, Western or McClellan saddles, were started in flights of six, with the cup competitors leading and the buckle-seekers setting off last. The popular favorite was Ed Johnson, on his Arabian stallion Bezatal, who established a new record last year by finishing in 11 hours 38 minutes. Another strong contender was Donna Fitzgerald on an Arabian gelding named Razlind. They had finished second last year, and the horse's owner, Ted Jerry, had promised to give the gray to Donna if they finished in the first five...
Read more here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1079087/1/index.htm
September 26 1966
The horses and their improbable riders gathered at Tahoe City, Calif. for the yearly Tevis Cup race across the winding paths and hazardous streams of the Sierra to Auburn, 100 miles away
Alice Higgins
What the Boston Marathon is to the distance runner, the Western States 100-mile, one-day ride for the Tevis Cup is to the endurance horseman. And, like the marathon, the California race over the rugged Sierra from Tahoe City to Auburn attracts some improbable but wonderful people. Among the 92 riders who started this year, there were a couple on their honeymoon, a 12-year-old girl, a 72-year-old man who had put off a hernia operation in order to compete, an Indian ranch hand, some polo players, a woman believed to be a Cherokee princess, an assortment of mothers, secretaries, factory workers and businessmen and a man with a gray vandyke beard who was described as a retired capitalist.
The stallions, mares and geldings entered were just as surprisingly diverse, and included just about everything found in a horse encyclopedia: Arabians, Anglo-Arabians, a Peruvian Paso, quarter horses, Appaloosas, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Morgans pure and crossed with all the others, Pintos, buckskins, palominos and even a plain old western mustang. The horses were brought to Tahoe City's ball park the day before the race to be examined by eight veterinarians. Any horse whose condition was the slightest bit questionable was disqualified. "It is the integrity of the ride that matters," said Will Tevis, who, with his brothers, contributed the cup in memory of their grandfather. "We want to be sure that the horses are sound at the start and are humanely treated. A winning racehorse can finish lame, but here no unsound horse can win. In fact, he would probably be caught at one of the checkpoints [there are four], instantly disqualified and removed by trailer." One of the requirements of the Tevis Cup is that the winner must be serviceably sound in the opinion of the vet examining board, and another prize, the Haggin Cup, is offered to the horse that finishes in the best physical condition among the top 10. Many riders enter with no hope of winning but just to complete the 100 miles. If they do, and their horses pass examination, each is awarded a sterling silver and gold buckle. This specially designed and highly prized trophy is worn by only one man who has not competed in the race. He is 76-year-old Will Tevis, who holds the world record for riding 200 miles in about 10 hours and who in 1923 helped to defeat an Army team in a reenactment of the Pony Express ride from the Nevada border to the Pacific.
Although he did not ride, Tevis had several horses entered whose training and conditioning he had planned. Another nonrider with multiple entries was Wendell Robie, who originated the 100-mile ride. In the early '30s he was guided over the almost-forgotten trail by Robert Watson, a son of one of the area's pioneers. Some months later Watson was killed in a fall, leaving Robie and a handful of friends the only men with an intimate knowledge of this onetime gold-rush and Pony Express route. The trail is as hazardous as it is historic, going up to almost 8,000 feet at Emigrant Pass, where glaciers still lie in pockets, and snaking close to 2,000 feet into canyons where the temperature can reach 110*.
This was the test that drew horses and riders to Tahoe City in the chill, dark dawn. The ride is always scheduled when there will be a full moon to light the trail, but this year the skies remained perversely overcast. The riders, astride English, Western or McClellan saddles, were started in flights of six, with the cup competitors leading and the buckle-seekers setting off last. The popular favorite was Ed Johnson, on his Arabian stallion Bezatal, who established a new record last year by finishing in 11 hours 38 minutes. Another strong contender was Donna Fitzgerald on an Arabian gelding named Razlind. They had finished second last year, and the horse's owner, Ted Jerry, had promised to give the gray to Donna if they finished in the first five...
Read more here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1079087/1/index.htm
Kingwood Township equestrian is ready to compete in Chile
Friday, September 16, 2011, 11:30 AM
By Hunterdon County Democrat
Meg Sleeper, a veterinarian from Kingwood Township, is at the top of her equestrian game.
She has been teetering between first and second in the nation, and was second in the world for a time as well. But international placements in endurance riding, where competitions are few and far between, tend to seesaw up and down.
Sleeper hopes to solidify her standing at the top of the pinnacle when she rides in the Pan American Games, Oct. 22, in Chile.
Sleeper competes in what could be considered the marathon of equestrian sports, endurance riding. It’s a long-distance horse race that covers up to 100 miles. In Chile the ride will be 75 miles and Sleeper says competitors will probably average 11 to 12 miles an hour to finish in six hours.
“It’s basically a canter the whole time,” she said, “over rolling terrain.” There are four or five veterinary checkpoints along the way to evaluate the condition of the horses. Conditioning is a key element of the discipline, and at a recent competition in North Carolina, Sleeper’s horse was awarded top-conditioned horse.
Cadie, Sleeper’s mount for the games, is an 8-year-old Arab mare that she bred herself at her Kingwood Township farm. She’s a petite gray that Sleeper says “is very opinionated. She feels that I should just be quiet and sit there, and she will make it happen. I like to be able to pace her, though. She can be very strong in the beginning.”
Training is a challenge for Sleeper, who is chief of the section of cardiology at University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is a clinician and an associate professor as well as a researcher...
read more here:
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2011/09/kingwood_township_equestrian_i.html
Friday, September 16, 2011
2011 Tevis: Ride Director's Report
www.teviscup.org/
September 16 2011
The 56th annual Western States Trail Ride will run on an autumn day, which is unprecedented. I would like to discuss some things to consider as you prepare for your ride.
October 8 will present 2 fewer hours of daylight than you would have on a midsummer’s day. Your trail will have morning glowsticks most of the way to High Camp (about 13 miles out) as sunrise will occur at 7:06 bringing a breaking dawn at around 6:15. Our start is set for 5:15, and you may expect chilly predawn temperatures as low as the teens. The bridges on the way to Hiway 89 could be frosty, so they will be sanded for traction. We are going to ask that all riders cross the bridges at a walk for safety.
The trail has been adjusted to take out Bald Mt. and the Pucker Point loop after Robinson Flat. Riders will go down Road 43 instead. This trail change is intended to get the riders through the canyons in the daylight. The cutoff times will be 30 minutes earlier at each point from Last Chance to Francisco’s and 15 minutes earlier at Lower Quarry. The rider card has this year’s mileage and cutoff times updated for your reference. The official timed finish is at 5:15 under the banner in McCann Stadium. Riders will arrive at the finish by using the Pioneer Express trail which loops south around the skateboard park at the overlook. This trail turns left approximately100 yards short of the staging area and crosses under Pacific Avenue with a right turn along the railroad tracks, then back toward the north to the traditional railroad crossing at Pacific Avenue.
The top 20 horses will get a “place holder” finish card on the Pioneer Express trail on a wide gravel stretch before the Pacific Avenue undercrossing. After crossing the “place holder” finish line, riders will hold their order of finish in McCann Stadium.
The trail committee has been logging many hours of work widening, leveling, pruning and generally improving safety on our trail. You will be impressed.
October 8 falls on the third week of the 2011 deer season. We have posted signs cautioning hunters of the presence of horses and riders for the portion of the trail from Hodgson’s Cabin to Last Chance. It would be a good idea if riders planned to wear brightly colored clothing for added visibility.
The Western States Trail Ride has never been run in October before, and we will be sharing the fairgrounds with some pretty festive events; namely, The Music Fest, Octoberfest, and a gun show (scheduled for Sunday). Parking will be tight and our stabling will not be available until September 28. If you are traveling a great distance and need to arrive in the Auburn area before this date, please contact the Tevis office for assistance in locating stabling as we have some options available.
As you can see we have been planning for many eventualities to make the 56th Annual Western States Tevis Ride as memorable and incredible as ever. Keep training and check back to our website for any future updates.
Chuck Stalley
2011 Ride Director
2011 North American Endurance Team Championship: Preliminary Entries
September 16 2011
Preliminary Entries for the 2011 North American Endurance Team Championship have been posted. 47 riders from the US Central, Mountain, Pac North, Pac South, Northeast, and Southeast, Canada East and West, Great Britain and Romania, are expected to contest the 100-mile course on September 23-25, near Greenville, California.
The challenging mountainous course is the same area over which the 2009 AERC National Championship took place.
Entries can be seen here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2011NAETC/entries01.html
Endurance.net will follow the ride's progress:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2011NAETC/index.html
Fall Endurance Rides Here in Beautiful Arizona
Scottsdaleparadise.com - Full Article
by Kim Abbott on September 14, 2011
The temperatures have finally dropped below 100 degrees!!! What a summer for fellow horse lovers! When they say HOT, HOT, HOT, they are not talking about salsa here in the southwest! October is right around the corner and with it brings cooler temperatures and the Endurance riding is at its best!
Starting out October 1st is one of my all time favorite rides, Man vs. Horse, put on by Ron Barrett up in beautiful Prescott Arizona. This is such a unique ride because there is a Trail run at the same time as the endurance ride! That’s right the humans run right along with the horses on the 12, 25 and 50 mile event! In the past the human has beaten the horse except for the past few years! It’s a great local event and a great place for those who think they might be interested getting into endurance riding to watch or volunteer. It is a great fall ride with trails that take you up over Mingus Mountain with spectacular views and cool Ponderosa Pine forests then back down to the desert floor!
The same weekend is a new ride put on by Terry Wooley Howe called the Best of Both. It should be a beautiful ride with trails from the Descanso Ride in the upper Cuyamaca Rancho State Park through meadows, pines and then onto the PCT with beautiful vistas overlooking the Anza Borrego Desert and the Salton Sea. Terry always puts on a great ride! This will be one not to miss! She has a 25 and a 50 mile event and a fun run!
October 5-9 is the Grand Canyon XP Ride put on by MS Karen Chaton and the Nicholsons aka the “Duck”...
Read more here:
http://www.scottsdaleparadise.com/featured-articles/fall-endurance-rides-here-in-beautiful-arizona/
by Kim Abbott on September 14, 2011
The temperatures have finally dropped below 100 degrees!!! What a summer for fellow horse lovers! When they say HOT, HOT, HOT, they are not talking about salsa here in the southwest! October is right around the corner and with it brings cooler temperatures and the Endurance riding is at its best!
Starting out October 1st is one of my all time favorite rides, Man vs. Horse, put on by Ron Barrett up in beautiful Prescott Arizona. This is such a unique ride because there is a Trail run at the same time as the endurance ride! That’s right the humans run right along with the horses on the 12, 25 and 50 mile event! In the past the human has beaten the horse except for the past few years! It’s a great local event and a great place for those who think they might be interested getting into endurance riding to watch or volunteer. It is a great fall ride with trails that take you up over Mingus Mountain with spectacular views and cool Ponderosa Pine forests then back down to the desert floor!
The same weekend is a new ride put on by Terry Wooley Howe called the Best of Both. It should be a beautiful ride with trails from the Descanso Ride in the upper Cuyamaca Rancho State Park through meadows, pines and then onto the PCT with beautiful vistas overlooking the Anza Borrego Desert and the Salton Sea. Terry always puts on a great ride! This will be one not to miss! She has a 25 and a 50 mile event and a fun run!
October 5-9 is the Grand Canyon XP Ride put on by MS Karen Chaton and the Nicholsons aka the “Duck”...
Read more here:
http://www.scottsdaleparadise.com/featured-articles/fall-endurance-rides-here-in-beautiful-arizona/
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Sponsored Rider Qualifies for Pan American Endurance Championship
KER.com
September 12, 2011
John Crandell III, a legend of American endurance riding sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER), qualified to represent the United States at the Pan American Endurance Championship. The ride will take place October 22 near Santo Domingo, Chile.
Crandell will ride Heraldic, on whom he won the Tevis Cup in 2010 and 2006, as well as the 120-km OCTRA Spring Ride and 160-km FITS in 2011. See more of their successes.
Heraldic trains and competes on KER products, including:
* EquiShure, a time-released hindgut buffer;
* RiteTrac to support total digestive tract health;
* Nano∙E, a nanodispersed, natural source of vitamin E.
Other KER products that Crandell utilizes in his training program are:
* Hemabuild, trace minerals and vitamin B;
* Preserve, vitamin E and selenium;
* I.R. Pellet, concentrated, low-calorie, low-starch source of vitamins and trace minerals;
* Synovate HA, a safe, easily absorbed, and easy-to-use form of sodium hyaluronate.
For training updates, follow Heraldic on Facebook.
September 12, 2011
John Crandell III, a legend of American endurance riding sponsored by Kentucky Equine Research (KER), qualified to represent the United States at the Pan American Endurance Championship. The ride will take place October 22 near Santo Domingo, Chile.
Crandell will ride Heraldic, on whom he won the Tevis Cup in 2010 and 2006, as well as the 120-km OCTRA Spring Ride and 160-km FITS in 2011. See more of their successes.
Heraldic trains and competes on KER products, including:
* EquiShure, a time-released hindgut buffer;
* RiteTrac to support total digestive tract health;
* Nano∙E, a nanodispersed, natural source of vitamin E.
Other KER products that Crandell utilizes in his training program are:
* Hemabuild, trace minerals and vitamin B;
* Preserve, vitamin E and selenium;
* I.R. Pellet, concentrated, low-calorie, low-starch source of vitamins and trace minerals;
* Synovate HA, a safe, easily absorbed, and easy-to-use form of sodium hyaluronate.
For training updates, follow Heraldic on Facebook.
Endurance championships "a camping trip with your horse"
EMCFrontenac.ca - Full Article
Posted Sep 15, 2011 By Craig Bakay
EMC News One thing that seems to set the Ontario Competitive Trail Riding Association's events apart is that unlike many equestrian events, the competition aspect often takes a back seat to camaraderie and fellowship, said Rick Steele, one of the organizers of the Seoul's Corners competition held at Commodore's farm recently.
"It's not unusual for a rider to stop their own race to help someone else who gets into some trouble," he said.
And it seems that's universal amongst these horse people.
"It's like a camping trip with your horse," said Dagmar Downes, who, along with husband John and bay Princess Leah, comes in her sleeper horse trailer all the way from Mountain Grove.
"I enjoy it," she said. "It gets me out.
"We try to get to about 10 of these a year and next year we'd like to go to one in the U.S.
"We'd like to go to every event but there are some things like injuries to the horse and rider that keep you out of some events."
Injuries to the riders notwithstanding, the well-being of the horses is paramount. They even have categories like Best Conditioning and High Vet Score, and horses are checked by vets before each event and monitored along the trail...
Read more here:
http://www.emcfrontenac.ca/20110915/news/Endurance+championships+%22a+camping+trip+with+your+horse%22
Posted Sep 15, 2011 By Craig Bakay
EMC News One thing that seems to set the Ontario Competitive Trail Riding Association's events apart is that unlike many equestrian events, the competition aspect often takes a back seat to camaraderie and fellowship, said Rick Steele, one of the organizers of the Seoul's Corners competition held at Commodore's farm recently.
"It's not unusual for a rider to stop their own race to help someone else who gets into some trouble," he said.
And it seems that's universal amongst these horse people.
"It's like a camping trip with your horse," said Dagmar Downes, who, along with husband John and bay Princess Leah, comes in her sleeper horse trailer all the way from Mountain Grove.
"I enjoy it," she said. "It gets me out.
"We try to get to about 10 of these a year and next year we'd like to go to one in the U.S.
"We'd like to go to every event but there are some things like injuries to the horse and rider that keep you out of some events."
Injuries to the riders notwithstanding, the well-being of the horses is paramount. They even have categories like Best Conditioning and High Vet Score, and horses are checked by vets before each event and monitored along the trail...
Read more here:
http://www.emcfrontenac.ca/20110915/news/Endurance+championships+%22a+camping+trip+with+your+horse%22
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Animal Disease Traceability
Aphis.usda.gov
On August 9, 2011, USDA issued a proposed rule to establish general regulations for improving the traceability of U.S. livestock moving interstate when animal disease events take place.
"Through the past two years, I have listened carefully to stakeholders throughout the country about how to reach effective animal disease traceability in a transparent manner without additional burden," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We are proposing a flexible approach in which states and tribes can develop systems for tracing animals that work best for them and for producers in their jurisdiction. This approach offers great flexibility at the state and local level and addresses gaps in our disease response efforts."
Under the proposed rule, unless specifically exempted, livestock moved interstate would have to be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection or other documentation, such as owner-shipper statements or brand certificates. The proposed rule encourages the use of low-cost technology and specifies approved forms of official identification for each species, such as metal eartags for cattle. However, recognizing the importance and prevalence of other identifications in certain regions, shipping and receiving states or tribes are permitted to agree upon alternative forms of identification such as brands or tattoos.
"Our proposal strives to meet the diverse needs of the animal agriculture industry and our State and tribal partners, while also helping us all reach our goal of increased animal disease traceability," said chief veterinary officer for the United States, Dr. John Clifford. "We believe reaching our goals on traceability will help save the industry and American taxpayer's money in the long term."
Animal disease traceability, or knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are, where they've been, and when, is very important to make sure there can be a rapid response when animal disease events take place. An efficient and accurate animal disease traceability system helps reduce the number of animals involved in an investigation, reduces the time needed to respond, and decreases the cost to producers and the government.
Beginning August 11, 2011, USDA will be accepting comments on the proposed rule until November 9, 2011.
* Submit Comments: Proposed Rule on Traceability for Livestock Moving Interstate
On August 9, 2011, USDA issued a proposed rule to establish general regulations for improving the traceability of U.S. livestock moving interstate when animal disease events take place.
"Through the past two years, I have listened carefully to stakeholders throughout the country about how to reach effective animal disease traceability in a transparent manner without additional burden," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "We are proposing a flexible approach in which states and tribes can develop systems for tracing animals that work best for them and for producers in their jurisdiction. This approach offers great flexibility at the state and local level and addresses gaps in our disease response efforts."
Under the proposed rule, unless specifically exempted, livestock moved interstate would have to be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection or other documentation, such as owner-shipper statements or brand certificates. The proposed rule encourages the use of low-cost technology and specifies approved forms of official identification for each species, such as metal eartags for cattle. However, recognizing the importance and prevalence of other identifications in certain regions, shipping and receiving states or tribes are permitted to agree upon alternative forms of identification such as brands or tattoos.
"Our proposal strives to meet the diverse needs of the animal agriculture industry and our State and tribal partners, while also helping us all reach our goal of increased animal disease traceability," said chief veterinary officer for the United States, Dr. John Clifford. "We believe reaching our goals on traceability will help save the industry and American taxpayer's money in the long term."
Animal disease traceability, or knowing where diseased and at-risk animals are, where they've been, and when, is very important to make sure there can be a rapid response when animal disease events take place. An efficient and accurate animal disease traceability system helps reduce the number of animals involved in an investigation, reduces the time needed to respond, and decreases the cost to producers and the government.
Beginning August 11, 2011, USDA will be accepting comments on the proposed rule until November 9, 2011.
* Submit Comments: Proposed Rule on Traceability for Livestock Moving Interstate
Canadian Endurance Team Competing at the NAETC
September 12 2011
Competitors Horses:
... Christy Janzen (Spruce Grove, AB) Sakic
Terre O’Brennan (Delta, BC) Koszaar
Yvette Vinton (Ontario) DJB Boomer (US horse)
Kathy Irvine (Blackfoot, AB) Nightwinds Savanah
Claudia Harper (Courtenay, BC) US horse if not used by owner
Grooms: Brett Janzen, Joan Harris, Elaine Bessuille, Colleen DeVry, Sandra Coombe, Barb Cameron
Team Officials:
Maura Leahy, Chef d’Equipe
Dr. Roxy Bell, Team Veterinarian
Dr. Glenn Sinclair, Team Veterinarian
Dr. Deanna Spiker, Assistant Team Veterinarian
Competitors Horses:
... Christy Janzen (Spruce Grove, AB) Sakic
Terre O’Brennan (Delta, BC) Koszaar
Yvette Vinton (Ontario) DJB Boomer (US horse)
Kathy Irvine (Blackfoot, AB) Nightwinds Savanah
Claudia Harper (Courtenay, BC) US horse if not used by owner
Grooms: Brett Janzen, Joan Harris, Elaine Bessuille, Colleen DeVry, Sandra Coombe, Barb Cameron
Team Officials:
Maura Leahy, Chef d’Equipe
Dr. Roxy Bell, Team Veterinarian
Dr. Glenn Sinclair, Team Veterinarian
Dr. Deanna Spiker, Assistant Team Veterinarian
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
America's Favorite Trail Horse Competition on TV
September 13 2011
Follow the amazing journey of the nation's top 100 trail horses on America's Favorite Trail Horse and vote for your favorite, who will receive their share of the $100,000 in prize money. America's Favorite Trail Horse will premiere at 8pm EST on September 13th 2011 on HRTV on DISH channel 404. Check your local listings on cable networks. Every Episode will also be shown FREE on www.actha.tv simultaneously at 8pm EST. Voting starts as soon as the episode is over at 9pm EST Tuesday and voting will be open for 48 hours per episode.
How to Watch America's Favorite Trail Horse...
TV: Channel 404 on HRTV on the Dish Network
ACTHA.TV Online: www.actha.tv FREE
When to tune in...
Tuesday - 8pm EST/ 5pm PST
Tuesday - Same episode repeats 3 hrs later 11pm EST/8 pm PST
When scheduling permits: Repeats Sunday 10am EST/7am PST
How to vote for your favorite trail horse...
Ten horses are showcased in each of the 10 episodes, with one horse chosen as the winner of each $5000 episode. The 10 winning horses then proceed to the final round where 3 grand prize winners will be awarded a total of $50,000. Only one vote per email address per episode and voting starts after each Tuesday night episode at 8pm EST. Voting is open for 48 hours. You can also REVIEW competitors by watching episodes at www.actha.tv
Please be patient and allow links to download.
Follow the amazing journey of the nation's top 100 trail horses on America's Favorite Trail Horse and vote for your favorite, who will receive their share of the $100,000 in prize money. America's Favorite Trail Horse will premiere at 8pm EST on September 13th 2011 on HRTV on DISH channel 404. Check your local listings on cable networks. Every Episode will also be shown FREE on www.actha.tv simultaneously at 8pm EST. Voting starts as soon as the episode is over at 9pm EST Tuesday and voting will be open for 48 hours per episode.
How to Watch America's Favorite Trail Horse...
TV: Channel 404 on HRTV on the Dish Network
ACTHA.TV Online: www.actha.tv FREE
When to tune in...
Tuesday - 8pm EST/ 5pm PST
Tuesday - Same episode repeats 3 hrs later 11pm EST/8 pm PST
When scheduling permits: Repeats Sunday 10am EST/7am PST
How to vote for your favorite trail horse...
Ten horses are showcased in each of the 10 episodes, with one horse chosen as the winner of each $5000 episode. The 10 winning horses then proceed to the final round where 3 grand prize winners will be awarded a total of $50,000. Only one vote per email address per episode and voting starts after each Tuesday night episode at 8pm EST. Voting is open for 48 hours. You can also REVIEW competitors by watching episodes at www.actha.tv
Please be patient and allow links to download.
Tevis Trail Update
sept 8
Just yesterday, we rode the last leg of the Tevis Trail between Foresthill and Auburn. We actually rode it in reverse direction of the ride, as it's the more challenging direction since you climb from the American River to Foresthill.
Yesterday was really hot, topping out at around 100 degrees in Auburn. Here's the record of our ride:
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripID=1309548&secretLinkKey=4910f6c4-063a-49ea-a564-c808f39fc42c
What I want to share is the excellent shape the trail condition is in. The Tevis Trail committee has spent a significant amount of time and resources along key the trail sections to improve the experience of horse and rider on the Tevis Ride next month.
Specifically, the section of trail between Nugget Road and Sandy Bottoms (Commonly referred to as Cal 3) is one of the most precipitous sections of trail that horse and rider will experience on the ride. With the Ditch Witch Trail Machine, purchased by Echo Valley Ranch, Greg Kimler and Mike Shackelford have opened up this section of trail to a full 4+ feet of tread path.
While there are many other sections of trail that Greg, Mike and the Tevis Trail Committee have improved for this year's ride, the Cal 3 section is probably the most impressive.
So, come prepared to ride Tevis this year with trail conditions that are in excellent shape.
Steve Hallmark
Just yesterday, we rode the last leg of the Tevis Trail between Foresthill and Auburn. We actually rode it in reverse direction of the ride, as it's the more challenging direction since you climb from the American River to Foresthill.
Yesterday was really hot, topping out at around 100 degrees in Auburn. Here's the record of our ride:
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripID=1309548&secretLinkKey=4910f6c4-063a-49ea-a564-c808f39fc42c
What I want to share is the excellent shape the trail condition is in. The Tevis Trail committee has spent a significant amount of time and resources along key the trail sections to improve the experience of horse and rider on the Tevis Ride next month.
Specifically, the section of trail between Nugget Road and Sandy Bottoms (Commonly referred to as Cal 3) is one of the most precipitous sections of trail that horse and rider will experience on the ride. With the Ditch Witch Trail Machine, purchased by Echo Valley Ranch, Greg Kimler and Mike Shackelford have opened up this section of trail to a full 4+ feet of tread path.
While there are many other sections of trail that Greg, Mike and the Tevis Trail Committee have improved for this year's ride, the Cal 3 section is probably the most impressive.
So, come prepared to ride Tevis this year with trail conditions that are in excellent shape.
Steve Hallmark
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