USA Team Endurance Trial: The Drama Begins

Friday March 30 2012

Just the gathering is a spectacle in itself: "It's the best collection of 100-mile horses the US has ever produced at one ride," said USA Chef d'Equipe Emmett Ross, at last night's party at base camp on the Preifert Ranch in Mt Pleasant, Texas. This extraordinary assembly of top endurance horses and riders is the CEI3* 160-km USA Trials, from which the 6-member team for the 2012 World Endurance Championships in Great Britain in August will ultimately be chosen. "The goal of all this," said Emmett, "is to have a place on the podium." 1998 in Dubai is the last time the US won a medal in the World Endurance Championships.

Final placing in tomorrow's race will be crucial: the top twenty finishers will be on the 'Long List' of riders from which the six team members will be picked. In addition, three 'Wild Cards' may or may not be chosen. One of those Wild Cards might be a good horse that has a bad day, or an up-and-coming horse or rider. Strategy will play a big part in the ride: How hard will you have to ride? Do you race as fast as you can, to assure a spot in the top twenty? Do you ride a more conservative ride and hope that the probable usual attrition rate of around 50% will push you up into the top twenty? "Ride to the best of yours and your horse's ability," said Emmett. "I want to see speed, but not speed at any cost. Think and ride professionally, manage your day well, don't succumb to race brain."


Riders will be evaluated by Emmett Ross, 3 selectors, and the veterinary committee, on their finish in the top twenty, on how they manage their horse, on crewing management, sportsmanship, and post-ride evaluations.

The weather will play a big part. "This humidity is going to be tough," said head veterinarian Dwight Hooten. It will especially effect those horses who have come from the colder or drier parts of the country. Those riders and horses coming from thickly-humid Florida and the midwest think this Texas humidity feels great. Tomorrow's forecast calls for 84°, 70% humidity, with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Forty-nine hopefuls lined up for the vet in today, and 4 unlucky ones were eliminated for lameness. It's a blow when you drove across the country to get here, with high hopes for a good performance.


Forty-five horses and riders will be on the starting line at 7 AM tomorrow.

More photos and stories, and follow the race live on Endurance.net:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2012USATeamTrial/

Mandolynn Hill Arabians

Thursday March 29 2012

On our way to the 100-mile Texas Team Trial qualification for the 2012 World Endurance Championship in Great Britain, we stopped at Dr Mickey and Michelle Morgan's Mandolynn Hill Farm Arabians in Aubrey, Texas.

Aubrey happens to be the birthplace of my endurance obsession - I started riding endurance trails just down the road in 1998. In fact, as we wandered around Michelle's farm, it seemed a bit familiar, and when I saw the training track in a big field at the back of the property, I realized I had actually ridden on this track. Talk about Déjà vu!

Michelle raises her Arabians mainly for the racetrack; some have gone on to perform well in endurance and other sports. She has some extraordinary-looking individuals - good bone, powerful, athletic, well-built and well-bred - and personable. I'll have more on Mandolynn Hill later, but below is a slide show sample, or you can see more now at http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2012MandolynHill.

[slide show here]

Stoner is My CoPilot

Sunday March 25 2012

Last time I hooked up with Stoner was in January in Arizona. We went on a fantasy flight through the desert.

We got back together again for some Colorado Rocky Mountain highs with some dear friends:

Kevin and Far


Rusty and Quake


Garrett and The mighty Fury


The foothills of the Rocky Mountains are not for pansies. They are for the fleet of foot, and the humongous of hearts.


We trotted, cantered, galloped up mountains as if they were molehills, 15 miles of bliss. We flew together again, Stoner and I, through the Rockies, on the wings of a lithe, lovely endurance horse.

Thanks once again my friend!

Durango!

Saturday March 24 2012

Road trip! Steph and I headed southeast to Durango, Colorado, for our friend Rusty's surprise birthday party. Total success, he had no idea all of us would show up!

We stayed with Garrett and Lisa Ford, and Garrett took us on a little ride in the mountains around his place. Garrett is riding his Haggin Cup (Best Condition at Tevis in 2010) winner The Fury.

Just gorgeous. People have been known to come to Durango for a visit, then never leaving.

Hmmm.

[slide show here]

Twenty Miles

Thursday March 22 2012

We are working toward our first 50 mile endurance ride of the season, the Owyhee Tough Sucker I, on April 7. Normally we'd have plenty of time to get the horses in tip top shape, but what with the bizarre weather - snow, rain, mud, hurricanes, repeat - and the trip to the AERC Convention in Reno, and an upcoming road trip where we won't be back home till 5 days before the Tough Sucker, we felt we had to get a 20 mile ride in on the horses.

We made a long loop toward the Snake River, trotting much of the way, on soft ground, mostly flat and with only gentle climbs. Even though the horses are starting to shed madly, they still have enough of a coat where they worked up a thorough sweat (yes, even Jose's eyebrows sweated again).

We were grateful for the most excellent strong cool breeze that caught up with us right near the end of the ride, most especially because the DANG GNATS are suddenly out!

By my GPS, we covered 15.7 miles (and if you add the 10%, that's 17 miles), close enough to the 20 we aimed for, in just over 2 1/2 hours.

I think *I* ended up much more tired than Jose - I was the one who needed the 20 mile ride!

[slide show here]

Terror in Owyhee

Monday March 19 2012

Dark beasts in the night. Lumbering monsters in the day. Eerie bawling and squalling. Crashing. Moaning. Sinister smells.

Terrifying Creatures wander Owyhee at will, taking what they wish. No laws can control them, no fence can contain them.

And so it was that our horse herd was terrified by dangerous cows today. (Not that our horses don't see cows nearly every day of every winter, on one side of the canyon or the other.)

I'd driven the ATV up the canyon to fetch the herd. As often happens, the horses had drifted far up the canyon overnight. They usually come back in the morning on their own - but I discovered an invisible line drawn in the sand that they were afraid to cross: the Terrifying Cow barrier. Two cows and a calf (just a baby!) were in our canyon on our side of fence, between the horse herd and home, and no way were the horses crossing that line. They were trapped.

Where the sight of me on an ATV holding a bucket of grain and calling for them usually entices them to come, this time they had eyes only for the Terrifying Cows, who had started moving away from me and further up-canyon - toward the horse herd.

Tizzies ensued.

Like flocking birds (check out these spectacular links here and here!), the herd flitted this way and fluttered that way, one horse Perry (the mare who is oddly attracted to other animals) moving toward the Creatures out of curiosity, pulling the herd along, then Smokey dashing away in fright, pulling the herd that way, Perry circling and approaching the cows again, pulling the herd with her, Rhett spinning around and bolting in terror, swaying the herd his way - a ballet dance, back and forth, swirl, up and back, whirl, forward and back, twirl.

(Rhett's dislike of cows has been clearly documented.)

The three cows' (two cows and one calf!) inevitable path along the fence, to join up with mooing cows on the other side of the fence, drove the mighty, 11-strong horse herd to the far corner of the canyon, into a tight whirring ball of nerves. Should they bolt and run from the treacherous cows? Should they dare slip past them, towards freedom and home? Should they totally run away from the vicious cows, toward me across the river and toward safety? (Of course they didn't choose this option.)

The cows continued their march along the fence on past the tightly woven horse herd that they completely ignored, past a wired-shut gate where they can normally squeeze through. Former Rushcreek Ranch Cowhorse Mac split off from the herd (he's also sometimes afraid of cows - see Rhett's story link above) and bravely chased the baby cow, showing him who was really the boss, before dashing back to join the safety of the rolling Horse Ball. The horses swirled tightly around to face the danger of the retreating cow butts. The cows came to a wash, where they turned and went straight through the fence to join the other cows on the hill. (Imagined )Peril to the horses was over, but the fact that the cows had just apparated (check your Harry Potter dictionary) through a fence unharmed really agitated the horse herd. They whirled and ran, spun and froze, twirled and dashed back, froze, bolted again, danced like a flock of starlings in the sky.

I could not get their attention; I could not get them to come home. They remained glued to that spot close together for hours.

I never did get to ride today.

Nobody Here But Us (Wet) Chickens

Saturday March 17 2012

With odd weather all over the country, Owyhee is getting its share of wetness. It's so slick, there's no thundering down the canyon - the horses walk around carefully in the mud.

Everybody looks like a wet chicken, including the cats who run through the rain then stop to lick their paws - as if that will help anything.

Jose, up top, strikes a handsome wet chicken pose.

I think that of all the herd Mac most enjoys being dirty as he can get. It's probably like a dark-haired human going platinum blond for a while, only vice versa.


The salt block is a quite popular social gathering place in the winter. The mud probably gives it a special spicy flavor.


Stormy isn't irritated by being photographed as a wet chicken; he doesn't like being bothered when he's eating.


More of the wet stuff and white stuff to come! Winter is not ready to leave yet, and I'm not ready to let it go!