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on picture to enlarge)
Vicki and Jester
I
grew up riding horses in Ohio. My husband
& I dated on horseback. Got married, had 4 children, so you can
imagine, had to give up my horses for awhile. Moved to Lexington, Ky. In 1982,
bought a horse in the early 90’s. I met Connie Caudill, of all places, on jury
duty, around 1995. Of course, riding with her a few times got me hooked on
endurance. John & I and my youngest daughter, Beth have all been riding
endurance now since 1996.
10
yr old
15.1 hands
Grey Egyptian/Crabbet Arabian gelding
I
bought (Jester) in 1998 as a 5 yr. Old. He was very well trained But quite hot
headed. I have brought him along slowly. He is still Hot headed, lots of
attitude, & very ornery in his own way. He seems to be best suited for
100’s. Our biggest accomplishment so far has been winning the FW division
& BC in the 2002, 100 mile National Championship Ride.
My first endurance races were in the late 1970's on Morgans. I joined AERC in 1986 and did my first 100-mile race, the Old Dominion, on a wonderful crooked-legged, parrot-jawed Arab called "Jake". Over the next 6 years and eleven 100-milers together, he taught me endurance. We made the eastern time zone for PanAms in 1990, being held in Carson City, Nevada. The financial demands of a son going to college prevented me from going. I had always hoped that another great horse would present itself at the right time with the right stuff to take me to the Pan Ams. Thank you, Harley!
Our first endurance race together was the Vermont 50 in October, 2001. Harley was 5 years old and had been a very difficult horse to break to saddle. The horse that I had originally entered sustained a pasture injury, so Harley was pressed into service. I was very apprehensive about getting him around this course, so I locked onto friends with "seasoned" horses. By the middle of the race, he was doing better that most seasoned horses, showing a natural ability and good sense. We finished in the middle of the pack, looking fabulous! He is now 7 years old with 1000 miles to his credit and a 100% completion record.
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Horse: Ga
Tyfa Mynte “Honey”
Breed: Arabian
Color: Chestnut
Height: 14-3
AERC Miles: Approximately 2300
100 mile completions: 20
Rider: Becky Harris
Age 37
Honey is my first endurance horse. She came to me at eight years old and had just been broke. From the beginning her competitive spirit and eagerness to go has shown me that she has the right mental attitude to do this sport. Honey and I are a team, we have learned a lot together, some lessons learned have been harder than others. I feel very fortunate to be a part of the USA East Squad, not only do I have a wonderful horse but a supportive family and many good endurance friends that have helped me tremendously.
AGE: 52
HEIGHT: 5'3"
AERC MILES: 3400
PROFESSION: retired Science teacher, freelance writer.
Married to John, Six cats, two dogs, seven horses, a goose a goat and a very
cool ferret. Home is West Windsor,
Vermont.
HISTORY: OK, I will admit to being born and raised in NJ, but I've lost the
accent and have spent the rest of my life learning to talk slower.
However, I find that I can still translate. I have loved horses from birth
and still cannot imagine life without them. When I met John, another horse
nut, we knew we were made for each other. I don't have to explain why
there is a saddle in the kitchen or why the house smells like a barn while I dry
horse blankets in the basement. But we have figured out that he has HIS
horses and I have MINE. I have done a lot with horses. I did the
show thing, Quarter Horses, Appaloosas (1971 NJ Appaloosa Assoc Queen),
Arabians, POA's, hunters, ponies, carriage driving (won Devon, twice), combined
driving (1988 Eastern Single Pony Champion). I prefer the trail thing.
I have over 9,000 ECTRA miles and in 2000 and 2001 won the Florida Cup for three
day 100 mile rides with "Cavalletti". I rode "Shyrocco
Jazz" to sixth place at the 2001 Pan Ams. This time around I will be
riding Maggie Price's wonderful "Ramegwa Sharli".
Riding “Charlie” is like traveling with a move star. Everyone knows him as “Maggie Price’s horse” and everyone knows Maggie. At some point in time, everyone has ridden with “Charlie” so they feel like they know him. And he certainly is a fine fellow to know. Always a gentleman, always cool no matter what chaos is happening around him, “Charlie” is a dream horse to compete. Maggie knew what she was doing when she picked him out of a field in SC. He grew up the Ramegwa way on a hundred acres of pasture in a herd of horses that had enviable endurance records. Barry and Nancy Roeber-Moyer started him, and then passed him to the capable hands of Maggie. I tried to buy, borrow or steal “Charlie” for years. At one point, I got on my knees to Maggie begging like a fool. She knew what she had, he was not leaving her farm. “Charlie” was aimed at being “the next horse after Annie” until illness struck Maggie. When Maggie offered me “Charlie” to compete for the Pan Ams I could have fainted! What an opportunity and what a compliment to be allowed to share the trail with this wonderful horse. So, Maggie made me promise to “do my best” and here I am. “Charlie” shares his training experiences and rides through letters to Maggie which she thoroughly enjoys. I know that when I compete “Charlie” that Maggie is riding on my right shoulder.
Valerie and Shahdon (click on pictures to enlarge)
I started riding at 11yrs, but was the only one in my family interested. Bought my own horse with savings from babysitting and throwing newspapers, then had to earn the money to pay board every month. Not much extra money to go to horse shows, so I just rode for pleasure by myself and with some school friends. I started endurance in 1972. Was living in Pennsylvania and was foxhunting. You have to have your horse fit in order to do hunting, so I was into the physical fitness thing. I read about the Tevis and wondered if my horse could do something like that. I did have an Arabian at the time and was foxhunting and point to point racing her. A neighbor introduced me to a gal who was doing some distance riding. She took me to my first competitive ride. I won the 25 mile division and she won the 50. I quickly figured out that I could play in the sport and do well. I have now been competing for over 30 yrs. and have nearly 15,000 miles. 1994 World Champion, 1995 Individual and Team Bronze at the North American Championships. 1996 Individual Silver Medalist in the World Championship. 1998 World Champion. 2002 USET 50 and 100 mile Champion, 7th and first Foreign rider in the Dubai World Cup. 2003 Masters Champion, 8th over all first Foreign rider in the Dubai World Cup.
I bought Shahdon in 2001 with the idea of preparing and nominating for the Worlds. He had 300 miles when I bought him, which included a one day 100 that he and I rode together. He won that ride by a considerable distance and also was BC. He showed me that he had a lot of talent, as he did the second half of the race alone and still increased his lead time. Shahdon is 11 yrs. old. He was part of the 2002 World Squad. He has finished 4 AERC 100's with 2 first's, one second and one third. He just finished the Shore to Shore 5 day ride where he was second over all.
Mary and Shiloh
I’m a 36 year old communications specialist for a statewide nonprofit and Shiloh is my 11 year old ˝ Arab, ˝ Quarter horse. In the 8 years I’ve owned him, he’s made all my horse dreams come true and helped me meet the most wonderful people. I didn’t buy Shiloh with endurance in mind, but after we dabbled in various horse-related activities for a few years, everything else paled in comparison after our first 50 miler in 1999. Two years later, we completed our first 1-day 100 and I realized Shiloh was going to be able handle 100's just fine. Four years and around 2000 miles later, I realize how lucky we’ve been to do so well. After the Pan Ams, my final goal with him is to reach the 3000 mile mark before I retire him from endurance.
This will be our 2nd time representing USA East. Being part of the 2001 PAC gold-medal winning team was a fantastic experience, and Shiloh’s never been quite the same since. It’s as if he knows he’s an "important horse" and is more competitive than ever, without losing the laid-back disposition that has always made him such a joy to ride. Shiloh is an excellent traveler and I think he has the chance to do really well this time around, especially if the weather is cool.
But no matter what happens on September 13th, Shiloh will finally be able to come home when its over. You see, for the past 8 years I’ve boarded him at various locations around Richmond. Some of the places have been better than others, and my friends Jackie and Jennifer probably have taken better care of him than I ever could! But about a year ago, I found the perfect mini-farm just outside Richmond (near all the fox hunting lands for Colonial Fox Hounds, where he serves as a staff horse). It’s been a hectic year trying to work 2 jobs while cleaning up the place and building a house, but the paddock and pasture should be fenced and ready by the time we return from Trout Lake. Best of all, there’s a big pond so my "Mud Pig" will have a place to go cool off on those hot, humid summer days!
Editor's note: Regrettably, Mary has elected not to make the trip to Washington because of other commitments. She will be replaced on the squad by Lynne Gilbert, the first alternate, riding GM Chagall.
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Home is in southern Indiana very close to
the Clark State Forest. Bob and I
have a wonderful family consisting of 3 sons, 1 daughter, 2 daughters-in-law,
and 3 grandchildren. My son Josh, my daughter Tessa, and my daughter-in-law Trisha have all
ridden endurance rides with me. I
have been riding this summer with two of my grandchildren which gives me great
enjoyment. My profession is an
elementary school teacher. I teach fifth grade.
I
started riding horses when I was a kid, but never owned one of my own until
after I was married and had kids of my own.
I have had walking horses,
quarter horses, and now, of course, Arabians.
I've never really competed at other equine sports. Just at a local
level, I showed my walking horse once, and I did the barrels on my quarter horse
a couple of times. But mostly, I just did trail riding. An
acquaintance introduced me to endurance riding.
I bought Galant Legacy, “Legs”, as a
two year old. I trained him by
myself. He has about 2500 AERC
miles. He is a12 year old handsome
14’2 honey chestnut, but he
thinks he is much bigger. (He
really didn’t want to me to tell his height either.) His favorite treat is fresh corn on the cob.
