Biographies - 2

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Stagg Newman and Jayel Super

                                             
Stagg and Jayel Super

Rider: Stagg Newman

Sex:  Male
Age:  53
Height: 5'7"
Weight Division you usually ride under: Lightweight (140 plus tack)
At what age did you start riding?  28
When did you start endurance riding? 31
Profession:  Communications Consultant
Family: Wife Cheryl, who got him started riding when Stagg failed to get her interested in running.  So then he hooked her on long distance riding so they could both suffer rather ride together.  The family that does endurance rides (aka endures) together (and can still tolerate each other at 80 miles) stays together.
Hometown:  Upper Hominy Valley, NC.

  As a frustrated athlete (too short for basketball, too small for football, too uncoordinated for baseball), long distance running was a natural alternative, no skill needed, just guts and/or stupidity.  Stagg was most valuable and captain of cross country team but an aging body and having to work for a living curtailed the running career.  Endurance riding proved to be an even better alternative.  The horse is the athlete and the rider supplies the brains (Super and Drubin strongly disagree with the latter statement).  And one can do serious training only on weekends and still compete at top levels so that can one can actually have enough time to work to pay for your sport. 

Stagg has over 7000 miles of long distance competition and has completed over 30 1-day 100s, 30 of those on "The Pony", Stagg's 14h1 Arabian that he bought from Maggy Price in 1987.  Maggy, Stagg's mentor in the sport told Stagg, who had started the sport on a race track thoroughbred, that she he needed an Arab is he wanted to be serious about the sport.  Moreover, she had just the horse for him, Ramegwa Drubin, who needed a strong rider but was a real endurance prospect.  Translation for those who do not know Maggy:  this horse is a real handful, and I will be glad when he is somebody else's handful.  Stagg bought him.

 In 1992, Stagg won the National 100 Mile Championship Series and the National Middleweight Championship with Drubin.  That year Drubin became the only horse in AERC history to score over 3000 points in one season in the National 1000 Mile Championship when he had over 3800 points.  He entered and completed 9 1-day 100s with 7 wins, a 2nd, and 3rd, 5 BCs, and 5 course records.  In 1993 Stagg and Drubin won the team gold and individual bronze at the North American Championship in Calgary.  In 2002 Drubin, now 19, completed his 14th straight year of 1-day hundreds and his 33rd 1-day 100.  Including 2-day AERC 100s and 3-day CTR 100s Drubin has done over 50 100s.  Stagg and Drubin have won 13 100s and Stagg and Super have won 4 100s.

  In the 1990s Stagg served for 6 years on the AERC board including holding the posts of Vice President and Treasurer.  He is an FEI accredited steward.  Stagg rejoined the AERC board in 2003 (since he is a masochist) and now chairs the Education Committee.

  Professionally, i.e. in order to pay for his horse habit, Stagg serves  McKinsey & Company, Inc., the premier general Management consulting company,  as Senior Telecommunications Practice Expert, where he provides technology advice and strategic technology analysis to client teams across the Firm’s practices.  Prior to joining McKinsey at the beginning of the new millennium, Stagg served as Chief Technologist at the FCC where he advised the Commissioners and senior staffers on strategic technology issues such as "keeping the Internet safe from traditional telephony regulation" .  Stagg started his telecommunications career with Bell Labs in 1976 and worked for various descendents of Ma Bell  in voice, data, video, and wireless networking until his appointment to the FCC in Sept. 1997.  From 1994 to 1997 he was Vice President, Network Technology and Architecture, Applied Research at Bellcore, where he led the optical networking, wireless, and network access research program.   Stagg received his B.S. (Bull S...) from Davidson College and his M.S. (More of the Same) and Ph.D. (Piled Higher and Deeper) from Cornell in (totally useless pure) Mathematics.

Horse:  Jayel Super

Age:  9
Breed:  Arabian
Height: 15h
Color:  Bay
Sex:  Gelding
Miles:  750 AERC, 1155 Endurance + Competitive, 6 1-day 100s w/ 3 Wins (Biltmore, OD twice), 2 BCs (Biltmore, OD)
Owners:  Cheryl and Stagg Newman

Janice Lusk Leinhart, his breeder, named him well when she named him Jayel (from Janice Lusk - her breeding farm name) Super for Super-opinionated, Super-mover, Super-athletic and in Super's opinion Super-good looking.  Dr. Dwight Hooten called me up and suggested that we look at this three year old that was "a bit wired but a real athlete".  Dwight had ridden Super's sire and was considering Super but said he would never be able to compete him seriously and thought Super should go to somebody who would.  Super had been running with a lot of other young horses on a 100+ acre farm that Janice was managing. We went to look at him telling ourselves that we really were not ready to buy another horse.  Then he trotted magnificently up to Cheryl and said "Here I am!".  We bought him.  (And no we did not do all the things you are suppose to do to check out an endurance horse like put a stethoscope on him and listen to his heart.  He would not stand still long enough for that.)

While very people oriented, Super wants everything done on his terms.  Ground training went well.  Then Super quickly told Stagg his opinion of weight, particularly unbalanced weight on his back, when he bucked Stagg off twice in his first week under saddle.  At that point Dr. Gail Carmona, the first person to train and ride an Arabian at Grand Prix Level Dressage told Stagg he was too old to breaking a young shall we say head strong Arab.  So Super was shipped to Gail's for early training and religion.

While skipping the details of his early competition, he did have trouble learning two gaits, walk and halt.  And Stagg's bursitis that had not bothered him since he started Drubin in endurance reappeared.  However due to Gail's training,  he is very responsive to aids and very light to ride.  His early long distance riding was in CTR in order to condition him mentally and physically.   When we first started doing serious hill conditioning we were impressed with his recoveries.  So when we took him to the Old Dominion pre-season clinic where among other things the vets were doing heart ultra-sounds.  We expected to be told he had an impressive heart.  Instead we were told he had an aortic insufficiency, aka heart murmur.  So we asked our vet, three time Old Dominion winner Dr. Jeannie Waldron, now what do we do.  Jeannie said you never had any problem with the horse, right?  So ride the horse (as far as we know many of our horses may have resting heart murmurs.)  So we did.   Super did his first 1-day 100  late in his 6th year at the Carolina 100 where (much to his frustration and Cheryl's sore arms) he was essentially at the back of the pack of 50 some starter's at the half way point but finished 13th as he showed no sign of tiring in the second half of the ride.  In 1999 as a seven year old he did the Biltmore 100 for training and again finished around 13th.  Then we entered the Old Dominion with Super ready for some serious work since Stagg needed to get the "Old Dominion Monkey" off his back.  While starting off the early pace Super caught the leaders going up the second long climb about 17 miles out.  Somewhat to Stagg's surprise he left the rest of the lead group behind on the third long climb (after Stagg had treated them all of the leaders to lemonade to encourage rider pit stops on trail) and ended up doing the last 65 miles alone in front to Super's great annoyance.  In fact to pay for that Super made Stagg walk over that last part of Sherman's Gap that day.  Super won by about an hour.  Super basically had a vacation year in 2000 while Stagg and Cheryl relocated, not finishing the one ride he started, the Biltmore 100, due to rider error (Super would say rider stupidity).  In 2001 Super came into his own.  He did a steady pace at the Hallelujah Ride in order to get enough AERC milage to be eligible for nomination for the Pan American, finished 3rd and reserve BC.  At the Biltmore 100, he was first and Best Condition.  Then came the Old Dominion, the initial focus for the year. Super won first, BC, High Vet Score, the Old Dominion Trophy, and set a course record for the new course that has been used since 1995.  Particularly gratifying to Stagg was the minimal weight loss and electrolyte loss that Super had on each ride.  Particularly gratifying to Super was that he got unlimited access to alfalfa after each ride.  At the 2001 Pan Am Super led the USA East horses to the team gold with a 4th place finish.   In 2002 Super started the year by winning the Middleburg research ride.  He finished the year by being receiving the Rurak Award as the best veteran horse at the Western North Carolina 3-day 100 Competitive Trail Ride which Super says required incredible patience on his part.  In between were, shall we say, unusual events that will be left untold.

 In 2003 Super, despite great protest, finished near the back of the pack with his herd mate Cam at the 55 mile ride the first day of the Sand Hills Stampede.  Stagg claimed it was a slow conditioning ride.  To teach Stagg a lesson after Stagg did a somersault over Super’s head when Super tripped about a half mile from the check point, Super ran into the check point without Stagg so Stagg got to run in on his own.  Stagg got the message and so the second day they speeded up the pace and Super was in a carefully orchestrated 4-way tie for second and received BC.  Super just completed the Biltmore 100 in the FEI Competition, the IAHA Region 12 Competition, and the AERC open 100 where he won and received best condition by enduring the mud, heat, and humidity and getting through the sobriety check point set-up near the Deer Park restaurant for the teenagers celebrating prom nite.

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Cia Reis and Catch A Wave

Cia.jpg (26931 bytes)                 

Growing up, I was addicted to the Arabian horse shows and purchased an Arabian mare, which I competed successfully in Western Pleasure.  From there, I trained and rode an Egyptian stallion to third level dressage. Then I discovered the great fun of Endurance racing, which allowed my whole family to participate with me.  My husband, Alex, and our son, Justin, always enjoyed our horses as a family hobby and had great fun with it. 

Then, as if by fate, we wondered upon the horse that changed our lives, Wave.  He immediately started competing in 50’s, and eventually he was completing 100-mile events.  Among Wave’s long list of accomplishments, he has a total of  1200 AERC miles. We were chosen for the USA East Pan American Squad in 2001, and currently in 2003.  Wave also earned our place on the USA Squad at the World Equestrian Games/World Endurance Championship in Jerez, Spain in 2002. From there, we were invited to travel to the United Arab Emirates and compete in two races, The President’s Cup and The World Endurance Cup.  Wave and I have grown together, as friends, companions, and competitors.

Dinah and Steve Rojek
Phoenix and Smokerise Finally

 
I hope people are looking forward to the Pan Ams as much as we are.

 

Steve Rojek: Endurance and competitive trail riding has been my focus since 1972. To date I have completed more than 28,000 miles of competition.
My business profession is retail stores and manufacturing. My wife Dinah and I have a very active horse farm in South Woodstock, Vermont, where we stage the Vermont 100-Mile Endurance Race and Run each July.
We are fortunate to be able to ship our horses and ourselves to South Georgia each winter. This allows us the privilege of competing year round.
When we are not riding, our passion is traveling to such wondrous as China, Bhutan, Guatemala and Ireland. I have competed in two World Championships and five Pan American Championships.
Finally is a third generation distance horse, bred and raised. His grandmother was a phenomenal snow white mare named Heritage Jambes. She won the oldest 100 in the country in 1973 and 1975. Finally’s sire, Atilanch, was no slouch either. He won the East Coast Challenge Trophy, one of two stallions (Maggy Price’s was the other) to ever do it. Atilanch descended from the horses of Maynesboro Stud, owned by the man who was involved in staging the U.S.’s first endurance race in 1913. Some of his older siblings are Cheryl Newman’s Strut, Doug Lietkze’s Atizer, Carol Thompson's Symbol, Dinah's Phoenix and, of course, the mighty Hawk, who was a member of the Gold medal World Team. I rode Finally at the last PAC, placing 5th and at the World Championship in Spain too. We were never able to breed Jambes, but did lease her daughter, Endura, sister of two time ROC winner, Annalea Moonbeam. She produced two foals for us, Finally and his younger brother Gibraltar, a.k.a. Rocky,. We are excited to have so many world class horses on the farm.
The brothers Phoenix and Finally will room together at Trout Lake.

My name is Dinah Rojek, and I live in Vermont with my friend and husband Steve, whom most of you know.

My first baby memory is of a velvety pincushion nose coming down from the sky to tickle me. My life has been changed by equines.I was passionate about horses as a four-year-old, bareback on my reservation-bred pony. I am just as passionate today. When I was 22 I baled off a horse who was heading for a cliff. I landed on my feet, and to make a long story short, I destroyed my hip joint. I walk with a limp and can’t run. It seemed like a really smart move to learn to ride, so I spent three years intensively studying Dressage with Olympic medallist Dr H.L.M. Van Schaik. He encouraged me, and taught me how to train. I still take as many lessons as is possible. I competed in my first distance ride in ‘74. I met Steve on horseback, and was swept off my feet. It has been a great pleasure to share our fascination about every aspect of horses over the last 25 years. I will never get over this addiction; I am truly joyful I can ride. But enough about me.

Phoenix has lots of opinions and lots to say. H started driving in a pair as a two-year-old with his full sister. He was angelic till he hit five. It was a mighty tough adolescence. At eight years old, Phoenix was still a highly emotional, highly motivated fellow. The Good News is he has rational moments now that he is ten. Phoenix has decided that school isn't so bad and can do a darned good half pass. He still gets away with a lot because he is sooo good looking.

If I may anthropomorphize for a moment, if his brother Hawk is a European nobleman, then Phoenix is the guy who wears jeans, rolls his cigarettes up in his teeshirt sleeve and looks like Jimmy Dean. His crews have called him many things, but what stuck was Skrewt (a la Harry Potter’s Blast-Ended Skrewt -- “They have a shell that protects them from harm. They shoot fire out of their tails, Advise: Don’t stand behind one, oh, and both ends look the same.”). I like to think of him as the magical bird that arises fresh and new from the ashes.

His favorite things: being doted on, admired, stroked and loved, then maybe carrots and out-walking other horses.

His favorite gait: canter, canter, canter.

 

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Meg Sleeper and Shyrocco Troilus
and Syrocco Blair

                           
(Click on pictures to enlarge)
                Dave and Shyrocco Troilus      Meg and Syrocco Blair              Syrocco Blair                      

RIDER: Meg Sleeper

AERC#: 6059
Sex: Female
Age: 35
Height: 5.5 (and a little)
Weight division: Lightweight
At what age did you start riding? When I was 11 years old.
When did you start endurance riding? My first CTR was in 1980 as a junior, and my first endurance ride was in 1987 (the Liberty Bell in PA).
Miles: about 8000 including CTR
@ 4000 endurance
Profession: veterinarian
Family: Husband- Dave Augustine
Hometown: Frenchtown, NJ

HORSE:  Shyrocco Troilus

Age: 12 yr
Breed: ½ Arab/1/2 appendix QH (mostly TB)
Height: I never put a stick to him but probably 15.1 or 2h
Color: black bay (sounds nicer than brown)
Sex: gelding
Miles: about 3000 miles (CTR and Endurance)
over 1500 miles (endurance)
7 one day 100’s

Where did you get him?: I bred him (and his ½ brother, Shyrocco Jazz-also nominated horse). And, just like Jazz, Troy grew up in flat NJ. However, I find that we all must condition for the terrain we will compete in, and they learn how to handle mountains with proper conditioning just like mountain horses must learn to handle sand if you will be competing in it. No matter what your terrain, I believe it takes at least 3 years of long slow distance to properly condition a horse for endurance. I really believe the 3 day 100s are wonderful for conditioning our horses physically as well as mentally, not to mention it is a nice way to condition them to variable terrain.

Quirks, endearing traits, strengths: Troy was trained to drive before I trained him to ride (unfortunately, because of time-or lack of it- we haven’t driven him in several years). I am a novice (very) driver, and 1 day on trail my meadowbrook flipped when a wheel went up a tree trunk. Troy handled it phenomenally, but he grew in a stripe of silver mane following the accident, which he still has. Dave, my husband, learned to ride on Troy in the winter of 1998/99. He had no previous horse experience, and Troy seemed to know to take care of him- at least in the beginning. They make a great team, and Dave still is Troy’s main rider. Troy was on the gold medal USAE team in the 2001 PAC, and successfully completed the 2002 world cup in Dubai.

How would you describe him if I were going to race him? Troy is very no nonsense. He is competitive and likes to be in front, but he also has a strong sense of self- preservation.

 HORSE:  Syrocco Blair

Age: 10 yr
Breed: arab
Height: a little over 14.3h
Color: grey
Sex: mare
Miles: about 2500 miles (CTR and Endurance)
over 1500 miles (endurance)
7 one day 100’s

Where did you get her?: I bred her. Blair was born the day before the 1993 Old Dominion (and I actually found her in the paddock with her mother when I arrived at the barn to pack up for the ride). She is the niece of the first horse I competed in endurance, a buckskin named Chaucer. In fact, we purchased Chaucer at a fund raising auction for Blair Prep School (hence her name).  All of the horses I have bred since his death in 1991 are named after him in some way. {Troilus is from the Chaucerian poem “Troilus and Criseyde”, and yes, there is a Criseyde, too}. Blair is actually related to Troy, as well. Her sire, Shah Zoheir, is a son of Troy’s sire, Shah of Giseh.

Quirks, endearing traits, strengths: Blair is foremost a pet. She would be happiest living inside the house rather than the barn. She is always looking for chin scratches, and that is one of her favorite parts about camping at ride sites…there are lots of people around to ask for chin scratches.  She is very submissive with the other horses in the field, but she will NEVER let Troy win a race if Dave and I are out together on a conditioning ride.

How would you describe her if I were going to race her?: Blair is easy to ride and very comfortable. She is almost never mareish…even in a raging heat, you would never be able to tell during a ride.

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