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Australia: Tribute for Ron Males 1931-2024
AHSA.asn.au
Ronald Philip OAM
“Ron”
Aged 92 years
18/10/1931 – 3/6/2024
Passed away peacefully at home.
Nothing could probably better sum up the legacy left by Ron Males than this quote.
Ron, together with wife Val, founded Ralvon Stud in 1954. A stud whose hoofprints have left an indelible print in the Arabian community worldwide.
It’s hard to know where to begin, and as I write this, on a personal level, the stories, memories and tears come flooding through my mind and down my cheeks – as I’m sure they do for many.
Ron forged so many new pathways for Arabian lovers, breeders and owners – Ralvon mares and stallions became the cornerstone of many breeding programmes, both in Australia and worldwide.
In 1966, Ron, together with wife Val, were instrumental in planning and organising the first Tom Quilty 100 mile Endurance ride, and then, he was also instrumental in the foundation of the Australian Endurance Riders Association in 1967.
Ron, during his endurance career, claimed 21 Qulity buckles – he was the first to gain his 1000 mile buckle (10 completions) without a single vet out – a record in itself.
In 1969, a chestnut colt was born on Ron’s birthday – this colt. Ralvon Pilgrim, (Rikham x Trix Silver), in 1977 went on to become the first International Arabian Champion Stallion when taken to the UK to be shown. Prior to his World Championship win, he had amassed an outstanding show record in Australia. His progeny today span the globe.
A roll call of Ralvon winners, both here and overseas springs to mind – Ralvon Elijah, Ralvon Nazarene, Ralvon Job, Ralvon Siver Jubilee, Ralvon Royal Jubilee – and the list goes on.
Always prepared to take a risk, Ron (and Val) were instrumental in importing new bloodlines to Australia with the US Egyptian stallion, The Puritan and the Polish stallion, Milex.
Ron, again, forged a new pathway for Australian Arabians with his relationship with Sheik Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the UAE with the export of the first endurance horses, among them the stallion, Palexis (Milex x Promissa). Others have since followed with Australian endurance horses now being recognised as some of the best in the world.
Aside from his vast contributions to the Australian and worldwide Arabian industry was a man who will also be remembered for many other attributes.
Ron was a friend to many, a mentor to more. Always prepared to listen and never judgemental. His family meant the world to him. His friendship circle was diverse and widespread. He had a dry and wicked sense of humour, and at times could also be a ‘bit of a larrikin’ as those of us privileged to travel to interstate Quilties with him can attest.
He was also a wonderful storyteller.
He was a consummate horseman – the like of which is rarely seen, and a breeder, together with wife Val, of excellence.
He will be very sadly missed, and I’m sure all in the Arabian community send heartfelt condolences to Val, and his children, Kerry, Phillip and Peter, together with their partners, and Ron’s extended family of grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.
I am proud to have been able to call him a friend of over 40 years standing, and I know that there are so many in our Arabian community who share that honour as well – his passing marks the loss of an Arabian icon.
RIP Ron.
Helen Rutland
Chair
AHSA
https://www.ahsa.asn.au/
Christina Chesterman Memorial ride 2024 - Nick Warhol
May 22 2024
Nick Warhol
One of my favorite things in this sport is going to new rides for the first time. I'm a little surprised I haven't made it to this one before, but I went up with Sorsha, and Ines with Rayos this past Saturday. The ride is a 3.5 hour drive for me, located just north of the town of Paradise CA, the poor town that was burned to the ground by the big fire a few years ago.
I'd never been to Paradise, and seeing it was kind of scary. Most of the buildings that are there are new; the ones that have been rebuilt, but a lot of the town is still just gone. It's very spooky. The ride is put on by JayaMae Gregory, who did an absolutely splendid job. Everything about it was well organized and well run; I didn't see any real issues at all.
The whole event had a great vibe to it since it is a memorial for a young local woman who was killed by a drunk driver. Her parents come to the ride, the whole town supports it; it made for a really neat atmosphere. I hadn't heard that story before. The ride camp was great, located at this big ranch up in the mountains.
There were campground spots, and a big Meadow with lush green grass. Lots of bugs in the meadow though; luckily we were up in the campground away from all that. The ride itself was entirely out from camp; there were two vet checks on the 50 out at a single location about 15 minutes up the highway.
You know how every time you do a ride, it always seems like something can happen for the first time? Well, it did for me. In 33 years of endurance, this was the first time that I ever slept late. I set my alarm on my phone and for some reason it didn't go off. I was awakened to Ines and Laura Fend talking outside and wondering where I was. The ride started at 6:30, I got out of bed at 6:08. In 22 minutes I got dressed, ate, tacked up, and made it to the start exactly on time. That included my shoelace snapping off as I tied it. That’s why there is a spare pair of riding shoes in the trailer! Nothing like a little bit of stress in the early morning!
The ride started out on forest roads in the chilly morning air. After winding through a combination of forest roads and some nice trails, we ended up on this amazing raised road/trail that went alongside the right side of an irrigation canal of sorts. But it was a wide canal of 15 feet or so with deep, rushing water, with about an eight foot drop to the water itself. It was really neat to ride along this thing for about a mile, with an occasional slowdown or stop because you did not want your horse to go left into this thing. That would ruin your day real quick!
The ride in the past has had an extraordinary amount of forest roads in it, but management took the advice of riders and threw in much more single track. They put some very nice trails in here. There was one section especially that I just had an absolute hoot in. It was an old, soft, Jeep road sort of thing that wound through the forest that had been trimmed for horses. We blasted through that section, even cantering some of it; it was like chase in the Old West where the horses are running through the forest. Sorsha and I led, and poor Rayos had to really work to keep up! It was fun! That ended all too soon. We continued along on a combination of Jeep and logging roads, with occasional segments of single track through the trees. It was a fun loop with perfect weather.
We arrived at the first check at 20 miles where our crew Laura and Judy were there waiting for us. Laura spent the weekend hanging out with Judy which was great, and a huge help for me. We had our hour hold, and then continued on to the 2nd loop of 15 miles, where we climbed up into the high country. The terrain up here reminds me a lot of the Wild West ride; same kind of elevation, trees, and trails. This loop started off on forest roads, but culminated in a steep technical climb that was really steep, but only for a little while. Sorsha hammered up it as she usually does, thinking she should just run up it, which she usually does. It was one of those hills that has the breast collar really doing its job. Once at the top, about a mile of forest roads took us to the end of the loop where we picked up the playing card and rode back down the mountain. The way back down was less interesting, being just on fire roads, but they were fire roads in the pretty forest with the footing mostly good.
Back into that same location for our second vet check where we spent half an hour this time. The weather was really interesting; it was just lovely when you were riding in the shade, but when you get into the exposed sun it got a little warm.
But overall it was quite nice. I didn't think a lot of the first half of the 3rd loop going home, since it included a few miles of open exposed boring flat gravel roads. We actually saw the guy who had done some trail sabotage riding a quad with a woman on the back. He had gotten on to the course, kicked out a chalk arrow line, and was taking down ribbons coming towards us. We didn't know that at the time. We didn't have any issue whatsoever since we found the chalk line that he had kicked out at the only intersection in question.
We then continued on until we picked up the next ribbon in a hundred yards and all was well. By the way- the trail was marked exceptionally well. I think there was one time in any of the many turns I had to look to see where the ribbon was, and there it was. Great job ride management! I take trail marking personally, and these guys did it well. Once we got off the ugly forest roads, we reconnected with our outbound loop for about 5 miles and had a lot more of that fun stuff in the deep forest that we had done in the morning in the opposite direction.
It was also nice getting back into the forest where it was cooler. The ride has an interesting finish in that you get to the base camp area and do an entire mile loop around it. The poor horses are very confused! There's a giant, deep, clear water crossing right before the finish line where you round the meadow and come back to the finish, where both horses really tanked up.
We finished at about 3:30 PM in the middle of the pack after having a great ride. The ride meal was also very good. We camped Saturday night and headed home in the morning which was nice. Sorsha just cruised through it as usual, fresh as a daisy at the end. I really enjoyed it, and I will certainly be back! Next stop- two days at the Wild West ride!
2024 Biltmore Challenge 25 LD: A lesson in enduring - Lea Koechle
WannabeMuleSkinner.com - Full Story
May 12 2024
by Lea Koechle
A lesson in enduring...
Every rider has a story where they first encounter what it means to be a true endurance rider. As a Limited Distance rider, I’m sure I’ll have bigger stories than this one when I move up in distance. But, at this point in my story, this ride had me the most fire spitting mad and the closest I’ve been to wanting to quit and instead having to dig down and cling to the word “Endure.”
Biltmore is an absolutely gorgeous estate nestled in the mountains of North Carolina. I’m not going to go into the history of the property as I don’t know it and on this particular occasion I was not there to learn it. I do plan on going back, sans horse agenda, to truly appreciate the history and architecture of the estate. For this trip however, I wanted to ride the grounds and appreciate the beauty.
For two years I had been hounding my trailer buddy and ride mate to go to Biltmore. Since she will be taking a sabbatical from riding to focus on personal health and it’s my birthday, we finally decided to do it as a last “hurrah” since we won’t know when, if ever, we’ll be racing together again...
Read more here:
https://wannabemuleskinner.com/biltmore-challenge-25-ld/
Trail's Open! for the 2024 Virtual Tevis Cup
Teviscup.org
The ride was first organized by Wendell Robie, an Auburn businessman and devoted rider of the Sierra high country. The Western States Trail Ride has had many names, but most people know it simply as “Tevis". The ride has evolved a great deal in 69 years; some of the trail has changed, the entry has changed, and even the criteria for completion has changed. One thing has not changed. One horse, One rider, 100 miles in One day (24 hours).
The Tevis Cup Ride itself operates at or near a financial loss. So, the Western States Trail Foundation needs to raise funds in order to continue our trail preservation and put on the ride. In 2020, the Virtual Tevis was created due to the cancellation of the actual ride because of the global pandemic. The Virtual Tevis has become a premier fundraiser for the Western States Trail Foundation.
Because of your support, we are able to not only put on this iconic endurance event, but continue with our efforts of trail preservation and improvements.
Once again, there will be both Riding and Non-Riding Divisions so everyone can enjoy the fun.
You can complete the 100-miles in as many smaller excursions as you choose to finish the goal. As you log your completed miles, you will receive updates of where you would be on the historic Western States Trail.
Follow this link for more details and frequently asked questions.