For me, Leatherwood is the ultimate challenge. It's the Tevis of the
East coast as far as 50 miles goes. And, yes, I will do Old Dominion,
hopefully this year, for comparison, but I can't see it matching the challenge
of Leatherwood. There is a reason why Leatherwood does not have a 100
miler. I don't think anyone would finish it in the allotted time if
they ever put that distance on those trails.
The coolest thing about Leatherwood is you don't have to spend the ride
week-end in your "tent." You can rent a fantastic cabin there, and
once you do that, you'll find that this is how to do a ride. You can
actually rest up before the ride and recover after, knowing your horse is safe
and secure inside one of their beautiful barns. Make it a vacation,
with an endurance ride thrown in. I love that area so much I'm looking for
property up there. Yes, I am a Florida boy who dreams of those wonderful
mountains. Don't miss this one; it is the best.
In a message dated 01/26/2003
9:50:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, mmansuetti@xxxxxxxxx
writes:
Can anyone out there tell me about Leatherwood?
How "extreme" is it? Is it worse than Salt Lick KY? It sounds
like a really pretty place to go ride but I am wondering about the word
"extreme" in their title?
Thanks, Alicia in SC
Hi Alicia,
I help put the ride on.
Leatherwood is a beautiful ride but don't bring an out of shape horse.
Lots of long climbs, woodsy trails with some rock (but not much). We have
about 7 endurance riders that board and train here full time. We added
the extreme to the ride name because of the comments that experienced riders
made about the ride after the first year. It's a fun ride and we have a
lot of return riders that love it. Come on up and enjoy the views of
some beautiful mountains.
