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[RC] One rider's perspective on NC 100 miler finish and BC - Mary HowellI live outside Richmond and had to work last Friday, so I began following
the 100 milers¹ saga online. After work, I drove up through the south
entrance of Fort Valley, arriving at the finish line just in time to
socialize with lots of old friends gathered there.
About 15 minutes later, to loud cheering, John Crandell and Heraldic crossed
the line looking fantastic as they finished in an amazingly fast time. A
number of us remained to watch Stagg Newman and Jayel Super cross about 20
minutes later. Stagg and his horse have significantly more years and miles
than John and Heraldic, but Super¹s outstanding performance in a number of
high-profile 100s is to me just as impressive as John and Heraldic winning
and BCing three tough 100s in the same year.
Third to finish, cantering easily across the line 40 minutes later, was
third place finisher Jeremy Olson from Iowa. I had a chance to talk with
Jeremy at the BC judging and learned that although his horse was young, he
had been competing in endurance since childhood. But he had never ridden
those rocky OD trails and his horse had limited experience, making their
success even more amazing.
A slight miscommunication meant Jeremy¹s crew wasn¹t there to meet him until
after he finished. We realized his hot horse would need some type of blanket
to keep him from stiffening up on the long walk to the completion arena, and
fortunately I had a sleeping bag in my car --- I¹ll never wash it now that
it has that great horse¹s sweat on it!
Tom Hutchinson on Prymtym came in valiantly about an hour later; the miles
had taken their toll on Tom and he was a bit woozy but his horse looked
good. We found out later that he and also Nina Barnett¹s horses had been
pulled at the finish bummer!
Four horses stood for BC the next morning. Warming up before the actual
presentation, John wasn¹t sure how Heraldic would fare I saw a bit of a
head bob but John did a fantastic job of presenting his horse and he
looked good to all of us watching. Cheryl presented Super since Stagg was
running the AERC BOD meeting in Luray. Then Jeremy presented Smokey wow,
that horse looked great - very energetic and with a lot of action. Most
amazing of all was Connie Walker¹s stallion VSF Otis he looked and
trotted so fresh it was as if he was just vetting in for the 50 miler the
next day! Knowing the terrain the 100 milers had endured made these BC
presentations all the more impressive.
During the awards, John Crandell made a characteristic modest yet eloquent
speech about how Heraldic¹s achievement was a more a testament to the
challenge of the three 100 mile trails having the ability to separate out
the very best from among the best. Jeremy Olson got high vet score his
horsemanship and good sportsmanship won¹t be soon forgotten by those on the
East Coast who got a chance to meet him.
- Mary Howell
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