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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Beth Bonham [SMTP:bonhamb@OSSHE.EDU]
> Sent: Monday, September 15, 1997 1:50 PM
> To: ARABHORSE-L@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM
> Subject: [AH-L] Back from Pan Am!!
>
> Hi gang --
>
> I was fortunate to be able to work at the Pan Am Championship
> Endurance
> Ride this weekend in Bend, Oregon. It was incredible!! Since I'd
> never
> even _been_ to an endurance ride, I figured I'd start at the top :-}
>
> 64 horses were entered representing six nations (I originally posted
> 26
> nations, but that was the info given to me...sorry). There were five
> USA
> teams: Pacific North (yay!!), Pacific South (whose crew I bunked
> with),
> Mountain, Central and Eastern (time zones, I think). Canada had East
> and
> West, and the rest were Denmark, Australia, Brazil (who brought their
> own
> horses!!) and Germany.
>
> The ride was based out of Stevenson Ranch, a gorgeous facility with a
> cross country area, outdoor dressage/jumping arena and a huge indoor
> arena. It's all bordered by BLM land, except for a strip of private
> land
> which the owners were generous enough to give us access to. There was
> lots of camping space, plus they provided catering and shower
> services,
> and there was a trade show there all weekend. The weather was
> absolutely
> fantastic for the ride -- after scraping ice in the morning, it was a
> mixture of sun and clouds all day and the rain held off until Sunday
> morning. (And it's pouring at home today...)
>
> After previous pulls and the vet-in on Friday, 53 horses started.
> Riders
> went out at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday and covered 100 miles of mountainous
> and
> desert terrain surrounding the Newberry Crater, an extinct volcano.
> There
> were seven vet checks; I worked at #2 and #5 as a pulse timer. The
> final
> number of horses finishing was 31, with the last horse coming in at
> 1:10
> Sunday morning.
>
> It was amazing to watch the crews at work on their horses and riders.
> And
> even though you know it's in their best interest, it was always a
> heartbreak to see a horse pulled from competition, knowing how much
> work
> went into getting there. Most of the pulls were from lameness with
> only a
> few from metabolic problems. Unfortunately, at least one of those was
> in
> pretty bad shape. He was taken to the clinic in Bend for treatment; I
> didn't hear the outcome, but I know he was in good hands. The
> vet-to-horse ratio was nearly 1:1.
>
> Oh, you want to know who won? :-} OK. The individual gold medal
> went to Shirley Delsart from the Pac South team riding KJ Destination
> finished at 5:44:40 p.m. Individual silver went to Christine Janzen
> from
> Canada West on Tais at 5:44:55 (that's right, 15 seconds between first
> and
> second!). Individual bronze went to Len Fox, also of Canada West, on
> Glorys Khalil at 6:03:35. Ona Lawrence and RAA Crusader missed the
> bronze
> by 13 seconds. She is a member of our Arab club and won Best
> Condition
> with her other horse at Tevis this year.
>
> Speaking of Best Condition, 9 of the top 10 showed for BC, which is
> great.
> I was rooting for Len Fox's horse, since he was bred by a friend of
> mine,
> but BC went to the silver medal horse, Tais. She's an 8 year old
> _mare_
> (most were geldings). Her rider was so incredible after she finished
> the
> race. I was at the finish line until after 9:00 p.m., and Christine
> was
> still working with the team, trailing her kids around and just
> generally
> bouncing off the walls! She was amazing. They really deserved BC.
>
> Team Gold went to Canada West, Team Silver to USA East, and Team
> Bronze to
> USA Pacific South. The awards were beatiful, and there were the usual
> completion awards for those out of the top ten. At this ride, they
> also
> gave participation awards to those who didn't finish to honor their
> hard
> work. I thought that was really great.
>
> The major disappointment for us Northerners was when Darla Westlake
> and
> her horse MC Rams Z fell between vet checks 5 and 6. She and teammate
> Sharon Westergard were running 1-2. Sharon basically gave up the gold
> to
> stay with Darla until Darla was able to walk her horse into the next
> check. Sharon did come in 9th, though, but it's a great tribute to
> what
> these riders will do for one another and their horses. From what I've
> hear, Darla's horse had a stick or branch puncture a leg, but he was
> successfully treated. Darla and Sharon have been two of the major
> forces
> to reckon with here for 15 or 20 years; all of us shared their
> emotions.
>
> Valery Kanavy and Becky Hart weren't there; I'm told it's because
> they've
> already qualified for the World Cup which will be held in Qatar at the
> end
> of November. I don't know who else qualified this weekend, other than
> the
> winner. www.endurance.net should have the details.
>
> It was an incredible experience. What really struck some of us
> volunteers
> was that everyone really respected every one else. There weren't any
> power plays or temper tantrums. Us lowly folks felt perfectly
> comfortable
> approaching an international official with questions, and the crews
> and
> riders were very nice to work with. I may not be a convert to
> endurance
> riding, but I'll probably work on other rides. It was a blast!
>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> Beth. Bonham
> Night Sky Arabians "Where the legacy of *Fol Yasmeen lives on."
> Corvallis, Oregon
> E-mail Address: bonhamb@osshe.edu
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
>
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>
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