Biltmore Challenge

Name: Patti Stedman
Weight Division: MW
Home: East Otto, NY (about an hour south of Buffalo, where there is still a foot of snow in mid-April as I write this)

Background info: Embarrassed myself telling tales of urinating at the VT 100 a couple of seasons back in Endurance News. With my husband, Richard, I manage the Allegany Shut Up and Ride (NE). A total "finish is to win" sort of girl. I got into the sport by crewing for my husband and doing some ECTRA CTR, then was bitten by the bug. I am a worrier by nature and love the 100s because they give me almost a full 24 hours of ride time to worry myself into a puddle.

How many 100's have you done? Started 4, completed 3
Total Mileage: (Had to go look) ~1400
Your background with horses. Been riding since 6. Became a riding instructor/trainer after college but was broke and had no health insurance so they're now my passion rather than my livelihood. Former dressage queen and still torture all of my boys with lots of dressage.

Profession: Own a safety consulting business, and specialize in creative and FUN safety (OSHA compliance) training, and I consider this to be marketing, so contact me if you can give me some work.

Horse's name: Breezewood Nevarre (aka "Ned")
Owner: Me (bought him as a 4 y.o. with the famed "30 days" on him as a dressage prospect that could also use to go out on conditioning rides with my husband and his horse)
Age: 13
Breed: American Warmblood (Trakehner x Arabian)
Bloodlines: Out of an Egyptian halter-bred mare (eek!) and by a local Trakehner stallion named Kedar
Sex: Gelding
Height: 16+ hands
Weight: ~1120#

Type shoes: St. Croixs with clips, EquiPak pour in pads all around, Ned is a little unusual as he grows foot fairly slowly and very evenly, so he'll actually be at about 3 weeks by the ride date
Shoe or easyboot size: 2

Miles: ~ 1400 AERC plus ~200 ECTRA CTR miles Years competing: 7 in endurance; 8 if you include CTR
Type of saddle: Arabian Saddle Company Solstice and a BMSS
Type Pad: Mattes sheepskin for the Solstice; Skito for the BMSS
Bridle/bit/hackamore? Little S Hackamore, Running Bear halter bridle in fire engine red overlay (a psychic in New Orleans told me RED was my power color)
Crupper or breastcollar? Zilco breastcollar
Type girth: Mohair string
Will you be riding with a heart monitor? No, I can only handle one high tech gadget at a time and that will be my GPS. I've learned to read Ned pretty well over the years without a HRM.

Background info: What is this horse like? Ned looks like an Arabian crossed with a giraffe and it has taken a long time for him to come into his own mentally. He's become a very business-like horse with (now) rare moments of exuberant silliness. When he was six, he jumped OFF a trail and down a steep bank on a conditioning ride and I can recall seeking advice on Ridecamp, with many of the responses similar to this -- "Find another horse. This is not an endurance prospect. He clearly has no sense of self-preservation." Now people talk about how lucky I am to have such a quiet and steady horse and they cannot figure out why I giggle at that. He has nice big gaits, which is great when he can move out, but more challenging to collect and compress on more technical trail. He does not have a jog. Great uphill horse, but given the giraffe build, downhills are not his thing. I'm far more inclined to dismount and lead him DOWN than to need to tail him UP. Has a tendency toward scratches, so will be watching his pasterns like a hawk and Desitining him like mad -- his only 100 non-completion was from his first case of scratches. Very good eater, takes great care of himself, not a speed demon but his big gaits seem to eat up the miles even when he doesn't appear to be pushing. He is content alone and would rather be alone than be with a horse who is a mismatch. Ned is thermostatically challenged so if it is hot and humid, we'll be slowing down to keep his core temp down, and working hard with ice water at the holds. He spends 90% of his time in a vet check with his penis dangling, so that's how we can be picked out of a crowd. :-)(Yesyesyes, even while vetting IN and we've had him checked six ways to Sunday on this -- it is just one of the charming things that makes Ned, well, Ned). He is missing part of his left ear where one of his barnmates, higher on the pecking order, protested vehemently Ned's attempt to sneak some of his dinner. He's strong and typically cheerful, and gets stronger and stronger as the ride goes on, and at every hundred, his ears have still been up and his eyes bright as we head out at 80 and 90 miles, which is such a gratifying and comforting thing. He is the most extraordinary and complex horse I have ever come to know.

Goal for the ride. This will be our first 100 of the season, and the weather has not been cooperating with conditioning here in WNY, so we'll just ride our ride. My goal this season is to complete 100s a little faster than we have in the past, if all is going well.
Possible time frame? Have you completed this course before? Never been to Biltmore. Would like to be done well before dawn. Would like to not have to wake up a vet for final vetting. Would reallyreallyreally like to ride those last couple of dark loops with just my Ned, as I find that time to be absolutely magical and Ned is grand company. Those last miles make it all worthwhile. I'm in it for the magic.

If you want, explain your electrolyting proceedure...brand, frequency. Perform N Wins in his slushies. LyteNow on trail about every hour or so.

What do you feed? Beet pulp, 12% sweet feed, hay stretcher, wonderful orchard grass mix hay, dengie sometimes. We avoid alfalfa because that seems to bring on/aggravate the scratches.
What will you be feeding at the vet check? Above.

Labels: biography rider