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Major equestrian event, endurance riding national championships, set for La Pine, Oregon, in August
KTVZ.com - Full Article
By KTVZ news sources
Published May 14, 2024
La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) – Central Oregon is set to host the 2024 American Endurance Ride Conference’s (AERC) National Championships. This amazing equestrian event will feature 50-, 75- and 100-mile rides scheduled from August 15-17 at Outback Station, just outside of La Pine.
Endurance riding enthusiasts from across the United States will gather in Central Oregon for what promises to be one of the most exciting events of the summer. The National Championship rotates annually to different locations, allowing riders to experience diverse trails and landscapes while showcasing the best of the endurance riding experience. This is the first time this event has been held in Oregon.
“We are proud to bring this ride to Central Oregon, offering riders the opportunity to explore our region’s breathtaking trails and world-class amenities,” said Darlene Merlich, Ride Manager. “With our dedicated team of top-notch volunteers and veterinarians, we aim to deliver a truly unforgettable experience.”
The event will attract some of the nation’s top endurance riders, along with enthusiasts from the Pacific Northwest eager to test their skills in completing a prestigious National Championship ride. Endurance riders are known for their commitment to equine welfare, ensuring their horses are in optimal condition for the challenges ahead...
Read more here:
https://ktvz.com/sports/2024/05/14/major-equestrian-event-endurance-riding-national-championships-set-for-la-pine-in-august/
2024 May's Horses in the Morning Endurance Podcast
HorsesInTheMorning podcast - listen
NE Endurance Team Challenge at Fair Hill, Rider Fitness, Green Beans
May 14, 2024
We chat about the ups and downs of getting young or inexperienced horses out and about, the AERC Green Bean program, tips on rider fitness, and the NE Endurance Team Challenge at Fair Hill.
Listen:
https://horsesinthemorning.com/ne-endurance-team-challenge-at-fair-hill-rider-fitness-green-beans-for-may-14-2024/
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/
Still Prineville photos by Jala Neufeld
2024 Still Prineville Endurance ride photos in Oregon by Jala Neufeld,
DKTAJAY Photography:
https://dktajay.smugmug.com/event/Still-Prineville
St. George horseman completes one of the world’s toughest endurance races
StGeorgeUtah.com - Full Story
Written by E. George Goold
May 10, 2024
ST. GEORGE — The Gaucho Derby is a 500-kilometer horse race through some of the most rugged mountain terrain in the world, and it was conquered by a St. George local.
Scott Nielsen, a project manager at Black Desert Resort, competed in the 2023 event in nine days to finish the endurance race, a test of skill and spirit for both man and beast.
“Participating in the Gaucho Derby has been an incredible journey of self-discovery and perseverance. It was about pushing my limits and embracing the spirit of adventure that defines such extreme challenges,” Nielsen said in a press release.
The derby is run in southern Argentina, near the Andes Mountains. Riders tackle unmarked paths and daunting scenery...
Read more here:
https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2024/05/10/ggg-spo-st-george-horseman-completes-one-of-the-worlds-toughest-endurance-races/
Treasure of the Sierra Madre: River’s 5th 50-mile completion (Road to Tevis 112)
JessicaEBlack.org - Full Story
by Jessica Black
April 27, 2024
This last weekend River and I completed the first day of the new Treasure of the Sierra Madre endurance ride. It was a beautiful ride with some fun technical trails. We rode with Heidi Helly and her horse OP for the second time, which was, again, a learning experience for both River and me!
River’s state leading up to the Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Just two weeks earlier, River had completed back-to-back 50s at the 2024 Cuyama Oaks xpride, held not 20 miles west of the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Two weeks before that, she had completed 50 miles in the desert at the Western Mojave xpride. She came out of Western Mojave with a stone bruise in the toe of her left front hoof. During the final loop of the second day at Cuyama Oaks, River became intermittently lame. She would start favoring the left fore, and I would hop off, clean out all the debris, and she’d be fine, right up until her hoof got full of sand and rocks. I’d have to get off and clean her hoof out again. I ended up walking much of the final loop.
I thought that it was the same stone bruise, not fully healed. When my farrier came out, he found a different issue. The stone bruise was 100% healed, but she had a corn in the left (outside) buttress of the same foot. A corn in horses is a bruise or hematoma between the hard and soft tissues of the bar, nothing like corns in human feet! River’s was “dry” (not suppurating) and not readily apparent. My farrier found it with hoof testers, but I couldn’t see anything...
Read more here:
https://jessicaeblack.org/treasure-of-the-sierra-madre/
Biltmore Challenge photos by Becky Pearman
2024 Biltmore Endurance ride photos in North Carolina by Becky
Pearman:
https://beckypearman.smugmug.com/Other/Endurance-2024/Biltmore-Challenge-spring
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.
Royal Bahrain Endurance Team to participate in Royal Windsor Endurance
BNA.bh - Full Article
02 May 2024
London, May. 2 (BNA): The Royal Endurance Team, represented by Victorious, Al Zaeem, and Al Ru'ood teams, is participating in the Royal Windsor Endurance horse show in the United Kingdom. The event, featuring riders from around the world, will commence tomorrow at Windsor Castle.
Dr. Khalid Ahmed Hassan, Royal Endurance Team Director, emphasised the team's goals of achieving outstanding results, especially with experienced elements participating in European races. He stated, "We have included young riders to gain experience in European races. We are optimistic that the team will consistently achieve accomplishments abroad..."
Read more here:
https://www.bna.bh/en/RoyalEnduranceTeamtoparticipateinRoyalWindsorEndurance.aspx?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDuVyaJ3Wwy2VODKCwA1DbQI%3D
Syrian Jazira maintains status as homeland for purebred Arabian horses
Enabbaladi.net - Full Article
18/04/24
Deir Ezzor – Obadah al-Sheikh
In northeastern Syria, particularly in Deir Ezzor, breeders of horses are keen to select pure Arabian horse strains, allowing only purebred stallions to mate with purebred mares under “strict” conditions, in a profession they inherited from their ancestors.
Despite the deteriorating economic and living conditions in the area, the interest in horses and their breeds remains a priority and tradition for the people of the region, especially since Syria is considered the traditional homeland for the Arabian horse.
Breeding horses is a historical legacy in the area, and breeders and local entities organize races and festivals to showcase their pure breeds, amid repeated demands for support or securing affordable fodder...
Read more here:
https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2024/04/syrian-jazira-maintains-status-as-homeland-for-purebred-arabian-horses/
The Power of Simplicity
BlakeleyStables.com - Full Article
Blakeley Stables
March 1 2024
"Less is more"... that could be applied to a thousand different things. Whether it's salting your potatoes, or training your horse, finding the right amount can be difficult. So where can you find the sweet spot between too much and not enough?
Here are a few scenarios that can be difficult to find the perfect balance: training and conditioning, tack and feeding/nutrition just to name a few. So let's break these down a little.
Tack/ Equipment:
Endurance is a beautiful sport in that you can make it work with any kind of tack. You don't need fancy equipment or expensive gear. Whatever you have in the barn, that works for you and your horse is great! You don't have to go buy the top of the line endurance tack to be sucessful. Most our our tack came from garage sales and pre-loved...
Read more here:
https://www.blakeleystables.com/post/the-power-of-simplicity
Horses Spread Across North America Earlier Than Previously Thought
FEI.org - Full Article
26 April 2024
Patricia Salem
New research suggests a much deeper relationship between Native Americans and equines... Until recently, historians believed that horses in North America spread across the continent starting in the late 17th century, continuing for the next 100 years or so.
Horses Originated in North America
Scientists know that horses came from North America millions of years ago. Equus simplicidens — also known as the Hagerman horse, Hagerman zebra and American zebra — was the earliest Equus genus, found across what is today the United States. Similar to the modern-day horse in appearance, it eventually spread around the world.
Whilst Equus simplicidens evolved further to become the horse breeds we know now, it actually died out in North America. It became extinct along with most of the continent’s large mammals approximately 10,000 years ago, but the cause still remains a mystery...
Read the rest here:
https://www.fei.org/stories/lifestyle/horse-human/horses-spread-across-north-america-earlier-previously-thought
Grizzly Mountain photos by Jala Neufeld
2024 Grizzly Mountain Endurance ride photos in Oregon by Jala Neufeld,
DKTAJAY Photography:
https://dktajay.smugmug.com/event/Grizzly-2024
2024 American River Classic - Nick Warhol
April 26 2024By Nick Warhol
The American river ride was the first ride that Sorsha and I have done in over seven months. Family obligations have kept us from doing any riding, but we have that pretty much sorted out now. I drove up on Friday morning with Ines and her spunky gelding Rayos. Camp was PACKED with rigs; the parking team did a good job getting people situated. We got so lucky since we were the third from last rig to fit in the main area. We got a great spot very close to everything. The weather was perfect, finally, although I was a little worried about some of the muddy bogs that might be present in the cool area due to the recent rains we've had. At the ride meeting the trail lady talked about something called the long water, be sure to take the long water; don’t go to the left. What was that? Well, I guess we'll find out.
The ride this year was different than past American river rides in that it started and ended in cool, doing loops in and out of camp, as opposed to the point-to-point ride that's always been in play at this ride over the years. The last time I did this ride about 8 years ago, I found the single track from Folsom Lake to the Auburn area was just too torn up, technical, and downright nasty to do again. I was glad to see a change. The ride was 3 loops for the 50: the 15 mile red, the 10 mile white, then the 25 mile blue. The red and the white loops started and ended in cool. The blue loop was pretty neat since it went from Cool to Auburn, backwards on the tevis trail, to the vet check at the overlook and then back to Cool the same way we came.
We left camp at 6:15am with a controlled walk over to the start, then took off with the pack at 6:30 with over 60 horses in the 50. The ride started right out on single track , which is fun, but makes it hard to pass people, especially early on. For some reason we just couldn't get away from the conga line of horses during the first few miles. It's just so much easier to ride by yourself. We hung back after a while and let the groups go but kept getting caught up in other groups; It was kind of strange to keep getting stuck with many riders. The trail is a mixture of really nice single track and jeep roads with good footing in most areas. There were boggy sections, as well as some rocky stuff, but overall the footing was quite good. We ended up on a long downhill road to the American river, which was pretty full, (the rapids were loud!) and skirted along the shore to the East for a bit. We then climbed all the way back up to the top of the canyon where Cool is located. After 10 miles we finally were able to ride by ourselves the last five miles into the vet check back in camp. We still didn't know what the long water was. Sorsha recovered instantly with her classic 40/40 CRI and ate happily at the trailer for 30 minutes…
Read the rest here:
http://stories.endurance.net/2024/04/2024-american-river-classic-nick-warhol.html
American River Classic photos by Bill Gore
2024 American River Classic Endurance ride photos in California by
William Gore Photography:
https://williamgorephotography.smugmug.com/Endurance-Rides-2024/American-River-Classic-2024
Nevada Derby photos by Bill Gore
2024 Nevada Derby Endurance ride photos in Nevada by William Gore
Photography:
https://williamgorephotography.smugmug.com/Endurance-Rides-2024/NV-Derby-2024
2024 Eagle Canyon: Help, My Horse is on Crack!
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April 26 2024
For all you Hillbillie Willie fans who’ve been following his Endurance career, you all know that all I really want out of an Endurance ride is a calm start and a sound horse at the finish. At Eagle Canyon, I got neither!
I always underestimate Willie’s fitness in the first ride of the seasons, but I still opted for caution in doing the 25 on Day 2 (I shot Day 1’s ride; Steve Bradley shot Day 2 so I could ride!), particularly because Willie is not a hill-climbing horse, and this ride is *full* of hills. It’s a tough ride for your horse’s first one of the season.
I had no indication Willie would suddenly become demonically possessed at the start of this ride. We’ve been working on calm starts the last 7 years, and last season was pretty much perfect, going out calm every ride on a loose rein, either in a group or riding solo.
I took him on a long uphill walk on Friday, and he was perfect. After shooting on Saturday, I rode him on a solo warm-up trail ride (I tried this at Autumn Sun two years ago, and he was a total freak riding by himself leaving his buddies in camp; I felt like I was on a half-broke 2-year-old); he was perfect.
Ten minutes before the start on Sunday, he was walking around mostly calmly, grazing, watching horses, a little squirmy, but nothing unusual. I expected everything to go smoothly, because he gave me no indication that a dragon was about to erupt.
As Regina hollered, “Trail’s open!” I tried to find a little bubble. I didn’t want to be right in front of a bigger group, but I didn’t want to be near the faster starters. I found a small bubble but as soon as we hit the road, a crazy demon took over my horse. All his brain cells went out the proverbial window and he morphed into Secretariat (he is an ex-racehorse after all). Oh my lord. Worst start I’ve ever had on him...
Read the rest here:
https://theequestrianvagabond.blogspot.com/2024/04/2024-eagle-canyon-help-my-horse-is-on.html