Endurance Riding

If you had told me a year ago that I would be riding a green broke stallion on his first 50 (which turned out to be a 55) while sponsoring not one, but two juniors (one who was riding a mare), I would have thought you were crazy… but that’s exactly what happened on Sunday […]

Robert Burns, in 1785, said, “The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry.” By the time I had made it to the Pacific Crest Endurance Ride near Ashland, Oregon on the evening of June 16th, I think I was on Plan Q. Everything had changed – from who was watching the baby […]

Redwoods. Coastal breezes. Cooler temperatures. Mist, fog, and the magic of shaded forests… Cuneo Creek was always a ride I wanted to enter, but after more than a decade of competing in the sport of endurance, it still hadn’t made it on my list (mostly because I never wanted to brave driving the long, curvy, […]

If there ever was a year to sit out the Tevis Cup, it would have been this year. I had a million reasons not to enter this year… it’s been over a year since I have actually slept any decent number of hours in a row, I am still carrying around an extra 10 pounds […]

One of my students, 15-year-old Jenna Asnault, finished her first 50-mile endurance ride back in November at the Gold Rush Shuffle. Last month, she wrote a beautiful testament of her ride and her experience trying out different equestrian disciplines. Her story is both inspiring and wonder-filled. Reading it brought tears to my eyes…   Passing […]

This endurance season didn’t quite start off the way I had planned… I hit a first. The first time I went to a ride and didn’t start. I had been working out and training hard. My head was finally back in the game. I had dreams of riding through the night with my son, and […]

I usually give myself a few days after any event — happy or sad — to formulate my words and process. Usually, when I sit down to write immediately, the words that come out are much more suited for my journal, because what comes out are choppy sentences, irrational phrases, and often I don’t even […]

The following is a guest blog post written by one of my students: July 11, 2015, the day of my first LD.  I was up before the alarm had even gone off and ready to go as soon as my feet hit the ground.  I could barely contain my excitement and I could feel myself shaking […]

The following is a guest blog post written by one of my students:   I had my first of many endurance rides on June 27, 2015. It was supposed to be at Lake Almanor, but ended up at Camp Far West where the Gold Rush Shuffle is held. This was actually the 3rd endurance ride […]

I have a story to tell. But, even as I write, I am terrified to tell it. I have shared bits and pieces of my past on this blog, but mostly from the perspective that I have “overcome” a painful past and been “healed.” What I haven’t shared is that my personal struggle isn’t over […]