multi-day ride | Endurance Riding | Endurance Riding
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 […]
There is something about crossing the finish line just as the sun is setting. Being blinded by the vibrant orange and red filling the sky, and then squinting as your eyes adjust to the dusk. Galloping across the field, just a 1/2 mile from your destination, the chill of night caressing your cheeks…. Just as […]
Cuyama By Jakob Gregory My family and I went to Cuyama for an endurance ride with our horses. My mom and I rode thirty miles on the first day. We got to ride with the cows! It was very fun. The second day, I took a break and my mom rode fifty miles with her […]
Cuyama couldn’t come soon enough. For days, weeks before the ride, I had been itching to get back into competition. Training rides are fun, but there is something different about an endurance ride… there is the thrill of the race. And Cuyama would be our first XP Ride — our first three days of back-to-back […]
Asali and I hitched a ride with my endurance buddies, the Straub sisters, to the Trinity River Challenge near Ruth Lake in Trinity County. We arrived on Thursday afternoon after a 6 hour haul. On Friday morning, we got the horses ready for our pre-ride. We set out on the trail that was to be […]
There is always that one horse in ride camp that loves to put on a show. Well, this time, it was Asali. On Saturday morning, as I was leading her out to the start of our first 50-miler of the weekend, Asali began rearing, head tossing, and bucking circles around me. Suddenly, she had turned […]
We arrived at ride camp in the Tahoe National Forest on Friday evening. And this time, I brought along the family – my husband, Gary, our boys, Jakob and Declan, and our new puppy, Asia. We got lucky with a perfect camp spot that was large enough for our truck and trailer, Asali’s electric fence […]
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 […]
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 […]
Last night, I received a text message from one of the juniors who crewed for me at Tevis. It read: “I know it’s not Thanksgiving yet, but I am very thankful to have you in my life. I know it was meant to be when we parked next to each other at Whiskeytown Chaser that […]
