2009 Jan-Feb - Tilden-Wildcat Horsemen`s Association

Transcription

Tilden Wildcat
Horsemen's
Association
Newsletter
January-February, 2009
TWHA Annual Meeting
Come hear
Jud
y Etheridg
e
udy
Etheridge
speak about
Hor
se Camping and Or
ganiz
ed Trail Ev
ents
Horse
Org
anized
Events
Annual Meeting
at the
of the
Tilden W ildca
semen
tion
ildcatt Hor
Horsemen
semen’’s Associa
Association
at the
Grizzl
y Bar and Grill a
se
Grizzly
att the Tilden Golf Cour
Course
Monda
y, J
an
uar
y 26th,
Jan
anuar
uary
Monday
starting at 6:30 p.m.
Most of you know Judy already—she has been a key organizer of TWHA’s East Bay Hills Trail Ride, and numerous
TWHA camp-outs over the years. She organizes the weekday
rides of the San Ramon Valley Horsemen’s Association, and
has been one of the key organizers and volunteers at every
endurance and competitive trail ride in the Bay Area for many
years. A Board member of TWHA and the Bay Area Barns and
Trails Trust , Judy has also served on the Board of the Bay
Area Ridge Trail in past years. She has helped organize other
rides and campouts all over the Bay Area, and will talk about
what it takes to make events like these work. Undoubtedly with
some good stories thrown in for good effect!
Continued on page 2
Inside:
Member News .................................................... page 2
Horse Reflections .............................................. page 3
Remembering Clancey, the Fancy Horse ........... page 5
Through-Ride onthe Pacific Crest Trail .......... page 13
CandlelightVigil for Choctaw and Lucky ......... page 17
Horsemen's Calendar ....................................... page 18
EB Hills Donations for 2008 Ride ..................... page 19
Judy Etheridge on Orion on the Coastal Trail at the TWHA Camp Out
at Point Reyes in 2007-photo by Karl Saarni
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Wildcat Horsemen's
Horsemen's Association
Association Newsletter
Newsletter
January-February
January-February 2009
2009
TWHA Annual Meeting
Continued from page 1
This is our first year at the spectacular venue of the Grizzly
Bar and Grill at the Tilden Golf Course and we think the food
and camaraderie will be exceptional. TWHA will pick up part of
your tab for the appetizers, catered meal and red wine so the
cost for members will be only $10. For non-members that will
be $15, although we will extend the member discount to anyone who joins TWHA at the event. The bar will be open for
other drinks. Please bring any friends who would benefit from
the knowledge Judy will share.
Appetizers will be available starting at 6:30, followed by
dinner at 7. A short business meeting, including the election of
a new President and the 2009 TWHA Board, will precede Judy’s
presentation.
We do need to inform the caterer of a head count in advance, so please RSVP to Eric Schroeder at
[email protected] by Thursday, January 22 so that he
can provide an accurate head count for dinner. Upon receipt of
your RSVP, he will respond with directions to the event.
Judy Etheridge at the 2008 TWHA Camp Out at Las Trampas Regional
Preserve near San Ramon
Who knows—this could be the start of another TWHA
tradition!
TWHA Member Dues and News
Thanks to everyone who has already paid their 2099 TWHA
Member Dues already. For the rest of us, there is a coupon on
the back page of this newsletter to mail in with your dues.
Remember that you not only get the newsletter, but also discounts at Orinda Village Horse Ship, Vista Madera and Concord Feed and Fuel. This is one membership that can pay for
itself, perhaps many times over. Remember also that if you pay
for 2 years now, you not only don’t have to remember next
time, but you also save $5 by doing so.
The Member News is short this month, as I can only write
about things you bring my attention to. And this issue is a
rushed affair, as I am off for a quick vacation, so please excuse
any typos or disconnects midway…
TWHA Member Renee Benoit wrote a while back to
pose the worthy question, “Have you ever heard of a 1,300 lb
behemoth jumping out of a pavilion stall.... through the small
end?” and then explained, “That’s what Brego did today in
response to a perceived threat in the Southern Bushes. All the
horses perceived the threat simultaneously but only Brego
took it upon himself to flee the premises entirely.” Brego jumped
over the stall wall, below the low roof, and into the breezeway
adjoining his stall. Aside from some relatively minor scrapes,
this athletic guy managed to avoid any real injury, but gave
everyone a big scare, especially TWHA member Alison Martin and TWHA member Kim Zvik’s sponsor, who were there
at the time and quickly called Renee.
Kim writes that on Oct 18, she rode Camou and her daughter Ilana rode Cooper 50 miles on the first day of the Del Valle
Vulture Venture near Livermore. Fortunately the high temps
from the day before eased down into the upper 70’s rather than
the 90’s of the day before. Because a pie plate sign for the fun
ride confused the front-runners leading them all astray, Ilana
and Kim were among the first 10 finishing the ride and showed
for Best Condiction, as did TWHA member Elise Geske,
riding Love Bombing..
The next day, Kim rode Camou again, and another daughter, Genevieve, rode Cooper in the 30 ride there. Camou was
quite tired and came up a bit short 7 miles from the finish, so
Kim walked him in the rest of the way, but by the next day he
had recovered. Word is that this is tough ride… Kim reports
that with lots of up and down “Cooper needs a crouper now.
That should be interesting as he doesn’t like it when Camou’s
lead gets under his tail :)”
Continued on page 3
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Tilden Wildcat Horsemen's Association Newsletter
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TWHA member Christie Larner moved her horse Avalon
from the Orinda Horsemen’s pasture up to Grizzly Peak Stables
for some winter comfort.. Christie appreciates the creature comforts that Grizzly provides, with shelter from the rain, regular
feeding, winter arena access and the excellent care the horses
get up at Grizzly.
Unfortunately Avalon had another idea, and after a few
hours managed to escape and headed up Lomas Cantadas as
darkness fell. I happened to be up there repairing a barn wall
and jumped into my truck and went up with TWHA member
and GPS owner and manager Debby Young.
We parked in the Steam Trains upper parking lot in the
dark, and learned from a hiker that a horse was running around
loose on Seaview near the gate to, yes, the Orinda Horsemen’s
pasture. We made it very quickly indeed out the Vollmer Peak
Trail and then down Seaview to the gate where we found Avalon
going back and forth trying to find a way to get through the
fence and return to the herd. Fortunately it was easy to get a
halter on Avalon, who was a bit sweaty but uninjured, and by
the time we reached the paved road heading back to the parking lot, Christie had arrived to join us. Remember that if you
want to read more TWHA member news, go out and make
some of your own—and do let us know about it!
Horrses can take you to some very amazing places, so here we have
Jenni Smith at Arches National Park during her trip to the Moab
Canyon Pioneer Ride. More spectacular ride pictures are at http://
tinyurl.com/7g43vb Phot by Cris Jones
Member News
TWHA member Cris Jones wrote to say that she and
TWHA member Jenni Smith traveled to the 3-day Moab
Canyon Pioneer ride, which drew over 140 horses, in Utah as
October turned to November. She rode a Utah horse, AM Macho, who has over 5,000 endurance miles to his credit, and
finished 5th and 18th in 50 miles rides there. Jenni Smith also
went, riding 50 miles on one of the days there. Cris also reports
on the Lake Sonoma 50 mile endurance ride held on October
25th, when TWHA riders were among the 91 horses circling the
lake. Cris finished was the 4th fto finish, on Kastanj, while Jenni
smith finished 8th on Lakota Dancer. Linda Upton on Ashif,
Jennifer Rader on Abdul Latif and Karen Stackpole on
Coppi were not far behind, finishing 14th through 16th. Elise
Geske also completed that one.
Some more local excitement came in late December when
Can you imagine the pollution if we all have to go
back to the original SUV!?
Talk about SMOG!!? And Ohhhh those flies!!
As our nation’s Big 3 auto manufacturers face bankruptcy, we must go back to the old time basics.
Americans will soon need to embrace the original
Sport Utilitiy Vehicle...
---sent from cyberspace by Cheryl Ann Fulton...
January-February
2009
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Wildcat Horsemen's
Newsletter
Horse Reflections
The Holidays seem to inspire gratitude — a time to count your blessings.
And of course, I have three cherished
blessings in my barn that have recently
all rolled in the mud and have big round
mud balls the size of ornaments decorating their manes and tails. It’s not
pretty....
To have a horse in your life is a gift. In
the matter of a few short years, a horse
can teach a young person courage, if
(s)he chooses to grab mane and hang on
for dear life. Even the smallest of ponies
is mightier than the tallest of girls. To conquer the fear of falling off, having one’s
toes crushed, or being publicly humiliated by a horse while people are watching is an admirable feat for any child. For
that, we can be grateful.
Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle or a computer, a horse needs
regular care and most of it requires that
you get dirty and smelly and up off the
couch. Choosing to leave your cozy
kitchen to break the crust of ice off the
water buckets is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and
drink heartily; we know we’ve made the
right choice.
Learning to care for a horse is both an
art and a science. Some are easy keepers,
requiring little more than regular turn-out,
a flake of hay, and a trough of clean water. Others will test you - you’ll struggle
to keep them from being too fat or too
thin. You’ll have their feet shod regularly
only to find shoes gone missing. Some
are so accident-prone you’ll swear
they’re intentionally finding new ways to
injure themselves.
If you weren’t raised with horses, you
can’t know that they have unique personalities. You’d expect this from dogs,
but horses? Indeed, there are clever
horses, grumpy horses, and even horses
with a sense of humor. Those prone to
humor will test you by finding new ways
to escape from the barn when you least
expect it.
Horses can be timid or brave, lazy or
athletic, obstinate or willing. You will hit
it off with some horses and others will
elude you altogether. There are as many
“types” of horses as there are people which makes the whole partnership thing
all the more interesting.
If you’ve never ridden a horse, you
probably assume it’s a simple thing you
can learn in a weekend. You can, in fact,
learn the basics on a Sunday, but to truly
ride well takes a lifetime. Working with a
living being is far more complex than turning a key in the ignition and putting the
car or tractor in “drive.” In addition to
listening to your instructor, your horse
will have a few things to say to you as
well. On a good day, he’ll be happy to go
along with the program and tolerate your
mistakes; on a bad day, you’ll swear he’s
trying to kill you. Perhaps he’s naughty
or perhaps he’s fed up with how slowly
you’re learning his language. Regardless,
the horse will have an opinion. He may
choose to challenge you (which can ultimately make you a better rider) or he may
carefully carry you over fences - if it suits
him. It all depends on the partnership and partnership is what it’s all about.
If you face your fears, swallow your
pride, and are willing to work at it, you’ll
learn lessons in courage, commitment,
and compassion in addition to basic survival skills. You’ll discover just how hard
you’re willing to work toward a goal, how
little you know, and how much you have
to learn.
And, while some people think the
horse “does all the work”, you’ll be challenged physically as well as mentally. Your
horse may humble you completely. Or,
you may find that sitting on his back is
the closest you’ll get to heaven.
You can choose to intimidate your
horse, but do you really want to? The
results may seem to come more quickly,
but will your work ever be as graceful as
that gained through trust? The best part-
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January-February
2009
ners choose to listen, as well as to tell.
When it works, we experience a sweet
sense of accomplishment brought about
by smarts, hard work, and mutual understanding between horse and rider. These
are the days when you know with absolute certainty that your horse is enjoying
his work.
If we make it to adulthood with horses
still in our lives, most of us have to
squeeze riding into our over saturated
schedules; balancing our need for things
equine with those of our households and
employers. There is never enough time
to ride, or to ride as well as we’d like. Hours
in the barn are stolen pleasures.
If it is in your blood to love horses,
you share your life with them. Our horses
know our secrets; we braid our tears into
their manes and whisper our hopes into
their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an unsettled world, a sheltered place where
life’s true priorities are clear: a warm place
to sleep, someone who loves us, and the
luxury of regular meals. Some of us need
these reminders. When you step back,
it’s not just about horses - it’s about love,
life, and learning. On any given day, a
friend is celebrating the birth of a foal,
recovery from an illness, or an achievement or disappointment in trying something new in the teaching/learning partnership. That same day, there also may
be loss: a broken limb, a case of colic, a
decision to sustain a life or end it gently.
As horse people, we share the life cycle
of horses: life, love, loss, and death that
caring for these animals brings us. When
our partners pass, it is more than a moment of sorrow.
We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways our lives have been
blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe,
and wonder. Absolute union. We honor
our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.
To those outside our circle, it must
seem strange. To see us in our muddy
boots, who would guess such poetry
lives in our hearts? We celebrate our companions with praise worthy of heroes.
Indeed, horses have the hearts of warriors and often carry us into and out of
Continued on page 5
January-February
January-February2009
2009
TildenWildcat
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Horse Reflections
fields of battle. Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse;
of journeys made and challenges met. The best of horses rise
to the challenges we set before them, asking little in return.
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Those who know them understand how fully a horse can
hold a human heart.
In the end, we’re not certain if our angels entrust us to our
horses—or our horses to us. Does it matter? We’re grateful to
live amongst such magnificent beasts.
They give us respite from the horrors of the outside world.
Who can walk into a barn and look deep into those liquid
brown eyes and not be transported to a more peaceful place?
We are so blessed to have discovered this miracle in our lifetimes!
---Anonymous, via the Internet
Clancey--the Fancy Horse
by Lila Abdul-Rahim
Editor's Note: On November 25th, long-time TWHA Board
member Lila Abdul-Rahim made the difficult and painful decision to euthanize her beloved horse, Clancey. His diagnosis was liver dysfunction. The liver is an organ which has
regenerative capacities, so often by the time symptoms are
seen, a great deal of damage has already occurred over time,
and it is often irreversible at that point.
Over the years Clancey has ridden through the pages of
the TWHA News as he has traversed trails all over the Bay
Area and much of California. In this issue of the TWHA News,
a number of members share their favorite stories of the highlights of his endurance career and his local escapades.
Clancey completed over 1500 endurance rides, including 7 Tevis completions in 9 tries. Those 7 completions included 8th, 5th and 3rd in consecutive years, and a 13th place
finish after that. He also took Lila and other riders to competitive trail rides, and on camping expeditions in the Sierras. He has been lost and found in Tilden Park, stopped traffic
on San Pablo Dam Road, and was somewhat of a Houdini, as
remembered in this issue… This first article is from the September, 2004 TWHA Newsletter
Clancey came to me in 1992. My friend, Peter Rich, called
me while on a trip to Solvang. He was visiting a ranch that was
selling all of its stock, and there was a nice 2-year old stallion:
halter broke, otherwise green with good conformation. Did I
want him to bring him up? I was a bit flabbergasted as I was
interested in buying a horse; but I knew nothing about this
horse and had not even really started educating myself about
the subject. I said; if they would let me have him on 30-day
approval, bring him up!
The other minor detail in my life at that time was that I was
pregnant. Some of those around me who saw this unfolding
thought it was a little much to be taking on – a baby horse and
a baby baby, at the same time, both of which I had little experi-
Zoe gets a ride on Clancey in the round pen-phot courtesy of Lila
Abdul-Rahim
ence with. However, I had a sense that this might turn out to be
a good opportunity, and I trusted Peter’s opinion.
Clancey was a small liver Chestnut, but very well put-together horse – he reminded me of those little porcelain statues
Continued on page 6
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2009
Clancey--the Fancy Horse
TWHA member Karen Stackpole drew these pictures of Clancey. On the left, she writes, is"Clancey competing in a long distance endurance ride
with Lila astride - down to business and flexing his amazing athleticism and good attitude." On the right we have "Clancey out in the pasture with
his buddies, in his element and enjoying simply being a horse."
.
of perfect Arabian horses that I used to collect when I was a
girl. His energy was contagious. The first time I with my belly
went into his paddock, where he was racing around, he stopped.
I just stood there, and he walked up to me with interest. Immediately I noticed him relaxing. Ears pricked forward, he dropped
his head and allowed me to pet him. Peter told me he had been
the favorite of some of the kids at the ranch, and consequently
had a lot of handling by the kids. So, my first impression of him
was that he was responsive, tuned in to people, and had an
ability to soften. Though he was still a stallion and green, I had
no fear of him. Plus, his hair was the same color as mine! He
passed his pre-purchase exam with no reservations.
What to do with him now? Well, it actually turned out to be
ideal, in that all I could do with him was ground-work. So for
the next approximately 2 years, Clancey and I became very well
acquainted with lunging, lateral work, and all sorts of sacking
out on the ground. When he was 4 and my baby Zoe was 2, I
started putting a rubber bit in his mouth, and working with a
girth and side reins. Next came a bag of grain on his back –
wow, wasn’t that exciting. But he retained his patient demeanor,
and as long as I went slow, he was willing to face the next new
thing with curiosity. Placing a saddle on his back was almost a
non-event. I gradually began to step into the stirrups on both
sides, and then one day just swung up! His ears swiveled
back, wondering what I was doing up there all of a sudden. He
found it difficult to move forward, not wanting to give up his
secure position with all four feet on the ground!
Gradually, I started to ride him. Just around the barn at first,
but finally out on a mini-trail ride with some other horses. I
went on a few rides with him, but knew that he was not really
Continued on page 7
Clancey in the TWHA Member News
August, 1999—“ The TWHA trail ride in June was fun
for the few who attended. TWHA members Lila Abdul-Rahim
and Morris Older, who keep their horses Clancey and Granite
near Tilden, were joined by Pamela Bullen, who sponsors TWHA
member Bill Andrews’ Kustom Steele, who resides in Richmond at Wildcat Creek Stables. We rode around on some of
the newly improved Tilden trails and had a picnic lunch.”
October, 1999—“ TWHA member Lila Abdul-Rahim’s
account of her Tevis ride, highlighted in our last issue, was
reprinted in the California State Horseman Association Region
5 Round-Up. You can view it on-line at www.geocities.com/
~csharegion5. Lila was also profiled in the Contra Costa Times’
‘Everyday Athlete’ series on October 12th. This continuing
column profiles everyday people involved in unusual athletic
pursuits and there’s Lila, pictured riding Clancey, and talking
at length about how she got involved in endurance, how she
trains, and all the wonderful aspects of trail riding.”
May, 2001—“ On May 5th many TWHA members took
the long trip to Nevada to compete in the Washoe Valley AERC
ride. Again 8 horses from Peter Rich’s Bay Laurel Arabians
went. Six of those entered the 50 mile event, all finished and
Lila came in fourth on Clancey.”
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The Fancy Horse
safe yet for trail rides. My friend Elise
Geske and I decided to take Clancey and
Shadow, the horse she was working with,
to Reis Ranch in Petaluma, and do a 9day intensive program for green horses.
This was a Natural Horsemanship program, run by Dennis Reis, where we
worked with our own horse several hours
per day, mostly in an indoor arena. I
learned about how horses are motivated,
how they think and learn. I learned techniques in how to work safely with a horse,
and how to teach them to be responsive
to the handler. Approximately one year
later, I did a second 9-day course to carry
the teaching further. This work in the
arena provided a solid base for all of the
other things I was to do with Clancey in
the future. I learned as much as Clancey
and through the process we came to trust
each other immensely. To this day, I use
techniques I learned then, to cause him
to pay attention to me, to calm him, and
to use his body well.
My mother dubbed Clancey “the
fancy horse”. In October 1994, my brother
Walid and his fiancée Sophia were hosting their pre-wedding picnic at the Padre
picnic area in Tilden Park. Walid and I
thought it would be funny for him to make
his entrance into the picnic riding Clancey,
all duded up in a cowboy outfit. Then we
would give pony rides on Clancey to the
kids at the picnic. All went well, until some
of the adults decided they wanted a turn.
One person (who will remain unnamed),
said he was an accomplished rider, and
would put Clancey through his paces. He
climbed aboard, and gave Clancey a kick
in the ribs, at which point Clancey gave a
little buck and dumped him off on the
ground. Clancey stood there for a second, gazing at his rider. I started moving
slowly towards him. Then he realized he
was loose, wheeled around, and galloped
up South Park Drive, towards Grizzly Peak
Blvd. He dashed past my two uncles, who
were returning from a walk, and who futilely reached out to grab his reins. He
was gone. Many people and horses from
the community searched that day and
night for Clancey, ranging miles away
from the spot where he disappeared. I
stopped looking at 10:00 p.m., returning
home to a houseful of people who were
staying with me for the wedding. Everyone was worried; the bride was upset.
The wedding proceeded the next day
with no word about Clancey. Then, finally,
at the reception, someone called and gave
us the news that Clancey had been found!
Morris Older, (TWHA newsletter editor),
was out searching, and down in a gully
he spied what looked like a saddle. He
found Clancey, no more than ¼ mile from
where he disappeared, his tack caught in
some brush. In the aftermath, my mother
borrowed from the old Irish song, “Clancy
Lowered the Boom”, and wrote her own
version called, “Clancey Ran Away”. The
first line of the original song goes, “Now
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Clancy was a peaceful man, if you know
what I mean. The cops picked up the
pieces after Clancy left the scene. . . “.
My mom’s version begins, “Now Clancey
was a fancy horse, if you know what I
mean . . . “ From then on, Clancey was
known in our family as Clancey the Fancy
Horse. In the years to come, he would do
justice to this legacy, with a couple more
escapes!
Clancey’s first competitive experience
was in NATRC. With the other riders at
Peter’s barn, we did many rides, and I
found that, though the pace was slow,
these events were great training for both
of us. I learned the “rules of the road” for
trail riders, including spacing between
horses, how to behave at water stops and
gates. I learned about how to measure
and gauge your riding with pulse and respiration checks. We both learned how to
negotiate obstacles such as logs, slippery
Continued on page 8
Clancey Lost
Truth is definitely stranger than fiction. On May 19th TWHA Membership
Secretary Lila Abdul-Rahim was enjoying her trail ride along San Pablo Reservoir when her horse Clancey spooked and dumped her. Meanwhile TWHA Trail
Work Coordinator Elisabeth Lehmberg was on her way home from work to leave
for an endurance ride. Construction had slowed the traffic on San Pablo Dam
Road, but there was something else. On the other side of the road, traffic had
slowed, following a horse, with saddle but no rider, trotting toward El Sobrante.
Elisabeth drove past and immediately realized it was Clancey.
She pulled over, jumped out and started chasing Clancey in her Birkenstocks,
but was losing ground when a driver offered her a ride. She got in, he pulled over
to the shoulder and she shut her eyes while he passed all the traffic and caught
up with Clancey, who began to canter dangerously close to oncoming traffic on
the other side. She asked the driver to slow down, and somehow Clancey went
into the bushes more than a mile from where the trail crossed the road, and
Elisabeth was able to grab his reins.
While she walked Clancey back, the driver who had given her a ride went
slowly alongside, keeping the traffic back until Lila appeared, calling out, “What
are you doing here?” Lila who was unhurt though a bit dirtier for her fall, reclaimed her horse, and Elisabeth accepted a ride back to her car. After a while, the
driver said, ‘We should’ve passed it by now,’ and Elisabeth had to acknowledge
that somebody had stolen her Toyota Tercel. Using his cell phone, she was able
to call the police and Peter Rich, who came down to take her home to pack for the
ride. And the next day, plucking a silver lining out of all this, Elisabeth was heard
to say, “Well, I wanted to get a truck anyway.’
--from the May-June, 2000 TWHA News
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2009
Clancey, the Fancy Horse
Lila and Clancey in the Granite Chief Wilderness at the 2003 Tevis.
Clancey in the
Member News
August, 2002 --"At the Hoof Trek NATRC Competitive
Trail Ride at Fort Ord on April 13th Jenni Smith rode Clancey,
owned by TWHA member Lila Abdul-Rahim...All of this preparation paid off this year when the Bay Laurel team went to
Tevis on July 20. Overall, less than half of the riders finished
Tevis this year. But 7 of the 9 Bay Laurel horses and riders
completed the ride, including 2 in the top ten. Jenni Smith,
riding Lila Abdul-Rahim’s Clancey, ran in the top ten all day,
and finished in eighth place. …Numerous other Bay Laurel
crewed for the group, including, of course, Lila Abdul-Rahim
who was thrilled to see her horse do so well.”
May, 2004--"The very next weekend an enlarged Bay
Laurel group attended the Mt. Diablo competitive trail ride,
which, with a new trail configuration this year, was by all reports challenging. The ride was beautiful and a pretty good
slopes and water crossings. These rides take place over one or
two days, and are approximately 20-30 miles each day.
After Clancey turned 6 years old, we did our first 50-mile
endurance ride. I knew how sore I was after the NATRC rides,
and was aghast at the distance; I could not fathom how someone could ride for 50 miles! Well, we have all heard many stories about “first 50’s”. We got through it, both of us sound, but
tired. Over the next few years, we both got in shape, and the
50-miles became manageable. It became clear that Clancey was
well conformed. He rarely had any lameness or interference
problems. There were only a few occasions where he did not
complete an endurance ride, usually for foot soreness from
rocky footing. He was always able to meet pulse/respiration
criteria easily. He loves to go fast, asking politely with his ears
whether we might canter this part. We train and condition mostly
in the nearby parks, Tilden, Redwood, Briones and sometimes
Mt. Diablo. In addition to training, I have made it a practice to
stop on the trail when kids want to see the horse. He always
stands stock-still with a child at his feet, ever patient and willing to be stroked, an ambassador of good will between equestrians and other trail users.
From 1996 to the present Clancey attempted 22 AERC rides,
and completed 17. Of these, seven of the rides were the 100mile Western States Trail Ride, (the Tevis Cup). Clancey’s record
doing the Tevis is worth mention: of his seven Tevis attempts,
he has finished 6 times. The one time he did not finish was in
2001 when I pulled him after a branch lacerated his eye. Of the
six finishes, he has finished the last three (2002, ‘03 and ’04) in
the top ten: 8th, 5th, and 3rd place.
Clancey has been an integral part of my life for the past 12
years. Memories and times with him intermingle with those of
my daughter growing up. He is still a sweet, generally amiable
horse, loving the company of people and a good petting session. He has never denied me my requests to do yet another 50
or 100 miles, and always with so much heart. I feel blessed to
have the companionship of such a wonderful horse.
workout for the horses since it was hilly and hot. ..TWHA
member Lila Abdul-Rahim rode Clancey.”
September, 2004--"The September Endurance News
recognizes the accomplishments of TWHA riders with their
cumulative mileage awards. Lila Abdul-Rahim’s Clancey has
now completed 1000 miles.”
May, 2005—“On April 30,10 horses and riders from Bay
Laurel Arabians down to the Hoof Trek NATRC ride at Fort
Ord near Monterrey. TWHA Board member Lila Abdul-Rahim
rode Clancey”
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Karen Stackpole's drawing above shows "Clancey opening up all of
the stall doors in the gelding area...he was a veritable Houdini"
Below, Clancy at play with Slate. Photo courtesy of Page Schorer.
His Spirit Lives on in his Apprentice
by Page Schorer
When my horse, Slate, was first turned out into the BLA
gelding pasture at age two he made a very concerted effort,
lasting months, to become friends with Clancy, the number
two horse in the herd. As Rose Marie put it, “He just wore
Clancy down.” Since Clancy was number two, he ate second.,
and since he shared with Slate. Slate got to eat third, although
the slightest twitch of a Clancy ear back would back Slate right
off.
Towards the end of Clancy’s life he spent a lot time living
in the runway outside the gelding’s stalls. However, if any
1999
Tevis
Excerpted from Lila's acount of the 1999 Tevis in the
TWHA Newsletter...
The next part of the ride is very dusty and hot. You go up
and down very steep canyons. I got off Clancey and ran all
the steep downhills in front of him, to give him a break...
It was about 6:30 p.m. when we reached Foresthill. Clancey
was tired by this time, and I didn’t want to push him. [My crew]
massaged Clancey’s tired hindquarter muscles, making sure
he kept eating and drinking, while they generally entertained
me. The hour hold period was, alas, over too soon and we had
to get ready to go again. My crew helped tack Clancey back
up and pointed me in the right direction to the out timer. The
terrain of last part is not nearly as difficult as the first 67 miles
because it is at lower elevations and is largely a gradual downhill into Auburn. But the light faded to dusk and then black,
and we were riding down narrow switchbacks with steep dropoffs on one side. Several times we would come to what seemed
like a total dead end, a wall of rocks and trees, and Clancey
would stop dead: it was a switchback which cut back sharply
in the opposite direction, but you couldn’t see it; you just had
to trust it was there.
Clancey was totally alert and sensitive, and guided us
through. Once, Clancey slowed, then stopped. I could hear
horse was in a stall, Clancy had to be in a stall as well so he
would unlatch the stall doors and let the other horses out.
Slate was one of the horses that he let out on more than one
occasion. Jorge commented, “Clancy taught him”.
On the Saturday night of the snow, Slate apparently discovered that since he was quite a bit taller than Clancy, he
could actually open a stall from the inside and proceeded to let
himself out and then his best pal, Coppi and a friendly young
gelding, Gino (happens to be Coppi’s son) from adjacent stalls..
Two nights later he did it again. Jorge has “Slate- proofed”
one stall door but the spirit of Clancy lives on.
water gurgling and the sound of his metal shoes on rock. We
were near a water source - a stream or pond. I couldn’t see the
way to cross, but could detect no other way to go. I urged
Clancey on but he refused to go. He is not usually afraid of
crossing water, so I became worried. I asked Sally to try with
her horse, but she wouldn’t go either. I told her to take a few
steps into the water, and maybe the horse would find the way.
With much urging, she finally picked her way across, and then
vanished into the dark. I tried with Clancey again, but he
wouldn’t move. I knew the only way was for me to lead him, so
I got off and crept forward into the water - it was only 4 inches
deep, and the trail was right there on the other side. I was wet,
but we were across!
6 miles before the finish, we had to cross the American
River. The horses approached the river and took a long drink.
Again, they needed a lot of urging (yelling) to step into the
water and keep going. At the deepest part, I was up to my
knees (while on the horse) in water. It was thrilling to feel the
strength of the horse pulling against the water and the current.
He lost 50 pounds of weight during the ride, which the vet
said was within the norm. Throughout the ride, he showed
such heart and willingness. I am awed by his ability and
strength. We placed 34th out of 225 starters and 114 finishers.
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Lila trotting out Clancey for the veterinarians judging the Top Ten at the 2003 Tevis.
Tevis 2003
by Lila Abdul-Rahim
Editor’s Note: This year the horses
from Bay Laurel Arabians in Orinda accomplished something unprecedented in
the history of The Tevis Cup ride. Of six
Bay Laurel horses that started the ride
this year, five finished, including four of
the first ten horses to finish, as well as
the fourteenth place finisher. This follows
last year’s Bay Laurel performance, when
7 of the 9 horses entered finished, including 2 of the top 10. This compares to an
overall completion rate on the ride over
the years of about 50%. This stunning
achievement is a great tribute to the Bay
Laurel breeding program, to the individual
horses sand riders, and to the training
program that prepares them for the Tevis
each year.
The Tevis Cup endurance race is considered to be one of the toughest 100mile endurance races for horses in the
world. Starting outside of Truckee, the
historic Western States Trail winds past
Squaw Valley and through the Sierras to
Auburn, with 18,000 feet of climbing and
24,000 feet of descent along the way. The
Tevis has been run annually since 1955
and the horses are allowd 24 hours to
complete the ride; a completion, however,
is not granted unless the vets judge the
horse to be “fit to continue” after completing the course..
This year was my 5th Tevis attempt,
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January-February
and my horse, Clancey’s, 6th attempt. Last
year, Jenni Smith rode Clancey with great
success and he was the 8th horse to finish
the ride. I looked forward to this year’s
race, thinking it would be great to equal
last year’s performance; but I also knew
that anything can happen at any time to
knock you out of the race. I had conditioned my horse with several other riders
from Bay Laurel Arabians, an endurance
horse breeding and conditioning stable
owned by Peter Rich, of Orinda. These
included Linda Upton, riding her horse
Ashifa; Jennifer Rader, riding her horse
Latif; and Ute Frey, riding Fiora; Madeline
Kirsch, riding Desha, and Jenni Smith,
riding Shadow.
There are 4 major checkpoints along
the ride, where the horses are stopped
and checked by vets. Two of these checkpoints have mandatory one-hour holds
for horse and rider.
The start of the race this year was
managed extremely well, with the riders
seeding themselves at the start: the fastest riders at the front; the mid-paced riders in the middle; and those who aimed to
keep a slower pace but finish, at the back.
A new rule was instituted this year, requiring the rider to proceed up to the start
about 15 minutes ahead of time, find a
place “in line”, and maintain that place
Continued on page 11
Massaging a Ferrari...
Becky Mertens and Caroline van
Tuyll regularly gave Clancey theraputic
massages in the months prior to his
death, even before we knew he was
sick. They were getting their practice
hours in for their certifications for an
equine massage course they took.
Caroline wrote: “You know, it was an
honorfor me to know him, even a little
bit! He was such a gentle creature, and
sodelicately beautiful. I massaged him
several times, and it made me happy to
feel him relax and appreciate. He seemed
an exceptional horse. You are lucky
to have had time with him, and it must
be hard to miss him now.”
Upon hearing the news, Becky
wrote ”Oh Lila I am so sorry... I spent
time with him last night massaging him.
I held his head for a long time and told
him what a great horsie he is. I am very
sorry for you and for him. He’s been so
loving. Becky “.
And Eric Schroeder remebers
Clancey this way: “What an incredible
horse he was! I remember about 5 years
ago, you let me ride him on a day about
3 weeks before Tevis. I got on him and
don’t think I’d ever experienced anything like it on a horse. He was like a
Ferrari, just wanting to go! Had me a
little nervous but, boy, was it fun!”
Tevis, 2003
until the official start. Riders were not allowed to thread their way to the front once
they reached the back of the pack, a practice which had caused chaos and accidents at the start of the ride in prior years.
As a result of this new rule, the 150 horses
around me were standing so quietly just
before the start that some actually appeared to be dozing!
Also for the first time this year, there
were qualifying requirements for ride entry. To qualify a rider must have completed
150 miles of competition in AERC,
NATRC, equivalent foreign rides of 50
miles or longer or have previously completed The Tevis Cup Ride. There are no
similar qualifications for the horses.
I started out riding with Linda Upton,
Jennifer Rader and Ute Frey on their respective horses. We were near the back
of the fastest group, and the pace was
fast, actually faster than I had ever ridden in previous years. Jenni Smith and
Madeline Kirsch were riding together
somewhere ahead of us. Near Squaw Valley, Fiora slowed down, and three of us
continued on together. After Watson’s
Monument, our group of three caught up
with Madeline and Jenni, and we all traveled the next 10 miles together. After Cougar Rock, we were traversing a ridge,
when Jenni looked to the right below and
saw a big brown bear running. There happened to be a photographer located there,
and we told him to watch out for the bear.
All five of us arrived at the first major
vet check at Robinson Flat, 36 miles into
the ride. This is a beautiful mountain
meadow, where the team’s crew usually
camps out the night before, to meet the
rider there some time between 8:00 and
noon, the mandatory cut-off time.
Though our simultaneous arrival felt glorious, I suspect our trusty crew was a bit
shocked, hoping that we would be spread
out a bit and not all be demanding attention at once!
All five horses cleared the vet check
and were allowed to continue. Our crew
was extremely organized and efficient,
and took good care of all 10 of us (horses
and riders). Fed, cleaned up, restocked
with water, electrolytes and snacks, we
started off again for the next leg of the
trail. This part of the trail is often thought
to be the most difficult, because it is traveled in the middle of the day, when temperatures can climb to over 100 degrees.
In addition, the horses must go up and
down three canyons with great elevation
changes; for example, the climb from El
Dorado Creek to Devil’s Thumb is 2665
feet over a distance of approximately five
miles! The reward at the end of the canyons is the Michigan Bluff vet stop, at 63
miles. Michigan Bluff was very lively, with
a big crowd cheering and clapping as we
came in. This year, there was a vet trotout only at this stop, with no mandatory
hold. However, after the grueling can-
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yons, most riders spent some time here,
allowing the horses to eat and to dissipate heat by being hosed off. By the time
we got through the canyons and arrived
at Michigan Bluff, the other Bay Laurel
riders had slowed some, and Clancey and
I were traveling on our own. It was at
Michigan Bluff that I first realized that
Clancey was doing very well, and that we
were among the first five or six contenders.
It was wonderful to see Linda Upton’s
two sons and husband, Robert, waiting
for us at Michigan Bluff. They attended
closely to Clancey, hosing him off and
making sure he had all the mash and water he wanted. Clancey was in great spirits and, buoyed on by the cheers and
good wishes of my crew and the crowd,
he trotted, then cantered out of the town,
starting the next 6 miles which would take
us to the next vet stop at Foresthill, at 69
miles.
Clancey traveled these 6 miles mostly
alone. We came upon a photographer, sitContinued on page 12
David Whittal remembers Clancey:: “He was such a great horse. Clancey
alwaysseemed to me calm, stoic and indifferent to the goings on in his gelding
pasture. Not in an aloof or annoyed way but in a bemused way - as if he
were above it all but understood why all the positioning and challenging
at feed time had to occur. He just watched it all gracefully and seemed
pleased to be there with his friends. He never needed the boost to self
confidence that “first to feed” brought the other horses. He knew his
place and everyone else did too. “
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ting in the grass, just as I was stuffing a
peanut butter sandwich in my mouth. She
informed me, much to my surprise, that
we were in 3rd place! About 10 minutes
from Foresthill, two other riders caught
up, and the three of us came into the stop
together. The hour passed so quickly at
this stop – by this time it was late afternoon, and we had been under the beating sun for hours. I managed to change
out of my hot and sweaty clothes and eat
a little, while, again, our crew took care of
my horse. We appeared at the “out” timer
just as the hour was up, and once again,
Clancey and I were traveling alone. This
is significant, because it is sometimes difficult for a horse to leave the comfort of
the vet stop to venture out again on the
trail – it is even more difficult for the horse
to go out without any other horses in
sight. In such instances, you are relying
on the good will and heart of the horse to
do as you ask
After about an hour, three other
horses caught up with us again, and we
all generally traveled the next 30 miles
together. From Foresthill, the trail goes
mostly downhill with some steep
switchbacks, some fire roads, until we
reached the Franciscos stop. Here, there
was a vet check with no hold time.
Clancey was hungry, and tired. Leaving
the vet stop again, into the dark, was hard.
The next goal was to reach and cross the
American River. By this time, it had grown
dark, but the moon was not yet up.
Clancey crossed the river, swimming a few
strokes in the middle (he’s only 14’3).
The remainder of the trail to the finish
is not technically difficult, but in the dark,
it seems never-ending. The lights of the
final vet stop, Lower Quarry at 94 miles,
can be glimpsed through the trees from
miles ahead. We traveled this section with
Chuck Mather, a member of the Board of
Governors of the Western States Trail
Foundation. I learned that Chuck is a
former competitor in the runner’s race of
the Western States Trail, which is usually held a month before the horses do
the Tevis ride. I was impressed during the
ride that, more often than not, I saw Chuck
off his horse, running beside him – he ran
much more than most of the riders, most
of whom simply ran in the canyons.
Chuck and I came into Lower Quarry, followed shortly by two other horses.
Clancey again passed the vet check,
sucked up a bunch of mash, and we were
off again to finish the last 6 miles, this
time with the two other horses. We three
finished as a group, with Clancey coming
in 5th place, arriving at the Auburn Fairgrounds at approximately 11:30 p.m.
January-February
2009
It was not until after Clancey was all
bedded down, under the care of the night
crew that I tramped down to the showers
at the Fairgrounds. In walked a tall, young
woman who introduced herself as
Heather Reynolds. She had been the first
rider to finish. When I humbly told her
our placing, she laughed and told me that
she and the second-place rider were not
far from the finish when they heard my
group talking behind them! They were
surprised, having had no idea the next
Shade Tree
Veterinary Service
by Morris Older
One of Clancey’s more impressive
attributes was the calm he maintained
even as the world swirled around him. At
the Tevis and other endurance rides for
years, much might happen during the vet
checks, but Clancey always remained his
composure. Even when people did some
really strange things.
Last June, the rebirth of the Mt. Diablo Endurance ride, organized this time
by Save Mt. Daiblo, was held on perhaps
the hottest days of the year. I had volunteered to help the vets, and on Friday,
when it was 108o at the base camp, head
vet Corey Soltau was calling around to
other vets to stock up on fluids that he
suspected horses might need the next
day. As it turned out, the vets were very
clear about riding in the heat, the riders
took the warnings seriously, the trail
route was changed to make it easier, and
only two horse needed treatment even
though it was 107o the day of the ride.
Unfortunately one of those 2 horses
was Clancey, who was just beginning to
show the metabolic problem that would
worsen later in the year. When I found
Lila and Clancey after the ride, he was
standing calmly in the shade of a tree,
with a bag of fluid hanging from a limb
overhead. The fluid however, was barely
moving, the gravity insufficient to trans-
port it through the tubes into his neck.
First Corey tried adjusting the valves on
the bags, and then we tried throwing a
lead rope over a higher branch so that
perhaps we could pull the bag higher up
to get more flow to Clancey. Clancey eyed
us wearily but maintained his calm as repeated attempts failed to get a lead line
over the right branch—it was somewhat
of a thicket up there.
Stymied in these efforts, Corey came
up with a new idea, a technique he had
never tried before, and that none of us
had ever heard of, but we agreed to give
it a try. He bent over at the waist so that
his back was nearly parallel to the ground.
I climbed up, and standing on his back,
was able to hang a lead rope from a higher
limb and hook it to the bags of fluid. Once
down, we were able to pull the other end
of the lead rope, thus hoisting the bags
up another foot and a half or so., which
resulted in a much more efficient transfer
of fluids to Clancey, who managed to
maintain his composure the whole time.
Even feeling as Clancey did, almost
any other horse would have reacted
strongly to the visual threat of someone
climbing up above, not to mention the
noise in the tree that he was standing
under. With his even demeanor, however,
Clancey prompted the founding of
Corey’s Shade-Tree Veterinary Service as
he recovered in the heat of Diablo.
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Tevis 2003 Clancey in the Member News
riders were so close, and they sped up to
the finish line! Our group also had no idea
that we were so close to the first and second-place riders. It turns out that we finished only three minutes behind them!
All of which underlines my credo from
the start of the ride - anything can happen at any time.
The 7th, 8th, and 9th place riders were
Bay Laurel riders Madeline Kirsch, on
Desha; Jenni Smith, on Shadow and Jennifer Rader, on Latif, respectively. Following soon behind was Linda Upton in 14th
place on Ashifa. Unfortunately, Fiora, ridden by Ute Frey was pulled at Last
Chance vet stop for lameness. Both Jenni
and Madeleine, as well as Clancey and
August, 2005—“Two weeks before
Tevis, a group headed up to the Gold
Country 50, near Nevada City. TWHA
member Lila Abdul-Rahim finished 13th
on Clancey”
May, 2006 —“At the Diablos
Pistoleros ride in Henry Coe Park near
Gilroy on May 6., TWHA member Cris
Jones completed 50 miles on Lila Abdul
Rahim’s Clancey
August 2006—“ At the Wild
West Pioneer ride near Grass Valley on
May 26th, Cris Jones on Clancey completed 55 miles.”
October, 2006— Traveling from
Peter’s barn this year were Lila AbdulRahim’s Clancey (9th start)… In order to
make a safer start this year, riders were
seeded into three groups. Lila, Jenni, Ute,
Linda and Hasumi-san were seeded in the
first group… suddenly, the race was on!
Lila, Jenni, Ute and Linda in group 1 were
so far ahead that, except for a brief chat
while tacking up in the morning darkness,
I didn’t see them until the following day…
up ahead, Lila, Ute, Linda and Jenni were
all having a great ride. Just after 1:00 am
Clancey and Lila and Ashif and Linda finished in 13th and 14th place.”
June, 2007—“ The following weekend was the Wild West Endurance Ride
near Nevada City. On the second day Lila
Abdul- Rahim on Clancey finished 9th in
the 50-mile ride.”
Pacific Crest Trail Through Ride
by Ed Anderson
reprinted from Equestrian Network
Magazine at
http://www.equestmagazine.com/index.htm
On Sunday, August 17, 2008 Primo and
I arrived at McKenzie Pass near Sisters,
Oregon, to complete our 1350-mile thrujourney of the Pacific Crest Trail. We had
started from the border of Mexico on
April 19. We had traveled through state
parks, county parks, a national park, several wilderness areas and national forests,
BLM lands, and across easements
through private lands.
This account is a very brief description of what I saw and what it is like to
solo-ride your horse on the Pacific Crest
Trail.
My best friend and dear companion
on the trail was TLC Primo Eclipse, my
registered Arabian endurance horse. I
chose Primo for this trip because he is
brave, strong, tough, has excellent feet,
is very sure-footed, and is exceptionally
agile. All of these qualities would prove
crucial on the trail in the weeks and
months to follow. Primo would go
through places and situations where others might not.
Primo was the only horse in the spring
of 2008 to head north from the border of
Mexico. There were hundreds of hikers
from as far away as Europe and New
Zealand. When you travel alone with your
horse over such long distances and pass
over and around so many challenging obContinued on page 14
January-February
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Through Ride on the Pacific Crest
stacles, a very close bond developes. We
became best friends. I was the other
horse, he the other person. A mutual trust
and a real sense if inter-dependance developed between us. Primo bravely faced
horse-scary places like fast rushing
streams to cross, sand slides, rock slides,
down trees, horse-eating stumps and
wierd-shaped boulders, tunnels, many
types of bridges, the windmills in the
Tehachipi area, moving shadows of windmill blades across the trail, and wide,
sloped snow banks to cross. In May, we
rode through a snow storm in the Angeles Crest - rain had unexpectedly turned
into heavy snow. We pushed on to North
Fork Ranger Station where the very helpful caretaker let me put Primo in a corral.
He even gave him pellets and let me sleep
in the barracks. What a luxury after all the
snow. Primo would go on, even through
a storm, if I asked him to. And he knew
that I would not lead him into danger. If
the situation looked risky or if it was impassable for us, we would turn back and
find another way.
Thanks to the help we got from the
Equestrian Center at Warner Springs Resort (they took good care of Primo and
gave me a ride down), I was able to attend the annual “kick-off” party at Lake
Moreno nearly 100 miles south of Warner
Springs. This is a great event, attended
by several hundred people, angels, aspiring thru-hikers, past hikers, wanna-be
thru-hikers and many others. The atmosphere was friendly and I met many
people. There were several informative
programs, including a forum, demonstrations, vender exhibits, and a great slide
show by Eric Ryback who, at 17, was the
first person to thru-hike, in 1970, the Pacific Crest Trail. The BBQ dinner was special as was the breakfast on Sunday morning. It was at this event that I was to learn
that I was the only person planning to
thru-ride the PCT in 2008. I got a ride back
to Warner Springs on Sunday morning,
tacked up and packed Primo, and we
headed north again. Since we got a late
start that day, we only went seven miles
and camped alone at a magical spot along
Agua Caliente Creek where Indians had
camped long ago. I discovered several
Indian mortars, and to my surprise and
delight, one that still had the pestle in it!
Primo was hobbled and grazing while I
was taking a solar shower. When I
dressed and looked for him he was gone.
His tracks showed that he was heading
back on the trail towards Warner Springs
to visit his horse friends there. When I
caught up with him I discovered that he
had covered about 1/2 mile, hobbles and
all. He had been living at Warner Springs
for 2 days while I was at the Kickoff Party.
From then on I was to always keep his
bell on while he grazed and also kept an
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May-June 2008
Page 15
Riding the Pacific Crest Trail
eye on him. He never wandered far again.
Some have asked me how riding the PCT is different from
hiking it. Most think that riding a horse would be much easier.
Riding solo on the PCT, compared to hiking it is a very different, and more challenging experience. The hikers can have it
really easy because they have so many options. They can
easily climb over or duck under downed trees. And slides and
boulders are less of a concern for them. Their hiking poles are
certainly a lot of help on slides or in snow. Hikers can carry
their water with them and can “dry camp’ almost anywhere,
while I needed to find camps with graze, water, and trees to
highline Primo at night - so, we often camped alone. When the
trail crosses a road the hikers often hitch-hike into a town or
city and take a day off, a “0-day”’. They can check into a motel,
take a shower, resupply at the supermarket, eat in restaurants,
visit the laundromat, maybe take in a movie, make phone calls
and even use the computers at the local library. A rider with his
horse can do none of the above. Mine was much more of a
wilderness journey - a journey with very little contact with
towns and cities. I like it better that way.
The scenery along the PCT was varied and often spectacular. The grand forests, the individual trees, the wide variety of the millions of wildflowers, the wildlife, the hundreds of
lakes and ponds, the impressive rock formations, the mountains and hills, and the very special horse-friend who was always there, all of these will remain fixed in my memories as long
as I live.
Detours were sometimes necessary to get past obstacles
or to avoid taking serious risks. We encountered hundreds of
down trees during our journey. Detours, taken for various reasons, would take minutes to several hours and sometimes re-
quired that I cut trees and branches to clear a way through. I
had brought along a folding saw with a very sharp blade 14 1/
2" long that could cut from the tip. I could, if necessary, cut
trees up to 16" in diameter. I made wedges out of wood. Once,
a 14" diameter tree blocked a narrow trail and had come to rest
at a steep angle. The slope above and below the trail was also
very steep. Backtracking there would have been difficult, so I
decided to cut the tree. It took more than an hour to cut that
tree .I had to be very careful not to get my blade pinched and to
be sure that when the upper section did fall, there would be
enough room for Primo to get past. Primo, tied about 25 feet
away, watched. He knew that we would go forward.
Primo came to understand, and accept, that we lived on the
PCT, and that there were no other horses. It was interesting
that he would sometimes, after his evening graze, come over
and “join up” with myself and a group of hikers while we were
talking in camp - as though this group of people were other
horses, his substitute “human herd”.
Primo enjoyed the “smorgasbord’ of horse-edible plants
that he found along the trail. Once he decided which plants
were good, he would spot something that he wanted to eat
from 20 feet away and would stop abruptly when we got there.
I would always let him graze along the trail because I could
never be sure what the graze would be like up ahead or at the
next camp. Graze at our camps varied. Often it was excellent or
good. Other times it was fair, thin, or none at all, and I would
feed Primo extra feed. Arabians are desert horses and can go
longer without drinking than some other breeds, and since we
were walking, there was very little sweating. So, if Primo had
recently had a good drink, and we came to a beautiful meadow
off the trail, with lots of graze and nearby trees, but no water,
we would make camp.
During our journey we had to trailer around Mt. San
Jacento and the Sierra Nevada because of the risks of trying to
cross deep snow with a horse. 2008 was a year of hundreds of
lighting-started fires in Northern California. There was a long
wait in Sierra City. I hoped that the fires affecting the PCT
would come under control, and that the closed sections would
be reopened. I had become very discouraged because of the
fires and smoke. I decided that it would be best to trailer around
the closed sections and much of the smoke and then pick up
the trail again at Burney Falls, California. I would ride from
there to a planned exit at at McKenzie Pass near Sisters, Oregon. I had made a family commitment that I would return
home by August 20, and we were to reach McKenzie Pass on
August 17, where an endurance rider friend was to pick us up.
She brought us down to her beautiful ranch in Sisters and
another endurance rider friend trailered us to Ashland where I
had left my rig. We made it home with a day to spare. Oregon
Page
16
Page 16
Tilden Wildcat
Wildcat Horsemen's
Newsletter
Tilden
May-June 2009
2008
January-February
Pacific Crest Through Ride
had no fires going while we were there,
and it was a really wonderful part of my
trip to see blue skys and dramatic clouds
while riding through its grand beauty of
the several wilderness areas and Crater
Lake National Park .
Some have asked how we resupplied
and what Primo ate besides grass while
we traveled. To supplement his graze I
planned an average of six pounds of processed feed per day. This was sealed in
Food-Saver bags without the vacuum so
bags would be flexible for easier packing.
I packed, three pounds in each bag, always including one five-pound bag that
Primo could eat while I packed a resupply
into the pommel bags and saddle bags.
The air-tight seal of these feed bags prevented smells from attracting bears and
other critters.
It was necessary to resupply many
times during our journey. This took a lot
of planning and I ended up relying on
several different approches. The approach that I used most often, especially
in Northern California and Oregon , was
to drive ahead and hide or, most often,
bury our caches near PCT trailheads or
road crossings. All of our food was prepacked in air-tight plastic bags as described above. I would bury a cache well
away from the trail or trailhead. I would
first carefully peel back the ground cover
and then dig a shallow trench about three
feet long, eight to ten inches deep and
about ten inches wide. Primos food bags,
and my main food bag (a 12 1/2" x 20"
OPSAK with several Ziploc freezer bags
containing different catagories of food),
would be placed in along with exactly ten
mothballs on top. Then the soil went in
with the original ground cover on top,
with leaves, pine needles, and branches
over for camouflage. When we arrived at
a cache, sometimes weeks later, I would,
saving the original ground cover, dig up
the cache with my digging trowel and recover the food bags and all ten moth balls
for reuse in my “bear charms” (it would
not be environmentally acceptable to
leave them). I would then refill the hole
and replace the ground cover and
camoflage. My criteria was to leave that
spot so that if a person were to pass by
he would not notice that a hole had been
there. What are bear charms? In parts of
the Yukon cotton tobacco sacks with
mothballs inside are known as “bear
charms” To discourage bears I used them
in camp around my main food sack (the
OPSAK) and surrounding my tent. I
would like to comment that no bear ever
got into my caches or came into my
camps.
The second method of resupply was
directly from my well-stocked horse
trailer. When we reached where I had left
it parked. I would, leaving Primo in good
care, drive my rig ahead, caching along
the way. To return to Primo I would hitch
a ride, take public transportation (if available), or get a pre-arranged ride back offered by an angel. I would have always
obtained permission in advance to park
the rig in a safe place.
The third approach to resupply required angels who would let me park my
rig in a safe place on their property, or
drop off my resupplies with them so I
could pick them up when we passed
through or near. Or, angels could meet us
at pre-planned locations. This assumed
that cell phone service was available. My
wonderful wife, Jereen, met us several
times while we passed through Southern
California.
The following is my sincere thank
you, thank you, THANK YOU, to all of
those fellow endurance riders (members
of the AERC - American Endurance Ride
Conference), Back Country Horsemen,
and other angels who helped in so many
ways to make our journey possible. In
this e-mail message I am including others
who would want to know about our adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail. Next
year I hope to return to McKenley Pass
and continue north to Canada.
Ed Anderson aka “MendoRider” on
the trail.
Page 17
May-June 2008
Page 17
Candlelight Vigil for
Choctaw and Lucky
Marianne Rountree. Choctaw was a beautiful
parade horse who was so gentle he went to
Shriners Children Hospital to cheer the children
being treated there. Lucky was a companion horse
of equal beauty rescued by the family and restored to full health.
The vigil began as Mike and Marianne rode
silently around the arena in remembrance and
handed the halters of their beloved horses to
Molly Cain, the emcee. There wasn’t a dry eye in
the crowd as we looked at the halters now being
retired for good. Hannah Nafsinger then sang a
beautiful and moving rendition of Wild Horses.
Her soulful voice and performance of this song
brought more poignancy to the moment and many
people were weeping by the end.
Supporting comments were given by Allison
Lindquist, Executive Director of the East Bay
SPCA, Lt. Steve Gallagher from the Livermore
Police Department and Vice-Mayor John
Marchand from the City of Livermore and Steve
Glazier from the Shriners in Livermore.
To show the indomitable spirit of our community the Painted Ladies had come all the way from
Sacramento and gave a rousing show of formaChoctaw, one of two horses shot intheir Livermore pasture on October 21.
tions and patterns on their beautiful paint horses.
By Christie Larner and Jim McTigue
The American flag was unfurled and carried at full speed around
the arena, which helped lift all of our very heavy hearts. It was
It was a very cold night on November 22 when 300 people
a testimony to the joy and beauty that horses bring to all of us
from all over the Bay Area equestrian community gathered at
with their form and willingness to be our partners.
Robertson Park in Livermore to remember Lucky and Choctaw,
The event ended with a moving statement from Mike
shot at close range in their Livermore pasture October 21, 2008.
Rountree.
He spoke about the horror the family felt and would
It was a senseless shooting by a coward with a .223 rifle. The
always
feel
every Oct. 21 from here on out as they remembered
horses who were pets and very friendly probably walked right
the
shock
of
that day. He spoke about what we all understood
up to the attacker. One, shot in the stomach ran across the
about
our
love
for animals and horses and our daily family life
pasture bleeding, trying to get to house where he knew his
with
them.
He
thanked
the East Bay SPCA, Shriners Hospitals
beloved family lived. This terrible crime is still unsolved. A
and
About
Hoofprints
on the Heart, a special needs riding
person who would do this, is a threat to all of us, animals,
program
for
their
support.
He also spoke about the critical
children and adults. The search is still going on and it is
importance
of
keeping
focus
on this crime until the perpetraimportant that the equestrian community continues to support
tors
face
justice.
As
long
as
the
person who did this is at large,
police action and research regarding this crime. There is a
jeopardy
for
ourselves
and
our
animals continues. Please let
$20,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction of
the
Livermore
Police,
at
925-371-4900
know that our family, the
this felony.
equestrian
community,
has
not
forgotten
and is still waiting for
As we gathered, we all were thinking of our own beloved
justice
for
Lucky
and
Choctaw.
animals who are members of our families, many living long
Anyone with information about this case should call the
happy lives with us. All of our hearts were heavy as we underContra Costa Sherriff’s Office at 925-212-2654.
stood the pain this terrible crime had brought to Mike and
Page 18
Ba
y Ar ea
Bay
Hor semen's Calendar
Saturday and Sunday, January 17 & 18 – BEGINNING REINING, FOUNDATION TRAINING CLINIC, Rockin 4 Ranch, Leap
of Faith Farms, Walnut Creek, CA. Sliding stops, spins, lead
changes and control. Audit, $25/day. Limited space, rsvp early.
For information, call Darren, (925) 858-4443 www.rockin4ranch.com
Camino Ramon, Danville, CA. 2009 Calendar meeting, Come
early, enjoy dinner. For information about CSHA, contact
Carolyn, (209) 836-00595 or e-mail: [email protected].
Saturday, January 17 – HUNTER/JUMPER SCHOOLING
SHOW, Denville-Kanani Farms, Danville, CA. Judge: Riley
Wilson. For information contact Valli, (925) 461-1374. Entry
forms on the website at: www.denville-kanani.com
Saturday, February 7 – MARIN HORSE COURSE, “HOPE FOR
THE HORSE POOR,” 9 a.m. Marin Humane Society, 171 Bel
Marin Keys Blvd., Novato, CA. offers speakers on Bandaging, First Aid, Bits, Nutrition and Hoof Care. Learn how to save
money from experts. $20 Adults-$10 under 16. Registration and
refreshments 9 am. Ends about 12pm. Contact Marina at (415)
794-1075 for more information. www.marinhorsecouncil.org.
Saturday and Sunday, January 17 & 18 - CALIFORNIOS TRADITIONAL HORSEMANSHIP & PRE-ROPING CLINIC, 9 a.m.2 p.m. Tuition: $375 Spectator fee: $20/day Exercises designed to further a horses training while preparing for or doing
a job. Some dry roping instruction included. (530) 896-9566.
http://www.thecalifornios.com/whatis.php
Saturday and Sunday, January 17 & 18 –SEMINAR/WORKSHOP, EQUINE MASSAGE FOR PERFORMANCE HORSES, 9
a.m. Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.$350. Limited space.
For more information contact Nancy at: [email protected]
or call (641) 472-1312 (9 a.m.-noon).
http://
www.mastersonmethod.com.
Saturday, January 17 - EQUINE FACILITATED MENTAL
HEALTH SEMINAR, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., San Martin Lions Hall, 12415
Murphy Ave., San Martin, CA. A “The Processes of Healing in
Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy” will be presented by the
staff of DreamPower Horsemanship. $10. Therapists, riding
instructors, grad students, and volunteers all welcome. Preregistration is required. Call for more information or to register.,
408-686-0535 www.dreampowerhorsemanship.com.
Wednesday-Sunday, January 21 to 25 – U.C. DAVIS REPRODUCTION CLINIC, Limited space, register early. For information contact Joel (530) 754-4156 or e-mail:
[email protected]. http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/
horsebarn
Sunday, January 25—OAKLAND’S EQUESTRIAN HERITAGE—a talk by Amelia Marshall, presented by the Metropolitan Horsemen’s Association. More info from Judi Bank,
510-531-5449 or at [email protected]
Monday, January 26 – TILDEN WILDCAT HORSEMEN’S
ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING, keynote speaker Judy
Etheridge, will discuss what goes into organizing rides and
events—more info on page 1 of this issue. RSVP by January
22.
Wednesday, January 28 – CALIFORNIA STATE HORSEMEN’S
ASSN. REGION 5 MEETING, 7 p.m. Denny’s restaurant, 807
Wednesday, February 4 – TRI-VALLEY TRAILBLAZERS GENERAL MEETING & POTLUCK DINNER, 6:30 p.m. Livermore
Library, 1188 S. Livermore Avenue, Livermore, CA.
Wednesday, February 18-Saturday, Feb 21—AMERICAN
MORGAN HORSE ASSOCIATION CONVENTION—at the
Radisson Hotel in Sacramento. Barn tours, workshops. Stallion Service Auction.
Open to all.Contact
www.morganhorse.com/association/annual_convention for
details and information.
Saturday, February 21 – EQUINE REPRODUCTION WORKSHOP, Airdance Farm, Livermore, CA.
Cohosts
VineyardEventing.com and Airdance Farm. Sign up now, $50
off $325 price. For information call (925) 550-8410 http://http//
www.equine-reproduction.com/courses/courses.shtml http://
www.vineyardeventing.com/
Saturday, March 14 – MASQUERADE BALL, XENOPHON
GALA, Orinda Country Club, Orinda, CA. benefit for
Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center. Get your tickets early,
this event is a sell out every year. For information, contact
[email protected].
Saturday, Sunday, March14-15--SHINE AND SHINE ONLY--25
and50 mile enducranc rides on the Bay Area Ridge Trail in at
Almaden Quicksilver Park in San Jsse. For more info, contact
Becky Hart at [email protected] or408-425-5860
Friday-Sunday, March 20 to 22 – PILATES FOR THE DRESSAGE RIDER WORKSHOP -- Friday lecture at the Orinda
Public Library, Saturday,Sunday workshops at Wyvern Farm.
Participation in full workshop is limited but there are spots for
auditors. more information at cdseastbay.org or
baysidepilates.com Reservations can be made with: George:
[email protected] or 408-393-7673; or Marina at:
[email protected] or 510-790-3094.
For more Bay Area equestrian events go to:
www.horseNpony.com/horsinaround
Page 19
EB Hills Ride Donations
With all done and counted, the 2008
East Bay Hills Ride and Hike raised about
$19,500 for the third consecutive year to
support trail projects and organizations.
The ride and hike committees met together in November to review the event
and agreed that the addition of the hikers was a key component. The hikers
liked being around the horses, and the
riders liked having the hikers there. So
we decided to promote a very similar
event in 2009, planning for which will
begin soon.
We also recommended to the
TWHA Board on how the funds raised
should be distributed. Of the funds collected, $13,425 was either collected by
or donated directly to the Bay Area Ridge
Trail. We decided, and the TWHA Board
approved, with one change, to distribute the remaining $6,000 as follows:
*$1,500 to the Metropolitan
Horsemen’s Association for maintenance and ultimately reconstruction of
Sequoia Arena. This historic arena has
not only been an EB Hills Ride campsite
for the past 6 years, but was the destination point for TWHA’s Ride for the
Ridge and Tri-for-the-Ridge in 1990 and
1991. It remains a central point for East
Bay equestrian activities.
*750 to the EBRPD’s Ivan Dickson
Volunteer Trail Maintenance program.
This program has funded over 100 volunteer trail maintenance projects in the
East Bay over the years, including
projects in Tilden, Redwood, Chabot,
and other parks that we ride in. Though
not specifically focused on equestrian
trails, virtually all of the trails it has
worked on over the years are open to
equestrians.
*$750 for a donation to the Volunteers for Outdoor California for the National Trails Project in June at Muir Heritage Land Trust’s Fernandez Ranch in
Martinez, where another 1.5 miles of Bay
Area Ridge Trail will be built, extending
the Ridge Trail North from Pinole Watershed.. V-O-Cal organizes large-scale,
weekend-long, trail construction and
maintenance projects, including three
that our ride has donated to in the
past—in Joaquin Miller Park, Sky
Ranch in Martinez and Brushy Peak in
Livermore.
*$3,000 to TWHA for use on trailrelated projects. TWHA was founded
to preserve equestrian trails, and over
the years has supported equestrian
trails and camping in a variety of ways.
The ride and hike committee felt confident that TWHA will find creative ways
to use these funds to promote trails
and camping opportunities for equestrians in the East Bay.
*$500 from the ride to the Concord-Mt. Diablo Trail Ride Association.
In 2006 and 2007, CMDTRA hosted the
EB Hills Trail Ride for 2 days, and over
the years has promoted equestrian activities on the trails of Mt Diablo, including Trail Trials, NATRC Competitive trail rides, campouts, and pony club
events. In 2007 ride funds supported a
trail work weekend on the trails near
CMDTRA. About a week after this
year’s ride and hike, the CMDTRA hay
barn, packed with $12,000 worth of justdelivered hay and shavings, burned to
the ground, and the contents was uninsured. Given the myriad ways that
CMDTRA has supported trails over the
years, we felt very comfortable giving
back to them in a time of need.
In accepting these recommendations, the TWHA Board made one important change. They did not feel the
donation to CMDTRA was large
enough and voted to donate an additional $500 from TWHA to help them
recoup their large loss.
With these donations, the East Bay
Hills Ride has now raised just over
$100,000 for the trails over the last 6
years. Of that about $70,000 has helped
support the expansion of the Bay Area
Ridge Trail, which now has 315 completed, dedicated trail miles, with many
more currently under planning and
construction. The generosity of the
participants in these events, and of the
TWHA and other volunteers who enable the ride to happen with a mini-
May-June 2008
Page 19
2008 TWHA Board
President:
Eric Schroeder 510-548-2724
[email protected]
Vice President:
Kirsten Whitsett 925-283-1997
[email protected]
Recording Secretary:
David Whittall 510-595-8525
[email protected]
Treasurer:
Kim Abbott 510-655-4195
[email protected]
Membership Secretary:
Jenni Smith 925.386.5580
[email protected]
Newsletter:
Morris Older 925-254-8943
[email protected]
Trail Work:
Alison Martin 510-559-9534
[email protected]
Historian:
Debby Young 925-254-1408
[email protected]
EBATC Representative:
Marilyn Terstegge 925-254-5430
[email protected]
Members At Large:
Lila Abdul-Rahim 925-284-9218
[email protected]
Jennifer Rader 925-689-0198
[email protected]
Gary Fitts 510-524-3729
[email protected]
Elise Geske 510-540-7481
[email protected]
Jane Binder 510-524-3300
Page Schorer 510-525-9675
[email protected]
Susan Palo 510-548-2724
[email protected]
Becky Mertens 510-981-0780
[email protected]
mum of expenses have made it possible to
have maximum effect.
Congratulations to everyone involved!
We hope to see you again come September.
Page 20
TWHA 2009 MEMBERSHIP FORM
Name(s)________________________________________________
____new or ____renewal
Address________________________________________________
Phone: ________________
City, State, Zip______________________________________________________________
Email_____________________________________
Do you have a trailer?________
Check here if you would NOT like to receive TWHA emails_______
Names/Birthdays of equestrian members__________________________________________________
Horse name(s)_________________________________________________________________________
Events or projects you may be able to help with _____________________________________________
2009 Dues Enclosed; $20 individual___ $25 family___$10 junior_____
2009-2010 Dues Enclosed; $35 individual___ $45 family___$15 junior_____
Send form, and check to: Jenni Smith, 811 Villa Ln. #3 Moraga, CA 94556, (925.376-5580)
Monday, January 26--TWHA Annual Meeting at Grizzly Bar and Grill
at the Tilden Golf Course --RSVP by January 22
Tilden-Wildcat
www.twha.org
50 La Encinal
Orinda CA 94563
address correction requested

2009 Jan-Feb - Tilden-Wildcat Horsemen`s Association

Transcription

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