Those early rides also taught Crawford something about herself: a quiet, leisurely walk down the path wasn’t for her. She liked to move out and her horse liked to move out with her. Distance riding tends to be dominated by Arabians. Their well-known endurance and metabolism seems to have been designed for this type of riding but Crawford says that CTR is also perfect for other breeds, including gaited horses, because these events are not so much about how fast you finish but what condition the horse is in when it crosses the finish line.
“Yes, I’ve gotten my share of good-natured ribbing about my little mare’s legs going a mile a minute during a ride,” says Crawford of her Paso Fino, “but I also get to joke at the end of the ride that I’m not nearly as tired as the rest of the group because I didn’t have to post for the entire distance. Generally, people in CTR are very supportive and have always helped us as we got involved in the sport.”
Crawford urges people who swear that someday they are going to try either endurance or competitive trail riding to take advantage of the ‘get-your-feet–wet’ rides that organizers offer. “Both sports have introductory or conditioning rides of 10 to 15 miles that you can try out. These are a great way to find out if this could be for you. If you like to trail ride, you like to camp out, and, you like to move forward with your horse, this could be your sport!”
Crawford believes that the family feel that surrounds CTR and endurance riding makes for a great environment. “In both these sports I have found wonderful, experienced people who have gone out of their way to help me. In a short time, thanks to them, I’ve gone from a newbie to being part of the family. Give this sport a try and you’ll be hooked,” Crawford promises, based on her own positive experiences, which include the simple joy of spending quality time with your horse.
“I really am not the most disciplined person (my two small dogs have me wrapped around their paws) so I don’t have a detailed plan I follow now. However, when we first started I did follow a plan that would get us to be able to do six miles an hour, which is basically the speed you need to complete a ride.
Of her association with FOSH, Crawford acknowledges that she’s proud to be a member. “I am a huge admirer of the work that FOSH has done in bringing to light, educating, and supporting legislation to address the issue of soring. I felt that even in a small way through my membership if I could support their efforts I would,” she says. Crawford should know that FOSH and all the riders
“I do run into others that also had to wait a long time to pursue their horse dreams. I think it just shows you not to give up on your dreams. If you really want to make it happen you will”
There’s nothing more refreshing than honesty, especially when stories about winning rider and horse combinations can make the average rider feel that success in the saddle, especially in the distance program, is a goal that’s just too hard to reach. Thus, when Susan Crawford, 64, of York, Pennsylvania, confides that she’s “not the most disciplined person in the world” and that “a bottle of Aleve” sometimes has to substitute for a personal fitness regimen as she heads off to the trails, all riders should take heart about what can be accomplished. Crawford and her seven-year-old Paso Fino mare, Lluvia de la Pluma (Lulu) were winners in the FOSH distance program; this ‘I’m loving it rider’ is happy to share the why and how she did it with the rest of us.
Like many riders of mature years, Crawford’s love affair with the horse started when she was a child. So, if the story of a rider who didn’t buy her first horse until she was 58 (and motivated by her granddaughter’s love of horses, decided that there was no reason at that point in her life that she couldn’t own a horse) doesn’t inspire you, chances are that you’re not the sort of child who grew up horse mad and inherited the horse gene.
Crawford says like so many other people, life got in her way of continuing with her riding but just because horses were put on the backburner, that didn’t mean that the spark wasn’t always there, waiting to be rekindled. Once she had procured her own mount, she looked around for the best way she could spend time with her horse and decided that combining her love of camping with her enjoyment of trail riding was the way to go. “This sport combined the two things,” she says of competitive trail riding. “Although I didn’t know it on my first ride, I now think that competitive trail riding (CTR) is the best way for new riders to learn about their horses and to learn how to care for them on the trail.”
She Did It!
like her who are dreaming of taking the plunge into distance riding via the Gaited Distance program are proud, too, of what she’s doing in educating others about the merits of the gaited horse and proving it by example.
28 / Sport and Trail Magazine
Susan Crawford, 64, and her Paso Fino mare win the FOSH Distance Program