For information about the American Endurance Ride Conference, visit AERC.org. To find out about the 2019 AERC National Championship rides, visit 2019NC.com. The 2019 championship rides will be held in Ridgecrest, California, on October 31 (50-mile ride) and November 2 (100-mile ride). Qualifications are in place for the championship rides, but open rides will be held at the same time, including limited distance rides, so all are welcome!
44 / Sport and Trail Magazine
For more information on the 2019 AERC National Championship Ride, including entry forms and location guide, go to 2019NC.com or see our Facebook page at facebook.com/AERC2019NC. For more information about the American Endurance Ride Conference, visit https://aerc.org.
New Endurance Rider Conquers "The Beast of the East"
By Geneva McNamara
On our way to camp I just kept going over the start in my head. I just had this gut feeling if I could start the ride right—meaning cool, calm and collected—we would finish this thing! We arrived at camp on Wednesday but it was near dark so we pretty much went to sleep right after we got there. I’m finally learning how to get some sleep rather than sit up and think about the ride all night.
Thursday in camp I helped with filling water troughs. I took Tango for a pre-ride (and she didn’t want to come back in) and stressed out about the days to come. Friday I pre-rode again and she was a little hot. She really wanted to go do that ride as much as I did! I volunteered at one of the holds and pulsed the finishers of the LD.
Dawn came over with her truck and I packed it to the brim! I may have gone a bit overkill with five kinds of feed, three kinds of hay, and almost everything else I carried in my trailer. I had to go find pizza because that’s what I planned on eating all day of the ride. I ended up going to sleep at 11:00 p.m. that night instead of the planned 8:00 p.m. I was getting up at 3:30 a.m. to feed Tango before the 5:30 a.m. start.
Morning came way too darn fast. I really just wanted another hour of sleep. I thought this was a bad sign because I typically shoot out of bed so excited to start. I was nervous, starting to feel sick to my stomach, doubting if I did the right thing by my horse in entering this ride. Before I knew it we were leaving camp five minutes late and behind everyone else, but that was just part of the plan. We walked out which was fantastic and just how I had hoped it would go.
The first loop we pretty much did our own thing, passing some people along the way. Near the end of the loop Tango met a horse named Lugnut, ridden by Amie, and fell in love. She tried bucking me off when I held her back and let him pass us.
In the hold I met my crew who had everything laid out perfectly for us. I trotted my horse out and then went about the normal way I would do things for my horse. I would soon learn by the stern words of Dawn's husband Dean that I needed to “sit down and eat and drink!” From then on, I got into the hold, passed the horse to my crew, and did just what he said.
Shortly into the second loop we ran into “Lug” again and I knew I was in trouble. Tango hadn’t settled yet and wouldn’t for another 15 miles or so. She made it clear that she wanted to stay with him, and I would allow it as long as they paced well together.
You know, Amie and I finished that ride together and it was pretty special. We made jokes, told each other about our families, tried rapping “Old Town Road” but instead used the words “OD Road.” Those poor horses had to put up with us. At a snack stop Lug nearly got caught up in a rattlesnake. Later we saw a juvenile bear crossing the trail, and also spotted a family of wild turkeys.
On trail there were a lot of rocks and some big climbs. A couple times I got off my horse to help her out and let her know I was in this with her. Didn’t that horse see me struggle and push her neck into me as if to say, “Grab on, I’ve got you”? She does this often when we are at home and I’m jogging the trails on foot. I will never forget that feeling—the feeling that I had a best friend who would do anything for me.
Coming into the finish I started getting choked up so I couldn’t even holler out in joy to the people waiting for us. Amie looked at me and said, “We just rode 100 miles on our horses,” and I blurted something out and started crying. She grabbed my hand and we crossed the finish like that.
I knew I had to suck up the emotion for just a little longer. I wouldn’t let myself feel true joy until the vet gave us our completion. Again, Dawn took Tango and jogged her out. When I heard the vet say, “Congratulations,” I just hugged Tango and buried my head in her neck.
Looking back, I had anticipated feeling like crap, getting delirious (well, there may have been a few episodes of seeing things), and not being able to walk the next day. I had anticipated working a lot harder getting my horse’s pulse down, and I wasn’t really sure we would even finish. It still feels surreal. I saw shoes flying off left and right while I volunteered Friday, but ours stayed on nice and tight.
I felt like I researched too much, and not enough, all at the same time. My horse made this easy for me with all of her heart and proper fitness. My crew made this easy for me by not letting me lift a finger while in the holds. They made sure I ate, drank and rested. My trail buddy made this easy for me by keeping me occupied and we truly had fun out there. If any one of those factors had been different I think I would have been telling a completely different story.
A million thank-yous to everyone on my dream team.
Update: Geneva and Tango completed the Vermont 100 on July 20 as well!
the 75. I started talking to some
friends and mentors. When one of
them told me that OD 100 would be
a good first 100 I was pretty much
done for.
This thing happens in my head where
I get a crazy idea, it brews, and I
usually make it happen. I had six
weeks! I knew my horse had a good
base and what better time than now?
She had close to 1,000 total limited
distance and endurance (50 or
longer) miles, plus more CTR, and she
turned 16 this year. I got a little sick
to my stomach the day I put the entry
form into the mail slot. There was no
going back after that. I told Tango
about the new plans, and she seemed
to go along with it, eating the carrots
out of my hands.
I started researching the trail which
was fairly easy to do thanks to an
endurance blog where the author
recounted her experience riding the
trail. I put together a packing list and
when it was done I added a bunch
more items. I recalculated everything
I put into my horse’s body at a ride
including electrolytes and essential
nutrients and made minor tweaks
which I tested at a short CTR. I made
sure I was training on more rocks and
hills.
I started to plan to ride cavalry
because I couldn’t find crew. Shortly
before the ride my friends Dawn and
Mary offered their help . . . thank
goodness!
New Jersey rider Geneva McNamara
has graduated from 25-mile rides to
one of the most challenging 100-mile
endurance rides in the country, the
Old Dominion 100 in Virginia. She's a
member of the American Endurance
Ride Conference and also its "Green
Bean" program, an educational/
support group with individual or team competition component, which has made this tough sport easier for
beginners.
Here is Geneva's story:
In October 2018 I started my
endurance career with my first 50
mile ride on NPS Tango. I had done
over 300 miles that season of
competitive trail riding, limited
distance rides (25-35 mile AERC
rides), and one 50 that year. I got
some plans together over the winter
and started early this year with a 50
at Broxton Bridge in South Carolina
aboard a catch ride. It was supposed
to be back-to-back 50s on a different
catch ride, but you know how things
can go with horses.
In April I rode back-to-back 55s on
two different horses at the Old
Dominion No Frills and was
pleasantly surprised with a sixth
place finish on Tango and High Vet
Score. I had never felt like I had so
much happy horse left after a ride
than I did there. So, after the weekend
I went home and started scheming . . .
I had originally planned the year to
peak at Moonlight in Vermont riding