Endurance Riders Association of BC
T
he Endurance Riders Association of BC returned to its longtime ride site on June 23 at the Coutlee Plateau in Merritt for a “test” event offering a 50-mile ride level only. The site has been unavailable for www.ERABC.com the last three years as the areas most severely decimated by pine beetle infestation were logged and chipped. It was a relief and delight to find Ride Camp meadow just as it had been - with surrounding deadfall removed - and the access road much improved! Ride Manager Terre O’Brennan had cleverly found loops of trail that missed the logged areas, or threaded through giant fallen pine trees, fl trees flagged agged at each twist of the trail. trail Supported by the club club’ss new pump, water in camp was ample, and the cool spring had left lots of water along the trails. Some riders had arrived days earlier to enjoy the site again, and finally! But despite all these auspicious signs, at the end of the day... or two days... the club motto needed to be revised for this event “To Attend is to Win” would have been better! Late Friday night, the storm clouds rolled over camp, and the heavens unleashed rig-shaking thunder, blinding flashes of lightning and torrents of rain that fell sideways in the howling wind. Not surprisingly, this was upsetting to many campers, both equine and human! It lasted an hour, and morning finally arrived showing camp shrouded in mist, but undamaged. Twenty-one riders started the fift y miles, knowing they would have lots of “technical” riding in front of them, mostly from wet trail, and possibly from lost trail markings, or new downfall. They were right... but as the day wore on, many riders also found their equine buddies showing signs of ADR (“Ain’t Doin’ Right”), and opted to pull from the competition, and ride another ride another day. Twelve riders completed the day; Bianca MacKenzie and Divine recorded first place in 5:59; Murray MacKenzie and Ransome were awarded Best Condition, also in 5:59, Gail Jewell and Sassy (NL Temptation) received High Vet score, completing in 6:35. Congrats to Lynn Wallden and CJ Mohawk Supreme for completing their first 50-miler - they’ll all seem easy after this one! The Awards Ceremonies followed the second stormy outbreak of thunder, lightning, wind and rain, and included speculation and discussion as to how the horses’ performances that day may have been affected by an unsettling night before. See www.erabc.com for complete results. Officers & Directors 2011
President -June Melhuish jjmrider@hughes.net VP - Ruth Moorby Tmoorby@hotmail.com Secretaryy - Lori Bewza loribewza@gmail.com Treasurer - Lynn Wallden wallden6484@shaw.ca Directors: Louise Abbott louiseabbott@telus.net Elaine Bessuille e_bessuille@telus.net Terre O’Brennan tobytrot@telus.net Cory Anthony cwanthony@shaw.ca Brenda Miskimmin mcpennytoo@telus.net Fred Dzida, fred.dzida@weyerhaeuser.com Christine Voglmaier, meinmozart@yahoo.com
68 • Saddle Up • August 2012
What a different scenario for the ERABC Clinic “Fundamentals of Endurance” held on July 7-8 in Pritchard near Kamloops. Twelve attendees, most with their horses, camped around the grounds graciously provided by Stephany Dean, on what was to prove the hottest weekend so far this summer, and a scorcher at any time! Terre O’Brennan shared her many years of experience and knowledge regarding choosing, conditioning and caring for the endurance horse to interested equestrians from Langley to Kelowna and points in-between. June Melhuish provided samples of endurance tack, saddles, and fitting. Paul Dufresne led a two-hour session in the arena on suppling your horse to maximize performance on the trail. Nancy Roman even dropped by with the latest Saddle Up issue - thanks Nancy! On the second day, Barb Holmes-Balmer stood in for the real veterinarians and “vet-checked” each horse, explaining to the owners the significance of each category and assessment. Fred Dzida led the group on a 10-mile loop, explaining pacing, trail marking and trail etiquette, as well as assessing the horse’s condition on the trail. trail It was a hot ride, ride but all arrived back safely, and were given their post-ride check by Barb, June, and Fred, who again explained the assessments they made. Another big learning day! We hope to see you all at a ride someday soon, and a huge thank-you to Stephany for providing her home and property, and for marking the 10-mile loop for us! The results of the July 21st ride, Iron Horse, will be available online before our next article. The Skimikin Lake Ride will offer 22-mile and 50-mile levels on August 25; on September 15, Last Chance Mountain Run will be held in Westbank and the Glenrosa Telemark trails... and then our season closes – so soon! See you on the trails! Terrie LaPorte and Lynn Wallden finishing a wet loop
Clinic with Paul Dufresne
HCBC 2010 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR