Endurance Riders Association of BC
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ast month, Katya Levermann shared President -June Melhuish jjmrider@hughes.net with us her amazing VP - vacant endurance experiences. Secretary - Lori Bewza loribewza@gmail.com Since then, by completing Treasurer - Lynn Wallden wallden6484@shaw.ca Directors: Fort Howes 75 Mile CEI Louise Abbott louiseabbott@telus.net Ride in Montana on June Elaine Bessuille e_bessuille@telus.net 8, Katya has qualified Terre O’Brennan tobytrot@telus.net Brenda Miskimmin mcpennytoo@telus.net for FEI North American Fred Dzida, fred.dzida@weyerhaeuser.com Junior and Young Rider Christine Voglmaier, meinmozart@yahoo.com Championships in Katrin Levermann, katrinlevermann@gmail.com Kentucky. www.ERABC.com The Endurance Riders Association of BC has more amazing juniors, who make the distances seem so easy... can it be youth? Thanks to Grace and Anya for adding their stories as junior endurance riders. Officers & Directors 2011
Grace My Name is Grace Logie. I am 13. I am so glad to be a part of the endurance riders group. I have only been doing this for a year and I am hooked! Last April, my Mom ran into a friend of hers and was telling him how much I enjoy riding (even though I had only ridden Quarter Horses, and didn’t even have a saddle that fit, nor did I ride with stirrups). This couple invited me to come ride at their ranch. Julius Bloomfield was kind enough to get me into the endurance circuit and has been my sponsor! I Grace Logie did my first race at Iron Horse Ride last year on one of his horses, Avtar. I did the 50-mile race. It was very fun; I even placed in the top ten overall. And that was it, I was hooked! Since that ride, I have been riding Avtar, Julius’s 20+ year-old Arabian. Avtar is an international horse; he has been to Germany and Malaysia. This year, I was fortunate enough to take Avtar to two rides in the USA. For me, that was very exciting, as it was my first time in the United States. I am looking forward to riding at the Nationals in Idaho, on Avtar.
Anya
Anya Levermann
My name is Anya Levermann and I am 12 years old. Our family lives on a farm with cattle and Arabian horses. My mom put me on a horse as soon as I could walk. When I was four, I had my first riding lesson on the retired Arab show horse Jea. Soon, I participated in horse shows. I won many ribbons with Jea. Then my mom learned about endurance riding and started competing. My sister Katya and I wanted to start
52 • Saddle Up • July 2013
endurance, too. So, my mom took me to my first ride at Skimikin Lake when I was six. I rode the Arab Nero Gallo in the 25 mile distance. For my next Stefanie Travers rides, I started riding Jamil Ben Rhys, an extremely forward-moving horse. He became my endurance horse and I did my first 50 on Jamil. He was my most trusted horse and he taught me to become an endurance rider and never give up. Together with my sister and my mom we travelled all over the country. We went to many rides in BC, Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In 2012, I started riding “Tootsie,” an Arabian from the racetrack. At the Owyhee Canyonlands multi-day ride in Idaho last year, I rode with a friend of my mom’s on her 7-year-old Mustang, Bishop. We had planned to ride all five days 50 miles, but couldn’t because Bishop got kicked by another horse on day 3. Bishop was lame on the morning of day 4, so we gave him a day off and we managed to complete the final day. This spring at the Owyhee Fandango in Idaho, Bishop and I completed our first 100 mile ride together. On that day, we experienced sun, a lot of wind, rain, thunder and lighting. We rode in the pitch black and in the glow of the moon. Bishop took good care of me. We arrived in camp at 2:45 in the morning. What a great feeling it was to accomplish something like this. That ride got me qualified for the 100 mile Championships in September in Idaho this year. Until then, I will ride Tootsie and hopefully another multi-day ride on Bishop.
In other endurance news, the second annual “Fundamentals of Endurance” clinic was held again in Pritchard on May 25-26 and, like the first clinic, was well-attended by fourteen riders from the length and breadth of Southern BC. Day one of the clinic started with a PowerPoint presentation by Terre O’Brennan (Thanks, Terre!) on a full range of endurance topics and information, and was followed by an equipment demonstration and discussion of endurance equipment that has been developed to specifically answer the needs of long-distance riding for both the horse and the rider. Stefanie Travers of Lodestar Horsemanship, Merritt, joined the group in the arena, having gathered up their horses for lessons and tips on developing a calm and controlled relationship with their horses. Stefanie’s manner and skills were a real treat to behold and work with. Day two of the clinic introduced riders to the routine of the vet check before setting out on a 10 mile ride led by Fred Dzida, and joined by fellow ERABC members Lori Bewza and Brenda Miskimmin. The riders were shown the trail marking, pacing their horses, and trail etiquette. Arriving back safely, their horses were “vet-checked” by ERABC volunteers, and their journeys home began shortly thereafter. Thanks to Horse Council for their grant helping to support this event and to Stefanie for providing her home and its facilities! As always, check out www.erabc.com for upcoming events. See you on the trail! HCBC 2010 Business of the Year