2005
By Marion Shearer
Ontario Equestrian Captures Top Honours At Fairhill International
Festival. Fairhill International Festival in Maryland hosted,
for the first time on this continent, a competition including
Three Day Eventing, Combined Driving competitions and the North
American FEI CEI **** 100-mile Endurance Championship. Evolving
from cavalry training events, through the Pony Express, endurance
riding has become one of the fastest growing equine sports, with
over 6,000 participants in Canada and the U.S.A. Endurance competitions
are rigorous, formidable marathons for horse and rider. It is
not uncommon for a rider to dismount and run to ease the horse’s
back and refresh it.
At 5 a.m., Saturday, October 15th, sixty-two horses left in
a mass start on leg one of the 100-Mile Race. There were top
teams and individual riders from Canada East, Canada West, and
five U.S. regions, plus international riders representing Brazil,
Japan and Great Britain.
The Canada East Team members:
Deborah Strand on Aaristocat; support crew, Jim McBride &
Lisa Strand, Ruth Sturley on RBF Super Sport; support crew, Marion
Shearer & Alycin Hayes Natalie Powers-Walker on Traverston
Cob; support crew, Mike Bostick & Nancy Beacon Yvette Vinton
on JS Sedona Sun; support crew, Rick Burnside & Vanessa Waters
Team Veterinarian, Dr. Stan Alkemade; Asst. Team Veterinarian,
Dr. Allison Hooper Team Chef d’Equipe, Kay Melvin; Asst.
Chef d’Equipe, Dr. Scott Hei.
It had rained heavily for days before the race and, although
the sun shone on Saturday, the cool wind made it difficult to
judge a horse’s hydration. Of the 62 horses starting, only
29 finished. Canadians Deborah Strand on Aaristocat was eliminated
at Vet Check 2, and Yvette Vinton and JS Sedona Sun at Vet Check
4. The top Canadian, in 6th place, was Canada East rep, Ruth
Sturley on RBF Super Sport. Sturley, of Owen Sound, Ontario,
opted to start two minutes behind to avoid over-exciting her
mount, and save valuable energy and strength for later in the
day.
The Fairhill terrain included open fields, hills, woods, gravel
and paved roads, covered bridges and bridges spanning major roads,
plus fording rivers and streams. There were six loops -- from
12.8 miles to 22.9 miles -- with five vet checkpoints. Horses
reaching a checkpoint had to wait until their pulse dropped to
64 bpm before the clock started on their mandatory rest period.
Sturley rode Super Sport at a pace maintaining a heart rate
of 125-135 bpm. Because of her conditioning program it never
took Sport more than three minutes after arrival to get to the
rest range. When asked about the highlight of the race, Sturley
replied, "There were so many great aspects that made up
our day, it’s hard to single out one thing. I’d been
riding the last two loops with Valerie Kanavy (two-time World
Champion) and we’d taken turns throughout the last 24 miles
with one horse in front for a stretch, then allowing the other
horse to lead. I had been in the lead until about a mile from
the finish line, but I knew this World Champion rider wasn’t
likely to let me cross the finish line ahead of her.
Official NAEC Fairhill International Results
Participating Squads
# Brazil
# Canada
# Great Britain
# Japan
# USA Central
# USA East
# USA Mountain
# USA Pacific North
# USA Pacific South
Final Results
1 242 Karen Kroon Rokket 11:45:30
2 282 Dominique Freeman Jayel Super 11:45:50
3 218 Sandra E. Conner Elegant Pride 12:03:32
4 213 Betty Baker Synematic 12:03:42
5 222 Valerie Kanavy Bahia Gold 12:15:50
6 204 Ruth Sturley RBF Super Sport 12:15:58
7 216 Debbie Bullis Iron Will 12:25:14
8 265 Nicole Chappell Wiere Rebel Fire Bask 12:48:21
9 214 Nina Barnett KF Zorro 12:54:26
10 207 Julius Bloomfield Avtar 12:54:57
11 232 Darolyn Butler DJB Caution TNT 13:01:42
12 217 Lois McAfee Tonka Toi 13:04:29
13 245 Suzanne White Hedgecock AA Montego 13:18:20
14 264 Barry Waitte LV Cambridge 13:24:04
15 261 Carolyn Hock GT Sando 13:24:05
16 257 Gabrielle Mann Soaring St. Patrick 14:02:17
17 254 Lindsay Graham Phoenix Affair 14:02:18
18 258 Jennifer Niehaus Cheyenne XII 14:02:19
19 256 Warren Hellman Tiki Chaps KU 14:02:20
20 243 Heather Stevens RSA Count La Quen 14:02:25
21 237 Jan Worthington DJB Wersus 14:05:45
22 255 Hal V. Hall Bogus Thunder 14:05:52
23 239 Gail Zeck HK Ivann 14:09:32
24 283 Kanako Hayaski DJB Setareh Banoo 14:13:12
25 236 Dina Stevens Dixie Love 15:06:41
26 250 Terry Benedetti Koli Bey Berry 15:08:26
27 235 Anita Sinnott CR Windsor 15:40:47
28 201 Natallie Powers III-Walker Traverston Cob 15:48:10
29 206 Karen Badger Bree 15:48:11
Eliminations
231 Butler Ceci DJB Foxfire M
212 Alderdice Krista Manyone Praise Song Furka L
260 Bachmann Hillorie CV Eli M
230 Barbo Candy Regal Task L
252 Brown Cindy Yaquar Adonai RO
215 Brunjes Katherine J. Prymtym M
281 Camilo Marcos Dunedust RO
280 Cardoso Honorio Marcio Jose Dameon PJ L
208 Dorchester Mary-Anne SH Rock N Roll L
220 Engsberg Sarah Hunt Koweta Vanna Kaye L
221 Fleming Myra Fly Like The Wind L
253 Giles Carol L. SAR Tiki Stranger L
233 Goddard Linda Khourageous Lady OT
209 Harper Claudia Gulastras Sundown OT
240 Jackson M.J Edens Bay Rum M
241 Jones Susie VLYVW Reklassic L
224 McGunigal Danielle Kanavy Flash Flame L
262 Reynolds Heather CP Magestic L
210 Riley Linda Sir Century M
226 Rojek Steve Finally M
225 Rojek Dinah Phoenix RO
234 Sandlin Douglas Contender L
227 Sleeper DVM Meg Syrocco Rime M
259 Sproat Ronald W. Ladys Dividend L
203 Strand Deborah Aaristocat M
219 Thomas Kara Sambet L
228 Thomson Sandra L. Bey Shamala L
223 Tomson Samantha Dirty Money L
263 Townsend Jeff Kann Sam Count L
229 Van Deusen Cheryl DA Al Capone M
205 Vinton Yvette JS Sedona Sun M
244 Webb Tracy Fabrege PJ M
238 Wunderlich Genie AM Gypsy Bridge M |