These articles on the 2001 XP were in Endurance News. 

Part 1:  Preparing for the 2001 XP

Part 2:  XP’loring the Trail, 2000 Miles of Memories

Part 3:  2001 XP Accomplishments

Preparing for the 2001 XP

by Karen Chaton, Copyright 2002 

Part 1 of 3

This summer a group of about 60 endurance riders rode from Saint Joseph, Missouri on the original Pony Express trail to Virginia City, Nevada. So just what does one do to prepare for an 8 week, 2,000 mile multiday endurance ride?  I asked several riders who went and found that there are as many different ways to prepare for a monumental event such as this as there were miles to be ridden.

Many of the riders had planned on doing this event for 2 ½ to 3 years, when Dave Nicholson, DVM made the announcement at the 1998 Death Valley Encounter.  At that time riders began purchasing entries and making plans and dreaming! 

For some, preparation included reading up on the actual trail itself.   In 1992 the Pony Express National Historic Trail, which covers the entire route followed by pony express riders, was designated part of the National Trails System.  It goes over much of the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails, which are also of great historical significance.  The most read book by riders was the Traveler’s Guide to the Pony Express Trail, by Joe Bensen.  Other books read included the 1976 Great American Horse Race and Graves and Sites on the Oregon Trail.  A great number of riders felt a connection since they had ancestors who had come across the trail, some as immigrants in wagon trains and at least one relative who pushed a handcart. 

A lot of horses brought on the trip were solid competitors, having completed multidays previously.  Nearly every rider polled mentioned completing 5 day rides such as Outlaw Trail, Fort Schellbourne, Applegate-Lassen, Lost Wagon Train, the Fall XP, Renegade and Timberon rides.  Quite a few horses had over 3,000 career miles and some more than  5,000 and 7,000 miles.  Many others had very few career miles but had been conditioned for several months. The riders themselves as a whole were a very experienced bunch, and included ride managers, veterinarians and AERC Directors.  Not everybody had a lot of experience, for at least one rider this was his first endurance ride. 

Getting the rig ready for such a trip included doing such things as fluid and filter changes, checking brakes, bearings and getting new tires and spares if needed.  Hayracks, bucket holders, trailer window screens and additional water storage were common things that were added.  Some made hay hoists ranging from simple to elaborate.  A couple of people also put winches on their vehicles and added an exhaust brake. Most everybody had cell phones to communicate with.  There were a variety of rig configurations with most riders using what they already had, including pickups with gooseneck trailers, motorhomes and pickups with campers or shells and bumper pull trailers.  Some trailers had nice living quarters with all the amenities while others were very simple with just dressing rooms.  Some even used tents to sleep in.  A few riders brought two rigs. 

The most common purchases for this ride included GPS’s, cameras, tack, Easyboots, rain gear, riding tights, flashlights, and knives.  Several also purchased laptop computers and map software.  Another popular purchase was an overhead tie system for tying their horses.  Less popular were corral panels and electric fencing.  Some felt it would be asking too much to have their crews set up and put down panels every day while others felt that taking up that much space in a crowded camp was inappropriate.  The biggest purchases made by at least a couple of people were completely new rigs.   Some riders purchased used trailers or even new trailers with the intention of using it just for the ride and then re-selling it. 

Many riders planned on getting several horses ready for the event, and then chose the ones they felt would perform the best.  A couple of people mentioned getting new horses and conditioning them for a year prior, only to have them come up with a problem just weeks before the ride so ended up taking their old campaigners anyway.  Problems with horses just before the event included horses getting strangles from attending an endurance ride; injuries from pasture accidents and lameness.  Most planned on bringing 2-4 horses.  

A lot of riders worked really hard to get themselves in condition.  They mentioned jogging, working out and riding 3-4 times a week.  Many went to endurance rides to keep themselves and their horses in shape.  Some riders did not do any endurance rides, or only did one or two in an effort to save money.  Most conditioned their horses themselves, often with the help of a spouse or relative.  A couple of people hired trainers to help them with their horses because they couldn’t do it all by themselves.   

How did people find crews, knowing that they would need somebody to commit for 8 or 9 weeks?  Several people took their relatives, including spouses, parents, grandparents or children.  Others hired friends or even strangers from want ads they had placed in newspapers or on the internet.  Most reported paying their crews around $3,000 for the two-month trip.  Not everybody had great luck with his or her crews.  Sometimes they just didn’t get along.  In some cases the crewperson quit, or was let go. Several people mentioned damage sustained to their rigs and unnecessary accidents involving their horses because of their crew.   Many would agree that the riders who had the most harmonious relationship were the ones who had their spouses crewing for them. 

For many, the time off work and loss of income was the most complicated part of doing the XP.  Many riders were retired so getting time off work wasn’t an issue.  Others used all their vacation and sick pay.  A lot were self-employed.  Regardless of their situation, leaving home for such an extended period required considerable planning.  Several people paid somebody to housesit for them or relied on friends, neighbors and relatives to look after things while they were gone.  Arrangements had to be made to have all the bills paid, animals fed and the lawn mowed.  Some paid their bills electronically or had somebody do it for them if they hadn’t paid in advance. 

Finding horse hay and feed along the route topped the list of concerns riders had.  (which, incidentally turned out to not be a problem)  Weather was another major concern.  People worried about the heat and humidity, the high winds, hail and rain.  Others worried about getting injured or having their crew get injured.  Some weren’t sure how their horses would handle being hauled such a long way in the summer heat. 

About half said that they didn’t do a budget because they didn’t want to scare themselves, while the other half said that yes they did a budget.  A few mentioned that there were still unexpected expenses.  Riders took out loans and borrowed money if they had to, deciding that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that they could not pass up. 

Riders became more serious about getting ready once the New Year rolled around.  That’s when most said they started making purchases and stockpiling things they knew they would need on the trip.  Items most commonly stocked up on:  AA batteries and Desitin, Easyboots, duct tape, Vetwrap, Gu, electrolytes, sports bars and beverages. 

Did a lot of planning ahead of time make a difference?  Some riders feel that it did.  One rider who had prepacked her horse feed and had it waiting all along the route said that it was one of the best things she did.  They didn’t have to try and find feed or worry about being able to get it along the way or at what intervals.  Ultimately, it probably wouldn’t have affected how many days she rode but it was one less thing to worry about.  We all know endurance riders could use one less thing to worry about.

Most supplies were easily had along the route.  Wal-Mart’s, feed stores and other services were easily found the first few weeks of the ride.  So it turned out that if somebody had forgotten something they could find it as they went along.  Just like the pioneers, some that had overpacked were dumping things out the first week of the ride to lighten their load.  The most mentioned item that people said they brought too much of? Clothes. 

There really was no right or wrong way to prepare for this event. Probably the most important preparation was with regard to the horses, and success depended on overall basic horsemanship and common sense of each rider and crew person there.  Nothing else really mattered.  Whatever riders did or did not do to prepare for the 2001 XP, it must have worked.  When asked if they would do it again the answer was a unanimous YES!

Next month we’ll go over some of the more memorable parts of the trail.  J 

XP’loring the Trail, 2000 Miles of Memories

2001 Pony Express Ride

by Karen Chaton, Copyright 2002

Part 2 of 3

For many of us, riding the Pony Express trail brought on a whole new aspect to endurance riding.  We were riding through history.   I’ll try my best to cover some of the more historical aspects of the trail and the parts that the riders remember the most.    Many of us are still realizing the significance and enormity of it all.  To condense the details of the trail into mere words is not an easy task.  Words really cannot contain the emotions or the experiences of what we went thru.  Every traveler along this historical route 140 years ago encountered adventure, discovery and hardship which was revealed to each of us on the back of a horse as we progressed on our incredible journey. 

In St. Joseph, Missouri we encountered our first National Historical Landmark, the Patee House Museum. The Patee House served as headquarters for the Pony Express in 1860-61. It was here that Pony Express operators Russell, Majors, and Waddell had their main office, and it was at Patee House where Pony Express riders stayed. The Pony Express was literally put together in a two month period during the winter of 1860. It was an enormous undertaking, assembling 156 stations, 120 riders, 400 horses and hundreds of employees, all during January and February of 1860 - without the benefit of radio, telephones, telegraph or even mail service. The Pony Express ran each week in each direction, with an average time of 10 days. The mail averaged almost 250 miles a day.  The most significant thing the Pony Express accomplished was to help hold California and its gold - for the Union at the start of the Civil War.

Talk about anticipation!  Most of the riders had waited months, years even…for the start of this ride and it was quite a spectacular one.  The horses were loaded into trailers in St. Joseph, Missouri and hauled across the river to Elwood, Kansas.  The morning was dark, humid, and  dark clouds loomed menacingly overhead.  Baseball sized butterflies fluttered around inside my stomach on the short trip to the start.  We unloaded our already tacked up horses and just like that, we were off.  After all the months spent dreaming about the ride here we were actually embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.  Prior to the ride, we had received instructions from The Duck on How It Will Work, as follows:

On the morning of the ride we will assemble at the parking lot at Riverfront Park and get last minute instructions. From there you will have your saddled and bridled horse in the trailer and ready to go. Your driver will take you across the bridge and to the very limited parking area at the start. You will jump your horse out of the trailer and ride off. You should practice this before you get to St. Joe. I can jump out of the truck, unload my horse and be in the saddle in less than 30 seconds. That is less time than it takes for the light to change green. Practice it, watch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid over and over. See how the Pinkertons got off the train. Get good at it. We may shoot the stragglers. I want to see this go off like a commando raid. We are going to unload 80 head of horses in less than five minutes and hit the trail. Within 15 minutes there will be nothing there but hoofprints.

We encountered some of the unfriendliest weather the first week of the ride.  It rained.  Then it rained some more.  Since it was June, it was also very hot.  I soon understood why no endurance rides are run in these states during this time of the year.  The horses handled it better than we did.  Riders choosing to ride continued on, undaunted by the incredibly harsh conditions.  We were hot, tired and stressed to our limits.  Yet, somehow it was bearable.  We believed it would get easier (we weren’t always right!), and became enthralled with the history on the trail.  Oregon, California, Mormon and Pony Express Trail markers illuminated the way for us.  Fascinated by history, most of us rode from marker to marker soaking in every word on each and every one.  Understanding and appreciating more and more why doing this ride was so important to so many of us. 

After many days of riding past corn fields, cemeteries, thru rain and mud, we arrived at the very spot that the Plum Creek Massacre occurred on August 8th, 1864 in what is now Phelps County, Nebraska. The massacre was part of a concerted attack by the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. Ranches, stage stations, homesteaders' cabins and wagon trains were attacked and burned. Men, women and children were killed outright or captured. Some captives were tortured and killed, some were ransomed.  I rode off trail to visit the gravesites here, then continued on to the finish, passing signs indicating that we were going by the location of an original Pony Express station.  We were camped near here for the night after finishing the 8^th day of the ride.  The trail was finally drying out and we were quite happy to be seeing blue sky.  The horses were thriving on the abundance of lush green grass that was everywhere.  

The pine bluffs of Nebraska and Chimney Rock signaled the true west for the pioneers and the end of plains travel and the beginning of the rugged mountain portion of the journey.  No one was happier to pass the Rock than the “Riders of the Lost Duck”, as we knew we were going to get relief from the humidity.  The tip of Chimney Rock rises 445 feet above the North Platte River Valley. Chimney Rock is actually about two miles south of the main trail, but was in the view of westbound emigrants for 30 to 40 miles from the east, or two full days' travel. We only saw Chimney Rock on our 15^th ride day, since we were covering 50 miles a day. Chimney Rock Station was an important Pony Express stop between stations at Courthouse Rock and Ficklin's Springs.

I remember seeing Chimney Rock from a distance and wondering how the original Pony Express riders handled the heat we were riding in.  We finished the ride in Melbeeta that day, where a thermometer read 108 degrees with a high % of humidity.  Our crews were literally our lifelines.  A local resident had pulled a water hose out into the street where the finish and vet check was while local residents sat in the shade of a tree watching us cool our horses down after finishing.  Everybody we met along the way was so friendly to us.  Farmers and residents always welcomed us with open arms and gave us water.  Many of them took the time to explain local history and landmarks to us.  Children delighted in watching the horses, their imaginations running wild.

Wheel ruts worn to a depth of five feet in places can still be seen in Guernsey, Wyoming.  This was our basecamp after finishing ride day 17, made most memorable by the extremely breathtaking sunset and sunrise.  On the ride in to Register Cliff that day we rode thru farmers’ fields that were filled with wagon train ruts.  Register Cliff is covered with the names of emigrants with many of the signatures including names, dates and a hometown. 

Northeast of Farson is where a single set of old wagon ruts abruptly split into two distinct tracks.  It is one of the most dramatic, historic sites in Wyoming.  There is nothing to be seen for miles around except an unbroken expanse of wide open, sage-covered plains and the two trails branching out from the parting.  Steph Teeter writes about the Parting:  “We stopped at one monument, the 'Parting of the Ways', which was a point in the trail where some travelers went south - and some headed north. The description mentioned the sorrow of parting after having traveled together for 1000 miles, probably never to see each other again. There must have been some lingering spirit there - I was overwhelmed by emotion - and afterwards discovered that others had felt the same thing. This awe and respect for the Oregon trail - and the travelers - has been somewhat of a surprise to me. I'm not much of a history buff (too much excitement in the 'here and now') and didn't anticipate how much it would affect me. The riding, the scenery, the XP2001 adventure - all of this has been wonderful, but the sense of history has been the most overwhelming.”

Dr. Barney in a tutu?  I’m not sure this really ranks as one of the most memorable days for some of the riders, yet it is at least worth mentioning.  This is the same day that 14 year old Kayla Ramsdell recalls as one of the most memorable days she had on the ride.  It was day 24, and she had ridden 50 miles every day until then on her two horses, Gem and Buddy.  Going into the vet check Buddy tripped and somersaulted over, injuring himself and narrowly missing injuring her.  She continued the second half of the ride on another horse.  Only missing AERC credit for this one day, Kayla rode the entire 2000 mile Pony Express trail.

Farson, Wyoming has a general store right on the corner that sells the absolute best ice cream.  Even though most riders were taking almost all day to complete they all managed to make it over to the store to get an ice cream cone.  Small things like this were quite uplifting to the worn and weary. 

South Pass, Wyoming is one of the great discoveries in the American West. Lt. John Charles Fremont is credited with widely publicizing the route over South Pass as a result of his expedition in 1842.  Hundreds of thousands of people heading for Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah would use the trail in the following 20 years.  Nearly every emigrant journal records traversing South Pass.  Though the road ahead was still long and hard, crossing the Continental Divide was a victory and cause for celebration.  Most riders would not have even realized that they had crossed over the Continental Divide had it not been for the historical markers along the trail.  The State of Wyoming probably had the best and most elaborate historical markers along the route. 

Called “The Great Register of the Desert”, Independence Rock, Wyoming is a 193 foot high granite boulder with a base that covers more than 27 acres.  More than 5,000 names were carved on it by explorers, trappers, adventurers, scientists, missionaries, soldiers and emigrants.  It was named during a celebration held there on July 4, 1830, by a party of fur trappers led by William Sublette.  Dublin Hart recalls Jeff Herten singing Yankee Doodle Dandy as the sun rose on that memorable 4^th of July as they rode towards Independence Rock. 

Devil’s Gate in Wyoming is a 370 foot high, 1500 foot long cleft, carved over the centuries by the Sweetwater River.  According to Shoshone and Arapahoe legend, a powerful evil spirit in the form of a tremendous beast with enormous tusks ravaged the Sweetwater Valley, preventing the Indians from hunting and camping.  A prophet informed the tribes that the Great Spirit required them to destroy the beast.  They launched an attack from the mountain passes and ravines, shooting countless arrows into the creature.  The enraged beast, with a mighty upward thrust of its tusks, ripped a gap in the mountain and disappeared thru Devil’s Gate, never to be seen again. 

We passed marked gravesites as we rode thru this area and saw replicas of the handcarts emigrants used to carry all of their belongings across on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails.  Many riders mentioned having ancestors who came across these trails before us.  It was quite an enlightening experience to get a taste of what their lives must have been like.  Our days were long and hard but I’m sure nowhere near as difficult. 

Old Julesburg, Colorado was a rough frontier town named for Jules Reni, a French Canadian frontiersman who was also a Division Agent for the Pony Express.  Julesburg was a gathering place for unsavory characters.  Strange things were happening in the area, the stage schedules were disordered, wagon trains were attacked by outlaws, and livestock was stolen.  Soon it was learned that Reni himself was the leader of the outlaws.  Russell, Majors and Waddell discharged Reni and replaced him with Captain Jack Slade.  Furious at his discharge and replacement, Reni ambushed Slade and shot him.  Slade survived, and after recovering, hunted Reni down.  He tied his prisoner to a corral post overnight in the cold.  The following morning Slade began to use Reni for target practice.  Reni died with 22 holes in him.  Slade cut off his ears and carried them around as souvenirs.  I picked up a small rock from each state we rode thru as souvenirs.  Here, we peacefully slept to the sounds of trains running all night long.  We were only in Colorado for this one night. 

Fort Bridger, Wyoming was established in 1843 by Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez.  Located on the Black’s Fork River, the fort was second only to Fort Laramie as the most important outfitting point for the emigrants and Mormons traveling the Oregon Trail.  During our weekend stay at Fort Bridger, the junior riders performed mochilla transfers during Pony Express re-enactments for the public.  We rode thru quite a storm to arrive at Fort Bridger that day, our 26^th ride day.  It was quite something to trot into the Fort in much the same way as the original Pony Express riders did.  History abounds here with museums and many restored buildings. 

Camp Floyd, Utah was the site of Johnston’s Army Post from 1858 to 1861.  It was the largest military installation in the U.S. at the time.  It was also a way station for the Pony Express.  It provided troops to protect against Indian attack and kept the trail open for the Pony Express and stage line.  We hauled to the start on this, the 29^th day of the ride and memories include trotting over thousands of Mormon crickets.  It was very hot.  One of the farms has a broken irrigation pipe spraying water into the road and riders stood in it, getting sprinkled and cooled. 

The next station west was Faust Station, now only a ghost town. Was this named for some Faustian urge in the whole operation? Was this some literary Rider's salute to the enterprise, as one might find in the California Gold Rush, where there were so many literary miners, the second sons of well-bred families, with the finest education that the era provided? No, this is not a stop named for Goethe's Faust. This is "Doc" Faust's two-story structure, the enterprise of a German migrant surviving on the edge of the Frontier.  We rode thru here on a Friday the 13^th. 

Further west is another intact Pony Express station of major importance. The station is on the ranch of David and Reubo Bagley, known as the Willow Springs Station, in Callao, Utah. The small community of Callao may have the largest number of old log cabin buildings in the West. We saw the second-largest Fremont poplar tree in the U.S. The historic Pony Express building is an adobe structure faced with board siding. Mark Twain and Horace Greeley slept here, among other notables. Besides being a Pony Express station, the site was also a stage stop.  We rode thru Callao on the 31^st day. 

We rode past a BLM holding pen filled with horses and couldn’t help but wonder - what were the Pony Express horses like? Originally, 600 mustangs were purchased along the route by Russell, Majors, & Waddell. Those same horses still run wild in the imagination while their descendants run across the physical landscape.

The Nevada desert is broken up by almost a hundred separate mountain chains, all running north and south.  We rode nearly 500 miles of the original Pony Express trail thru this uninhabited and desolate area.  One of the Nevada Stations was Simpson Springs.  It bears the name of explorer Captain J.H. Simpson who stopped here in 1858 while searching for the overland mail route between Salt Lake City and California.  It was one of the most dependable watering points in this desert region.  Remains of an original Pony Express station are here.  The sunset the evening we spent here after finishing day 29 was truly one of the best ones of the trip, complete with rainbows and intense colors in the clouds.  With not a modern structure or convenience in sight, we realized that the area has not changed since the times of the Pony Express.  This section of trail was very special because we were riding from Station to Station.  One could get a real sense of what it was like 140 years ago.  

Fort Schellbourne, in the foothills of the Schell Creek Range in Nevada, was a Shoshone village site long before it began its recent historic career in 1859.  Captain James Simpson passed through the site and this point, looking for a short route across the Great Basin. That same year an overland stage and mail station was built at Schellbourne.  In 1860, the Pony Express Company used the same facilities, and when the telegraph arrived in 1863, it passed over this same route.  Schellbourne boasts a small bar, restaurant, motel, gas pump and is the basecamp for the popular Summer XP 5-day ride.  

Diamond Springs Pony Express Station, Nevada.  What is buried there.  What?  Yes, a horse named “What”.  The historical marker reads: "In September of 1860 Pony Express rider George "Boston" Scovell was attacked by concealed Indians after crossing "Chockop's Pass" and riding down Telegraph canyon. His ride was from Ruby Station when the attack occurred approximately three miles east of this site. He and his horse were both hit with arrows. The horse's name was "What". He got that name due to his question mark type blaze. "What" carried "Boston" safely to the station. This brave horse died due to wounds from the arrows that day and was buried near the station."  We spent our lunch hour on the 34^th day of the ride next to What. 

Many people don’t know that Virginia City had its very own Pony Express!   “The Virginia City Pony” operated from 1862-65 and was operated by Wells Fargo & Company.  The Virginia Pony was inaugurated on August 11, 1862 and carried letters at 10 cents per half-ounce (plus the government stamp), and was used for speedier service of important business letters and newspapers.  A pony was used between Virginia City and Placerville, CA, then by rail between Placerville and Sacramento, and by boat between Sacramento and San Francisco.  The time between Sacramento and Virginia City was fourteen hours, and from San Francisco twenty-four hours.  The last delivery of the Virginia City Pony was made on March 17, 1865. 

Riding into the finish in Virginia City, Nevada was one of the true highlights of the entire ride. It was a bitter-sweet closing to an exciting chapter of our lives.  An adventure that was truly one in a lifetime, and one we will never forget.  

Next time we’ll go over some of the individual rider and horse accomplishments.  J

2001 XP Accomplishments

by Karen Chaton, Copyright 2002 

Part 3 of 3

There were so many great accomplishments on this summer’s 2001 Pony Express ride by both horse and rider that it’s not easy to pick any one as being the best.  Was there a winner?  There were lots of winners.  Everybody who enjoyed riding the trail and had a great time was a winner.  The most common goal, by far, was the desire to ride the Pony Express trail.  During the course of the two month event riders and crews alike became like a big close family and worked together to achieve these goals.  Everybody wanted to help each other within this tight knit group.  Friendships and bonds were formed that will continue to draw these people together for the rest of their lifetimes.

All told, 230 horses were ridden 67,400 AERC miles by 104 riders in eight weeks.  That works out to 1,348 fifty mile rides.  This in itself is quite amazing, given that there are a few regions in the AERC that don’t contribute this much mileage over an entire year.  The ride started in the Central region and went thru the Midwest, Mountain and West regions, traveling thru Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. Riders attending came from Canada the Southeast, Central, Southwest, Northeast, Northwest, Pacific South, Mountain and West AERC regions.  

Four juniors rode a considerable amount of mileage.  Most notably Kayla Ramsdell who was the only rider to ride the entire 2,000 miles of trail. She rode two horses 25 miles each one day so did not get AERC credit that day.  To top off such an extraordinary accomplishment, Kayla completed the Tevis Cup ride the following weekend, on her horse Memphis Gem who did 750 miles at the XP.  Her brother, 12 year old Troy, also completed Tevis after riding 1100 miles on the XP, on his 600 mile XP horse, Qwest.  Jamie Mitchell, 14, rode her horse Lancelot 1,000 miles on the ride.  The youngest junior was 11 year old Calina Nicholson who completed 950 miles on her three horses Kaibab, Splash and Boomer.

The award for “Best Performance” was awarded to Carol Crawford and Energizer.  They received a beautifully tooled custom saddle donated by Anne George.  Together, Carol and Energizer completed an amazing 1650 miles, or 33 out of the 40 fifty mile days.  Their longest stretch without a day off was 15 consecutive days, or 750 miles.  Incidentally, John Parke and Skoldjur also had a stretch of 15 consecutive days, and a second one of 12 consecutive days.  No other horse even came close to this record of successfully completing that many 50 mile rides in a row.  Skoldjur completed 1600 miles, and is an Icelandic.  Energizer is a Mustang/Arabian. 

Other riders who rode a single horse consecutively for five or more days were:  Trilby Pederson 400 miles on Beau, Jamie Mitchell 350 miles on Lancelot, Phyllis Bartholomew 300 miles on Ahlschwede Merab, Kathy Thompson 300 miles on LS Zane Grey, Vonita Bowers 250 miles on Sunny, Bonnie Way 250 miles on Miles and Calina Nicholson 250 miles on Boomer.   

As a regular in the Pioneer Standings, it was no surprise that Phyllis Bartholomew rode every day except the one day she took off to take a horse home.  Ahlschwede Merab completed 1,050 miles, Rushcreek Gunny 600 miles and Rushcreek Hadda 300 miles to make up the 1950 miles Phyllis rode.

There were only a handful of mules, with Shawn Bowling’s Doc Nelson completing the most miles by a mule: 600.   Shawn’s mule Romeo also did 100 miles, and he rode Miss Scarlett O’Hara 200 miles.  Terry Nance’s mule Bennie did 400 miles, and Penny Scribner’s mule Juliette completed 200 miles. 

There were many stallions on the ride, representing a variety of breeds.  One of the highest mileage horses with 1,150 miles, LS Zane Grey, an Arabian stallion ridden by Kathy Thompson, also racked up a remarkable 12 best conditions.  Joan Zelaney rode her Morgan stallion Indiana Red River 500 miles, and Jas Shearsen-McMahon rode her Akhal Teke stallion Astrakhan 400 miles.  Patricia Henslee’s Arabian stallion HCC Solzar +/ completed 300 miles.  Sands Dickson-Spear did 100 miles on her Arabian stallion Allexxii, and Dublin Hart rode her Arabian stallion Chinook 50 miles. 

Dean Jackson completed 750 miles on the ride.  He was forced to take off due to an injury to his foot.  His wife, MJ, rode 1900 miles of the trail on 3 horses.  Between the two of them, they had four horses with the following mileage; Belesemo Tradition 850, WH Northern Jabeau 850, Eden’s Bay Rum 800 and Belesemo Ballero with 150 miles.  

Several riders came to the ride with two horses.  Of those, ten riders rode their two horses 750 miles or more.  Patty Gaglioti rode Zynsation and  Hollywood 750 miles, Jeff Herten rode RD Famus and Fadwah’s Hot Walker 850 miles, Stephanie Teeter did 900 miles on Jaziret Bay Musc and Great Santini in the 4 weeks she was at the ride.  Anne Sands rode her two Namrahs and W.K. Mistral+ 900 miles, Jas Shearer-McMahon rode Astrakhan and MV Moondancer 950 miles.  Sandy Skinner rode Scarlett Pride and Cassandra 1,050 miles and Debby Lyon did 1,100 miles on Malik and Arcade. Jamie Mitchell rode a second horse and brought her mileage total up to 1,100 between Lancelot and Fire Mountain Smoke. 

Now we’re getting up into even higher mileages for one rider on two horses.  Trilby Pederson rode Exclamation A (Clay) and Beau 1500 miles.  Pat Verhuel’s two horses, Razznan and Prince Shabar completed 1,600 miles with her and Razznan did another 100 miles with husband Bob.  John Parke’s two Icelandics, Remington and Skoldjur carried him 1,750 miles.  My own two horses, Rocky and Dream Weaver did 1900 miles split evenly between them. 

Club miles were accounted for by ride management, so that if riders did not want to ride 50 miles or just wanted to ride shorter sections of trail (not part of the AERC ride), they could and that information can be found at:  www.xprides.com (or click here)

What is so special about this group of horses is their ability to do something extraordinary, and do it so well that it became ordinary for them.  At least 9 of the top 10 mileage horses have gone on in the two or three months following the end of the XP to complete additional  endurance rides.  This is quite an accomplishment and a tribute to the ability of these horses and their riders to keep them going strong and sound, mile after mile.

Multiday rides emphasize that the rider is responsible for their horse.  This point is not taken lightly, and when you are in the middle of nowhere riding point to point it is really driven home.   This is one of the reasons why there were so few problems with horses on the XP ride.  Everybody put their horses welfare first.  Horses are ridden with the idea that they have to be sound not only today, but tomorrow, and the next day and the next.  This ride had very few problems with horses; less horses were treated on this forty day ride than are often treated at just one single one day ride.  The safety record of this ride, by mile ridden versus horse treatments or problems, is by itself an amazing achievement and something the riders, crews, veterinary staff, and ride management can be proud of. 

Words cannot express the gratitude and appreciation this rider has for the opportunity to participate in such an incredible event.  I would like to thank Ride Management; Ann and Dave Nicholson, DVM, Lavone Booth, Ashley McKnight, Joseph Johnson, Millie Arnold, Linda and Barney Fleming, DVM, Michelle Shaw, DVM, and everybody else including all of the riders, crews, and volunteers that gave 110%.  Thank you to the 2001 XP Sponsors as well:  Sundowner Trailers, Inc., Spring Tie, Lovell of Mack, Anne George Saddlery, EasyBoot and Supracor. 

Disclaimer:  These results were provided to me by Ride Management, and may or may not contain errors.