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Tracey Tromp & Snow
Dragon
CONGRATULATONS
TRACEY & DRAGON!
Snow Dragon EA, aka
Dragon, is a 10 year old gray stallion. He has an amazing
disposition – he is so gentle, calm, reliable, trustworthy,
dependable and focused on his job (be it going down the trail,
eating our doing a lesson with our 4 year old daughter who has been
riding him for over a year). Dragon is the horse we let
guests ride because we know no matter how bad a rider they may be –
he will look after them and give them a good experience. Dragon is slightly lazy (ok,
at the trot-out he is SUPER lazy), he loves to eat his way down the
trail, he loves a leisurely pace (why we almost always bottom ten)
and he gets along with everyone. He is a big boned solid
horse, lovely huge dark eyes, a long, thick mane and a beautiful
head. Dragon is not a great athlete but he is a great endurance
horse who always looks out for himself and his rider. He is a wonderful partner
and I have learned so much from him.
The most important
things I have learned from Dragon are patience and humility. Dragon would never be a
front runner or even a consistent top half finisher – except on the
exceedingly rare occasion it took his fancy. At first this irritated me
and then I realized it bothered me because of my ego. Once I started listening to
Dragon he showed me how to get my ego in check and I learned to
appreciate his relaxed approach to the sport. That is when I became
an endurance rider. It
was much more fun than being tense and stressed at a ride – I had
plenty of that at work. I began to endurance ride for the sheer joy
of being with Dragon and really appreciating the magnificent
scenery. I marveled at
his strength and stamina.
Then we learned about multi-day rides. I figured Dragon’s laid back
attitude would be perfect for those long miles. Our first attempt at a big
multi-day was Ft. Schellbourne and there I got a taste of
humility. Even though I
was riding towards the rear – Dragon came up lame on Day 3. It was heartbreaking for me
– I had set a goal and failed and worse yet, I may have seriously
injured my partner. It
didn’t seem to bother Dragon in the least – he just got to get back
to base camp sooner and get back to eating. It was my first taste of
humility. Dragon
quickly recovered and about 4 weeks later we completed Tevis. While
Tevis was a long hard trail ride, Ft. Schellbourne had been the
greater challenge.
Dragon and I decided
to try another 5 day ride at Bryce Canyon. This time I decided to ride
with Trilby Pederson, a really amazing and generous person, and do
everything I could to ensure success. By the end of Day 3 we began
to struggle – he was a little foot sore. I envied everyone else for
their marvelous horses and wondered if we were just out of our
league. Linda Fleming
showed me how to pack Dragon’s feet and put Easy Boots on over
that. It worked like a
charm. But Day 4
brought a new problem, scratches. I had never seen scratches
before and let me tell you – it is disgusting. Barney showed me at the vet
check what I needed to do (and I we were introduced to TrailRite’s
magic scratches ointment). I liberally applied Desitin
every hour to sooth his poor fetlocks and we finished sound but
again humbled at the end of the day. Day 5 I started out with
Trilby and Jodette Poe and together we made our may along the
spectacular Pink Cliffs.
I walked much of it – wanting to do everything I could to
ensure completion.
Jodette and I finished our first 5 day multi-day ride but I
was humbled again.
Magic and Beau looked great and I had struggled through
it. However, the Bryce
Canon ride gave me new insight: with Desitin, duct tape and bailing
twine most of life’s problems can be solved. In those 5 days I gained
invaluable experience; so many fellow riders graciously and
patiently taught us. We
learned plenty and I was looking forward to Grand Canyon to see if I
could do a better job for Dragon.
The Grand Canyon ride
was my favorite of the rides – there was not only the challenge of
the miles but also having to pack up each day so we could move. There was such a great sense
of accomplishment because this ride is difficult without a pit
crew. Because we moved
camp every day it really felt more rewarding. The scenery along the North
Rim of the Grand Canyon was spectacular. I arrived late in camp each
day, absolutely exhausted.
As the sun went down so did the temperature and it was COLD
at night. Bundled up with numb hands I took care of Dragon first,
packed up for the next day’s move and frequently went to bed hardly
having eaten anything for dinner. I had a great time riding
with Katey Gies (I became a Teddy Gram addict thanks to her) and I
can not thank Denise Wood and her husband enough for their
generosity. Again we
struggled with scratches on Day 4, but things definitely went
better. I was still
humbled, but not humiliated this time.
There
are so many people I want to thank for making the XP rides the
fantastic experience they have been. To me, this is what the
sport of endurance is about and I encourage all endurance riders to
at least try to complete a multi-day on a single horse. It is an incredible sense of
bonding with your horse and a great feeling of accomplishment. I would also like to add
that the people who ride the multi-days are some of the nicest and
most generous no matter what their level of competitiveness. Thanks to Dave and Anne
Nicholson for putting
on the exceptional rides, to Barney and Linda Fleming for being our
mentors and answering our endless questions and to all the wonderful
riders we have met along the trail, particularly Jodette Poe, Claire
Toomey, John Parke, Karen Chaton, Don Funk, Elfta Hilzman, Trilby
Pederson, Katey Gies and Lynne Low.
Randy Coleman
& Pandora's Pixy 
Pandora's Pixy was started in
endurance in 1991 by Shara Zegers. Randy Coleman purchased
Pandora's Pixy in 1994 and continued this mare on a career which has
yielded a total of 8000 endurance miles at this time. Our
rider/horse accomplishments include first place middleweight in the
Pacific Southwest in 1999, a high percentage of top 10 completions,
100% completions of every multiday ride attempt. This year, 2002, we
completed all 1000 miles of the XP series Pioneer multiday rides and
200 miles of the Death Valley multiday ride. In year 1999 this team
completed all 800 miles of the XP series Pioneer multilday rides and
200 miles of the Death Valley multiday ride.
The most satisfying accomplishment
this season was on the last day of the Grand Canyon multiday
ride when Pandora's Pixy achieved her 8000 career endurance miles
along with completing her 1000 XP Pioneer miles for the 2002 season
and finished this day in the top 10!.
It is difficult to pick a most favorite day or ride on the XP
series. It might have been at Shellbourne riding with Elfta and Luna
for days, or at Bryce Canyon and the beautiful cliffs or at the
north rim of the Grand Canyon with Alex and Patty. It is hard to
separate the beauty of the mountains and trail from the beauty of
the riders that accompany you. This is a series of rides that can
and is enjoyed by each that chooses to attempt. Nothing is better or
more appreciated than a hot dog at lunch grilled by Lavon at a
remote overlook site, this is a typical 25 mile vet check. If you
have not competed in XP rides you are definitely missing a great
experience in this sport.
Randy Coleman  
 
Cheryl Johnson
& Shadow
 Shadow is an 18 year old Foxtrotter
mare. She has over 4000 miles of endurance. She has never been
lame. Anyone can ride her. We use her as a kids and
guest horse. She was a Gold Medal XP Horse in 2000 with Julianne
(who was a junior then). Her gaits are so smooth that
there is no reason to post. I am way less tired after a five
day ride on shadow, than a 50 miler on one of our 'hot Arabs".
My proudest moment on Shadow was her top ten this year in a hundred
at Rio Grande. It was her 1st 100! I wasn't sure how
she'd do, but she did great!! Cheryl
Johnson
Alex North &
CV Butter Bea 
Butter Bea is a 10 year old Arabian mare. Below are some
questions that Alex answered (her answers are in caps)
Which ride did you find the most challenging, and why?
GRAND CANYON. DOING A POINT TO POINT WITHOUT A CREW. A
LOT OF HAULING OF WATER AND CORRALS WHEN YOU'RE TIRED AFTER THE
RIDE.
What
do you feel is the most important thing you learned about yourself
and
your
horse this past year? PACING/RATING MY PARTICULAR HORSE OVER
EXTENDED MILES.
Is
there anything you did this year that you would do differently
next
year?
(or, if you had a chance to do last year over again) PAY MORE
ATTENTION TO THE NATIONAL POINTS STANDINGS EARLIER IN THE
YEAR.
What
do you think was the best thing that you did do? FINISH 1000 MILES
WITH A HEALTHY HAPPY
HORSE.
What
are your horses best qualities? HER PHYSICAL ABILITY, HER DRIVE AND
DETERMINATION, HER ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE HER NEEDS, HER EASE OF
HAULING ALL THE THOUSANDS OF MILES IT TOOK COMPLETE THE
GOAL.
I
WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY THANK THE DUCK FOR ALL THE EFFORT HE AND
HIS FAMILY PUT FORTH TO MAKE THE XP RIDES BEAUTIFUL AND
CHALLENGING. HIS MULTI-DAY EVENTS OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY TO
RAPIDLY LEARN THE FINER POINTS OF COMPETING AT A HIGHER LEVEL IN A
RELATIVELY STRESS-FREE, COMPRESSED TIME FORMAT.
IN
ADDITION, I'D LIKE TO THANK MICHELE SHAW FOR HER WISDOM AND PATIENT
INSTRUCTION THROUGHOUT THE HOURS AND MILES WE RODE TOGETHER THIS
YEAR.
MOST
OF ALL I'M GREATFUL FOR HAVING THE CHANCE TO OWN AND RIDE SUCH A
MAGNIFICENT AND INTELLIGENT HORSE, WITHOUT WHICH, I'M JUST ANOTHER
RIDER.
THANKS!!!
Alex North
 Roberta Wong and Bold Letice rode all
800 miles of the XP rides in 2001
What a year. Bold Letice ("Bold Lettuce" as the
Duck likes to call him) had quite a year. For a horse that I located
through a newspaper ad he's accomplished more than I ever expected.
Best of all of his traits is that he loves to go, even on Day 6 of a
5-day ride (okay, so counting is not one of his strong
points)..Multi-day events are a great way to
bring along a new- to-endurance horse. The first couple of days on
our very first ride in 2000, Letice was excited and a handful at the
start.
By Day 3 he was a different horse, and now I can
truly call him a veteran. Multi-day events have been a great
experience. My horse has taught me a lot and we both have enjoyed
not only the riding but the spectacular scenery. Pity the person who
doesn't get to ride where we go - they'll never know what a
wonderful, big country we live in here. 
Julianne
Johnson and Shadow rode all of the XP
rides in 2000
I was very excited to receive Duck's "Gold Medal Award" last
season. Warrior's Shadow Song, the horse that took me through it is
a 16 year old gray registered Fox trotter. Shadow not only let me
get this award, but also let me get 2nd Nat'l junior, 1st SW junior,
and almost 2,000 of our family's 9,000 miles last year, with many
different riders.
 
She is the alpha mare, over all our horses, and unfortunately
over me too! She is my mom's horse, but I rode her because the
Duck's rides were her first 5-days, and we figured she needed all
the help she could get. I really had fun with her, even though she
pushed and pulled me around. She stayed sound all year, never once
being the slightest bit off.
Of course, it's hard to tell considering she can do a fox trot, a
pace, and a trot, all during a 10 yard trot out. In fact, Duck never
tells us to trot out any more, he tells us to "limp" or "meander"
out. Shadow is another one of those "she'll never make it" or "has
that horse ever done a fifty?" horses, that prove, day after day,
that yes, they can make it.
 
Thank you Duck for putting on what I consider to be the best
endurance rides ever, and thanks to all the XP riders for putting up
with me. Shadow and I, along with the rest of my family, hope to see
you all this year and in years to come. And don't forget- "You
always get a free lunch with the Duck!!!"
Julianne Johnson
Lynne Low & Sasha
CONGRATULATONS LYNNE &
SASHA!
Horse Age: 7. Years In
Endurance: Rider - 7, Horse - 3 1/2
Miles In Endurance:
Rider - 1015 LD, 2070 Endurance
Horse: 765 LD,
1510 Endurance. Sasha and I were
National LD Champions in 2001 with 575 miles
Most enjoyable
XP Ride: Tough to say, I really enjoyed Bryce Canyon,
the
scenery was spectacular. I also enjoyed the Grand
Canyon except for the
cold nights and early mornings, daytime
weather was great though and the
campsite was awesome! Cold
Springs was a lot of fun and it was the last
ride I got to do
with Tracey Tromp and Snow Dragon. What an awesome
team
these two were and it was difficult getting through the last
two rides
without them.
Most Challenging Ride: I
think that would have to be Mt. Carmel because of
the deep sand
and steep hills.
Most Important Things I Learned About
Myself: I can do anything I set my
mind to as long as
I stick with it.
What I Would Differently: Wait till my
horse was a couple years older to
embark on such a grand
endeavor.
The Best Thing I Did Do: Go slow and make
sure I completed each ride with a
horse that was still able to
continue.
My Horses Best Qualities: Her willingness to
go on day after day, mile
after mile.
Funny And Strange
Things That Happened: Several. On the way home from
Mt.
Carmel I got a flat tire on the horse trailer and Alan and
Nannette Young
stopped to help me. They are so great and
really nice. On the way home
from Cold Springs I lost the
rear passenger tire on my truck...what a SCARY
experience.
Again, Alan and Nannette had left camp after me and found
me
stranded on the road and came to my aid. But I think the
funniest thing
that happened was at Mt. Carmel. Tracey and
I were riding along just
talking and enjoying the scenery.
I had forgotten to put my watch on that
morning and when she
glanced down at her watch she noticed that it was 3:00.
We had
not even made it into lunch yet! We still had about 10 miles
to go
into lunch so we were franticly trying to figure out how
were going to make
it to lunch, get through the hold time and
finish the last 20 miles without
being overtime. We RACED
(which was pretty fun, since we don't normally do
that) as fast
as we could down the single track trail in and out of some
pretty
hairy stuff but we finally made it into lunch. After vetting
the
horses Kathy said OK you guys are out at 1:30, we both looked
at her and
said WHAT? What time is it? She said
12:30....that's when we figured out
Tracey's watch had gotten
reset somehow and was running 4 hours fast.
I use
ground control shoes. They are made of plastic and they are
kind of
like equithotix (sp) sneakers for horses. I really like
them. The company
that makes them guarantees them for 300
miles, but they actually last for
about 400 miles. I lost two of
them at Cold Springs (my fault, I didn't have
them checked before
I left) so I had Don Funk pull the other two and I went
on to
finish the last 4 days using easy boots on all four feet.
I
use a Bob Marshall treeless saddle. I like it real well and
Sasha is very
comfortable with it and has never been sore from
it.
I would
like to add a thank you to Dave and Annie for putting on such
wonderful rides and to
my husband for encouraging me to meet my
goal even though he wasn't able to
go with me to most of the
rides because he was either taking care of our 5
yr. old son or
at work making money to finance my hobby :).
Lynne | 
