The Old Glory ride was again held in the beautiful Davy Crockett National Forest in East Texas. The weatherman cooperated for the start of the of the ride with cool temperatures (for Texas anyway) and partly cloudy skies. This soon gave way to heavy rains to challenge the riders. The trails were well marked but the going turned slow as the heavy rains made footing and visibility difficult.
The 100-mile ride Saturday morning saw eight riders take to the trails. Betsy Reeves riding Karazanns, was first across the line with a time of 15:12. This was this pairs third 100 mile win of the year and was a full 2 hours better than their win at Montell. The remaining four finishers crossed the line with in a time of 17:50. Connie Farmer on Czech was recorded as second followed by Darolyn Butler on Razzmatazz, Vonita Bowers with B.K. and Mike Jaffe on Whynky. Karazanns was judged Best Condition with a score of 684. This ride was the third 100 mile completion this year for Mike and "Winkie" in their quest to prepare for Tevis.
Saturday was the 50 mile event and had 22 starters in what proved to be a tight race for first and second. Thomas Booth riding Ibn Taam-Rud, lead the entire race holding off a strong challenge by Tyler Keen in the last loop. Thomas and Tyler both finished with times of 6:14 but Ibn was the clear winner over Tyler’s horse, Top Boss. "Quarter Horse" Sue Phillips riding Double H was third in a time of 6:40. The top ten was rounded out by Dale Keen/Steel Dancer, Erma Cook/Tejanos Warrior, first junior Hillary Zeigler/BAB Sheeba, Sherry McGraw/Forward Motion, George McGraw/Karronick, Gillian Pearsall/Ariis and Carolyn Hosmer/Classical Gamble. Ibn Taam-Rud was presented Best Condition with a score of 696.5. There were a total of 17 finishers.
The 25 mile Limited Distance ride had 39 starters of which 26 completed the ride. Daca La Iris, ridden by Tami Friedrich, was first to reach criteria in a time of 3:03. Pechka’s Zephyr, ridden by Debbie Allen, was judged Best Condition with a score of 694.5
The rains held off on Sunday but major trail rerouting was done by ride management to provide better footing after the heavy rains Saturday. The 50 mile race had 10 starters. The mother daughter team of Darolyn and CeCi Butler finished one/two in a time of 6:49. Darolyn’s horse, Albanet, was later awarded Best Condition with a score of 715. Finishing out the Top Ten were Linda Laack/Klassic Capri, Val Jaffe/Sahara, Barbara Sondock/Cristole Synbask, Gillian Pearsall/Ariis, Paulette Brehob/Kache and Sue Phillips/King Cub. Gillian Pearsall, Paulette Brehob and Barbara Sondock were the only riders to complete the 50’s both days on the same horses.
Sundays 25 mile Limited Distance event had 16 starters with 14 finishing. Pechkas Zephyr, ridden by Debbie Allen, was first to reach criteria in 2:48 and was again awarded BC with a score of 680.
This ride was sponsored by TERA and sanctioned by AERC. If you would like to learn more about endurance riding contact Shelley Bridges about the September 6th clinic in Aubrey, TX (940) 320-1715.