Meet My Endurance Horse: Lily Creek Kong

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Lily Creek Kong, aka Kong
by Dante X Lily Creek My Secret, by Lafayette
13-year-old half Shagya, half Trakhener/ Thoroughbred gelding
owned by Cameron Holzer Gaytko

2885 AERC Miles
14 100-mile completions
27 Best Condition awards
24 Wins
Decade Team

When you watch Cameron Holzer and Kong flying down the Endurance trails, you can’t help but notice what a beautifully integrated team they are, and what a machine Kong is. They’ve entered their 11th Endurance season together, but don’t let his sweet disposition on the ground fool you. None of it was easy in the beginning.

Cameron got Kong from Michelle Mattingley as a 3-year-old stallion with a goal of eventing on him. “Michelle had been trying to sell him for a while,” Cameron explains, “and he wasn’t selling so she told me about him. I decided to take my chances on him.”

Cameron had him gelded, and even then, “He was a very bad boy and had to go to a trainer to start under saddle. He got kicked out of his first trainer. Was there two months. Bucked him off everyday for a month. 

“Then he went to Dan Keen. He specializes in bad horses. After four months there Dan told me do not give this horse a day off or you will regret it. So I rode him every day.”

And with riding every day, Kong naturally got fit, so Cameron decided to try a 25-mile Endurance ride on him when he had just turned four, at Ride the Storm in Texas. He got third place and High Vet Score and Best Condition in his first race.

“The rest,” Cameron says, “is history!”

Kong now has a record of 48 completions in 55 AERC starts, with 2735 miles, 23 wins, and 27 Best Condition awards. Cameron has recently begun to share with other riders the thrill of riding Kong, including Caroline Lindqvist (finished 14th in Tevis), Haley Moquin (won the River Run 50), and Cassadee Jaksch (just finished third in the FITS 100).

“Kong has taken me to Dubai in 2017 and the World Equestrian Games in North Carolina in 2018. He has three Tevis finishes and 14 100-mile completions. 

“He just won and BC’d his Decade Team 50 with me at the Tracing in the New Year ride in Texas.” 

Incidentally, the pair share an August 7th birthday, something Cameron didn’t find out until she contacted his breeder, Donna Coss of Lily Creek Ridge in Illinois, to register him.

After all these years, Kong is still a handful to ride. “He’s a very sweet horse and loves people, but he has not mellowed. He has to be lunged before I ride him at home, and at races as well. He puts on a show for whoever is around. He runs away with me a lot at home. He loves to run full speed.

“Kong has done it all. He’s a great horse that is very sound and tough.”

Meet My Endurance Horse: HCC Elessar +/

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

HCC Elessar +/ aka Monster
17-year-old stallion by MMF Faramir X HCC Sharzara, by Koszar
Arabian
owned by Kristen Grace

6140 miles
14 100-milers
12 Best Conditions
2 Virginia City 100 buckles
2 Tevis Cup buckles
3 Big Horn 100 buckles

To see him now at Endurance rides, HCC Elessar is so mellow and uncomplicated that it’s hard to believe he’s a stallion and that he’s ridden by Juniors. But in the beginning, nothing was easy with him.

In 2007, Endurance riders Lew and Hanne Hollander recommended that Kristen Grace go look at an unhandled 2-year-old colt owned by Cheri Briscoe in Tehachapi, California.

“I drove down to see him, and I was like - what?!” Kristen says. “He was tiny. He was the size of a greyhound! Never handled. Nothing.

“They called him Cookie Monster because the only way they could get near him was with cookies because he has a sweet tooth. I thought, I can’t call him that because that’s silly. I’ll call him Monster because he’s so little.

“We couldn’t catch him or get near him, so we backed the trailer up, and hazed him in. I drove him to Grants Pass, Oregon, to my boyfriend’s at the time.”

Between the two of them, they got Monster haltered in the trailer, got him out and tied him to a tree. They would go out several times a day and hand feed and water him, and get him used to being around humans, and depending on humans for sustenance. After all, he did have a sweet tooth.

It took a week before Monster was tame enough to be petted. When he started trusting them more, they hand walked him, and taught him to lunge. They were able to load him in the trailer again, and Kristen took him home and commenced with the next part of his training.

“It took me a full year to be able to put a blanket on him. He wouldn’t let me near him with one. He freaked out about anything being on top of him. So then we taught him how to carry a pack saddle with panniers, and I used him as a pack horse. We went up in the wilderness and did overnight trips. He’s never bumped my knee on a tree, ever, because he learned to carry panniers.

“So then I started him under saddle for riding. It took FOREVER. He was very, very, very difficult. Any time I moved a hand on top of him, then he would bolt and spin and run off. And I fell off A LOT.

“I fell off so many times, I used to use what I call a stallion strap. It’s a parachute cord and it went from his bit to my pants, so that when I fell off, I had something to hang onto. One year at Bandit Springs [ride], it ripped my pants off!”

Monster started in Endurance as a 6-year-old, and over the years they eventually eased through his reactivity with a lot of practice of Kristen raising her hands/arms/feet while on board. Now he’s pretty bomb-proof - safe and fun, and he’ll take care of you.

Kristen and Monster were involved in a rescue of a fallen Endurance rider a few years ago. Monster had to gallop up and down the trail for Kristen to reach cell reception and relay the rider’s vital stats to 911. When the helicopter flew in, Kristen had to signal where they should land. “And Monster stood there and let the helicopter land right next to us. Even with the blades going he stood there. The EMTs said they’d never seen anything like this, like why isn’t your horse freaking out? He knew it was an emergency.

“So Monster is really cool like that. If it’s in a pinch, he’s got you.”

After exclusively riding him for his first seven years in Endurance, Monster mellowed out enough for other riders. In 2021, he started carrying two Juniors on numerous rides.

Sara Anderson, who’s ridden Monster in three rides, says, “He’s so cheerful. And when the kids ride him, and they canter on ahead, he’s just like - happy. I don’t know how else to describe it. He knows his job.”

Through his dam, HCC Sharzara, 14.2-hand Monster comes from the Hyannis Cattle Company breeding stock. HCC of Nebraska selectively bred great working horses from the 1960s to the 1980s. They were mainly Crabbet/Kellogg Egyptians Arabians crossed with Polish breeding and were known for being rugged, and for possessing good legs and good bone, strength, and stamina. Ann Hall rides Monster's half-sister, HCC Zara RR, who has 3700+ miles, 11 100-mile completions (3 Top Five finishes in the Virginia City 100) and 11 Best Conditions in 12 seasons of riding. Monster and Zara rode the 2020 Mary & Anna Memorial 100 together and finished 4th and 5th. "Zara and Monster were like identical twins," Kristen says, "except one is white and one is black."

Monster also traces back in three lines to Witez II, the famous survivor of World War II Poland who was brought to the US and became a show champion and super sire. “When you look at pictures of his great great grandsire, they look like twins. Monster’s the spitting image of Witez II.”

Kristen had an idea early on that Monster would be a good horse, and she started selectively breeding him at 3. He has numerous proven offspring on the Endurance trail, several who have also completed 100-mile rides. “His offspring are amazing. They all have good minds.”

Top photo: Monster and Kristen at the Idaho Autumn Sun Pioneer
Bottom photo: Monster and Kristen at the Wyoming Big Horn 100

Meet My Endurance Horse: Om El Jadon

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Om El Jadon, aka Niño
8-year-old gelding by Om El Bellissimo X Om El Jinaah
Arabian
owned by Nina Bomar

1415 miles
2 Best Conditions

Nina Bomar picked out “Niño” as a yearling from the breeders at Om El Arabians in Santa Ynez, California. “I have several of their horses and I love them all. They have sweet temperaments, they’re gorgeous and they’re smart!” Nina says.

Their first ride together in 2020 was the Antelope Island 50 in Utah. “He was such a good boy except for when he was being eaten by the mosquitos. I must’ve used a gallon of fly spray that weekend trying to keep them off him. He got huge welts from them biting him. We had such a beautiful ride on the island and amongst the wild buffalo. He proved to me that he was brilliant and trustworthy!”

They have since completed 27 out of 28 starts together, including several multi-days, and their first 100 in February of this year at the 20 Mule Team.

“[My husband] Juan once told me that someone at a ride told him that Om El bred horses are purely halter show horses… I just laugh. Niño is exceptionally athletic and super brave. He has never shown any weakness and I trust him with my life.

"If I were to liken Niño to a human being, he would most likely resemble Juan. He’s bold, outspoken, and a little bossy. He can also be annoying and kinda pushy. They both love to eat and they’re so much fun to be with, regardless of what we’re doing… 

“They’re hard-working, very handsome and I love that they’re authentic and honest.

“Niño has been a lot of fun and he’s full of personality, grit and superb athleticism. I love him!”

Meet My Endurance Horse: RJO Redhotchilipepper

April 20 2022
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

RJO Redhotchilipepper, aka Pepper
14-year-old gelding by Kouros X RS Summer Sage
3/4 Arabian and 1/4 Quarter Horse
owned by Melinda Guice

1715 miles
445 LD miles
Decade Team

Melinda Guice and “Pepper” achieved Decade Team in the April 2, 2022 Nevada Derby, a crowning achievement on a horse that Melinda “comptemplated throwing in the towel on.

“He could be quite the handful when he was young,” Melinda recalls. “I got him as a coming 3 year old. “The first trainer I ever sent him to sent him back unstarted, and didn’t have a very promising prognosis for him. I was lucky to find a few fantastic people to help me out with him (and most importantly, a good trainer to work with me riding him). 

“It wasn’t easy for a few years, but there was always something about him that made me believe he would be worth the effort in the long haul.

“I got some great advice from a long time endurance rider to spend a lot of time walking the trails with him, just the two of us, and that’s what I did. I also ponied him a lot off my experienced mare.”

Pepper went to his first intro ride when he was 4, “which was a bit exciting but we made it through.”

At age 5, Pepper did a season of Limited Distance, and at the end of the year they finished his first 50-mile ride at the Oregon 100.

“After that things began to smooth out with him and he really got the hang of the sport and started developing into the fine citizen he is now. My son even rode him at a couple of rides, making the cover of Endurance News one year.

“He did a handful of 75s successfully, but for some reason or another we had a hard time with 100s (usually I was the weak link). Then he finished Tevis on his first attempt, and more recently Virginia City 100.”

Melinda remembers the 2016 Tevis Cup, when Pepper was 8, as one of their more memorable rides together, when she realized how solid their partnership had become.

“He was still prone to silliness. He had been fantastic all day long but I worried a bit as we made our way down the Cal 2 trail and it got darker and darker. My headlamp wasn’t working for either of us, so I kept it off. 

“I remember realizing there was nothing to do but give him the reins and hope for the best. He didn’t miss a beat, trotting through the canyons flawlessly and making all the switchback turns I couldn’t even see. I realized at that point we had really turned a corner and become a team.”

Pepper’s Quarter horse breeding is working ranch lines, and his Arabian is a bit of a Heinz 57 mix of Polish, Russian, Spanish and CMK. 

He still has his opinions, but he knows his job well enough to follow a ribbon when Melinda misses one on an Endurance ride. 

“He always make smile when I ride him. I hope to continue to enjoy the privilege for many more years to come.”

Meet My Endurance Horse: Katla from Windsong

March 25 2022
By Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Katla from Windsong, aka The Wee Dragon
12-year-old mare
Icelandic
Owned by Rebecca Supinger

210 LD miles

The 160-km 7-day Icelandic horse ride Rebecca Supinger went on with a friend in 2016 was “the most fabulous vacation ever for horse people!

“When I came back from Iceland, I was in love with the breed - I figured I was going to be,” Rebecca said. “I’d already gone gaited as I’d gotten older and broken a lot of parts. When I got home, I started looking for an Icelandic horse.”

She found the perfect horse four months later, in Katla from Windsong. “I had geldings, and geldings were driving me crazy. I really wanted a mare. But my mare field has really dominant mares in it, so it was going to have to be a really tough mare, because she was going to be the smallest one out here. So I had to not only find a mare I got along with, but she couldn’t be the bottom of the pecking order. It had to be one who thought she was at the top. And it worked out really well, because Katla didn’t put up with any of the nonsense that the two Arab mares were giving her.”

Katla was bred and raised in New Mexico by Ulla Hudson, of Windsong Icelandics. She was sold as a 2-year-old to a woman in Maine who had her shipped east and finished raising her. Rebecca flew to Maine in the fall of 2016 to try out Katla and another gelding; she bonded with Katla, and then drove from Virginia to Maine in December to pick her up.

Katla was 7 and newly under saddle. “She’d had some initial work with a trainer. She’d only pretty much been in the arena. She tried real hard for me. And off we went from there. And now she’ll go anywhere I ask her. She’ll go through trees, over trees, under trees, vines, rivers, bridges, water bars, across roads, pick her way through boulders and loose rocks and sand bogs. She can ride with a single other horse or with a hundred other horses, she doesn’t care.”

A most memorable ride for Rebecca was the DBDR Indy Run in Indiana. It was being touted by Rebecca’s Icelandic group as a gathering of Icelandic horses. “Katla and I were one of 12 Icelandics that descended on this ride. That was a real special one, having all those Icelandics there and riding with some of them. We’ll try to do it again this year.”

The pair did over 12,000 trailer miles last year from a home base in Virginia, doing trail rides/camping trips in New York, and competing in Endurance rides in South Carolina, Virginia, Maine, and New Jersey.

“She’s always willing to go for another adventure and see where we end up. She’s been my little road warrior!”

Photo by Rebecca's daughter at Manassas Battlefields

Meet My Endurance Horse: Mo Motion Jack

February 17 2022
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net 

CH-SH Mo Motion Jack, aka Brave
9-year-old gelding
American Saddlebred
owned by Natalie Law

560 AERC Endurance miles
75 AERC LD miles
1125 AERC + EDRA + WDRA Endurance miles, 100% completion.

At 16.3 hands, he’s the height of a big giraffe, especially when you’re trying to mount. And his name: “Brave - that’s the worst name you could call him, he’s more like Chicken Little!” Natalie says, though he has grown a little bolder as he grows older.

Natalie bought Brave from her husband’s aunt as a 6-year-old, for her husband to ride as a gaited mountain horse. He was bred by Shelah Wetter, of Blue Haven Stable in Deer Park, Washington. 

When Natalie’s primary riding horse was injured, she borrowed Brave from her husband to ride for a while. “I started riding him and just training him to be a good ol’ mountain trail horse, because that’s what we bought him for. And I thought, well, he can do Endurance - any horse can do Endurance if you take the time and the energy with them.”

However, Brave’s first Endurance ride, the 2019 XP Mount Carmel II Pioneer 50-miler in Utah, didn’t go so well. He was accompanied by Flash, the incomparable monster 11.2-hand (super brave) Hackney pony also on his first 50, ridden by Natalie’s daughter Kyla.

“We got lost, and turned it into 68 miles, and we finished in 11 hours and 45 minutes. I remember 40 miles in, thinking, the pony hasn’t calmed down, and Brave hates this. He hates every second of this.

“After the ride I called Shelah and said, ‘I don’t think he’s an Endurance horse.’ She said, ‘You know what, just give him some time, let him recover. And just let him build back up.’

“So I just kept training him to be a good mountain horse, and he’s getting stronger and stronger and stronger. I spent all my time on him. And he just gradually has built into an incredible Endurance horse. He loves it. He absolutely loves it.”

Brave is gaited, and he does everything from racking to pacing to stepping pace to trot and canter, just kind of blending through all of it, which can come in handy on a variety of terrain.

“On training,” Natalie says, “I really work to strengthen his rack and his trot and his canter. Those are the gaits I’m very specific when out training. But when we get to an Endurance ride, I turn the reins to him, and I let him pick the speed for the condition and the trail we’re on.

“So if we’re heading at an incline, moving up in elevation, he’ll trot. But if we’re going on a downhill slope, he’ll move into a rack. So he just knows how to change the gears based on what the terrain is. That way he is most efficient for what we’re doing.”

Brave is a good and steady multi-day horse, having finished all 3 days of the City of Rocks Pioneer in 2020 and 2021. 

And for a finale last season, Team Law - Natalie and Brave, Kyla and Flash - completed the Tevis Cup last year in their first attempts at a 100-miler. They finished in 36th and 37th place, in a ride time of 21:18. Brave has not only turned into a solid mountain horse, but a true 100-mile Endurance horse. 

Natalie is sold on the American Saddlebred breed for Endurance. “They’re not what people think. People think of Saddlebreds and they think of this crazy, psycho show world horse. But when you pull them out of the show ring and treat them like a mountain horse, they’re an incredible combination of athletic abilities and brains. 

“They’re massive, they’re huge, they walk around like they own the place. It’s quite entertaining. But they’re just incredible athletes.”

** “CH–SH” means Brave has earned his Champion-Sport-horse bloodline status on his registration papers through the American Saddlebred Horse Association Registry.

***Coming soon: the book Kyla and Flash: A Race Against Time, written by Claire Eckard with Kyla & Natalie Law. Stay tuned! https://claireeckardauthor.com/kyla-%26-flash

Meet My Endurance Horse: Kayheart

January 25 2022
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net 

Kayheart, aka “Katie”
22-year-old Arabian mare
by Kasiaa X Zypher Winds, by Harbit
owned by Robin Schadt

2375 Endurance miles
525 LD miles

Robin Schadt started riding at age 44. She tried Competitive trail in 2008 aboard a tall, muscled Palomino Quarter horse mare who couldn’t handle the central Illinois heat and humidity in a 25-mile competition, so she decided to try Arabians.

She bought three, (“of which I knew nothing about! I trained Standardbreds for racing”) with the thought being to try the three and keep the two that she thought would be best.

“Ha!” Robin says. “Katie drew the short straw and I couldn't ride her. Her trot is big and I had zero riding skills. I had no idea how to post.”

Katie sat in the ‘back 40’ until 2011. “I learned to ride a little better - I was always falling off, zero balance and my Arabs were agile. Fortunately I only suffered bruises here and there.” Robin began riding Katie in LD's with a plan to sell her because she was ‘uncomfortable’. There were no takers, so Robin kept riding her. 

January 2013 Robin was riding her gelding Maruf at an Endurance ride in the Goethe forest in Florida. “One of the pigs or something equally scary spooked my guy Maruf. Not sure what got him. It wasn't like him to run off (he was awesome).

“I came off, cracked helmet, concussion for sure. Never did find Maruf.  

“Katie gave me my confidence back after losing Maruf. Katie carried me to her first 100 and my first 100 completion. We completed our 4th 100 (at the age of 21) last October at White River in Michigan.” 

Last season Robin and Katie achieved Decade Team status, a wondrous accomplishment for a later-in-life-starting rider and a mare that once upon a time she couldn’t get rid of.

“Katie's second dam is by Khemosabi. She’s a kind, easy going mare. She's lifted me up through some tough personal times. 

“Katie is very dear to me.”

Meet My Endurance Horse: Gryphon

January 17 2022

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Gryphon
22-year-old gelding
Half Arabian, part Caspian (probably)
owned by Mary Howell

3685 Endurance miles
60 LD miles

This 14.2-hand chestnut gelding came into Mary Howell’s life as a nameless, scared, starved gelding from a Pennsylvania rescue in 2012. She gave him the prophetic name Gryphon, after the mythological cross between an eagle and a lion.

It was a long trial rehabbing her new horse. As she wrote in her blog, Mary’s Endurance Adventures, “He became quite a challenge to work with as he gained weight and strength. He clearly had been abused and was very nervous and mistrustful in certain situations, but my experience working with different horses - plus ability to stay on board no matter what - paid off.”

They completed two Endurance rides at the end of the 2012 season, and they finished 11 of their 12 starts in 2013. “As a strong bond of friendship grew between us, I recognized a puppy-dog personality lay beneath the "gangsta" behavior. Adding magnesium pellets to his diet as a calming agent helped too! By June 2013, after eight 50 mile rides in nine months, I could finally post to Facebook that my scary, defiant little rescue horse had morphed into a confident, happy endurance horse.”

They completed Gryphon’s first 100-mile ride, JD’s Carolina, in November of 2013, and they traveled across the country from Virginia to California in August of 2014 to complete the Tevis Cup together.  

In the years and miles since, Gryphon has overcome numerous health setbacks, including major surgery for a pedunculated polyp (“the recovery of which deterred him from eating for almost 2 weeks”), a large chest sarcoid, and seedy toe. He’s prone to colic, even when there haven’t been any weird weather changes, and he gets an herbal treatment for equine metabolic syndrome.

Last season, Mary and Gryphon earned their Decade Team award, given to a horse and rider team who have completed at least one 50-mile ride in each of ten years.

“He has so much heart and truly makes you feel like you’re flying despite his tiny size,” Mary says. “I think being part Caspian gives him the X-factor since he’s so unlike my purebred Arabians in temperament. I joke that there is a tiny nuclear reactor inside him since he needs to get about three times as much feed as my other horses and drinks so much on trail.

“Of all my horses, Gryphon truly captured my heart. No one else rides him but me; our relationship has been like a married couple over the years. He first scared and then frustrated me as well as amazed me. There’s no denying his courage and spunk.

“He’s 22 now and whatever he experienced in the first 10 years of his life seems to be taking a toll, so I hope we get a few more years of AERC rides together before a well earned retirement.”

Meet My Endurance Horse: HB Aur Squirt

January 8 2022
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

HB Aur Squirt, aka “Squirt”
18-year-old Arabian gelding
Gulastras Splash X HB Samerica by Aur Samari
owned by Darcy Bean

1565 Endurance miles
215 LD miles
2021 Decade Team

“Squirt is a challenge to ride endurance,” Darcy says. “He is 18 years old and shows no sign of ever slowing down.

“He loves to go fast but then he won’t take care of himself; he has very little self-preservation. So consequently, he can be difficult to manage and prone to ulcers. But he’s never colicked and he has never been lame.

“He was born at our place in Alfalfa, Oregon, by the famous endurance stallion, Gulastras Splash and a lovely CMK filly, who is closely related to BRR Aurber Lights, the Tevis first place winner in 1999 ridden by Rebecca Fiedler.

“I’ve had to pull Squirt more than a few times when he has trashed me from holding him back, but if the ride is going well, he is a dream to ride! He is an excellent trail horse, loves doing obstacles and very fun to take horse camping.

“Squirt has just 1500 miles; I’ve never ridden him very many miles in a year. Mostly just 50’s that are close by, as he stresses out when he is in the trailer more than a few hours.

“He has given me the best and worst rides of my life and I am the only one who has ever ridden him endurance as I worry too much about him. I am happy we made it to Decade Team and hope for many more years of riding him!”

Meet My Endurance Horse: FYF Wasabi

December 28 2021
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net 

FYF Wasabi, aka “Wasabi”
14-year-old Arabian mare
King of Clubz X Lateef Zeda by Tarheel Traveler
owned by Amy Wallace Whelan

930 Endurance miles
85 LD miles

The Whelans got Wasabi in 2020 from very good friends, Don and Nicki Meuten, who were downsizing. They’d always admired her and were planning on breeding her in 2020 or 2021. (Wasabi was bred by the Meutens and has 2 babies on the ground.)

“She had not been ridden in 6 years due to being a broodmare,” Annie said, “but I loved her so much I decided to see if she could compete again.” Annie did many, many months of long, slow distance work to bring her back, which paid off with Wasabi completing 325 miles in 2021, including five 50’s and a 75-miler.

“She very much lives up to her name. She is a wild girl with so much energy. You can’t help but love her feisty and fire breathing dragon personality. She definitely is very opinionated, but she is also one of the most loyal and loving horses I’ve ever met.

“I am so proud of her!. She is on winter vacation now and I hope to have another fun season on her in 2022!”

Meet My Endurance Horse: Wallace Hill Sundance

December 7 2021
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Wallace Hill Sundance, aka “Sunny D”
14-year-old half Arabian/half Saddlebred gelding
owned by Amy Wallace Whelan
ridden (mostly) by mom Amy and daughter Annie Whelan

“We got Wallace Hill Sundance, ‘Sunny D’, as a green 6-year-old from a friend in western Kentucky,” Annie Whelan says. “He is my mom’s horse and started competing in Endurance in November of 2013. I completed my first ride on him in 2016.” Wallace Hill is the Whelans’ farm in Louisa, Kentucky, that has been in Amy’s family for 150 years.

The gelding’s record currently stands at 2,015 miles, 41 completions in 46 starts, including 5 100-mile completions in 5 starts, and 3 Best Condition awards.

“I’m very proud of him, but if you have ever been around Sundance at a ride, you know he is a very strange and quirky horse. He is very spooky but also very competitive and feisty.

“He is the strangest horse I’ve ever been around, but I can’t imagine life without him. I think all the good endurance horses have a screw loose. He definitely has a screw loose (or maybe all of them).

“I’ve been lucky to have completed over 1,300 AERC miles with him and hope for many more miles in the years to come.”

Meet My Endurance Horse (Mule): Applejack

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

AppleJack, aka “AJ”
19-year-old John mule
sire: Mammoth Jack
dam: Appaloosa

105 Endurance miles
125 LD miles

Jennifer Leach, of Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, had wanted a mule for a long time, ever since seeing a fancy pair of tall mules in a cherry festival parade many years ago. She loved their stoic, regal bearing.

Due to many years of back surgeries from a fire department injury, she decided to get a mule in the hopes that it would be easier on her back. The 15-hand sorrel AppleJack entered her life on, coincidentally, and perhaps auspiciously, National Mule Day, October 26th, 2019, from Dreary, Idaho. When she test-rode him, she was amazed at how much smoother he was on her back than her friend's horses were. She was sold.

“AJ” was Jennifer’s first mule, and only the second one she’d ever ridden. She’d only owned one other equine, a Morgan, and that was over 20 years ago.

She bought AJ for trail riding, but she’d always had Endurance in the back of her mind. “When it became apparent that he was a lot faster than my friends' Quarter horses,” Jennifer says, “I started thinking more seriously about Endurance but I was starting from scratch.”

She started reading about Endurance, and the following spring, 2020, she was ready to start conditioning but she needed a mentor. Enter Skyla Stewart. “I found a great one, purely by happenstance on Treasure Valley Riding Buddies Facebook page. We met and test-rode together at Eagle foothills and then Sklya proceeded to take me under her wing.”

Jennifer and AJ entered their first 25-mile Endurance ride in October in the Owyhee Halloween ride in southern Idaho, where AJ raised a few eyebrows, and not just for his good looks.

“That morning was pretty crazy. He was so riled up, kicking, pawing and bucking, I could barely saddle him and needed help mounting him after falling while trying the first time!” Despite AJ’s antics at the start, they went on to finish well in 12th place.

“Both of us were pretty rusty and in need of some training - and bonding - so we took riding lessons over the winter with Skyla and her horse Jasper. I've learned a lot, but especially if I want AJ to become more at ease, that I need to be the kind of person I would want to be around, whenever I'm with AJ.”

The hard work is paying off; the partners have so far in 2021 completed all 7 of their rides: 4 LDs and 2 50’s. Their last feat was completing all 3 consecutive LD days at Old Selam Pioneer in south central Idaho, put on by the local Endurance riding club, SWITnDR (Southwest Idaho Trail and Distance Riders), with AJ winning the “Getaway Horse” prize.

“I love AppleJack's trot,” Jennifer says. “He has an all-day trot that is really easy on my back. He really seems to love Endurance but I also love that he will tell me when he's tired. The mule's sense of self-preservation is strong.

“His ears flop around when he's moving and happy (Happy Ears) and he often honks like a bullfrog while going downhill, which gets laughs from other riders if not some confusion from the other horses.”

Jennifer was surprised and thrilled with AJ’s Old Selam award. “Bless his big muley heart. I couldn't be prouder of the old guy.

“I love this new (to me and AJ) sport, the people in it and the friends I'm making!”

Meet My Endurance Horse: Al-Marah Triple Speed

By Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Al-Marah Triple Speed, aka “Ace”
8-year-old Arabian gelding
Owned by Suzanne Hayes

By Al Marah Swift X Al-Marah Tripoli, by AM Ben Dream

500 AERC miles
50 LD miles
1st place 2021 Big Horn 100

Suzanne Hayes, of Arlee, Montana, used to ride Al-Marah horses in endurance. When Bazy Tankersley (who founded Al- Marah Arabians in 1941 focusing on Crabbet lines) died, Jerry Hamilton, Bazy’s long-time employee who continued to manage her Arizona ranch after her death, contacted Suzie. 


“They had 37 two-, three-, and four-year-olds in a pasture,” Suzie said, “and he wanted me to come down and pick one out. So I took Lynn [Lee, Suzie’s neighbor and long-time riding friend] with me, and the first one I picked out was Ace. Jerry said, ‘You can’t have him. I’m going to give him to my wife.’

Instead, Suzie picked out another one for herself and one for Lynn. The next day, Jerry’s wife asked Suzie which horse was her favorite. “I said, ‘It’s the one that Jerry was going to give to you,’ and she said ‘Oh, you can have him, there’s a lot of other horses for me!’” So Suzie ended up bringing 3 Al-Marah horses home, including Ace, who was 3 at the time.

Suzie’s husband Mark started the gelding; and Ace was 6 when he made his endurance debut, in a 25-miler at Wyoming’s Medicine Lodge ride. Two 50’s concluded his first season, and the next year he completed 4 50’s.

After 3 50’s this season, including the 50-mile Championship at Fort Howes in Montana where they finished 21st out of 59 starters, Suzie took her gelding on his first 100 in Wyoming at the Big Horn.


“I just felt like it was a good first 100, because you have to go slow. To me it’s a very metabolically kind course for a horse. Because of the footing - there’s a lot of rocks - you just can’t go very fast. And there’s tons and tons of grass for the horses to eat, so to me it’s a really good course for a first time.”

Ace aced the ride, taking first out of 9 starters. Their finish time was 18:40, “probably the slowest winning time every on that course!” But the gelding handled it beautifully, receiving the Best Condition award.

“He’s just such a really, really nice horse,” Suzie said. He does have a lofty trot that gets him down the trail. “He’s the sweetest, kindest horse you’ll ever be around.”

He could turn out to be one of the best one day, too. Suzie’s long-time endurance friend Barb McGann sums it up:

“I’ve never seen a Suzanne Hayes horse that I didn’t instantly love. She’s got a Helluva eye, and an unbeatable training protocol.”

Top photo Suzie and Ace at Antelope Island; bottom photo Suzie and Ace, Lynne Lee and Al-Marah Fastnfine at Antelope Island

Meet My Endurance Horse: Sizedoesntmatter

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Sizedoesntmatter, aka “Dakar”
15-year-old Arabian gelding
owned by Gwen Hall

• 2605 AERC miles
• 3 Top Ten Tevis finishes (4th in 2014, 2nd in 2015, and 8th in 2019)
• 2017 AERC National Championship 100 in Colorado
• USA team starters for the 2018 World Equestrian Games Endurance Championship in Tryon North Carolina
• AERC Decade Team.
• 2021 AERC National Championship 100 in Montana

Some 11 years ago Gwen Hall was looking for a horse to buy for endurance, though she hadn’t sat on a horse in 20 years. “I was that typical middle-aged female-getting-back-into-horses kind of thing,” Gwen says. “I was a former ultra-marathoner, and I’ve been through 2 knee arthroscopies, and various other things, so I knew my time with that was probably done. And I’d heard about Tevis, because of the Western States Run, and thought that looked really cool.”

Joanne Pavlis helped Gwen get back into riding, and then took her to Arapahoe racetrack in Colorado to look at Arabians. Gwen walked into the stall of the gray 4-year-old Sizedoesntmatter, and that was pretty much that. “He was just so calm and we just clicked. So I brought him home, and we haven’t looked back.”

Gwen credits his trainer at the track, Jerry Partin, with Dakar’s easy transition from the track to the trails. “Jerry was just a fantastic horseman, and just did such great work mentally with him. The horse had a brain.”

Gwen spent much of that winter getting to know her new horse and working on their partnership. “We would go out on hacks with a halter and a lead rope.

“But then I discovered at his first endurance ride that I really had bought a racehorse. I thought I was going to die! If it hadn’t been for two now very good friends who parked one horse in front of me and one horse behind me, I think I would be dead.

“But once we kind of got that initial partnership, then I worked with a trainer, Taffy Plaisted, who is a phenomenal dressage trainer. She did a great job training horses. She doesn’t focus on the rider, but she teaches you how to teach your horse. And it made such a huge difference in his way of going, and all those pieces just came together for us.”

From Dakar’s first endurance ride at age 5 through his 11th season at age 15, Gwen and Dakar have reached the top rung of the sport. Their record includes 3 Top Ten Tevis finishes, 2 AERC 100-mile National Championship titles, and making the USA Team for the World Equestrian Games Endurance Championship in the fiasco that was Tryon, North Carolina.

When asked what makes Dakar so special, it’s hard for Gwen to put into words.
“It’s hard to verbalize, honestly,” she says. “We just click. We’re a good team. Any challenge I have put in front of this horse in the time I have owned him, he not only meets but he exceeds my expectations. It doesn’t matter what I’ve done with him. He tries. He wants to do well.

“He’s lucky in that he’s naturally gifted as an athlete. And he really has a very calm demeanor. He’s a thinker. But he has that spark within, I guess the heart. I’ve had the pleasure of riding a lot of horses over the last 10 years, but he’s just got that special something, that at least with me, it works.

“I thank Dick Reed, who sold him to me off the track, for working with me on his purchase.

“And if little things like that hadn’t happened, I never would have bought Dakar.

“I really don’t have the words to express what works, what I’d look for in another horse like him, because I don’t think I’m ever going to find that. To use a cliche, he is my unicorn. And I thank god every day that he’s part of my life. 

 

 

 

Meet My Endurance Horse: RGS Just Believe

RGS Just Believe is 1 of 5 USA team Endurance horses headed to San Rossore, Italy, for the May 22 Longines FEI Endurance World Championship. 

By Merri Melde-Endurance.net

RGS Just Believe, aka “Rose”
13-year-old Arabian mare
By Justify X Beaukay Bey, by NV Beau Bey
Owned by Jessica DiCamillo Torres

RGS Just Believe became part of Jessica Torres’ herd when she decided to help out a friend in Southern New Mexico that needed to re-home her.

“When I saw her for the first time I knew she’d be great in the sport of Endurance with those long legs and great attitude to impress,” Jessica says. “She’s always willing to give all she can and  present herself with the WOW factor.”

The mare was broke when Jessica got her near the end of 2015, and came with a dressage background, so Jessica took to retraining her and focusing on Endurance. 

One thing the DiCamillos do with all their Endurance horses is work cattle with them on their ranch. Rose wasn’t impressed with the cows at first, but she soon got over that. “She was like, ‘Oh, ok. You want me to race over here and get that thing? All right!”

Over 4 AERC seasons, Rose has completed 275 AERC miles and finished 10 of 13 rides. In her last 5 FEI CEI3* 100-mile rides in the USA (all in New Mexico) over the last 3 seasons, this pair completed 4, winning 3 of them and placing second in another. 

Their last race in New Mexico was one of Jessica’s highlights. “She impressed me so much.  She had lots of energy in the tank at the end of the 100 mile ride. The weather was great, it was a perfect and amazing - we had a blast that ride. We had amazing staff and crew and officials, and it just turned out to be a great day.” 

Jessica and Rose were USA team alternates for the World Endurance Championship in Italy May 22; but with the recent defection of Hanna Weightman and Poetrie (due to the bad luck and bad timing of slight lameness), Jessica and RGS Believe will join the 4 other USA teammates - including her mother Karen Binns DiCamillo - for the race. 

"I worked cattle and retrained Rose," Jessica says, "to build a world class horse. I’m so proud of the horse she has become.

“I was excited to go crew for my mom in Italy, but now I’m so stoked to be going as a teammate! To achieve this dream together (daughter and mother) is so extraordinary. We have been planing and replanning this moment for years and it’s finally here. 

“I’d like to give a huge thank you to my family and friends for their time, help and support. I couldn’t have made it here without you!”

Meet My Endurance Horses: Poete and Poetrie

Poete and Poetrie are 2 of 5 USA team Endurance horses owned by Holly Corcoran and headed to San Rossore, Italy, for the May 22 Longines FEI Endurance World Championship. Poete will be ridden by Holly; Poetrie will be ridden by Hanna Weightman.



By Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Poete
14-year-old Arabian gelding
By Bandjo de Falgas X Poetikka, by Statistic
Bred by Asgard Arabians

24 of 28 AERC starts, 1855 miles in 9 seasons
8 of 9 AERC 100s

Poetrie
10-year-old Arabian mare
By Syndicat X Poetikka, by Statistic
Bred by Asgard Arabians

22 of 25 AERC starts, 1200 miles in 4 seasons
4 of 5 AERC 100s

Both owned by Holly Corcoran

Holly tells the story of how she got Poete and Poetrie.

“Both Poete and Poetrie were bred by the Sayvetz family at Asgard Arabians in West Virginia. They are purebred Arabians and are both out of the Statistic daughter Poetikka. 

“I took on Poete at 4 years old as a training prospect in cooperation with Asgard but as I started work with him, I just fell in love with him as a horse, not to mention his amazing, awesome athletic ability. So instead of working with Asgard to sell him, I acquired him. 

“I always knew he had great potential and he is just so fun (and sometimes difficult) to ride and he has proven me right. 

“Knowing how much I loved Poete and admired his abilities, when his ¾ sister was available, I purchased Poetrie as a 4-year-old.  Initially she was really tough and quite reactive, but given time and training, she has turned out to be an awesome horse. 

“Poete and Poetrie are both athletic and capable. They can both be quite strong willed, and I find it best not to argue with them but to re-direct. 

“Poete loves loves loves to canter and to pass horses.  So at the beginning of the ride this is where it takes negotiation or finding our “bubble”. 

“Poetrie is very matter-of-fact, hard working and takes herself quite seriously (sometimes I have to laugh) but she takes AMAZING care of herself. Nothing gets in the way of her eating and drinking to the extent she will tell me if she wants to pull over and drink out of a puddle or stream or grab a bite of grass.

“I think the “coolest” ride for Poete, Poetrie and I was the January 2020 Broxton ride where I went into it planning to ride the 100 on Poete day one and Poetrie in the 75 day two. 

“First I had been working on my own fitness to get to where  I felt confident I could do it, then it took making sure I had  great crew for the horses, and I took very good care of myself (ie, electrolytes, hydration, eating, etc). 

“Poete and I won the 100 during a race off in the rain.  When we turned the bend in the trail and I asked him to GO I could barely see due to the rain. I was praying he didn’t spook at something as he blasted into the light.  He won and earned BC! 

“So I was able to get to bed at a decent time to get up  early to ride Poetrie in the 75. We started the ride with her half sister, Lorienn and Canadian young rider, Charlotte Tremblay, but Lorienn forged and bruised her heel at mile 60. 

“Poetrie and I continued on alone and won with over a 4 hour lead over the 2nd place horses! 

“Poetrie is incredibly smooth to ride and takes little out of me so I had to ride in the order I did since Poete can be very tough!

“I am so grateful to be representing the USA in Italy at the World Endurance Championships. This has been my goal since 2008 and I am so excited to have earned the criteria for selection. This year it was based upon points and finishing, so both horses had two first place finishes in 100-mile rides over the last selection period starting June 2019. 

“It is very challenging with all of the COVID and EHV-1 criteria for us and the horses, plus we are making our own arrangements, so it has definitely been an education! I just can’t wait to get there and get on the horse, then everything will flow from there!"


**Late Breaking News: Due to bad luck and bad timing, Poetrie developed a slight lameness, which will prevent her and Hanna from going to Italy.

 

 

Meet My Endurance Horse - Treasured Moments

Treasured Moments is one of 5 USA team Endurance horses headed to San Rossore, Italy, for the May 22 Longines FEI Endurance World Championship


by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Treasured Moments
11-year-old Arabian mare
DA Adios X Hidden Treasure, by RD Five Star
bred by CreRun Farm
owned by Heather & Jeremy Reynolds
ridden by Jeremy Reynolds 


1550 AERC miles
3 Tevis Cup starts/finishes
2017 Haggin Cup winner

Treasured Moments could have been a top racehorse but for the year she was born. “She was really fast on the track but was in the stable that had the top three mares that year and she was number 3,” says Heather Reynolds.

Jeremy had shod her on the track as a late 2-year-old and fell in love with her. Since the mare was #3, the Reynolds were able to buy her as a 3-year-old. Racing’s loss, Endurance’s gain.

The mare has finished 23 of her 26 AERC starts over 7 seasons, and completed 9 100-mile rides. That includes 3 Tevis Cup completions with 3 different passengers. Her first 100-mile ride was the 2017 Tevis Cup with Jeremy; she not only finished third but came away with the Haggin Cup.

“What’s special about Treasure,” Heather says, “is her laid back, willing but competitive nature. She is ridden in a simple rope halter. She did the 2017 Tevis in a rope halter with a single rein so that Jeremy could hop on and off easily to run. She is all business. She’s not neurotic, but she’s not patient.” This versatile mare has carried 11 different riders in competition.

Besides the pinnacle of her third place and Haggin Cup in Tevis, another highlight is that she has the fastest 3 qualifying times securing her slot on the USA team. Jeremy will be aboard for the 160-km race in San Rossore May 22; this is his third time on the USA team and the 9th time competing abroad.


“We are really excited to go to Italy,” Heather says. “Treasure is training really well, she’s super sound and has the right mind to handle the pressure, and she’s already competed abroad.”

Meet My Endurance Horse: RGS Ragnar Ze Monarch

RGS Ragnar Ze Monarch is one of 5 USA team Endurance horses headed to San Rossore, Italy, for the May 22 Longines FEI Endurance World Championship

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

RGS Ragnar Ze Monarch
12-year-old Arabian gelding
by Aransas HF X One More Tyme EW, by Wojslaw
owned by Karen Binns-DiCamillo

900 AERC miles

As a 5-year-old, Ragnar was lanky and barely broke when Karen Binns-DiCamillo first saw him at Dan Woods’ place in Texas; but it was the look in his eye that grabbed her. “He was just like, ‘Here I am.’ When you look at a lot of horses and have been around them all your life, those few that look at you like, ‘I’ll do whatever you want me to do’ - he was one of them,” Karen says.

Karen’s set a goal several years ago of riding in the World Endurance Championships, and Ragnar would become the one to take her there. “A friend of mine, JT Jones, was breaking and training him. He took about a year before he let me have my horse back. I didn’t want him if he wasn’t going to quite behave for me to get on safely. He is a handful and a strong horse. And the first time I rode him, I was like, ‘Now I know why you kept the horse! It wasn’t because he wasn’t broke; it was because he’s so much fun to ride!’”

In his 5 seasons of endurance in the US, Ragnar has completed 17 of his 18 AERC starts, with all but 2 finishes in the Top Ten. But don’t think Ragnar is “just” an endurance horse. He earns his keep by being a working stock horse on the family’s cattle ranch. “The ranch work is base training and it keeps them quite willing to work all day.”

Karen says that every endurance ride she’s done on him is memorable because of his power and his will. “Whether we’re riding with people or we’re riding by ourselves, he just wants to please you. When he’s out in the pasture he’s not a people horse. But when you’re on board, he’s like, ‘Alright. Let’s do this.’ He’s just been eager and willing to do basically everything we’ve asked him to do.”

Ragnar is a very strong-minded horse who likes things done his way. “There’s times we’re going along and all of a sudden he thinks, ‘You’re doing something you shouldn’t be,’ and he drops his head and he’ll pull you right out of the saddle up over his shoulder. And then he stands there and looks at you like, ‘Well I told you we’re not doing that!’ And I’m like, ‘Thanks! Thanks for the reminder!’”

This is Karen’s first time to represent the USA Endurance team internationally, a fulfillment of the aspiration she set. “It is so exciting. It’s unbelievable. I’m just thrilled! We’re all excited. And when I say we, it takes a team to do this. It’s me, my horse, my crew, my team, my other riding companions. It’s a big we, about 11 of us.” Her daughter Jessica will be one of her crew members.

Ragnar and Karen will be riding on the world stage on May 22. “He’s just super athletic. I’ve had the opportunity to sell him, but I just can’t. He’s doing everything I’m asking. 

“There are horses out there that are just fun to ride, and he’s one of them.”

Meet My Endurance Horse: Belesema Black Satin

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Belesema Black Satin, aka “Satin”
5-year-old Arabian mare
by Belesemo Obsidian X PNA Lakota Moon, by Sundance Kid V
owned by Elaine Bettez Wabel

3 LD starts, 3 finishes

In a way, you could say that Satin chose Elaine. “I went to Kim Johnson’s Belesemo Arabian Ranch [in Caldwell, Idaho in 2017]. I wasn’t buying; i was just looking,” says Elaine.

“I like mares, and I went into this round pen with 3 fillies. All of them stood there, but she came up to me and stood with me. She wouldn’t leave. So that’s why I bought her. I figured she was worth it. She’s the one of the last ones from Belesemo Obsidian, their stallion that died in 2018.”

Satin was a year and a half old at the time, and Elaine gave her time to grow and mature before she broke her. “I turned 70 last December. I broke her myself. I’ll tell you one thing - it was gentle!”

Last year was Satin’s first endurance season, which was due to various reasons, including COVID-19 rearranging the entire endurance season. Antelope Island in Utah, normally in April, was moved to September, and Elaine took Satin there. 

“I wasn’t going to do anything other than trail ride. Then she was so amped up and such a pill, and she needed some kind of exercise, and the vet said ‘Go for it.’ I said, ’OK, I’ll just do the first day, I don’t think she can do two.

“And she came through the finish vet check of Day 1 with flying colors, so we did the second day. She rode the whole 2 days by herself. 

“She’s never been anything but calm. I mean, she acts like an Arab sometimes, but it’s like she figured out her job. And when she was going up that hill on the second day, she just went into this long beautiful trot. And I was just singing, having fun, because she was so animated and so forward.

“I love this horse! She is laid back, which I think is the way Belesemo Ranch brings them up. They’re just as Arab, and can be just as flighty; she can curl that tail up over her back just like any Arab. She can be as dynamite as any Arab, but she’s very sensible. I think it’s their upbringing, because Kim has a lot of kids that help out and do all that stuff, and I think that’s admirable. The horses are kid proof, they’re friendly, they like people. 

“To me she is just awesome. I would not change a thing about her.”

Meet My Endurance Horse blog

Meet My Endurance Horse: Marie’s Gold

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net

Marie’s Gold aka “Luna”
15-year-old Thoroughbred mare
Outofthebox - Dancelikethedevil, by Devil’s Bag
owned by Jo Harder

125 LD Miles
425 Endurance Miles
2020’s AERC High Mileage Thoroughbred

Marie’s Gold was one of those thousands of Thoroughbred racehorses who fall through the cracks after their racing careers are over. She’d raced three years, winning 1 race in 12 starts. She ended up as a rescue with Horse Protection Association in Florida as an 11-year-old in November 2017 because her owner had dementia and wasn’t taking care of her.

Jo Harder fostered the mare in early summer of 2018. “She was a body score 1 at the time HPAF rescued her,” Jo recalls, “and they weren’t sure if she was going to make it because she was so emaciated.” Jo adopted her in the fall of 2018. “Luna” had recovered so well from her ordeal that Jo took her on her first slow trail ride just weeks after settling in. She easily completed 10 miles in the summer heat of Florida. The mare went on to complete an intro ride and then 5 LDs/CTRs in late 2018/early 2019.

“She is super athletic and recovered fabulously,” Jo says. “After a 25 in February of 2019, I had her blood tested and asked one of the vets if she was ready for a 50.  He told me that there was still a lot of gas left in the tank and that there were no indications that she couldn’t do it. A month later, she completed her first 50 [in the Florida FITS ride] with energy to spare.”

Luna is Jo’s third OTTB, and the only breed she’s ridden in endurance. Thoroughbreds who have raced aren’t just get-on-and-go horses. “OTTBs are wonderful, but they take some extra effort, especially at the beginning as they adapt to the trail.

“Keeping in mind that OTTBs are generally just taught to run fast in a controlled environment, the rider has to learn to throttle the horse and adapt to endurance. 

“The rider has to keep in mind a few things too… like if you lean forward to duck under branches and pull on the reins, you’ve just told the OTTB to go faster.”

In addition to being named 2020’s AERC High Mileage Thoroughbred, another highlight of their endurance venture together so far is the completion of Luna’s first 75-miler at FITS last March. “We completed the last loop alone and almost totally in the dark with all kinds of forest creatures making noises around us. She just kept going and going and going. We truly completed as a team.”

Luna and Jo are developing a very special bond. “Luna has had a hard life, but she trusts me,” Jo says. “She raced over a dozen times, and it was apparent that her life at the track wasn’t a picnic.  

“In the beginning, she would sometimes become unnerved over simple things, probably because of some bad memories. Once she gained the confidence to ride off alone, she was superbly happy because she could really use those long legs at a pace that works for her.

“When she sees a hill, she puts that 16.1 body into a 6th gear.  I just hang on and enjoy the ride because I know she'll get me up that hill safely."

**Top photo by Becky Pearman

**Bottom photo by Maria Phillips