OLD DOMiniOn
right: “The trail was extremely tough and at times treacherous; there were places that were hard to even walk through,” said 16-year-old Annie Whelan who tied for first place in the 100-miler with Bryna Stevenson. Whelan was riding the Stevensons’ threequarter Arabian/one-quarter Saddlebred, Maddy. “Nevertheless, it was magical,” she continued. “The horse knew exactly what she was doing. She definitely knew when we were down to the last 25 miles and she wanted to pick up the pace.”
by Genie Stewart-Spears photos by Becky Pearman
left: Bryna Stevenson felt the same about the ride as Annie Whelan, with whom she co-won the 100-miler, riding TEF Lunar EcLipsE (TEF Sunflaxh x TEF Roxtiki Rain). “There’s something magical about the Old Dominion, partially because no other race on the East Coast really compares to it. The atmosphere, the volunteers, the other competitors, the trail: it just gives you butterflies.”
100-Miler
T
he “Beast of the East” was somewhat tamed down this year due to the lower temperatures and humidity. Nevertheless, the rugged trail took its toll. The 43rd Annual Old Dominion Endurance Ride ( It was the 43rd year but the 42nd event, as it was not held in 2003 due to flooding), was held June 9-10, outside of Orkney Springs, Virginia. A 25-limited distance (or LD) and 50-mile ride was held on Friday the 9th. An introductory endurance ride and a ride and tie, both 15 miles, were held on Saturday, as was the infamous 100-miler. Known as the “Beast of the East,” the 100-mile Old Dominion (OD) trail traverses the Great North Mountain range in Virginia and crosses over into West Virginia and back again. The nickname, “Beast of the East,” derived from comparing this difficult ride, the oldest in the east, with the grueling Western States Tevis Cup, which is the oldest ride in the west. The OD Trail has an abundance of rocks, large and small, and numerous long and steep climbs and descents and typically heat and humidity to deal with through the day. However, this year the weather was to the riders’ advantage. Ride manager, Diane Connolly, said, “We had a high of only 82 degrees on Friday and mid-80s on Saturday. It was actually chilly enough at night that long pants and jackets were necessary. It was unprecedented for the OD but on Saturday night we had a bonfire near the veterinarians’ tent and trot out lanes to keep people warm who were waiting for the hundred-milers to finish.” 142 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b AUGUST 2017
Forty-two competitors started the 100-mile course at 5:30 a.m. From the start, five riders took the lead and continued to push or pull each other along throughout the day — Bryna Stevenson, Annie Whelan, Taylor Stine, Carol Federighi, and Stagg Newman. Last year, Stagg and his wife Cheryl, both senior citizens, tied for first place with a course time of 15 hours 38 minutes. This year, it would be two teenagers tying for the win in 13 hours and 24 minutes. (See the story about the Newmans in our May 2017 issue.) Cheryl didn’t compete but 68-year-old Stagg rode Syrocco Tanka (Syrocco Troubadour x Edgewood Schelite), bred and raised by Margaret (Meg) Sleeper. He said, “My goal was to complete Tanka’s first hundred and earn my Old Dominion 1,000-Mile Buckle. Only three people have done that to my knowledge: Judy Van Meter, Jon Alexander, and Jeannie Waldron, DVM.” This was the second OD 100 (9th place in 2012) for 57-year-old Carol Federighi, Maryland, and Lily Creek Stetson (Sarvar PFF x Sonata PFF), a Shagya Arabian. Carol and Stetson had previously won the OD 50-miler (2013) and finished second in the AERC National 100-Miler (2015) held on the OD course. “My intention was to ride my own ride,” she said, “but we ended pacing the same as Taylor Stine.” Nineteen-year-old Taylor Stine, Virginia, was riding 16-year-old Mercuric (*Statistic x Muzsette), an Asgard Arabian gelding co-owned by Lynne Gilbert and Jeannie Waldron. This was Stine’s first time riding the OD 100. “My
Bryna Stevenson with her spoils from the 100-mile competition. Her horse, TEF Lunar EcLipsE (TEF Sunflash x TEF Roxtiki Rain), earned Old Dominion Best Condition Award, which is judged the following morning after competition. It is a perpetual trophy that has the winners’ names inscribed. Stevenson was also awarded a lovely painting and a beautiful bridle with reins from Taylored Tack. In 2014, Bryna became the youngest rider to win this event at age 14. At that time she was riding Maddy, an unregistered threequarter Arabian/one-quarter Saddlebred mare that carried Annie to the co-win this year.
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OLD DOMiniOn by Genie Stewart-Spears photos by Becky Pearman
T
he “Beast of the East” was somewhat tamed down this year due to the lower temperatures and humidity. Nevertheless, the rugged trail took its toll. The 43rd Annual Old Dominion Endurance Ride ( It was the 43rd year but the 42nd event, as it was not held in 2003 due to flooding), was held June 9-10, outside of Orkney Springs, Virginia. A 25-limited distance (or LD) and 50-mile ride was held on Friday the 9th. An introductory endurance ride and a ride and tie, both 15 miles, were held on Saturday, as was the infamous 100-miler. Known as the “Beast of the East,” the 100-mile Old Dominion (OD) trail traverses the Great North Mountain range in Virginia and crosses over into West Virginia and back again. The nickname, “Beast of the East,” derived from comparing this difficult ride, the oldest in the east, with the grueling Western States Tevis Cup, which is the oldest ride in the west. The OD Trail has an abundance of rocks, large and small, and numerous long and steep climbs and descents and typically heat and humidity to deal with through the day. However, this year the weather was to the riders’ advantage. Ride manager, Diane Connolly, said, “We had a high of only 82 degrees on Friday and mid-80s on Saturday. It was actually chilly enough at night that long pants and jackets were necessary. It was unprecedented for the OD but on Saturday night we had a bonfire near the veterinarians’ tent and trot out lanes to keep people warm who were waiting for the hundred-milers to finish.” 142 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b AUGUST 2017
right: “The trail was extremely tough and at times treacherous; there were places that were hard to even walk through,” said 16-year-old Annie Whelan who tied for first place in the 100-miler with Bryna Stevenson. Whelan was riding the Stevensons’ threequarter Arabian/one-quarter Saddlebred, Maddy. “Nevertheless, it was magical,” she continued. “The horse knew exactly what she was doing. She definitely knew when we were down to the last 25 miles and she wanted to pick up the pace.”
left: Bryna Stevenson felt the same about the ride as Annie Whelan, with whom she co-won the 100-miler, riding TEF Lunar EcLipsE (TEF Sunflaxh x TEF Roxtiki Rain). “There’s something magical about the Old Dominion, partially because no other race on the East Coast really compares to it. The atmosphere, the volunteers, the other competitors, the trail: it just gives you butterflies.”
100-Miler
Forty-two competitors started the 100-mile course at 5:30 a.m. From the start, five riders took the lead and continued to push or pull each other along throughout the day — Bryna Stevenson, Annie Whelan, Taylor Stine, Carol Federighi, and Stagg Newman. Last year, Stagg and his wife Cheryl, both senior citizens, tied for first place with a course time of 15 hours 38 minutes. This year, it would be two teenagers tying for the win in 13 hours and 24 minutes. (See the story about the Newmans in our May 2017 issue.) Cheryl didn’t compete but 68-year-old Stagg rode Syrocco Tanka (Syrocco Troubadour x Edgewood Schelite), bred and raised by Margaret (Meg) Sleeper. He said, “My goal was to complete Tanka’s first hundred and earn my Old Dominion 1,000-Mile Buckle. Only three people have done that to my knowledge: Judy Van Meter, Jon Alexander, and Jeannie Waldron, DVM.” This was the second OD 100 (9th place in 2012) for 57-year-old Carol Federighi, Maryland, and Lily Creek Stetson (Sarvar PFF x Sonata PFF), a Shagya Arabian. Carol and Stetson had previously won the OD 50-miler (2013) and finished second in the AERC National 100-Miler (2015) held on the OD course. “My intention was to ride my own ride,” she said, “but we ended pacing the same as Taylor Stine.” Nineteen-year-old Taylor Stine, Virginia, was riding 16-year-old Mercuric (*Statistic x Muzsette), an Asgard Arabian gelding co-owned by Lynne Gilbert and Jeannie Waldron. This was Stine’s first time riding the OD 100. “My
Bryna Stevenson with her spoils from the 100-mile competition. Her horse, TEF Lunar EcLipsE (TEF Sunflash x TEF Roxtiki Rain), earned Old Dominion Best Condition Award, which is judged the following morning after competition. It is a perpetual trophy that has the winners’ names inscribed. Stevenson was also awarded a lovely painting and a beautiful bridle with reins from Taylored Tack. In 2014, Bryna became the youngest rider to win this event at age 14. At that time she was riding Maddy, an unregistered threequarter Arabian/one-quarter Saddlebred mare that carried Annie to the co-win this year.
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“Mercuric (*Statistic x Muzsette), probably has the most personality of any horse I’ve ever interacted with,” says Taylor Stine who completed the 100-mile course in third place. The course time was 13 hours 33 minutes two seconds. Mercuric, co-owned by Jeannie Waldron DVM and Lynne Gilbert, also won the AERC Best Condition Award and High Vet Score. “He makes his opinions known and they’re perfectly clear. He hates trotting out for the vet at the holds and he makes a point to tell me every time. On the other hand, if he’s happy it makes me happy. He’s one of the kindest horses. If I take care of him, he’ll take care of me. He doesn’t really require a whole lot of special care, but he does like his apples and carrots cut up for the stops. Other than that he eats, drinks, and moves out like a star. He knows his job and is happy to do it.”
goal was getting Mercuric through this ride with a completion and he exceeded my expectations,” she said. Stine had ridden the gelding three times in 2016, including having finished third overall in the 2016 Biltmore Challenge 100-miler. It was also 16-year-old Annie Whelan’s first time to ride the OD trail. She was riding the Stevenson family’s unregistered three-quarter Arabian/one-quarter Saddlebred mare Whisperstreams Atropine, aka Maddy. “The trail is definitely as hard as they said it was. I’ve never seen that many rocks before! So many rocks, some of them were the size of my head. There was barely room to step through them. And little rocks everywhere. Everywhere!” exclaimed Annie who resides in Kentucky. “But, Maddy was so amazing through them. She’d fly over them and made it seem not so bad.” The now 17-year-old Bryna Stevenson, New Jersey, was the youngest to win the 2014 OD 100-mile at age 14, riding Maddy. In 2015, she settled for third place behind the iconic Heraldic (*Statistic x Mi Hearts Desire) and his pasture mate LR Bold Cody (Bold Soldier x Brown-R Missy). In 2016 she completed in 10th place when Stagg and Cheryl Newman teamed up to share the win. For 2017, Bryna decided to change tactics and use the team approach by partnering up with Annie Whelan riding Maddy. Bryna chose to ride TEF Lunar Eclipse (TEF Sunflash x TEF Roxtiki Rain). “My first goal was to finish with two happy and sound horses,” Bryna said. But she added, “If the opportunity presented itself to win, then, yeah.” And she did just that. She and Annie Whelan tied for first place with a course time of 13 hours 24 minutes. Luna, Bryna’s horse, earned the Old Dominion Trophy, which is best condition judging the day after the ride unlike the AERC Best Condition which is done within one hour of completion. Although the teenage team was first into every checkpoint, Annie Whelan said, “Our number one goal was to finish, but I know Bryn wanted to be up near the front. Her instructions before the ride were that we would be up toward the front and always be in view of the front-runners. We’d let the placements sort out through the day.” “I rode with Annie and Bryna for about the first 28 miles through the two big climbs,” Stagg Newman said. “I set a moderate pace and used the long climbs (like those we train on) to our advantage. I took just a bit longer at the water stop before the long descent into the second vet check than they did. I did not see them as I descended. I knew from the descent into the first vet check that they would descend rapidly and that they had two superb seasoned horses, one of whom had
already won the Old Dominion a couple of years ago. Both riders of course were lighter than I, so I decided to let them go since I was taking Tanka through his first 100 with an overarching goal of completing. “Taylor Stine caught me about seven miles out of Laurel Run (Vet Check 2, 32 miles),” Stagg continued. “Taylor and I basically rode together, joined by Carol Federighi and Trish Juerling leaving Bucktail (Vet Check 3, 46.6 miles) until the Laurel Run. “At Laurel Run (78.3 miles) Carol and Taylor’s horses out-recovered Trish’s and my horse by a couple of minutes. Taylor and Carol picked up the pace as they left that vet check in pursuit of Annie and Bryna.” Taylor, whose horse won the AERC Best Condition as well as High Vet Score, said, “We were able to close that gap from 30 minutes to just two minutes in the second to last loop. We rode as fast as we could given the conditions and darkness. We didn’t end up catching them but I didn’t mind since my horse felt and looked so good. “Annie and Bryna are tough competitors,” Taylor said, who completed in third place with a course time of 13 hours 33 minutes 2 seconds, “and I knew it would be hard to catch them. I had a great time riding with Carol and Stagg as well as other riders through the day. It was an awesome day and that was thanks to Mercuric and my awesome crew.” Carol Federighi on Stetson crossed the finish line in fourth place, just four seconds behind Taylor. About the final 6.5 miles to the finish line, she said, “My horse felt strong and really wanted to move out as he knew where he was and knew he was headed home. We (she and Taylor) tried to chase Bryna and Annie down in the dark but I guess they were just as motivated as we were.” Stagg completed in fifth place with a course time of 14 hours 22 minutes. “The summary of my ride is that I followed Dr. Matthew MacKay-Smith’s advice: ‘Never Hurry, Never Tarry.’ I am very pleased with how well Tanka did and
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Left; Carol Federighi and LiLy Creek StetSon, a Shagya Arabian, completed the 100-miler in fourth place in 13 hours 33 minutes. Federighi and Taylor Stine were two minutes behind the leaders, Annie Whelan and Bryna Stevenson, when they left the last vet check before the finish line. “We tried to chase them down in the dark but I guess they were just as motivated as we were!” exclaimed Federighi. “Also, our horses wanted to stop and drink at two stream crossings during this last stretch, and we let them drink as long as they wanted to.”
believe I now have another good 100-mile horse.” Trisha Juerling, who was riding Spencer Tracey (*Bandjo De Falgas x Bint Satryna), was pulled at the finish line for hind end lameness. It was a tough ending having ridden the entire course. Eilish Connor riding Amana Tabi completed in sixth place with a ride time of 15 hours eight minutes and 21 seconds. Lisa Green on LR April Breeze (Bold Soldier x Brown-R Missy) was seventh, eight seconds later. Kelsie Lewis on IA Donovan (Patrolon x IA Moonstrukk) and Lisa Delp on Wicked Breeze (Aransas HF x Bristol Breeze) tied for eighth place with a shared time of 15 hours 47 minutes 34 seconds. Three seconds later, Claire Godwin, DVM on 18-yearold EH Ahmose (PRI Asali Halim x EH Nagidah) and Lisa Bykowski on Godwin’s 26-year-old gelding PL Mercury (AM Autumn Mead x Playland Lady) tied for tenth place. Claire said, “Lisa is a longtime friend and vet tech for me. She has ridden Merc (as the aged gelding is called) at Tevis in 2010 (6th place), 2015 (14th), and 2016 (DNF). This was Lisa’s first OD 100 and Merc’s fourth. Ahmose has done the OD three times, winning it in 2009. Merc is heading to Tevis again this year. We rode a conservative ride to ensure completions. Our biggest challenge with these two horses that have done so many miles side by side is to get Merc to pulse down quickly. He does take longer, at this age. But both horses felt great all day.” Four riders tied for 14th place, including the first-place Cavalry division rider Joni Buttram-Burden on Miss Fancy Pants. They completed in 16 hours 57 minutes. The Cavalry
division had five starting but only Joni completed. Cavalry riders must carry all they or their horse will need and cannot accept assistance throughout the event. Fancy, as the 14.2-hand, 17-year-old mare is called, is an unregistered Arabian that came to the Buttrams as a rescue. “Long story short, an Arabian show barn owner got divorced and horses were everywhere,” explained Joni who has been competing for 15 years and has over 9,000 career miles. “Over half the herd starved to death. I have two from that group. The Boogie Man is my other endurance horse from that group. They were papered, but saving them was my priority; now I wish I knew the breeding on them. “She was abused and it took a long time for her to become safe to ride. My parents threatened she would need to be put down if I couldn’t fix her. Somehow I did,” she paused and added, “mostly. It was obvious she’d had serious training long ago at that show barn, it just took a while to find her trust. She still has issues, but I can manage for a horse like her,” Joni said. When asked about the problems, she replied, “Well, for one, I can’t dose her with electrolytes. She will eat them in feed a few days before rides, but won’t touch electrolyte-laced feed during rides; luckily she does fine without. And she is claustrophobic and tying her is not always a good idea. She’s been almost onehundred percent better, but randomly she will sit back and flip over. She did that Friday before the hundred-miler and broke her bridle. Early on in her training, I had to use clicker training to get her to take a bit, or have her mouth looked at in the vet checks. Lastly, and worst of all, she won’t stand still for me to get on. If someone tries to hold her head still, she flips over backward every time. I hate that I couldn’t fix that. Seven years later she is better, but not a lot. She’s had a broken pelvis according to my chiropractor, no doubt from flipping over backward so many times. “I wonder if she may have been in a barn fire,” Joni speculated, “because campfire smoke makes her flip her lid big time, and probably is a link with her issues with being held still or confined. But for me, she’s been worth it. Fancy has a true hundred-miler heart. Sometimes a horse with a few screws loose finds its place. I’m afraid most would have given up on her.” Of the 42 competitors starting the 100-mile course, 26 completed. The final riders completed in 19 hours 48 minutes in a three-way tie.
50-Miler
Although Jennifer Poling, Cindy Gift and Richard Stedman completed within seconds of each other in the 50-miler, they did not race off. Jennifer was first to finish on Eagle Baikal (Bask VSOP x EC Peaches) in five hours 17 minutes one second. “I knew when I saw the entries that there were a few people who were likely to be up front as well. I knew there would be some competition from Rick Stedman and Cindy Gift, both of whom ride fast horses with a lot of drive,” said West Virginian Jennifer Poling. “The three of us ended up out front and Cindy’s horse Bailey, and Rick’s horse Wynne did not give an inch all day! The three horses are all herd bosses at home and all super fit, so none of them was giving in to the
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Stagg Newman completed fifth place in the 100-miler on syrocco tanka (Syrocco Troubadour x Edgewood Schelite). He said it is amazing that his horse is even able to compete. He explained, “The side story on Tanka is he competes with two screws in his right hind leg. He had a freak training accident up on the mountain just over three years ago when he stepped in a soft spot and twisted his leg. He had a medial condylar spiral fracture of the right hind cannon bone. The University of Georgia did standing surgery under heavy sedation and inserted two screws in his leg. He spent many weeks just standing in a stall there. He completed a very careful two-year recovery program and three years later successfully completed the Old Dominion 100! We carefully monitor the leg via x-rays. The University said that this is his strongest leg now because he has two screws plus the strong recalcification; i.e., he has a bionic leg.”
others, which made for a fun, fast day.” Bailey is Bailey Irish Crème (Afire Bey V x Aerial Moondanse), owned and ridden by Cindy Gift, Pennsylvania. Wynne is registered as HV Golden Septre (HV Hals Gold x HV Niga Kaili) and ridden by Richard Stedman, New York. “Eagle typically pulsed just a minute ahead of them at the checks but he is always hesitant and spooky when he first leaves a vet check, so they would catch me before I was even out of sight,” explained Jennifer. “We rolled through the day together, and were out within a minute of each other leaving the last check. Eagle was out first, but of course I couldn’t
Joni Buttram-Burden, who won the Cavalry division (five started, one completed), said, “Riding the Cavalry division has always been on my bucket list. This is arguably the toughest 100-miler in the country, and I’d already done the ride four times before, so why not do it the hard way! I carried a jacket, rump rug, a little bag of raisins and beef jerky for me, and two small baggies of omolene 100 (less than two pounds of grain). Next time, and there will be a next time, I’m not carrying any grain.” She rode the unregistered Arabian mare Miss Fancy Pants, who was a rescue horse. get him to pass the pie plates in the field. It wasn’t long before we were all back together. “Cindy’s crew had told me at Birdhaven that she had no intention of racing off for a win because Bailey had attempted this ride before and been pulled so she really wanted to finish it. I thought the same thing about Eagle,” she continued. “Above all I wanted him to finish. We rode along the last loop together and about three miles from the finish line we had a discussion about the order of finish. “Then Rick (Richard Stedman) suggested we play ‘rock, paper, scissors’ to determine the finishing order. This sounded like a pretty good idea, so we played a few rounds of it and that’s how I ended up winning. “It was probably for the best that we did it this way,” she said, “because the finish line was so congested with people, dogs, trucks, and riders on horses, there was no way we could have raced off anyway, at least not safely.” Jennifer’s course time was six hours 17 minutes one second; Cindy Gift completed one second later and Rick settled for third place, four seconds after Gift. “It was a total surprise and icing on the cake for me that Eagle won Best Condition,” Jennifer added with pride. “None of us wanted to race off, and I really hate ties,” Rick said. “So it was time for the game of rock, paper, and scissors. I lost! Well, not really. Jennifer won and then Cindy and I tied eight times in a row. So as we approached the finish line, I said ‘ladies first’ to Cindy and that is how it was decided. “I have owned Wynne,” as Rick calls his gelding, “since December of 2013.
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In the 50-mile competition, Jennifer Poling was first to finish on EaglE Baikal (Bask VSOP x EC Peaches) in six hours 17 minutes one second. Poling says, “I’ve had Eagle Baikal, a 12-year-old Egyptian/ Polish gelding, since he was four. I started him under saddle and have been his only rider. He is a very forward and competitive horse, however, for the past several years he has suffered the worst case of bad luck of any horse I’ve ever had. I wanted to make him a hundred-mile horse but after a long string of injuries that began with a suspensory pull in the Biltmore 100, a pulled groin muscle in the FITS 100, a bad kick to the shoulder from another horse, followed by colic, and finally a severe bout of Lyme disease, I had decided that his competition days were over. For the past three years I have done pack trips, trail rides, kids’ camps, and even parades with him, but something in him changed this year. I can’t explain it, but I felt that he wanted to get back to endurance and try it again. Eagle has always been my favorite horse so I figured why not? I cautiously began training him again and working on his fitness, and he loved it! He is so incredibly happy to be back to work. Most people would figure that since it’s his first competition back that I should take it slow and just get him around. But I know him very well and I know that this is not how he wants to do it. He has always been fast, forward,
Wynne is Canadian-bred from Hedgeville Farms, born in 2003. He is an amazing competitor. Which translates into he pulls my arms off if there is any sign of a horse in front! Absolutely fights and pulls the entire time. Alone he is a totally different horse. Walks, trots, and canters just as relaxed and pleasant as could be. But if he sees another horse ahead, the game is on.” Cindy talked about her 16-year-old horse, “I’ve had him for five years. He was previously an English pleasure horse and saddleseat horse and he wasn’t good at either one. So he was then trained for mounted shooting and wasn’t good at that so he was given away. He ended up as a trail horse for a woman’s autistic child. Eventually they had to sell one of their horses, so I ended up with him. I had not done endurance but had done CTR (competitive trail riding) on a Paint who didn’t enjoy it. Thus Bailey became that special horse for me doing CTR and now he has become a great endurance horse too.” Forty started and 28 completed the 50-mile competition. The final rider completed the course in nine hours 51 minutes.
25-Miler
The 25-miler, or LD, short for limited distance, had 42 starters and 33 completed. Hanna Marie Bartnick, Virginia, won this event with a ride time of three hours 12 minutes on Bint Bay Serra (Light Of Thunder x FO Shalola). Better
and had superior recoveries so I felt that my job was to get him fit enough that he can run the ride the way he likes to — up front, and have fun doing it. So that’s what I had in my mind going into the Old Dominion 50-miler.”
known as Samirah, this mare is a ten-year-old purebred Egyptian Arabian. “This was my first Old Dominion ride, and Samirah’s first endurance ride ever,” said 21-year-old Bartnick who had completed only one 50-miler prior. “My goal was just to get a completion with a sound, happy horse. “Although I have owned his mare for over six years, she has just begun her sport horse career,” Bartnick said. “I found her online for free and did all of her training myself. The third time under saddle resulted in a broken jaw and cracked molar when she threw me off and ran over me. I was on a liquid diet for a month and came out with a nasty nervousness toward this horse. After watching her sit for a few years with only the occasional arena ride, this past spring I decided that enough was enough. I was determined to get over my fears and start using this horse to her full potential. So I started taking her places and getting her out on the trail. She’s naturally very forward with a good stride and she took to the trail better than many horses I have started under saddle.” As for the Old Dominion, she said, “I had originally planned to start out and stay in the middle or back of the middle of the pack. I was concerned she was going to be a ball of uncontrollable energy, and I was also worried about the amount of rocks on the trail. I needed her focused and careful. But as she calmly walked about to warm up among the excited, jigging, snorting horses that were champing at the bit, I changed my game plan. She was calm, cool and collected. I decided to get her out front and away from all the nervous energy of the other horses. “We led the pack for a couple miles until we came to a creek that she didn’t want to cross. Jennifer Supinger and her lovely horse caught up and she kindly went ahead and Samirah followed. We rode together the rest of the first loop, keeping a good trot most of the time. When we got about a mile out from the first vet check, I noticed a boot had come off someone’s horse. I jumped down to grab it. Instead of getting back on, I trotted beside my mare into the checkpoint. My
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“This is our fourth season,” said Cindy Gift about Bailey irish Crème. In the 50-miler, the pair completed in second place, one second behind the first-place finisher. “Within a couple events in 2014, I started having trouble with him tying up early in the event. It wasn’t until last year that we unofficially diagnosed him with RER — recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis. His muscles would contract but not be able to release. High sugar and high carbohydrates cause it. I switched his diet and he has been a hundred percent.”
wonderful mentors, Leslie and Henry Smith, were helping me in the crew area. We got Samirah’s tack off and sponged her down quickly and took her over to the pulse taker before Jennifer’s horse was presented. Samirah’s heart rate was already down to 60 and we had a great trot out with all A’s on her vet card. About her finish, Bartnick said, “I took out on the last loop at a good pace, and I never saw anyone until after we crossed the finish line.” Twenty-six-year-old Jennifer Supinger completed 13 minutes later on Summer’s Wildfire, a 15-year-old threequarter Arabian, one-quarter Saddlebred out of a halter mare named Fires Topaz and by a National Show Horse stallion named Soc It To Em Pow. “I rode most of the first loop with Hanna and her bay mare,” Jennifer said. “We came into the check together but her out time was two minutes ahead of mine. I left the check intending to catch her, but there was a turn at which point I wasn’t sure if I was on the correct trail. I stopped and waited for the next rider to come along. It was a nice man doing the ride and tie who knew the trail and pointed me in the right direction. At that point I was too far behind to make up the lost time.”
Richard Stedman and hV Golden septre (HV Hals Gold x HV Niga Kaili) better known as Wynne, completed the 50-miler in third place on the tails of first and second placers with a course time of six hours 17 minutes six seconds. “I have owned Wynne since December of 2013. He is Canadian-bred from Hedgeville Farms,” he said. “Wynne is an amazing competitor. Which translates into he pulls my arms off if there is any sign of a horse in front. Absolutely fights and pulls the entire time. Alone he is a totally different horse. Walks, trots, and canters just as relaxed and pleasant as could be. If he sees another horse though, game is on!” Finishing in third place in three hours 15 minutes was 45-year-old Dana Reeder on 13-year-old LB Beryl, a Half-Arabian/Half-Belgian. “I started out at the back of the pack and walked/trotted. We slowly picked riders off as their horses walked in the rocks and we trotted by. We hit the gravel road and flew into the vet check. The first-place person left four minutes ahead of me and the second-place person left two minutes ahead of me. I decided not to alter my plan and just keep my same pace, although I believe they thought I was going to race. At the finish line, the first-place person was just vetting and the second-place person was working to get her horse’s pulse down. We walked in and pulsed (final pulse was 60 BPM) almost immediately. I was proud of her. She did so good all day. She kept moving in the rocks and ate like a horse. We stood for Best Condition and Beryl won it.” “This was my second year as manager of the OD,” Diane Connolly said. “The big change this year was that we held a two-day format to draw more hundred-mile riders. It worked! We were averaging 20-26 entries but this time we had 42. Many of the 25- and 50-mile riders who competed on Friday stayed to crew or volunteer on Saturday. It was epic. Volunteers were falling all over themselves helping the riders and crews everywhere. “The comments I got were: ‘much more relaxed atmosphere,’ ‘did not feel hurried,’ and ‘more time to visit and socialize.’ It also resulted in many more volunteers helping throughout the event,” continued Diane. “Plus, several riders brought two horses and rode both days. Many 50-milers stayed and crewed for friends in the 100. We (the OD organization) were very pleased with the two-day format.”
148 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b AUGUST 2017
Winner of the 25-miler was Hanna Marie Bartnick on Bint Bay Serra (Light of Thunder x FO Shalola). She said, “I attribute Leslie and Henry Smith’s excellent and efficient crewing skills to my win at the Old Dominion 25. Because of them, I was able to get my horse’s pulse down faster and get an out time just a few minutes ahead of Jennifer Supinger, which ended up making the difference in our placing.”
OLD DOMiniOn
RESULTS
Top Ten Finishers — Saturday: 100-mile ride Pl. Name 1. 1. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 8. 10. 10.
Horse (Pedigree)
Ride Tme
Bryna Stevenson ...................TEF Lunar Eclipse (TEF Sunflash x TEF Roxtiki Rain) ....................................................... 13:24:57 BC (OD) Annie Whelan .......................Whisperstreams Atropine [aka Maddy] (unregistered ¾ Arabian,¼ Saddlebred) ................ 13:24:57 Taylor Stine ..........................Mercuric (*Statistic x Muzsette) .................................................................................... 13:33:02 BC (AERC) Carol Federighi .....................Lily Creek Stetson (Sarvar PFF x Sonata PFF) ................................................................. 13:33:06 Stagg Newman .....................Syrocco Tanka (Syrocco Troubador x Edgewood Schelite) .................................................. 14:22:30 Eilish Connor........................LR Amana Tabi (Bold Soldier x Brown-R Missy) ............................................................. 15:08:21 Lisa C. Green .......................LR April Breeze (Bold Soldier x Brown-R Missy).............................................................. 15:08:29 Lisa Delp .............................Wicked Breeze (Aransas HF x Bristol Breeze) ................................................................. 15:47:34 Kelsie Lewis .........................IA Donovan (Patrolon x IA Moonstrukk) ......................................................................... 15:47:34 Lisa Bykowski ......................PL Mercury (AM Autumn Mead x Playland Lady) ............................................................ 15:47:36 Claire Godwin DVM ...............EH Ahmose (PRI Asali Halim x EH Nagidah) .................................................................. 15:47:36
Top Ten Finishers — Friday: 50-mile ride 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 6. 6. 6. 10.
Jennifer L. Poling ..................Eagle Baikal (Bask VSOP x EC Peaches) ....................................................................... 6:17:01 BC Cindy Gift .............................Bailey Irish Crème (Afire Bey V x Aerial Moondanse) ....................................................... 6:17:02 Richard Stedman ..................HV Golden Septre (HV Hals Gold x HV Niga Kaili) ........................................................... 6:17:06 Wendy M. Mancini ................Sterling (unregistered Anglo/Arabian) ............................................................................ 6:58:31 Claire R. Godwin...................Serene Zeliza (Bold Soldier x SKF Kadance) ................................................................... 7:04:02 Evelyn Baig ..........................GJR Bella Cinderalla (Dharib x Bella Magnifficaa) .......................................................... 7:17:19 Jeffrey Baig ..........................Denise BF (Armani FC x Minuette In E Major) ................................................................. 7:17:19 Tom Hagis ...........................Indian Reinman (Czar Nickolas x Dancing Sunlight) ....................................................... 7:17:19 Madeline O’Connor ...............Psophie ..................................................................................................................... 7:17:19 Claire Taylor .........................Saluut (*Bandjo de Falgas x Synbolika) ........................................................................ 7:22:04
Top Ten Finishers — Friday: 25-mile ride 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 6. 8. 9. 9.
Hanna Marie Bartnick ............Bint Bay Serra (Light Of Thunder x FO Shalola) [aka Samirah] ........................................ 2:59:00 Jennifer Supinger ..................Summer’s Wildfire (Soc It To Em Pow x Fires Topaz) ....................................................... 3:12:00 Dana Reeder ........................LB Beryl (*Bandjo De Falgas x Beulah) ......................................................................... 3:15:00 BC Amanda Sandridge ...............Genevieve (unregistered Arabian) ................................................................................. 3:25:00 Emily Richardson..................Crimson Sage (MHF Eclipse x Capri El Csage) ............................................................... 3:26:00 Ann Kuest ............................Royal Account MKP (Chndaka x Ms Benz)..................................................................... 3:32:00 Lisa Troutman ......................Tommy’s Terrific Tune (Morgan) .................................................................................... 3:32:00 Linda Barton ........................BG Double Trouble (A Summer Sunday x EV Kirfa).......................................................... 3:35:00 Naoma Campbell..................Steeln My Hartss (Wazirs Tut Too x Saveena Canadius) .................................................. 3:36:00 Jaclyn Fulk ..........................AAF Ali Moniet (AJ Elessar x La Binte Bashana).............................................................. 3:36:00 149 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b AUGUST 2017