MEET THE JUNIOR Shaina Ringler

My name is Shaina Ringler. In live in the beautiful state of Wyoming. Everyone in my family rides horses and mules. I started riding endurance rides on my POA mare Baby Blue.

My first ride was the Fort Howes ride in Montana. Halfway through the ride I got very sick. My eyes swelled almost shut, it hurt to breathe, my stomach churned and I was very hot. I was riding with my grandma, Doris Roesch. At the vet check she told me that I did not have to ride on. I drank a lot of water and took some antihistamine pills (yuck!) Then I slept a while. I woke up panicked, thinking that Grandma left without me. She didn't. We had 10 minutes left before getting back on the trail. I pleaded with her to let me ride. Baby Blue and I finished in good time.

I was so proud of her and of myself too.

My next ride was Antelope Island in Utah. Baby Blue and I rode 25 miles in pouring rain and a bone-chilling wind. We finished.

By now I have grown so tall that I can no longer ride Blue. I am 5'7" and have a 36-inch inseam. Blue is only 13 hands tall.

I would love to ride my grandma's mule Taj Mahal. He is 17 hands tall. I get along with him great at home, but at an endurance ride he is very strong and I am not strong enough yet to control him.

The next biggest horse I have is Trigger. He is a Wyoming mustang. I picked him out and adopted him myself three years ago. He is my best buddy. Up until recently I have ridden him at home and in the mountains on many pack trips. Then I decided to ride him in endurance rides. I trained him to trot and canter a lot more then we used to.

I entered him in the Long X ride. My sponsor got pulled at the first checkpoint. I continued on with a very nice man. (Unfortunately I forgot his name.) He was very nice and I enjoyed riding with him and his horse. We finished eighth. Trigger did very well. I was so happy.

I really love endurance riding and plan to do a lot of it. I will ride Trigger in endurance until my new horse is old enough to go. It is not even born yet. Last spring my grandma bought a very pretty Thoroughbred mare. Second Copy is over 16 hands tall. She did extra well on the race track. I fell in love with her and asked my grandma if she can be mine. Grandma told me that she has a leg injury and can not be rode much. That made me very sad.

Then I thought of her having a baby and grandma agreed to have her bred. We bred her to our Arabian stallion King Saaw, a son of the famous race horse Wiking. One day when I watched Second Copy run very fast around the turn out arena, kicking up a lot of dust, I decided on a name for the foal. I will name it Cloud of Dust. I dream of riding Cloud in endurance rides and doing very well.

Maybe I will give Bay Blue to my little sister Whitney. Or to my brother Joe. Then we can all ride endurance together.

Shaina Ringler has 75 LD miles. Her grandmother and mentor, Doris Roesch, has 1670 endurance and 295 LD miles.

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