Tell us about your horse.  When/how did you come to get him/her? It was in 1990 I was doing a 50 mile ride at the Mountain Top Hop II and saw this horse in the 25 mile ride. I had been riding my horse, G.L. Houdini for 10 years and it was time for a replacement. Kohnican had endurance horse, in my mind, written all over him. He had the attitude, the body and on top of all that he was gorgeous. He was 7 years old and had some endurance experience. I knew this was the horse I wanted for my next endurance horse so I start on the mission on how I was going to buy him. He was asking more than I could afford for an endurance horse, but all ended up well in the end and I ended up buying him for a really reasonable price.

What is your horses breeding?  Sire: Kharibe by Khemosabi X Carinosa.Dam: MN Elissa by The Phoenician X SCO-CO Polonaise
Sex:  G
DOB:   3/29/84
Horse height:  15 hh
Approx. Weight:   940
Color:  Grey
Shoe size:  0

Why did you decide to purchase this horse (or if you didn't purchase, why did you choose to use this horse in endurance)?   My horse of 10 years, It was time for retirement, so I was looking and saw this horse at a ride and knew he was for me and I had to have him, because he had endurance written all over him, and he is really good at his passion as well as mine. He was everything I would look for in an endurance horse.

Did you do endurance with any other horses before this horse?  Yes, G.L. Houdini, who had over 3000 miles.

How many different horses have you ridden in this sport?  Other than my own, 3 for other people.

Do you participate in any other horse sports or activities?  At this point no, at one point I taught basic riding to youth.

How many years have you been involved with horses? In endurance?  Since I was 7 I would ride whatever I could get my hands on.

What got you interested in endurance riding? What was it that kept you interested?   I had purchased my first Arabian, and after owning him a few months decided he needed more than just trail riding, he was full of himself. I did not know a thing about endurance, but answered a newspaper ad that Ann Cofield had posted in the Atlanta Journal, full board and endurance training for you and your horse at $100.00 a month. It sounded like just what he and I needed, I did my first training ride and I was hooked. I love the challenge of bringing a horse from nothing to a 50 mile or a 100 mile horse, the challenge of the trail, the goal setting and getting a horse and me ready for that next ride. It has been a life adventure.

How old was your horse when first started? First ride?  Kohnican was 7 years old. First ride he and I did together he was 8 years old.

How many rides did you do the first, second, and third ride seasons?   First season: 6, Second season: 8, Third season: 6

What mileage distance did you start with?   50's.

How long till you top tenned or 'raced'?   On the second 50. This horse just wanted to go, there was no holding him back. The only place you could hold him back was staying longer in the vet checks. But before we did this I made sure his condition program was enough so I could do this.

How much time off do you give between ride seasons?  About a month and a half. I still do light riding.

If you have done 100's, how much time off do you give after doing one? What is your schedule in the month leading up to the ride?   I would try and do a 50 mile ride for my prep ride, two weeks prior to the 100, and then one or two 10 to 15 mile easy training rides just to keep him loose.

What kind of tack do you use?  Stonewall endurance saddle, Toklat woolback pad, biothane breastcollar, headstall, and hackamore, neoprene girth.

What kind of shoes do you use on your horse?  St. Croix kegs, hot shod with toe clips front and back, with rounded toes for break over.

What kind of problems have you encountered?  I one had a problem with a farrier and he did an unbalanced shoeing job on the front inside left heel, which after doing a 100 on an unbalanced foot I ended up with a small lesion in the deep flexor tendon sheet. I have had no problems with the tack I use.

What was the worst or most severe injury your horse has had?  Tear in the deep flexor tendon sheath for doing a 100 on an unbalanced shoeing job.

How did you work thru it?   I did to the letter what the vet told me to do. Stall rest for 3 months, wrapped twice a day and hand walk twice a day for 3 months and took x-ray twice a month to see the healing process. He came through it with no problems.

Describe the best ride you ever had on your horse?  All the rides on Kohnican were and still a rush. We did a 50 at the Talladega Tempest when we started out, we rode alone the entire ride and finished an hour before the 2nd place horse, he never gave up because he was alone, and it was he and I the whole ride.

Describe the worst day you ever had with your horse?  The worst day was when I found out about the tear in his flexor tendon, I just knew that endurance was over with him, and it just broke my heart.

What was your most humbling experience?  In a ride we were behind a group of horses going up a hill and the rocks were tumbling down a slope. One of the rocks had hit him on the right front on the coronary band. He kept right on running. When I got to the vet check he had blood all over his legs and chest. He was hurting, but he just kept on going. I pulled him and cleaned him up, to find the injury. It was humbling to think he was going on for me, yet he was injured.

What lessons have you learned along the way that you feel are the most important?  One is not all horses are created equal. Kohnican required less conditioning between rides and less condition in general than my first horse required. He would go off his feed when he was not getting enough protein between rides. I would up the protein in his feed and he would eat hardy again.

Where does your horse live?  He lives in a pasture of about 5 acres, full turnout with run in shelter, creek for water and trees for natural shelter. He gets hay along with grass. I rent a farm about 10 miles from my home.

What kind of environment did your horse spend the first few years of its life in?   I do not know his history before age 7. He did come from a breeding farm in Mississippi.

What are your horse's strengths? Weaknesses?  Great attitude to go down the trail, supple in the woods, quick gait changes, sweet, good feet, nice shoulders, big bones, big girth area, great recoveries at vet checks, eats, drinks, poops, pees. Weaknesses – He gets so nervous at the rides he would not eat, and that would concern me.

What advice do you have for new riders?  Know your horse like a book. At the slightest change in behavior or habits, pay attention. All horses are different, one condition program for one horse may be too much or too little for another horse. Balanced and correct shoeing are so important.

Looking back, what would you do differently?   I wish I could have ridden this horse at the National level or higher in his prime, I just did not have the time or the money. I would have ridden in more in his older years. I was always afraid of hurting him when he had been so good to me, but he is still fit and ready to go at 19.

What do you feel you did right?  Conditioning, feeding, pasture, spacing my rides so he could get his rest and repair, regular vet attention, and just listening to him and watching him telling me what is right for him.

What was your highest goal for your horse? Did you achieve it?  I wanted to top ten in the region at least one year and I did.

Describe your horse's personality? How is it like or unlike yours?  He has an attitude, he is head dog in the pasture and always has been. He is not mean, he just puts his ears back and everyone moves out of his way. He likes it done his way, very competitive, all business on the trail. He is always on a mission, but his is very sweet and willing. He has always done what I have asked he do as far as handling on the ground. I am competitive, yet easy going and kind and on the trail I am always on a mission.

What kinds of rides do you enjoy the most?  I like the multiday ride.

Describe your electrolyte protocol.  The night before the ride I electrolyte. I see how much water he has drunk during the night before. I make the call to electrolyte the morning before the ride. If I do not think he has drunk enough for him, I do not electrolyte. I will electrolyte at each vet check, if between checks there was enough water on the trail for him to drink and he has drunk water at the vet check. This is a tough call, every horse is different, but this has always worked for me through the years.

Is there anything special about your nutrition program you attribute to your success?  I really have done nothing special to my nutrition program, just made sure he got the basics. Add grain when eh needed the extra weight between rides and always kept him on a feed routine.

What kind of supplements (if any) do you use?  I do not use any.

Do you give any kind of joint products?  At this time, within the last year I am giving injectable glucosamine.

How far do you usually travel to rides?   10 hours.

Do you go to many rides outside of your region?  Not many.

Name three people involved in the sport of endurance that you look up to, and why?  Ann Cofield, she was the person who introduced me to the sport and have loved it as she does. Ann to this day still tries to help people get into the sport and educate them with proper information. She is also involved in the trails development.

Nina Warren. She does not do endurance anymore, but she was such an excellent rider and every horse she rode was just wonderful. I admired her knowledge of horses and her talent with them. She is now doing her other passion, dressage.

Third would be all the riders who take time to condition and care and listen to their horses and ride the same friend year after year on the trail of adventure.

Did you have a mentor or first trail partner?  Ann Cofield. She got me through my training years and through many miles, on the trail and on the road. She loves this sport and has gotten not just me on the trail but many riders on the trail, by doing endurance clinics on her time and money to promote the sport. She is truly a southern Lady and a very generous one at that. She started the Georgia Endurance Riders Association and put in the first trail sat Hard Labor Creek State Park. She has managed many endurance rides and now has got her granddaughters doing endurance, what a full circle.

In choosing your next horse, what would you look for?  Good ground manners, sane to work with (me and the farrier), good feet, no prior injuries to worry about cropping up later on, no prior medical problems. Big bones, good hip and shoulder, quiet on the trail, not too big and a happy and willing attitude going down the trail.

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