The March cover story of Horseback Magazine will be about the Chief Joseph Trail Ride and the saga of the 1877 flight of the Nez Perce. The piece is by Steven Long, Editor of HM. In addition to that position, Long is an avid horseman, author of several books about crime and the accompanying courtroom drama, and a freelance writer for publications such as Cowboys and Indians Magazine and Western Horseman. He’s also been a special correspondent and anayst for CNBC and, along with his horse Facade, has appeared on Animal Planet’s “Animal Cops Houston.”
Horseback Magazine has evolved from its origins as Horse Talk, then later as Texas Horse Talk. The publication also has a strong Internet presence at www.horsebackmagazine.com.
Hello Apache Land Trail Riders,
This year’s ride will be held in the Santa Rita Mountains on the Coronado National Forest near Sonoita, Arizona. It’s beautiful country and you won’t want to miss it. This is the first time the Forest Service has allowed a week-long ride into this area.
Dates are April 25 – May 1. Application deadline is March 15th.
Check out the appaloosa.com Web site for further details, or contact me at 208-882-5578 ext 221, or email: trailrides@appaloosa.com.
Kevin Pullen
ApHC Trail & Distance Coordinator
PHOTO BY JOANNA BRYANT
New American Competitive Trail Horse Association list on Yahoo Groups! It’s a great way to meet other riders, chat about ACTHA rides, post ride photos, ride information and just plain chat horses!
It’s a free and easy to use list!
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/ACTHA/
Sign up for a free webcast October 21!
Regardless of their breed preference, riding style or location, equine enthusiasts can find happy trails with help from a new course by My Horse University and Source Interlink Media’s Equine Network. From selecting a trail horse to preserving the trail, “Trail Riding 101” offers expert advice on every aspect of this international pastime.
Developed by equine experts at Michigan State University (MSU) and other major universities, “Trail Riding 101” takes participants through the process of selecting the right mount and equipment, feeding and conditioning the trail horse, and helping them learn about trail safety and etiquette. This course is aimed at helping riders get the most enjoyment from their riding experience, whether they trail ride at home, on vacation or in competition.
The $50 registration fee includes access to the course, where participants can read information, watch accompanying video clips and webcasts, and complete exercises and activities at their own pace. For more information or to register, visit www.myhorseuniversity.com/trail.
My Horse University and the Equine Network are also offering a FREE WEBCAST titled “On the Trail Ride – Best Practices,” which will air live on October 21 at 7 p.m. ET. The webcast will feature Jenifer Nadeau, associate professor of animal science at the University of Connecticut, who will share best practices for trail riding including how to determine where to go, route finding, safety, what to bring, ride preparations, how to select the right horse, how to deal with situations that arise on the trail such as crossing streams and roads, going up and down hills and encountering wildlife. A recording of the webcast will be available to anyone who purchases “Trail Riding 101.” For more information or to register, visit www.myhorseuniversity.com/trail.
Post by Kevin Pullen, ApHC Trail/Distance Coordinator; Photo by Barry Grubb.
I just got back from Ohio and the 4th annual ApHC National Championship Endurance Ride (ANCER) and WOW, was it exciting! Cat Carter and her gelding TheSpurOfTheMoment swept the field for the second year in a row. It was a heated race as the frontrunners burst out of the woods into the meadow and headed for the finish line. A gentleman on his Arabian appeared first with Cat and Spur behind. Cat urged Spur forward and it became a runoff. In the remaining 100 yards, Spur caught and passed the Arab at the finish line, winning by a neck!
Cat and Spur’s unofficial time was 50 miles in 4 hours and 46 minutes — a full 1 hour and 45 minutes faster than last year’s time of 6:31. At an average of 10 ½ miles per hour, they were bookin’! Diana Macdonald on her 14-year-old mare ‘Loosi’ came in a close third. The unofficial results show 5 Appaloosas in the Top Ten out of a field of nearly 50 entries! How’s that for a showing of SPOTS in a major competitive event?!
Spur also received the coveted Best Condition Award, a category determined by the ride veterinarian as the horse “most fit to continue”.
Keep in mind that Cat and Spur won these two awards in two categories: the OVERALL Cracked OAATS Crunch ride (on which we piggybacked our ride) AS WELL AS our National Championship Endurance Ride.
Stay tuned for more details. At this point we are still waiting for the official results!
Kevin
This weekend’s fund-raising trail ride for the Appaloosa Museum was a great blend of pleasant diversions. The opportunity for friends of the Museum to get together is certainly a primary reason for people to make the trip to Deary, Idaho. The Palouse Hills Pony Club grounds is a beautiful spot. The trails are scenic and made better this year by recent rains to dampen the dust and boost the scent levels. Some of us, of course, simply show up for the Dutch oven dinner on Saturday evening. Whatever the motivation, the Museum benefits and Appaloosa connections are strengthened.
I got lucky and served as a judge of the Dutch oven creations. Believe me when I say that there could have been a 19-way tie for best of show! Everything I “evaluated” was delicious.
Folks who always ask about George and Iola Hatley can be reassured that the Appaloosa royalty were once again great hosts for the event. George positions himself near enough to the cooking area to give advice and monitor the progress of everything from bread to beans. Lots of friends/volunteers are involved from start to finish as well. Thanks to everyone for a memorable back-to-basics weekend.
A few photos have been posted on the album (menu at left). You’ll probably notice that I focused on the food and scenery. I didn’t intentially ignore people photos. In fact, the conversations were so good that I kinda forgot to take many pictures.
Meet Olivia. She participated in a ceremony to honor the Nez Perce at the Big Hole National Battlefield. The event marked the end of this year’s ApHC-sponsored Chief Joseph Trail Ride. More than 150 riders got to experience some of the most scenic parts of the trail — and some of the most historically significant and personally emotional. Warm weather, no major storms, good food, lots of evening entertainment/education and a family reunion of sorts, all combined to make it a very good year for the CJTR.
I’ll fill in some of the blanks after I get official reports from ride coordinator Kevin Pullen. In the meantime, there is a photo album available now. Click on the album link at left and go to the Flickr files. As mentioned several times before, I am not a professional photographer, so you get what you get. I will say, the photo on this post is definitely one of my favorites.
The Shawnee Hills ApHC had their kick off ride at High Knob in beautiful southern Illinois on April 25 and rode into the Garden of the Gods. Joining us was one of our older members.
Next ride is June 4, 5, and 6 at Hayes Canyon Camp Ground..This will be our 3rd annual national sanctioned ApHC ride…if interested contact Linda Daughenbaugh phone 618-266-9828 or e-mail turkeyhunter@mvn.net
From the American Horse Council
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This bill appropriated over $1.7 billion for the National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that can be used for the maintenance and construction of trails and other infrastructure improvements on public land. Recreational riders must work with these organizations to ensure that equestrian trails are among the projects to benefit form these funds.
• The U.S. Forest Service will receive $650 million for capital improvements.
• The National Park Service will receive $ 750 million for operations, trails and maintenance.
• The BLM will get $320 million for management and construction.
The AHC has urged these federal agencies to use a significant portion of these funds for maintenance and construction of trails and other facilities that are open to equestrians. The NPS, USFS, and BLM have yet to finalize spending plans for this recently appropriated money.
Right now an opportunity exists for equestrian groups to provide input to land managers in their states and communities on how this money should be spent and what projects are important to them. Competition among projects for this funding will be intense and there is a limited window of time before final decisions are made.
The AHC encourages its member organizations and individuals who use these public lands to contact their local Ranger Districts, Forest Supervisors, BLM field or District offices and NPS Superintendents and work with them to identify projects beneficial to riders in their area. Doing this will ensure recreational riders are part of the planning process.
If you have any questions regarding this, please call the AHC: 202-296-4031.
A full break-down of the money to be paid out this spring can be found on the appaloosa.com site by clicking on the show, trail or racing buttons. The estimated total payout for 2008 activities is $46,500.
Total payout is divided into 20 divisions:
19 zones for regional show competitors in those zones; payout in each of the 19 zones will be for the year end high-point horses competing in open classes at any ApHC-approved regional club shows within that that zone. Horse must earn at least one point in a halter class and one point in a performance class.
20th division is split between ApHC Racing and Distance programs; 50% will go to the Race program — awarded to the year-end high-earning starter. 50% will go to the Distance program split between: Year-end high mileage endurance horse and Year-end high mileage competitive trail horse.
If there are no qualifying horses in a particular division, that money will be equally divided among all other divisions with qualifying horses and paid out in the same calendar year.
See the pdf document for complete details about qualifications, tie-breakers, etc.
Photo and report by Gerry Lukacik, Sooner ApHC
Here’s a picture from the National Championship Endurance Ride, held this past weekend in Oklahoma. This is your winning horse and rider, Cat Carter & THESPUROFTHEMOMENT. The picture was taken on the first 17 mile loop.
Not only were they first Appaloosa across the line, and the Best Conditioned Appaloosa, they were also the first over the line for the entire (all breeds) Indian Territory Ride! They came in second in the overall scoring for best conditioned for the entire ride. Not a bad showing for the breed!
Other Appaloosa results: 2nd place – Shilo Vanhart riding WAPS BLACKCHERRY, owned by Jeff Hartman; 3rd – Karen Gerken riding DKG PRINCE ARISTO; 4th – Lucie Hess riding COKE STRAW LAHAAM. Congratulations to all!
Carol Johnson, Sooner ApHC President also has tons of pictures, that I haven’t seen yet. The Indian Territory Ride had hired a professional photographer, and Marsha Hayes, who is doing an article for the Appaloosa Journal, was out on horseback, on the trail, taking pictures, as well.
Because the NCER came to ‘our’ backyard, the Sooner Appaloosa Horse Club hired a caterer with an authentic chuck wagon, to cook for the Appaloosa participants. The chuck wagon was built in 1907, the year Oklahoma became a state, and is owned by Scott & Leigh Ann Mathews of Muskogee, the operators of 4M Chuckwagon.
They have done extensive restoration work to the chuck wagon, as well as add many authentic period pieces. They cook authentic western style food, in dutch ovens, over an open fire. They’ve also won a few awards in various chuck wagon cook offs. Scott & Leigh Ann are both in the picture, though the hanging latern is partially hiding Leigh Ann.
Gerry Lukacik
The location for this year’s National Championship Endurance Ride on Saturday, October 4th, has been changed to Lake Carl Blackwell, 8 miles west of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Apparently the original location is flooded. I’m a little confused about whether the condition is natural or man-made, but the ride has been moved to dry ground. We’ll provide any additional details as we receive them.
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The Center of the Nation Appaloosa Horse Club held it’s second annual open trail ride July 19th at Roth Angus Ranch near Freeman, South Dakota. Craig and Heidi Roth were excellent hosts and trail guides as our 3-hour ride meandered along the scenic foothills adjoining the James River. While the forecast had been for sunshine, an unexpected shower found the riders taking shelter under some abandoned turkey huts. The shower soon passed by and the riders continued down the trail, where a pot-luck supper, with the hamburgers and hot dogs provided by the CON ApHC awaited. A good time was had by all, and participants are anxious for next years ride!
Lori Richards, President Center of the Nation ApHC
This photo was taken before the ponies were too worried about what the humans were up to. Early morning, especially in the mountains, has the sort of peace we can all use from time to time. The coffee was already brewed and breakfast was in the works. Chief Joseph Trail Ride folks were variously engaged in grooming (working mostly on the horses), packing, checking gear or taking their horses down the hill for a drink of water. It was cool, but not nearly as chilly as a couple of the mornings spent higher up.
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