Cooperative Living May 2014 - 18

Left: Endurance riders' equipment
includes sponges on long " leashes "
that clip to saddles and may
be used frequently as the day
heats up to cool horses' necks
and flanks without needing to
dismount.
Bottom left: Old Dominion riders
and crew camp with their horses
along Happy Valley Road in
Orkney Springs, Va.
Below right: Joe Selden, who
along with his wife Nancy Smart
has managed t he Old Dominion
Endurance Ride for a number
of years.
Natalie Muzzio and her daughter Maria with
the Old Dominion Trophy, which Natalie and
her horse Laconic earned after completing the
Old Dominion Endurance Ride in June 2013.
compete. Today, the three generations train
together.
Taylor Stine, 16, took up the sport at the
urging of her horse's vet, Dr. Jeanne Waldron.
When Waldron was younger, she competed
in Rome, Germany, Holland, as well as in the
U.S., where she won the O.D. six times.
THE RIDE MANAGEMENT TEAM
Joe Selden and his wife Nancy Smart have
managed the O.D. for the past seven years.
Joe, now 70, started riding when he was 11
years old and learned about endurance riding
from Smart when they met as Voice of
America broadcasters. Smart pulled Selden
into the sport.
Selden says most endurance riders don't
have patience for anyone with airs. He laughs
when he tells of an Arabian sheik's son who
attended the Race of Champions one year in
Utah. While walking through the camp, the
sheik's son spotted a handsome horse and
said, " I will ride that horse. " The owner
responded, " No you won't! " The son said
imperiously, " Do you know who I am? " The
owner replied forcefully, " Do you know
where you are? "
The O.D. depends on a host of dedicated
volunteers. Volunteer Coordinator Diane
16
Connolly has completed more than 3,000
miles of competition over the past decade.
The NOVEC member says after she tried
endurance riding it became her sport. Today,
she " gives back " to her sport by volunteering.
Henry Muhlbauer, a wheat farmer and
computer IT expert in Pennsylvania, has been
the O.D.'s head timer since 1974. He heard
about the sport from an endurance rider at
his church. When he showed up to volunteer,
he was assigned to time " because I was the
only one who had a big digital clock with
seconds. "
Howell says, " All these years later, it's hard
to imagine an O.D. event without Henry
waiting patiently at that most welcome sight
- the finish line! "
For many, the weekend's highlight comes
at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, as the first 10
horses to complete the 100-mile ride just a
handful of hours earlier are presented to a
veterinary panel. These judges evaluate each
horse's soundness as it moves in circles at a
trot to determine two awards that recognize a
horse's soundness and fitness to continue.
" The Best Condition Award, offered at all
AERC rides, is open to the first 10 finishers, "
explains Muzzio. " Unique to this competition
is the Old Dominion Trophy, which is presented
to the horse-and-rider team that has
demonstrated optimum performance based
on post-ride recovery and condition, " she
says, adding that equine leg-protective
devices are prohibited. The formula for determining
a winner is based on a veterinary
score, total elapsed time and weight carried.
Muzzio was thrilled when she and her 11year-old
Arabian horse Laconic ( " Nicky, " a ¾
brother to John Crandell's Heraldic) won the
2013 Old Dominion Trophy.
Whether it's timing, riding, or making
sure horses are in good health, endurance
ride participants form a deep bond with each
other, their horses, and the land. They agree
with Dr. Johnson who says enthusiastically,
" Come join us. It's a fun, fun sport! " 
To learn about the sport of
endurance riding, visit the American
Endurance Ride Conference (AERC)
website at www.aerc.org and the
Old Dominion Endurance Rides website,
www.olddominionrides.org.
The Old Dominion organization will
host the 2015 AERC National
Championship 50- and 100-mile rides
and welcomes additional volunteers.
Cooperative Living/May 2014
PRISCILLA KNIGHT WILLIAMS PHOTOS
http://www.aerc.org http://www.olddominionrides.org
Cooperative Living May 2014

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