NV Derby at the beginning of the month was a great success – despite the trail sabotage by Mother Nature. I was expecting “some erosion”, but wasn’t expecting great chunks of Jumbo Grade to be gone. Nevertheless, the trail was a good mix of challenge (understatement at times) and places to move out. There were some mud-sucking bogs in a couple of sections, and some miserable rocks (hey, this is NV – we have a reputation to live up to), and co-ride managers Beth Kauffmann and Kim Mileo opted to change the trail a little on Day 2 to work around these.
At the end of the day, you knew you’d been to a real ride, with real terrain.
The weather was about perfect – cool enough for the horses on Day 1, warming up on Day 2 when the breeze dropped. There were quite few people sporting pink faces from the sunshine. We even had some first-time Oregon riders drive 450 miles to sample our NV trails – glad you were able to join us and hope you’re able to take part in the Triple Crown!
Day 1:
(Results) (“new and improved” – i.e. technical difficulties resolved and these results should now be correct)
50 Miles: We had 74 starters and 64 finishers in the ride. The ride was won by Mark Montgomery on his mustang Woody, while BC went to Andrew Gerhard on his new horse Rex.
Limited Distance: We had 19 starters and 19 finishers (good job guys!). First over the line was Tom Johnson, who also claimed BC on TM Knight Run (Dice).
A couple of people got a bit battered this day from various mishaps – heal up fast Ericka Bjorum-Nelson and Sheryl Scott (who had a blast despite her incident – “you know you had a good weekend when you come home with a black eye”).
Day 2:
(Results) (also “new and improved”)
50 Miles: We had 18 starters and 17 finishers in the ride. The ride was won by Sanoma Blakeley from Oregon on RA Ares Bay, while BC went to Natalie Stabenow-Drost on her two-day horse LC Andes.
Limited Distance: We had 15 starters and 13 finishers in this distance. First to finish was – once again – Tom Johnson – and – once again – he picked up BC, this time riding Secret Star GYA (Murphy). Congratulations to him on sweeping the LD on both days.
won Best Condition in the 50 on Day 2
Junior News:
Pam Anderson and Connie Creech spent a fun day with junior sisters Riley (11 yrs) and Ansley (8 yrs) McHenry. It was Ansley’s first 50 (riding Pam’s horse Takima), while it was Riley’s new mare Jewel’s first 50. Pam reports the Jewel is “not a push button horse and is a little bit of a challenge.” Both girls (and adult mentors!) finished with all smiles.
Pam: “Tough girls, they never complained the whole time. It was not an easy ride with trail challenges along the way”.
“We are a team and we all work together with all the horse chores and getting things ready. Lots of fun and no drama. Am very proud of my juniors!”
Sunday found the girls hanging out in the vetting area – as Riley put it “We’ve come over to learn”.
