ridecamp@endurance.net: ANTELOPE ISLAND Article

ANTELOPE ISLAND Article

Ramey Peticolas-Stroud (ramey@wvi.com)
Tue, 05 Aug 1997 07:34:57 -0700

ENDURANCE RIDERS HIT STORMY TRAIL
BY REBECCA WALSH THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

ANTELOPE ISLAND -- Alice and Lynn Bigelow and Elaine
and Dave Wabel munched tuna sandwiches, Raspberry Newtons and baby
carrots in a chilly motor home, waiting for a horse, any horse, to trot
over the mucky finish line.

They were the smart ones.

The other 90-some-odd people on a frigid Antelope
Island Saturday were out in the middle of a sloppy snowstorm, slogging
through the third annual American Endurance Riders Conference 25-, 50-
and 100-mile races on the island.

``They have a screw loose. Most endurance riders
do,'' said Phyllis Allen, rider and sponsor of the race. ``They love to
ride. They'll ride in anything.''

Nine riders, including Elaine Wabel, opted out of
the race after waking up to a blinding snowstorm. The rest took off in a
sea of colorful Gortex between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. The two-day, 100-mile
race continues today, possibly under better weather conditions.

Randy Osborn, from Aurora, Colo., was one of the
first back from the 25-mile race four hours later. ``It was terrible,''
he said. ``I broke my glasses and couldn't see. But I didn't come all
this way not to race.''

His horse, a 6-year-old retired racehorse named My
Mirage just pranced. ``I feel terrible and he's ready to go again,''
Osborn said.

Endurance races focus more on the health of the
horse than the owner. Horses are checked the night before the race and
several times during and after the race. Riders train for years to get
their horses in shape for an elite winner's circle.

The 25-mile contest is considered a training race.
The 50- and 100-mile races are for seasoned, older horses. The point of
endurance racing, riders explain, is not to push the horses, but to
pace, similar to a marathon runner. Riders stop at several veterinary
checkpoints along the trail to feed and water the horses, replenish
their electrolytes and monitor their heart rates. Some riders attach
heart monitors and temperature gauges to their mounts.

The 25-mile race horses' heart rates must be down to
a modest level before the race is considered finished. Racers in the 50-
and 100-mile contests check their horses with veterinarians one hour
after finishing the route.

``This is a scientific sport,'' said Allen.

Endurance racing also is on its way to becoming an
Olympic sport. After several years of trials, competitors in the
one-day, 100-mile endurance race will be eligible for medals.

Meantime, endurance races will be held throughout
Utah about every two weeks, culminating with the ``Outlaw Trail'' in
Teasdale, Wayne County, in September. There, riders race 50 miles a day
for five days.

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