Race Of Champions 1995

Nick Warhol

The Race of Champions was held this year in Fishlake National Forest, tucked way up in the mountains of central Utah. It was without a doubt one of the nicest locations I have ever seen for an Endurance ride. And what a ride it was! The base camp was located in a grassy meadow, located about a quarter mile from some of the most spectacular red sandstone cliffs on the planet. A nice little river meandered between the camp and the cliffs, providing water (and swimming), as well as some nice fishing. It was sort of like camping in a post card. There was a bit of a dust problem until the entrance road to camp was moved, and the water truck was dispatched.

This was the first ROC I have attended, and this ride set an organization standard for all other endurance races. It seemed like there were always 3 ride workers for every rider. Nothing was left to chance. There was even a nice fresh water setup with potable water right in camp. Susan Gibson knows what she is doing. The thing that amazed me was how cheerful all the workers were! Donnis Thran kept the base camp in perfect order, and even had time to ride her new stallion in the beautiful mountains. Janna Putman kept the wheels of the ride turning like clockwork. There were a bunch of vendors there displaying their products: Sundowner trailers was out in force, Lance Campers brought out a couple of new units, and the Trail ROC Cafe was serving burgers and such. (they were good!) The ROC tee shirt booth was very well stocked with nice shirts and hats. It was like a small town out in the wild.

The weather was very nice, just a little too hot during the day. The base camp was at 7000 feet, so there were a lot of people breathing hard, and consuming mass quantities of fluids. Most riders arrived early to help get their horse (and their own body!) acclimated to the elevation. Speaking of arriving, a lot of ROC riders arrive in style. There were a bunch of nice rigs, and the most popular were the 2 or 3 horse slant with living quarters. It was fun walking through the camp and looking at the license plates. Every rider was given these cool little camp signs that listed rider, horse, state, and team on it. There were people from across the country and Canada, everywhere from California to New York. Larry and Valerie Kanavy get special mention for their rig- it is deluxe!

The horses were fantastic! There was not an average animal anywhere. Everywhere you looked there were these strong, gorgeous Arabians just zooming along. The Rushcreek Ranch was well represented. We felt a little strange after we arrived with Warpaint the Wonder Appaloosa. We felt better when we found out there was a Morgan Mare here. At least we were not completely outnumbered! The riders were grouped into teams of 8 or so, depending on their geographic areas. We held a little team meeting to decide who would crew where, since a crew would have trouble getting to every check before the rider. Joyce and Dennis Sousa from Northern California brought Joyce’s mom with them, and she was stuck without a ride! I had the honor of taking her with me to the first three checks. I was grateful for the company, and she is a wonderful person. (Dennis- she wants you to take better care of yourself on the trail!)

The ride started out on Saturday morning to a nice sunrise. I missed the start, but I heard the horses take off to the sound of music from Chariots of Fire. How elegant it was. Susan simply tells the riders the course is now open for competition! (By the way, Susan got quite a reaction from the crowd at the riders meeting. She told the riders the start was up on top of the red cliffs, and the access road to the top of the cliff was down there, about a mile or so..... It was funny!) We dashed to the first road crossing at 6 miles, and watched the best of the best blast across the blacktop. Cynthia Peticolas-Stroud on Zephyr and Pat Oliva on Rushcreek Reid led the pack, which was not far behind. Some smart crews had water for their horse here, and some horses even drank in all the excitement. The crews offered their water to other horses who wanted some. No team politics here. Endurance crews are good people! It was a kick to watch 68 of the best horses come across the road. Judy and Warpaint were mid pack, with WP cantering, and Judy holding him back. (What else is new?) We drove on up to the second vet stop and waited.

The report from the first check was that Pat Oliva was pulled, along with a few other horses. Judy and the rest of our West team made it through fine. We got to the second check, (Tubb 1) and gasped as we left the truck. What a view! 10,000 feet, and the view was beyond description. They told us to bring cameras at the crew meeting, and they were not kidding! Zephyr and another rider (sorry, don’t remember!) led the pack into the second stop, and had a 10 to 15 minute lead over the second group of riders. Valerie Kanavy (you know who she is), Shirley Delsart (Northern California speedster on her big Arabian gelding K.J. Destination), Steven Rojek (Northeast rider on his Arabian Hawk), and two others came in together. The horses had just come up a 2000 foot climb, and all looked very strong. Zephyr got pulled here for lameness, as well as 2 others. One horse was pulled for metabolic reasons and treated with fluids. Warpaint had lost a shoe (Darn!), but was going fine on an easy-boot. We had the farrier replace his shoe, and we crossed our fingers as they continued.

Because of Warpaints shoe disaster, I was a little late in getting to the third check. It once again had a panoramic view that went on forever. I don’t know who arrived first, but Shirley and Valerie left around the same time. Everyone present held their breath as Cash looked lame during his vet check, but it turned out to be a lost shoe insert. He is quite a horse, that one. Quite a few riders were complaining about the rocks. Mother Nature helped a bit with a little rain storm that helped cool things down. This check was our un-doing. Warpaint was still full of energy, and was really moving well. Except for his trot out. There was a slight head-bob. He must have stepped on a rock when he lost his shoe. He was pulled, and we were disappointed. I look at it like getting an equine flat tire. At least he was still going strong!

The lead horses made it through the Forsythe check, and then headed back up the big climb to the fifth check, Tubb2. Valerie and Shirley left together, and lost a little time when they got lost on part of the common road/course. They got pointed in the right direction, and headed down to the last check. I wonder if they knew about the runaway train of riders who were coming up behind them! A small group of riders (Steve Rojek, Jan Worthington, and Suzanne Hayes) were an hour behind Valerie and Shirley at the Tubb 2 check. This quick trio made up some time, and were only 25 minutes behind at the last check. They were only 9 minutes at the finish! What a comeback!

We arrived back at camp with Warpaint, and noticed a lot of horses there. At least 22 had been pulled by the last check. (mostly lameness, it was rocky!) We were able to see the finish- and what a finish! Valerie and Shirley were right together through the entire last section. They came cantering into the finish, with the nod going to Valerie and Cash. Shirley was only a few seconds behind! That’s a great way to end this ride! Suzanne Hayes took third, with Steve Rojek taking fourth. There was a very interesting sidebar about Steve and Hawk. These two had the fastest riding time of the entire field. They rode the course 14 minutes faster than the winner, but spent a combined total of 20 more minutes in the vet stops than the winner. Jan Worthington finished 5th, and then the heart break for Jim Brown happened. Jim was riding as a solo rider, and a heavyweight to boot. He finished the event in 5th place, but was pulled at the post ride vet check due to a slight lameness. What a disappointment!

Other memorable tidbits- Julie Suhr did not start the ride on Zayante- he has completed 4900 miles without a pull. The vets thought he looked off at the pre-ride check in, but decided to let him start. Julie did not want to take any chances, so she wisely withdrew. She and husband Bob went out to help crew instead! What great people. The collection of vets was kind of amazing. There were 12 vets for 78 riders! That’s one vet for every 6 and a half riders! We also found out head vet Nancy Loving can sing. (She sang a very emotional rendition of Run for the Roses during the Parade of Champions) I saw Lawton Johnson out there riding at the second check. He is the only rider to start every ROC. There were 2 riders from Brazil, 2 from England, and a group from Canada. The trail was described almost universally by the riders as one of the most beautiful they have ever been on, but to rocky, and lots of tough climbs. Contrary to normal ROC events, there were a lot of heavyweight riders who did real well this year. This trail seems to give them an equal advantage. I also want to mention the attitude of the crews. Everyone was willing to help any rider, no matter what team they were on. This is one of the neat things about endurance riding- the people who do it. (and crew it!)

More good news was the high completion rate for an event like ROC. This year there was a 67% completion rate, compared to a normal 50-55%. There has been some concern lately about the low completion rate at the higher level rides like ROC, FEI rides, Championships series, etc. One theory about this ROC was the quality and serious attitude of the vet staff. The vets were very strict, but fair. They are concerned about the horses, not peoples egos or reputations. There were only 2 mild tie ups, and 2 minor colics throughout the entire event. The vet staff had enough fluids on hand to treat the entire third cavalry, but the stuff was not needed! There were vets everywhere, and I don’t think a rider ever had to wait for a vet at all. Good work by Nancy’s team!

Susan Gibson was very happy with the way the ride turned out. She hopes to hold the ride here again next year, and may have some more surprises in store for the riders. If this base camp was not good enough, she has another one in mind located in Fishlake Forest that is at the side of a mountain lake, in an Aspen forest. She might even get to use some even better trails, now that the ride was a great success. All in all it was a wonderful week. It was a lot of work, but the experience was worth the effort. We made a lot of new friends, and saw some amazing country. Congratulations to every rider who finished, and to those who did not. I hope the ride is here again next year, because Judy and Warpaint want another shot at it!