The game chestnut wasn’t even trying on his way to a blazing time and the best condition title with Lindsay Graham.

Chris Martin had a bit more in his back yard than he first thought.

Monk, the flashy chestnut Arabian gelding Martin “just started playing with,” has now put a gleam of international glory in Martin’s eye. Monk and rider Lindsay Graham cruised to the top of the 100-mile ride at the American Endurance Ride Conference National Championships, held in Greenville, Calif., on Sept. 11-13.

Graham and Monk smoked the competition, finishing in 9:58, more than half an hour ahead of second-placed Brad Green.

“I’ve never won a race that big before, especially not unintentionally,” said Graham. She and Martin had a clear goal of a Certificate of Completion, not necessarily a win.

“But I guess we went a lot faster than I thought we did, because of the time we finished in. He didn’t hit the wall at all—he just kept going at a really strong pace,” Graham said.

Monk’s big trot covers the ground quickly. “He’s very efficient, and it’s effortless for him,” said Martin. “Every vet check, his heart rate dropped quickly. He took care of himself throughout the day—he ate, he drank and relaxed and grazed. It was just a perfect day.”

Martin, who has owned Monk for three years, has dreamed of having a horse for the World Equestrian Games for years. In a bid for the 2006 WEG, he bought an expensive prospect, but the horse was a disappointment.

“Then, Monk was in my backyard, so I started playing with him a little bit. We’d go out for day rides and do 20 or 30 miles just goofing off, and before you know it, he was looking pretty good,” Martin said.

Martin began thinking that Monk might in fact be the one to realize his WEG dreams and began a careful campaign to aim him for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

He enlisted Carolyn Meier to ride Monk in his first race, 50 miles, in April 2008, and Monk placed ninth. Then, Martin rode Monk himself in four 50-mile rides in 2008, with Monk placing in the top 10 in three of those rides.

But if Monk was to succeed at the 100-mile level, Martin needed a new jockey. Though he’s an accomplished rider himself, with more than 2,000 miles and three Tevis Cup completions under his belt, he knew it was time to turn over the reins.

“I just turned 67,” Martin said. “I can’t even stay awake for 24 hours now, much less ride for 24 hours! My 100-mile days are behind me, I think. The rider needs to be strong and fit, because if the rider gets tired, it transmits to the horse.”

Who Knows His Potential

A mutual friend introduced Martin to Graham, 22, who had had a good start in the endurance world from her mother, Susan Graham Seibert. Graham rode Monk in their first race together—a two-day 100-miler—in November 2008, and then they set out on a determined bid to qualify for the 2010 endurance team.

“Lindsay’s personality shines through on Monk, and both of them have big smiles on their faces,” Martin said.

Graham and Monk placed third in the Twenty Mule Team 100 (Calif.) in February, then quickly put first and second in 50- and 75-mile rides on their résumé. They headed for the AERC Championship just looking to get an FEI Certificate of Completion to meet WEG selection criteria.

But Martin and Graham are still in awe, because even though Monk finished the AERC National Championship in less than 10 hours, he wasn’t going fast.

“I just kept a steady pace the whole day,” Graham said. “I trotted most of the way, and wherever it was flat, I let him have a nice, easy canter. I usually got passed going downhill, because I don’t like going fast downhill, and then I’d pass them again going uphill. I kind of picked them off all day. He never felt tired—he kept a steady pace all day long and never asked me to walk. I had to ask him to walk.

“I don’t know Monk’s potential. I’ve never said, ‘OK horse, give me what you’ve got,’ ” Graham added. “He’s obviously an amazing athlete, and I feel very fortunate that I’ve gotten a chance to be the jockey.”

Even though they don’t yet know what Monk’s capable of, Martin knows he’s special. “I’ve had pretty good horses in the past, but absolutely nothing like this one,” he said.

Monk lives with Martin in Penn Valley, Calif., and Martin does all his conditioning and training. Graham, who is in her first year of veterinary school at the University of California-Davis, rides Monk occasionally. The arrangement works, since she has limited time due to schoolwork.

But for three weeks before the AERC, Monk went to Graham’s mother’s farm and got to spend some quality time with Graham while Martin was on vacation.

“He put on 40 pounds at our house,” said Graham. “He needed weight—he’s a lean horse and tends to be thinner. So, I think some of the extra weight helped him have some extra reserves. He was ready to go. I thought he was going to be a little punkier than normal, but he was the best he’s ever felt.”

Monk also earned the coveted best condition award. “He looked like he just jumped out of the trailer all day long. He just looked spectacular,” Martin said. “At the first vet check, he passed 10 horses just by pulsing down.”

Monk has the rest of the year off from rides, and Martin and Graham will aim him for the West Coast selection trials in June next year.

“I’m not expecting anything—I’m just having a really good time riding this horse, and we’re all having a good time. Whatever happens, happens. If we make [the WEG team], it’ll be very exciting, but if we don’t, it’s OK,” Graham said.

“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse, and I know that. We’re going to try and use him wisely,” said Martin.

A Mad Dash Pays Off

While winning wasn’t on Graham’s to-do list for the AERC National Championships, it definitely was on Kenneth Keele’s.

“I set off right from the beginning to win. When I came up on April Cyrek, she asked me, ‘Are you interested in a tie?’ And I looked at her and said, ‘No, I’m here to win,’ ” he recalled.

Keele’s challenge to Cyrek resulted in a pell-mell mad dash between the two to the finish line of the 50-mile AERC National Championship. Cyrek crossed the line just a hair in front of Keele, but when her horse failed to meet pulse recovery in the post-ride vet check, the win went to Keele and his Ravenwood Shabar.

“It was the fastest last mile I’ve ever ridden,” Keele said. “For the last stretch of the ride, you had to come off a mountain. There was someone from her crew standing there who said there was a mile to go. I saw her kick into that horse, and they went flying past us. I thought ‘Oh, no,’ and I opened him up, and we caught them and passed them. About two strides after we passed them, there was a 90-degree right-hand turn.”

As fast as Keele was going, there was no way he could make that turn. He had to pull up and then loop back. “Then, you had to make three hard turns before the straightaway for the finish,” he said. “He knew it was on, and he was on a mission to catch that horse. When we came out of those turns, she was a good 50 feet ahead of me. But we caught up to her again, and we raced up to the road to the finish. What we went through to get to that last straightaway was kind of hair-raising, and it happened so fast.”

Not bad for a horse Keele, a farrier, found in a field in 2005. “I got him out of a pasture in Montana. I go up to Montana and trim horses on this 540-acre ranch,” Keele said. “He’s a little hot for most people, so he wasn’t doing much.”

Keele got Shabar going, and they completed one 50-mile ride in 2006. In 2007, they placed first or second in four 50-mile rides and earned two best conditions. “In ’08, with the economy and gas prices, I didn’t really get out there,” Keele said. But this year, they have multiple wins at 50 miles.

But Keele didn’t complete the one ride that mattered the most to him—the Tevis Cup. His property in Greenwood, Calif., is on the edge of the Tevis trail, and the ride remains Keele’s ultimate goal.

“For 100 miles like that, especially over that type of course, you only get one chance a year to do everything you know how to do and get it all right on one day. Whatever I did wrong, I have to fix it for the next year,” Keele said.

He and Shabar were pulled at the last vet check this time, at 93 miles. Their 2007 attempt ended in a pull as well. “I went a little fast—I went to win it and found out it’s a little tougher to win than other rides,” he said.

The Tevis is usually Keele’s one 100-mile ride for the year. “With work and kids, it’s hard to keep him top fit for 100s all year long. Most of July, I work on keeping him top fit for Tevis. I can sacrifice that, but to have him ready for multiple 100s just isn’t going to happen,” Keele said.

Shabar, an Egyptian Arabian who stands 14.21⁄2 hands, and Keele, who is 6’2″ and 170 pounds, make an odd couple, but “I’ve tried bigger horses, and they can’t keep up with him,” Keele said.

“He’s square, and his angles are all correct; he’s right where he should be. He has a big heart-girth, with the heart and the lungs to do this,” he said. “He came from a ranch in Montana where winters are 14 degrees below, and he had to eat, drink and take care of himself. He’s a tough little horse.”

Keele has been riding endurance for 11 years. He’s a fan of the Arabian breed and is thrilled that Shabar represents historic Egyptian lines, since his dam was imported from Egypt.

“I’m an Arabian person by heart. The simplest way to prove these great horses is endurance,” he said. “I think the halter-showing world has lessened the breed.

But endurance is all decided on ability. To me, a traditional, classic Arabian is good mind, good body, soundness and endurance and ability to withstand. So the endurance world is the best place to prove these horses.”

Keele and his wife have three children, ages 9, 4 and 2, and they all enjoy riding together.