Five years ago, Heather Reynolds picked up a copy of the California Horse Trader to peruse the photo ads. A small, unbroke, 4-year-old, gray Arabian named CP Magestic caught her eye, and she called for a videotape.

“There he was, living by their swimming pool and lawn chairs in Riverside County, playing with the kids’ toys and watching motocross riders in the hills. The owner was rattling a can to try [to get him to move], and he’s standing there and then he charges the video camera and everything goes black. He had a sense of humor,” said Reynolds. “I bought him sight unseen.”

Reynolds, who at age 26 has more than 11,000 sanctioned American Endurance Ride Conference miles to her credit, including individual gold and best condition at the 2001 Pan American Championship aboard Crystal’s Charm, had no idea if “Cal” would develop into a serious endurance competitor. “I just liked his sense of humor,” she said.

Cal also turned out to have a keen sense of pace–and lots of talent. After three years and 800 miles, Reynolds decided to see what the little guy could do in elite competition. She chose the June 4 Californios 100 CEI endurance ride in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles, Calif., an FEI-Sanctioned and North American Championship demonstration ride.

This is high country, with most of the course climbing sharply or descending steeply–and almost always twisting–as it runs largely along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Late in the race, Alain Bloch, riding Monsieur Joseph, had a five-minute lead as Carolyn Hock and Reynolds left the last vet check 3 miles from the finish. “Cal had never raced, and he was watching Alain leave the vet check,” said Reynolds. “And he knew where camp was since we had come that way in the morning. He took off running.”

Reynolds caught Bloch less than a mile from the finish, but she slowed up briefly to get through a stretch of old pavement. “When I got to the bottom of the dip, I let him go, and JoJo [Monsieur Joseph] was quite a bit ahead. We didn’t have a lot of time to catch him.”

When Cal blew by JoJo, the little gray was still accelerating. The winning time was 11 hours and 25 minutes, with JoJo finishing second, a fraction of a second behind.

Just six minutes later, Hock, a Maryland transplant and one of only two U.S. entries to complete the World Cup in Dubai in January, finished fifth overall (third FEI) and took home the best condition award aboard her 13-year-old Arab gelding, GT Sando.

In an unusually close finish, the first seven horses crossed the finish line in a 17-minute span. Some 35 of 44 entries (80 percent) completed the ride, including all eight FEI riders.

Hock reined in Sando rather than race to the finish. “I was focused on having the best possible demonstration ride for the World Equestrian Game selectors,” she said. “That meant minimizing risk and finishing this race with a horse that was a sound, world-class competitor ready for the next U.S. team should they need him.”

Veterinarian Roger Bruce was impressed with the horse care he saw. “All of the horses came through in fine shape. Only one horse was treated, and he’s doing fine,” he said.

It was exactly the type of course Reynolds’ horse loves. “Cal is really handy on narrow trails,” she said. “He has long legs, a real short back, and rides like a little Jeep.”

Hock prepared her mount by mixing conditioning with dressage work, with the help of her friend and dressage trainer Andrea Montgomery of Norco, Calif. Such training helped them deal with the unpredictability of narrow trails and drop-offs typical of the Pacific Crest Trail.

“You had to be ready to do a half-halt to gather up your horse in a flash,” she said. “He’s very free through the shoulder, and when he comes around corners he can stay in balance.”

The next morning, Sando looked great. “He had that twinkle in his eye that let me know all is well,” said Hock. “Sando was trotting on air [in front of the vets]. He seems to know when to strut his stuff. Afterwards, Andrea took Sando from me and he practically dragged her back to his corral.”

Garvin Tankersley of Keymar, Md., bred the gelding; Hock purchased him from veterinarian Dottie McAdams eight years ago and brought him west when her family relocated to southern California, where she is a private public-policy consultant.

Riding with daughter Mae, Hock and Sando completed the Californios 100 one year ago. And just one month earlier, Hock and daughter Frances, 13, riding Foxx, completed the Californios Lite 50.

Hock and Sando have also completed the Tevis Cup (Calif.), Pan American Championship, Twenty Mule Team (Calif.), Fort Howes (Mont.) and Oreana Arabian Nights (Nev.) 100-mile rides.

Reynolds and Hock are aiming for a spot on the Pacific South team for this year’s North American Championship ride in Fair Hill, Md. Both riders also have their sights set on the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, in 2006.

Reynolds, who also hopes to ride Cal at the Tevis Cup this year, said, “I didn’t know how [Cal] would turn out. He’s still very funny and way more energetic than anyone else around. He’s constantly moving, even in the vet checks. Californios was his dream come true, since he wants to run as fast as he can.”