At the Fort Howes CEI*** 100-mile ride, Susan Summers not only crossed the finish first, but she also rode her way onto the short list for the U.S. team for the World Equestrian Games.

Summers, Gifford, Wash., rode Mags Motivator to victory in 10:24:59 at the ride in Ashland, Mont., on June 11. Her average speed of 10.48 miles per hour put her 4 minutes ahead of second-placed Heather Stevens, riding RSA Count LaQuen.

Forty riders took the trail at 4:30 a.m. during the eastern Montana dawn. The trail encompassed ranch land as well as trails through the Custer National Forest. As this was the third and last observation ride for consideration for the WEG endurance team short list, 26 riders started, hoping to be chosen to represent the United States at the WEG on Aug. 21 in Aachen, Germany.

A total of 16 riders finished the combined American Endurance Ride Conference Open, Arabian Horse Association Region 6 Championship, and CEI*** ride, including 11 riding in the Federation Equestre International division. The ride site also hosted simultaneous AERC sanctioned 25-mile and two-day 55-mile rides.

Summers wasn’t in the top 10 coming into the first vet check at 25 miles. She had chosen not to match the pace set on the first loop by the fast-moving Valerie Kanavy on Ironman Gold and her daughter Danielle McGunigal on Flash Flame.

Technical Trail
The trail left ride camp and headed up into high meadow grazing lands, frequented by antelope and elk. Summers, riding with her husband, Dennis Summers, on Desert Moondance, had quick recoveries at the first vet check. After a 45-minute hold, they left together in fifth and sixth places for the 15 miles back to the vet check in camp.

They arrived at the 40-mile mark within minutes of the leaders. It was here that many of the front-runners had to withdraw from the ride, including Kanavy.

Susan’s horse pulsed down within minutes. She and Dennis were among the first few riders to leave after the 45-minute hold. They quickly fell into a steady rhythm for the next 20 miles and moved into first and second places at the 60-mile vet check.

The lower altitude trails on the next loop traveled through fields of sky-blue flax and brilliant yellow mustard and Montana clover. The lead changed again as Jeremy Reynolds aboard Sir Smith negotiated the 8 miles, much of it cattle trail. He arrived first at the Cow Creek vet check. Michelle Mattingly on Go Sam quickly followed him in for a 30-minute hold.

The 14 miles back to camp included more single-track trails, some which wound up and down gullies scarred by heavy winter rains, creating treacherous footing. When Dennis’ horse was eliminated, Susan moved out alone on the last loop of 18 miles. With Sandy Olson and Heather Stevens pushing her for the lead, Susan was able to maintain a strong pace and had plenty of horse left to finish in the lead at 6:24 p.m.

“I had a plan,” said Susan. “I wanted to finish in 10 or 10.5 hours with my horse looking good, eating and being sound. I had all the confidence in the world in my horse to do the speed that I asked of him today.”

Susan also won the Region 6 AHA Championship, as well as a Kanavy saddle for best condition, awarded after the final inspection on Monday morning. And on June 19, the U.S.Equestrian Federation announced the 12 riders on the WEG short list, including Susan. Her husband, Dennis, was listed as one of the six alternates.

Susan was happy with the team coaching and support she’s gotten as a member of the National Training Squad. “They are people that can appreciate what we’re doing and will consider our ideas. We’ve had good farrier help this year.”

President of the Veterinary Commission, Dr. Jim Baldwin, was enthusiastic about the ride. “There were some great horses here,” he said. “We used a voting system of three vets without communication for elimination questions.”

Baldwin explained that even though many horses were pulled, non-injurious lameness was a big factor on this trail. “A trail is one that might have significant climbs and downhill portions. Climbs work on the metabolics and tax the horse’s reserves while the downhill portions tax the tendons and ligaments, putting more weight on those areas,” he said.

Team Selection Details
U.S. Chef d’Equipe Tom Johnson was happy with the quality of horse/rider teams at the Fort Howes ride. “In general, all of the nominated teams that presented at the three observation trials were very well prepared for the challenge. Many of the teams have been working toward this goal since last year, and that preparation showed. I believe that we have the deepest pool of talented teams from which to pick that we have ever had.”

The first observation ride–held May 20 in Idaho–was won by Jennifer Niehaus of California on her nominated horse, Cheyenne XII, in 9:49:39. Joe Mattingley of Illinois, on SA Laribou, won the second ride on May 27 in Rapid River, Mich., in 9:15:53.

Johnson looked at the 42 percent completion rate for the international squad at Fort Howes. “Although the raw completion numbers were a bit disappointing, I believe that there were several contributing factors: this was clearly the toughest of the three observation trials, mostly in terms of the hills on the course, but also due to the footing which was irregular and rough in many areas. We had a few last-minute nominees, who may not have been prepared quite as well as some of the rest of the nominee pool. Several riders brought a second nominated horse to this ride, after having also ridden at one of the earlier trials.”

Johnson said that the original nominated group included 75 riders and 125 horses. They each had to participate in one of six designated rides last year, earning points. The top 40 were invited to squad training clinics. The training clinics covered procedures for international competition such as conditioning for a ride, electrolytes, shoeing, and crewing, as well as how to mentally prepare and train for the Aachen course. Squad members were able to compare their ride pacing in graph form to last year’s rides and the pre-ride in Germany.

Alexandra North–who finished fourth at Fort Howes–said that she learned a lot from the training clinics. “Tom is very direct and the improvement in the horses from the first to the second demos indicates that people are paying attention to what he is saying,” she said.

“This ride cannot remotely compare with the other two rides,” she continued. “Idaho is flat and rocky but the weather was perfect. Grand Island was an easier ride. On this ride, there was some serious trail climbing on some of the loops. Even on the last loop there was a long hill.”

The WEG short list includes: Betty Baker/ Synematic, Julie Bullock/Iron Wyll, Kathryn Downs/Pygmalion, Joseph Mattingly/SA Laribou, Jennifer Niehaus/Cheyenne XII, Stephen Rojek/Finch, Christoph Schork/Taj Rai Hasan, Margaret Sleeper/Shyrocco Troilus, Joyce Sousa/LV Integrity, Susan Summers/ Mags Motivator, Barry Waitte/LV Cambridge, and Susan White-Hedgecock/AA Montego. The six ranked alternates are: Heather Stevens/ RSA Count LaQuen, Valerie Kanavy/Bahia Gold, Dennis Summers/SHA Ebony Rose, Sandra Connor/Elegant Pride, Candy Barbo/ CR Windsor and Sara Hunt-Engsberg/Koweta Vanna Kaye.