ShareThisEquestrian Endurance Race
VVS equestrians competed in the 25-mile leg of the Land of the Sun Endurance Race.
Pictured from left: Keely Bates, Caroline Diehl, Lea Benclowitz, Emma Warren, and Maddie Smith
VVS equestrians competed in the 25-mile leg of the Land of the Sun Endurance Race in Wickenburg on Saturday. The riders were Maddie Smith (4th place), Lea Benclowitz (5th place). Caroline Diehl (6th place) and Keely Bates (7th place). Emma Warren on Little Big Man unfortunately did not complete the race due to an injury on her horse’s right front leg. She was in great shape and going strong until right before the 13-mile vet check.
There were 37 competitors in the 25 mile Land of the Sun Endurance Race , and 39 in the 50 mile race.
"So far, in all the years VVS has competed, we’ve always place in the top ten," says Caroline Diehl, Equestrian Program Director. “We all also qualified to run for Best Condition, which is a huge honor, but did not get it" she adds.
To train for Saturday’s race, Diehl and the students spent many weekends training, often leaving at 6:00 am for five or six hour rides. “The students spent a lot of their weekend time training in addition to the two or three hours each weekday,” says Diehl who adds that VVS has great terrain all around for training for endurance races
Verde Valley School students have been competing in endurance rides for more than fifteen years. "Our horses stay in pretty good shape" says Diehl, "and over the years we have had horses finish in the top ten in every race we have entered." Diehl explained that VVS riders have also received the coveted award of best condition twice. "It's a fun sport. You train a feisty, gorgeous pure-bred Arabian horse for a month or more. Then you pack up the trailer and head out to new country to camp the night before the race. Race day starts at dawn and the weather is always cold. Imagine the atmosphere. A cold morning, a very fit and beautiful Arabian chomping its breakfast nervously, already excited even before being saddled up,” says Diehl who adds that teenagers in their first race are also nervous. Soon you find yourself aboard this fit horse, milling in a crowd of up to 70 horses and riders waiting for the start. “The gate drops and off you go hanging on for dear life. It is just about as good as it gets, not to mention you have twenty five miles of new country ahead of you that you need to cover fast,” concludes Diehl.
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