Enduring the trails

Local teen finds herself one of the top endurance riders in the country

Lacey Rees - lrees@sierrastar.com

COARSEGOLD — To be first in something is the goal of many, but few achieve. For Heather Hackworth, 16, a Yosemite High School student, that goal has already been reached.

She is ranked No. 1 in the Western Region, Junior Division, for endurance riding, with twice as many points as her closest competitor. Furthermore, she is ranked No. 4 in the nation for juniors.

Few people witness endurance riding up close because it takes place on the trails of our country’s mountains and deserts that no one sees except on horseback.

But that is one of the perks of this sport. “You get to go places you can’t get to unless you ride,” says Heather, who entered her first endurance ride when she was 8, two years after she got her first horse.

Endurance riding is an organized trail ride that requires the horse and rider to cover 50 to 100 miles in one day. Anyone who finishes the ride within the maximum amount of time gets just as many points as those who finish first. “‘To finish is to win’ is the motto of the American Endurance Riders Conference,” says Becky Hackworth, Heather’s mother.

Actually, it was Heather’s mother who first discovered endurance riding in 1994. She took Heather on her third or fourth ride, and Heather went solo in 1995. A rider younger than 16 must have a sponsor, an adult over 21, who will stay within one minute of their charge.

A rider gets one point per mile covered during a finished race for national rankings. Those points accrue during a riding season, December 1 through November 30. Regional standings add bonus points to the miles depending on the order a rider finishes.

In fact, just this past weekend during two 50-mile rides, Heather took 15th in one ride and sixth in the other.

Endurance riding was founded officially in 1972, but the granddad of all endurance rides is the Tevis Cup, which began in 1954.

It is a 100-mile ride from Tahoe to Auburn over Emigrant Pass and other historic trails in the Sierra. People come from all over the world to compete, but the ride only takes the first 250 who sign up.

“I tried the Tevis Cup this year,” says Heather, but “we (meaning she and her horse Tez Marc) pulled [had to quit] at about 20 miles because [her horse] fell and cramped up in the hind quarters.”

 

The horse is everything

When asked how a person gets started in endurance riding, Mrs. Hackworth made it sound simple, “A sound horse and a way to get to the ride.”

 In endurance riding, the horse is all important. Tez Marc — Heather calls him Marc — a 9-year-old Arabian, was born of a mother (owned by the Hackworths) who was herself an endurance horse and a show-horse father.

“Me and my mom trained him,” says Heather, “She pretty much broke him in, and then I stole him.”

Endurance horses can’t start on even 50-mile rides, which typically last for 6 to 8 hours, until they are 5, but, unlike race horses, their careers can last for years. Rides of 100 miles, of which Heather has taken two, have a time limit of 24 hours to complete, so the horses need incredible stamina. Marc now has 2,000 career miles. Heather has just under 2,000 career miles.

“More and more horses in their ’20s are competing in the 50-mile races,” says Mrs. Hackworth. She notes one horse that has been nominated for the Hall of Fame is 22 and “still going strong.”

Most endurance horses are Arabian, who are noted for their stamina, or Arabian mix. But people have completed races on Tennessee Walkers, mules and quarter horses. In fact, a quarter horse holds the record for the most Tevis completions.

Management on organized rides are very picky about the health of a competing horse. There is a veterinary check before a ride, three during a ride and one at the completion. If the vet says the horse if not “fit to continue,” he’s out.

Rides usually start between 5 and 7 a.m. The pace on most rides is a steady trot, although a steep hill can slow one down to a walk. A rider is not required to be mounted all the time either. All trails are marked, and if a trail goes through a hazardous portion, riders are urged to get off and lead the horse through. “Moving forward off the horse is OK,” says Mrs. Hackworth. Some riders will walk and lead their horse just to take a break.

Heather and her mom have taken several rides in Ridgecrest in the California desert, and there is one locally in June in the hills of Mariposa.

 

Looks don’t matter

One element of endurance riding that is different from other equine competitions is that there is no specific tack required. “Whatever is comfortable and fits the horse,” says Mrs. Hackworth. There is English tack mixed with Western, plus Australian saddles and even riding bareback is permissible.

Heather uses an Advantage Saddle, a custom endurance saddle made in Coarsegold to specifically fit Marc.  It is especially light weight, with no saddle horn, and extra padding. Heather doesn’t use a bridle, preferring to handle Marc with a halter.

Heather is definitely looking for comfort as she expects to complete a total of 900 miles (for this year) by the end of November, reflecting a dozen rides for the season.

Endurance riders wear what is comfortable, not what is in style for the season. “No one cares what your truck and trailer looks like,” says Mrs. Hackworth, “We go for wild.”

Cowboy hats are mostly out. Although helmets are mandatory for juniors, most adults wear them, too.

 

Meet the nicest people

Heather especially treasures the people she has met on her rides, many of whom have sponsored her. A sponsor is supposed to help a junior and her horse but juniors usually can take care of themselves, she says.  In fact, it’s good to have more than one sponsor on a ride in case a sponsor has to drop out of the competition. One perk is since there is no restriction on who goes on a particular ride, a person can be riding next to a world champion.

Heather gets complements on how she cares for and rides her horse, and Marc gets attention too, from well-known riders, but the one she remembers best came from Julie Suhr, a 78-year-old who still rides. Ms. Suhr has ridden 25,000 in her career and has written a book. “I got to ride with her,” says Heather, referring to a 100-miler in 2000, and Ms. Suhr said of Heather, “She can ride one of Julie’s horses any time.”

Women, by the way, outnumber male endurance riders 99 to one, and the average age of a rider is 40.

Her favorite ride was three years ago, on a 100-miler at the north rim of the Grand Canyon, because it was the first time she had ever seen anything like the canyon.

She has never been injured during a race, but she has to stay watchful. Her older sister and horse fell off a cliff on a ride in 1998, but both came through the incident OK. Another time Heather’s horse fell on one ride when its knee swelled up from a cactus prick, and she had to jump off before he hit the ground. Horses can suddenly spook at unfamiliar items such as drainage culverts.

A person has to watch trail markers because it is easy to get lost. Healthwise, you watch that your horse is acting normal, she says. Does he “eat, drink and poo?”

 

No cash prizes

Although it costs to enter an endurance race (to pay for campgrounds, vets, water for horses), the rewards for finishing a race, even in the lead, are few. The famous Tevis race gives belt buckles to winners and other races may award a feed bucket, T-shirt, jacket or vest, but that’s about it. “Recognition is pretty much all you get,” the two agree.

Top riders do, however, get their names in the ratings which are published in Endurancenews, a specialty magazine devoted to endurance riding. And there, in the October 2002 issue, one can see Heather’s name listed in the top rankings.

When she’s at home, of course, Heather is in school. She played basketball during her freshman and sophomore years, but because riding would necessitate missing some games, she has chosen not to play this year.

She is also a former 4H club member and used to do barrel racing. She doesn’t know what she would like to do after she graduates.

She likes getting out of the house and her mother relishes the nostalgic feeling of “just being out there on the trails,” many of which were used by the pioneers so long ago.

 After completing a ride, in spite of the fatigue, Mrs. Hackworth says it is “exhilarating, because you have beat the trail.” She finds it amazing that she is riding those trails used so long ago, but she also savors the time away from the phone, television and radio, and cell phones.

Heather, likewise, likes getting out of the house, and, of course, she likes horses. She does know, too, that she wants to continue riding endurance trails.