When the first list of horse and rider Decade Teams were announced, I realized I had two horses in my barn that had been competing for over 10 consecutive years. However, as it turned out, one of the horses, Ben Amil, didn't qualify for that list. You see, the purpose of that particular list was to applaud one-horse/one-rider teams and many different riders had ridden Ben. There was a reason that Ben Amil, though never sold, had so many riders. It was because he has been an equine mentorÑa horse that has made a second career of introducing new riders to the sport.

Getting started in endurance riding is an intimidating proposition for many. It involves many firsts: first time camping with horses, first time crossing rivers, first time crossing interstate overpasses, first time riding in a group of 50+ horses, and the list goes on. By borrowing or purchasing an experienced endurance horse, many new riders are more able to meet these new challenges. In Ben Amil's case, after a successful 1000-mile career with his owner Dave Bennett of Georgia, Ben was retired from carrying his middleweight rider and replaced with a younger mount. Though Dave was ready to move on to a younger horse, he did not want to sell Ben; fortunately, he recognized that Ben had something to offer new riders. In the next year Ben carried two lightweight riders to their first endurance completion and another to her second.

Next Ben was leased to my lightweight niece Ashley Creswell and carried her 500 miles before she purchased a horse of her own. At an age when many horses retire (18), Ben came to live at our house and introduced my own 10-year-old daughter, Josie, to endurance. Ben carried Josie over 1,000 miles, won the Southeast Junior Championship and in his 19th year won his first-ever best condition award, twice.

Now 15 and training her first young Arabian from scratch, Josie reminisces of Ben: "It was basically like I got to watch him and he taught me. He knew everything by himself and that's what lets me know what my new horse Cade should do. Ben knew everything to do right and what to do next. Coming into the end of a race was really fun because Mom would say, ÔAll right, Josie, take us home,' and I'd put Ben in the front and his ears and tail would go up and he'd trot off at a speed that made even some of the faster horses have to canter."

As an equine mentor, Ben Amil had it all. He was steady, had great ground manners, was easy to camp with, a good hauler, handled the excitement of the start well, was sound, and had excellent recoveries. The last two characteristics are especially helpful if the beginner is a junior, since it's much easier to get a sponsor when other riders are confident your horse will recover quickly and stay sound on the trail. Ben Amil introduced six riders to competition successfully. How many AERC members have done more for the sport?

There are many unsung hero mentor horses going down the trail, but none more aptly named than Mentor AA, owned by Amy Whelan of Kentucky. He has introduced 12 different beginning riders to the sport since 1991. He carried three future National Championship juniors to their first completions, and won jackets for three more.

Amy said, "We're dusting him off again for a 13-year-old girl to compete in LD this summer."

Mentor came from an unlikely source. After being purchased for $35,000 as a weanling, he was given to Amy as a 4-year-old because he had disappointed his owners by barely reaching 14.1 hands. Amy commented, "He is pure Polish and has incredible bloodlines, Menes x Pievica, but I only accepted him because he was greenbroke."

Though recently gelded and having barely seen the outside of a barn at 4, one year later he entered his first endurance ride carrying a junior rider. When asked what made Mentor a great junior mentoring horse, Amy replied, "Besides his excellent temperament, he has great recoveries. When Lela Roby rode him, she could canter in and be down almost immediately. So, with kids on him, they could just cool him, no big hurry."

Another prolific equine mentor was Grand Drubaska, or better known to her loyal fans as "Bitsy." Though a diminutive 14.1 hands, she became an accomplished international competitor for Genie Wunderlich, competing in two North American Championships and one Pan American Championship. She also managed during her 13-year, 6000-mile career to give four juniors and three adults their start in endurance, and carried a total of 14 different fairly inexperienced endurance riders down the trail.

Describing her first ride on Bitsy, Dina Stevens commented, "All I had to do was hold on and try not to smile too much." One of Bitsy's junior riders, Marissa Stevens, observed, "Bitsy was the best first endurance horse I could have rode. She taught me how to handle an endurance horse and what the sport is really about: the love of your horse and riding. There isn't a person she doesn't like."

Many mentor horses are brought out of retirement to carry one particular rider who needs them. Ayem Smoke Perdue was one such horse. Nancy Strum tells his story. "My adult daughter, Abby Harden, hadn't ridden since the family pony days. Smoke is now 15 years old and has 1300 miles and a reputation. They are such an amazing team, it almost makes our eyes damp. He has this look of utter fulfillment and he has taken absolutely impeccable care of his green rider.

"She does goofy things like wearing a Zorro costume, complete with huge black cape, and Smoke just has that, ÔOh well, she's new' look," said Nancy.

Abby, when describing their first ride together said, "He rode the ride for all of usÉ my mom and her newbie horse included. I let him set the pace because it was a good one. It was a joy to watch him because he was so clearly thinking, ÔWell it's about time I was back out here again!' He was having a great time."

Finding an equine mentor

So, now you're wondering, "Where do I buy one of these mentor horses?" Well, the answer to that is that you usually can't buy one. In most cases they are someone's former competition horseÑan old friend that is beyond monetary value. However, these same owners who so highly value their friends also know these horses well enough to know that so long as they are sound, they are happier and healthier when going down the trail.

Ask around. Prepare your resume. Make sure you have plenty of character references, and if you're very lucky, you may get the opportunity to begin the sport by getting a taste of what it is like once mastered.