What endurance horses can achieve

 

A look at the AERC records reveals the amazing achievements of elite endurance equines

 

This month it’s back to a few numbers to show some of our horse’s greatest performances from the AERC records.  Some of this information has come from responses to questions I’ve been asked about our records.

 

A general question was  “Is the number of mares being ridden in our rides changing over time?”  This will also give us an idea of the gender of the horses we see on the trail: 

 

Year     Mares    Geldings   Stallions

1997      28.7%        68.8%           2.5%

2006      30.7%        66.8%           2.5%

 

The table shows that there has been little change in the gender of the horses we ride even though the number of horses entered in AERC rides has increased 53% over the 10 year period.  One in 40 is a stallion, 2 of 3 are geldings, and 1 of 3 is a mare.

 

Other questions have dealt with history often of some great horses of the past.  The AERC records that can be analyzed completely start in the 1996 season.  Before that the records are difficult to extract from the old database.  Some of the records for horses include the following:

 

Most Best Conditions in one season

 

Name	No. of BC	Breed	Sex	Region	Owner	Season
HCC Rusztwar	18	Arabian	G	SW	Chris Lingar	1986
DJB Thunder Road	15	Grade	G	CT	Darolyn Butler	1986
Truly BoldnLively	14	Arabian	G	MW	Bill Wilson	2006
Kootenai Zizzero	14	1/2 Arabian	G	NW	Suzanne Hayes	1990

 

Most of these were well in the past but there’s one horse in 2006 that made the list.

 

Most endurance first places in a season:

 

Name	Firsts	Breed	Sex	Region	Owner	Season
Thunder Road	25	Grade	G	CT	Darolyn Butler	1986
Rio Grand Sultan	18	Arabian	G	W	Becky Hart	1985
Zahar's Gallant Dancer	14	Anglo Arab	G	MW	Linda Hamrick	2005
Zahar's Gallant Dancer	13	Anglo Arab	G	MW	Linda Hamrick	2006
Gonzin	12	Arabian	G	MT	Karen Kroon	1997

There may be horses with more first places in a season before 1985 but we only have good records available by computer after 1985.

 

 From our archives – we have two famous horses where the numbers reflect their whole career followed by some recent data.  It’s an amazing number of first places for RT Muffin below.

 

Most endurance career first places

 

Name	Firsts	Sex	Breed	Region	Owner
RT Muffin	94	G	Arabian	NE	Darla Westlake
Rio Grand Sultan	63	G	Arabian	W	Becky Hart
Zahar's Gallant Dancer	41	G	Anglo Arab	MW	Linda Hamrick
Sugar Shenanigans	29	G	Anglo Arab	MW	Linda Hamrick
Wazir's Karahty	28	S	Arabian	NW	Dolly Decair
Excalaber +/	25	G	Arabian	NW	Susan Nance

 

For lifetime Best Conditions:

 

Name	Owner	Total BCs
RT Muffin	Darla Westlake	60
MC Rams Z	Terry Westlake	41
RO Grand Sultan+//	Becky Hart	37
LS Zane Grey+/ /	Eric Thompson	35
Bab Morkash	Bobbie Barber	34
JC Quick Quint	Connie Rawski	31
Kootenai Zizzero	Suzanne Hayes	30
Edens Bay Rum	MJ Jackson	29
CH Catch Me If You Can	Earle Baxter	28
O.T. Cassidy`s Dance	Outlaw Trail	27

 

There are some amazing figures for the most miles in a season for an equine and all from our archives rather than recent history.  I wouldn’t have imagined 5,000 miles in a season on one horse was possible.

 

Most endurance miles in a season

 

Name	Breed	Region	Owner	End. Miles	Season
Astro Aries	Morab	W	Les Carr	5005	1988
Rushcreek Lad	Arabian	W	Trilby Pederson	4260	1987
Astro Aries	Morab	W	Les Carr	3215	1990
Rushcreek Lad	Arabian	W	Trilby Pederson	2995	1985
Rushcreek Lad	Arabian	W	Trilby Pederson	2975	1991
Rushcreek Lad	Arabian	W	Trilby Pederson	2805	1990
Assouel	Arabian	NW	Robbi Pruitt	2680	1985
Jim	Grade	W	Geri Brooks	2580	1985
Exclaimation A	Arabian	W	Trilby Pederson	2540	1998
Bandit	Grade	W	Smokey Killen	2500	1986

 

 

As we can see from the statistics, our horses are capable of amazing performances.  Almost all of the really high mileage seasons are well in the past even though there were fewer rides then.  The standards for completion have changed over time – sound at the trot and the Cardiac Recovery Index to name two. The emphasis on equine safety combined with rider education and more stringent vetting may have played a role in this change for the high season miles.

 

Many of the horses above are exceptional and grace a rider’s life but once.  Few of us will ever have an equine partner like those above. But however they perform and whatever they achieve, our horses all find a place in our hearts and our lives.

 

Our goal should always be to make this possible safely and to have fun for both rider and horse while competing.

 

Mike