MEET THE JUNIOR Nina Bray

On November 6, 2004 I rode a horse named Dream Weaver on my first real ride. In the past, I have done only limited distance rides. The longest ride I have ever done was a 30-mile ride around my home in Nevada. I have never ridden outside of my home state but I will. I will sometime in 2005, I hope.

I am 14 years old and have been riding ever since I was 8. I did my first endurance ride when I was 9, but it was only a 25-mile ride. My second ride was last year in April. This was my first year of competing in 30 mile rides. I did four but got pulled on one because my horse was sore on his clubbed foot after the first 15 miles. .

The horse I rode on my first 55-mile ride was taken from pasture two months before this ride; he'd only done one 50 in 2004. Weaver was overweight and his hocks had been fusing. He hadn't been ridden on a ride for so long because of his hocks and needed to be ridden. His owner, Karen Chaton, wanted a junior to ride him and called me to ask if I would take him. I decided that it would be a great idea. .

When I rode Weaver on a 30-mile ride that Karen was at, she thought that I should do one day of the three days of the Smokey Killen pioneer ride on her boy. If Weaver did one more ride he would have over 6000 miles! So I signed up for the ride on Saturday. I later found out that was the day that they were doing the 55 miler. I figured that five more miles wouldn't hurt. So I rode the day I had originally planned. .

It was a difficult ride with very nice people. I loved riding Weaver on that ride and every day of the past few months. He was a happy horse the whole ride and only got one B on gut and the rest were all As. His pulse stayed at 52 every time they checked. I think Weaver was just happy to be on the trail again and see his friend Chief along with Karen. .

I am hoping to continue riding endurance and to ride with Karen more. The people in the endurance world are friendly and make people like me want to keep coming back and ride again and again. Happy trails! .

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