Riders Name: Mary Coleman

 

Horses Name: Hawks Neopolitan

 

Region:   NE

 

Tell us about your horse.  When/how did you come to get him/her? I bought Hawk in July of '98 cheap with the idea of reselling him. He was hugh with big bone and feet and I thought he may be a good foxhunter prospect.

 

What is your horses breeding?  Morgan

Sex: Gelding

DOB: 4-07-88

Horse height:     15.3 

Approx. Weight:        1200

Color: chestnut

Shoe size: 1

  Or, Easyboot size:     

 

Why did you decide to purchase this horse (or if you didn?t purchase, why did you choose to use this horse in endurance)?  Only one reason he was cheap. I did 3 competitive rides with him that fall than moved him up to endurance the following spring. His attitude was no-nonsense and get on down the trail which showed me he liked the sport.

 

 

Did you do endurance with any other horses before this horse? Yes

 

 

How many different horses have you ridden in this sport? Not sure but not none for as long as Hawk has lasted.

 

 

Do you participate in any other horse sports or activities? (if so, describe) Hawk is retired now except for LDs so to keep him happy we do parades and patrols since I joined the local Sheriff Posse last year.

 

 

How many years have you been involved with horses?  In endurance?  Horses my whole life endurance 30 years.

 

 

What got you interested in endurance riding?  What was it that kept you interested?  Endurance especially the one day 100s teaches you more about your horse than any other sport. I mostly did competitive rides before Hawk he is the one that kept me going and interested. I love the camping and the stories at the rides.

 

 

How old was your horse when first started?  First ride?  Ten his first ride was that year.

 

 

How many rides did you do the first, second, and third ride seasons? (list w/ distances) 1999-525 miles 2000-455 miles 2001-690 miles plus many competitive rides them years as well.

 

 

What mileage distance did you start with? (25, 50, etc.)  50

 

 

How long till you top tenned or ?raced??  (if you did)  I do not feel that we ever raced we did top ten by attrition at times.

 

 

How much time off do you give between ride seasons? When we were seriously going three months.

 

 

If you have done 100?s, how much time off do you give after doing one?  What is your

schedule in the month leading up to the ride?  I normally allow one day off for each 10 miles of competition. I never change my schedule for any ride once Hawk was fit I seldom rode between rides.

 

 

If you have done multidays, how much time off do you give after doing one?  What is

your schedule in the month leading up to the ride?  As above

 

 

What kind of tack do you use? (saddle, pads, girths, bits, etc.) Traditional Othro-Flex, Cloud Nine pad Kimberwick at the start of a ride than changing to hackamore after first loop.

 

 

What kind of shoes do you use on your horse?  Pads?  Easyboots?  St. Croix eventers with sideclips and borium head nails.

 

 

What kind of problems have you encountered?  I guess there have been some along the way but nothing that Hawk and me could not overcome.

 

 

What was the worst or most severe injury your horse has had?  I tried putting another horse in Hawks field he ran the horse and broke his coffin bone in so doing.

 

 

How did you work thru it?  As my vet said ?Tincture of Time cures all. Just let Hawk off till the following season.

 

 

Describe the best ride you ever had on your horse? I would have to say there have been many but most recently finishing the National Championship ride in Fort Valley when only 49% could was quite an honor for me and Hawk who was 18 at the time.

 

 

Describe the worst day you ever had with your horse? Not once but twice we have been pulled at the finish line of Fort Valley.

 

 

What was your most humbling experience? Trailer back from 40 miles out in Vermont Hawks only trailer ride back to base camp ever.

 

 

What lessons have you learned along the way that you feel are the most important?  Rest is essential I believe there are far more horses overrode that may have lasted longer otherwise. Plus I learned how much water and or ice it takes to cool down a Morgan!

 

 

Where does your horse live?  (pasture--# acres, dirt lot, paddock, etc.)  Board?  At home?  Full turnout?  At home run of the farm now out 24/7.

 

 

What kind of environment did your horse spend the first few years of it?s life in?  (pasture, w/ a herd, etc.) He was raised in a rocky field on the side of a mountain turned out with his sire and his sister.

 

 

What are your horses strengths?  Weaknesses? Good bone and tough feet and an attitude to match. Heat would be his weakness.

 

 

What advice do you have for new riders? Go slow do not override it takes 3 seasons to make a one day 100 mile horse especially if you goal is to be a decade team.

 

 

Looking back, what would you do differently? Not have gone to Vermont 100 when we had just done two hard 75s the month beforehand.

 

 

What do you feel you did right? Met a lot of people and made a lot of friends along the way.

 

 

What was your highest goal for your horse?  Did you achieve it? 5,000 miles and the decade team got both this past March.

 

 

Describe your horses personality?  How is it like or unlike yours? Hawk is very pushy not at all a people horse but loves his job. I guess people would say I am pushy too!

 

 

What kinds of rides do you enjoy the most?  (multidays, 100?s, 50?s, etc.) Multi-days.

 

 

Describe your electrolyte protocol. Lyte-Now depends on heat how often.

 

 

Is there anything special about your nutrition program you attribute to your success? Heck what nutrition program?

 

 

Are there any major changes you've made to your nutrition program (ie, changed from one hay to another, added something special) that you feel made a noticeable
improvement or solved a problem? Only thing different I ever did was changed feed during the ride that kept Hawk happy.

What kind of supplements (if any) do you use? n/a

 

 

Do you give any kind of joint products? (describe)  Before the NC I started Hawk on Legend which he still gets sometimes up to that point he had done over 4000 miles with just a local 12% feed.

 

 

How far do you usually travel to rides?  No set mileage.

 

 

Do you go to many rides outside of your region? I have.

 

 

Name three people involved in the sport of endurance that you look up to, and why? Julie Suhr she?s a legend, Maggie Price ( the grand dame of endurance) and Irving McNaughton he just keeps going.

 

 

Did you have a mentor or first trail partner?  Tell us about him/her/them.   No

 

 

In choosing your next horse, what would you look for?  Not even looking.

 

 

I wish everyone a ?Hawk? horse he has been my horse of a lifetime. It has been one incredible journey. Morgan Power!