Tell us about your horse.  When/how did you come to get him/her?  I was looking for a horse for trail riding  (1987)and the guy that was looking for me had me go to an auction barn. I was looking at different horses and none seemed suitable. Then the owner of the barn said that he had an Arabian in the back and away from the other horses because he had strangles. He was green broke and the strangles had burst. I wanted to try him out anyway. He was 5 years old, shied at everything. I had one month to decide if I was going to keep him. I took him home after he had passed a vet exam. I rode him 4-5 days a week, sometimes going off the property. I would call my father-in-law, tell him where I was going and if I wasn't back by a certain time, to call the police, get the children, and come looking for me. Never had to make a call other than to say I was safely at home!

What is your horses breeding?  Not sure. Maybe someone can tell me. He has the following in his pedigree-Geym, *Zarife, Indmirraff, Raffira.

Sex: Gelding
DOB: 6/13/82 in Clinton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Richard  M. Ahern was the breeder. I wrote him a letter several years ago to let him know what had happened to one of his horses. It came back. His brother is/was a horse named Iron Station and went to Quatar.
Horse height: 15 H
Approx. Weight: 950
Color: Bay
Shoe size: front1 back is 0

Why did you decide to purchase this horse (or if you didn't purchase, why did you choose to use this horse in endurance)?   There was something about wanting an Arabian ever since I had read Walter Farley as a child. Having an Arabian was going to be magical!

Did you do endurance with any other horses before this horse?  Never heard of it until 1990. Bought Thundarr in 1987. I moved south in 1985 from New York. There were no endurance rides in NY.

How many different horses have you ridden in this sport?  2

Do you participate in any other horse sports or activities?  Just trail riding for conditioning. I am always conditioning.

How many years have you been involved with horses?  44.  In endurance?13

What got you interested in endurance riding?  I was trail riding with my local saddle club and decided that there had to be something more that stop and go. They were always stopping to pop the beer, light the cigarette and walk. Go after all the beer!!

What was it that kept you interested?  The oportunitity to see so much of the SE from the back of a horse. The friends that I have made. I just love to ride.

How old was your horse when first started?  Not sure, he had been on the auction circut for a year and could be ridden but I don't know when he was broken to ride. I started to ride, really ride him in 1989. First endurance ride?  8 years old, if you consider the limited distance a ride.

How many rides did you do the first, second, and third ride seasons?  All limited distances-1990 to 1993. First 50 in 1993 at Million Pines. 1993 did 3 50s, 1994 did 7 50s and 1995 did 6 50s. I guess it depended on what I had going on with the children at home as to how many I rode each year.

What mileage distance did you start with?  Limiteds.

How long till you top tenned or 'raced'?  Fall of 1994 at the Edgemont Challenge in North Carolina.

How much time off do you give between ride seasons?  I ride all year, compete March, April, May, June, sometimes July, August, September, October, and November. We still ride in December but usually once a week.  This year we will be competing in February.

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? I work 32 hours a week in a hospital. The days I don't work, I am riding, weather permitting and home life i.e. husband and children, permitting.

What kind of tack do you use?  Started with a Wintec sport.   Now an Orthoflex cutback endurance.  Homemade Sherpa fleece saddlepads. Wintec girth covered in fleece. Started with a snaffled kimberwick and went to a Tom Thumb. Interference boots in the back.

What kind of shoes do you use on your horse?  Wedge heeled aluminum shoes on the front. Squared toes all around. He interfers in the back all the time and in the front when he is tired. Pads?   Only on some rides. Easyboots?   No.

What kind of problems have you encountered?  About 7-8 years agoThundarr started to run away with me. I think he was trying to run away from the saddle. It was the Wintec pinching his shoulders. He still does this thing where he kicks at me when I am riding him, when he is frustrated with me. He is very strong and knows his job. He likes to be in front all the time. If I would let him he would run the 50s.

What was the worst or most severe injury your horse has had?  Stone bruise on the back foot. Finished 49 miles and he got it in the last mile. No doubt about the lameness. He was barefoot on the back that ride.

How did you work thru it?  He had a 6 week rest, soaks and wrapped foot for 4 weeks until a shoe could be put on.

Describe the best ride you ever had on your horse?  It wasn't just the horse that made the ride--it was the company of another rider. It was not the fastest. I rode with Beth Brinkley for 9 hours at the Graniteville Gallop and we talked nursing the whole time. My 2 passions-riding and nursing all rolled up into one fantastic day. We finished.

Describe the worst day you ever had with your horse?  Probably the Old Dominion ride where Thundarr pulled a shoe going into the Shanendoah. It was on the way back to camp and at the vet stop 4 miles from the finish there was no blacksmith. Ken Marcella tried everything to get a sound trot but Thundarr had had a 2 degree pad on the foot and now it was gone. The difference was just too great. I had been in 4th place right behind Duane Barnett. Ken let us walk in the 4 miles to camp. I still would have top 10ed. It was the first time I had attempted the Old Dominion 50. Now I have to try again on Thundarr. My teammates all finished.

What was your most humbling experience?  Probably the ride where he got injured the last mile. It was a learning experience.

What lessons have you learned along the way that you feel are the most important?  Thundarr is a partner, without his health I can't compete or even pleasure ride.

Where does your horse live?  7-8 acres of pasture with lake water for drinking, access to stalls at all times in my back yard. At home?  Yes.  Full turnout?   Yes.

What kind of environment did your horse spend the first few years of it's life in?  Unknown.

What are your horse's strengths?  His willingness to do anything for me. He has never not wanted to go. He has kept me safe.

What advice do you have for new riders?   Take it easy, be conservative, let the joints develope for the sport. Do 3 years of limiteds if the animal is young-4,5,6 years old. Do 5-10 rides a year for the first couple of years.

Looking back, what would you do differently?  I have been happy with what we have done.

What do you feel you did right?  Took my time, didn't let anyone pressure me to do more until I was ready. The horse was ready, I wasn't.

What was your highest goal for your horse?  A 3 day at Big South Fork and done 2 years in a row.  Did you achieve it?  Yes, actually have ridden Big South Fork, 5 years in a row for 500 miles.

Describe your horses personality?  During a ride he is a touch-me-not--just leave me alone to do my job. Doesn't like the final vet check. It is as if he knows he is finished and just can't understand why he has to trot one more time and have this other person run their hands over him.  How is it like or unlike yours?  I just want to sleep.

What kinds of rides do you enjoy the most?  50 miles, multidays.

Describe your electrolyte protocol.  Electrodex with extra dolomite during the ride. I give the mixture in 60 ccs-2 syringes full at each vet stop before going out. I don't feel the commercially prepared electrolyte preparations have enough calcium for proper muscle support. I mix my electrolytes in applesauce and plain yogurt. I electrolyte with loose Mortons' mineral salt once a day, Sunday to Wednesday, 30 ccs and 2 times a day Thursday until ride day the week before a ride. After the ride, they get Morton't loose mineral salt 30 ccs twice a day Sunday to Wednesday.

Is there anything special about your nutrition program you attribute to your success?  I feed a 10% sweet feed from the local feed store. They mill their own. I also use crimped oats (for the last 2 years) and beet flakes. I started using the beet flakes before I started endurance. I needed something that would add bulk and help put on weight but not make him hyper. I have used this the entire time (there was a 4 month exception when I used Purina but because they were having a special). While I have changed proportions over the years based on the amount of work and competitions, the feed has stayed the same. In the winter he gets coastal Burmuda hay (and this sometimes changes to fescue), and in the summer he is on fescue pasture. When we are away at rides he gets hay. Also one strange thing that all my horses get is bread. My father-in-law helps at the local soup kitchen and gets the old bread. My horses love it. The multigrains are the favorite. A loaf each in am and pm.

Are there any major changes you've made to your nutrition program (i.e., changed from one hay to another, added something special) that you feel made a noticeable improvement or solved a problem?  I added the crimped oates because I felt he needed more protein.

Do you give any kind of joint products?  Superflex powder every day. I noticed that he had some swelling in the back legs after the rides and felt that he needed some assistance with the joints. I have heard that the powders don't always work but they do with Thundarr. The difference was extremely noticeable.

Do many rides outside of your region?  No. Want to but not enough time.

Name three people involved in the sport of endurance that you look up to, and why?  I listen to so many and then go with what I feel is the soundest advice for the horse. Also if it makes sense in people form, I usually trust those ideas. That is the nurse in me.

Did you have a mentor or first trail partner?  My best friend Liz Sine is my very best trail partner. I was told by another friend that I would probably like her as we ride the same. Actually Liz is a bit more competitive than me. And Thundarr tells her horse things like "stay behind me!!" We swear that Thundarr tells Answer that! I didn't have a mentor but I guess I have mentored Liz as she got involved in endurance after meeting me. We have mentored each other!

In choosing your next horse, what would you look for?  Have him already, he is 2 yrs old. Have his half brother, Abraham, the other endurance horse I have started. Very steady, strong, great gaits. Great personality. I just wish he was not going to be gray!

Something that happened to me when we were at Biltmore for the spring ride. I had about 5 miles to go and was in the top 10. We came to a very rocky hill that Thundarr just wanted to forge up. There were 2 people in front of us -100 milers. The man said to me as Thundarr and I went past, Take it easy. You will have to feed him extra for a month just to catch up with the extra exertion you are using. (Thundarr knew that we were almost to the end. He remembers trails very well from year to year.) I looked back at these people and didn't know them but remember thinking to myself, Who is this guy telling me what to do with my horse at the end of a long ride?! He was Matthew Mackay Smith!

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