CATAWBA VALLEY PEOPLE
MARY KATHERINE CREEL
Seeing sights on back of a horse
 Endurance
rider logs thousands of miles
In 12 years, Ruth Anne Everett of Hickory has logged
thousands of miles from the back of a horse, participating
in endurance rides for equestrians throughout the United
States.
"I enjoy being outdoors," she said, "and endurance riding
has given me the opportunity to see some of the country's
most beautiful sights while on horseback."
While Everett's participation in the sport has allowed for
scenic rides along equestrian trails in parts of Tennessee,
Florida, Kentucky and Virginia, for her, endurance riding is
more than a chance to see the sights.
This year alone, Everett has logged 620 miles in 12
different rides. In September, she won first place in the
Biltmore Fall Fling, a 55-mile endurance ride held annually
to benefit Mountain Hopes, a therapeutic horseback riding
program in Mars Hill.
"The Biltmore Fall Fling is a tough course," Everett said.
"This year, there were 51 riders to participate, one-third
of which were eliminated."
Everett's standing in the sport of endurance riding has
enabled her to qualify for the National Championship, an
event scheduled for Oct. 22, in Fort Valley, Va.
"It's a sport of strategy," Everett said. "A rider has to
condition the horse to go the distance. You have to pace the
horse throughout the ride and factor in things like terrain,
weather conditions and even distance traveled from home.
"It's much different than racing a horse," she said. "You
have to know the horse's limits and his abilities on that
particular day."
According to Everett, endurance rides, or races, vary in
distance, but are typically 50 or 100 miles. Longer rides
can take place throughout the course of the day. As with any
race, the horse with the fastest time wins -- but there is a
catch.
"There are checkpoints along the way where a vet monitors
the horse's heart rate and overall fitness," she said. "The
horse has to be declared fit in order to continue."
Riders are eliminated when their horse exhibits lameness or
metabolic problems, Everett said.
"I wear a special type of watch to monitor the horse's heart
rate throughout the ride," she said. "To pass the vet's
check, the horse's heart rate must be at 64 beats per
minute. At the end of the ride, the horse must have a heart
rate of 64 beats per minute to finish the ride."
Everett's husband, Mike, is also an endurance rider. The
couple have four horses quartered at Leatherwood, an
equestrian community in Wilkes County, where there is an
abundance of mountainous terrain for conditioning their
horses.
The equestrian trails at Leatherwood are Everett's favorite
to ride, she said. And her horse of choice is a 10-year-old
Arabian named Pretty Boy.
In addition to endurance riding, Everett is director for the
Western N.C. Early Intervention Program for Children who are
Deaf or Hard of Hearing, a program that provides services
for families with children ages birth to 3 that have been
identified with a hearing loss in order to minimize language
and communication delay.
Learn more about the sport of endurance riding at
www.endurance.net.
Catawba Valley People
Mary Katherine creel
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