The Kenlyn Urban Challenge ride holds a special place in my heart as the first “endurance” ride I did in the Mountain Region four years ago.  It also formally marked my re-entry into the horse world after a hiatus of about seven years away from horses due to a corporate career, marriage, and kids. 

A year before I did that first ride at Kenlyn, I’d been given a half-wild, ten year old Arabian gelding by a cowboy who had “no use for Arabs.”  Coincidentally, this particular Arabian just happened to be out of Linda Fisher’s stud, Awesome Knight.  (Linda hosts the Kenlyn ride and also owns Kenlyn Arabians.)  His papers called him Tazmanian Knight, but he was aptly renamed “Taz the Spaz” by my children.  After a year of training and several serious considerations of trading in the cat-like Arab for a steady-Eddie Quarter Horse type, we found ourselves at the Kenlyn Urban Challenge for our first long-distance ride.  My riding pal Teri Lefever mentored me through that first ride, and I am still grateful for her patience with me.  And also for giving electrolytes to Taz--something I didn’t even know at the time that I should be doing.

Like many first endurance rides, mine was memorable for the butterflies I felt the morning of the ride, and the total  exhaustion and subsequent high I felt after the successful completion of those grueling twenty-five miles…….Funny how a little experience and time alters one’s perceptions.  A 25-mile long-distance ride now feels like a walk in the park to me, and yet I’ll never forget just how pooped I was after my first time at Kenlyn!  But I was lucky—the capricious weather that marks springtime in the Rockies yielded up a beautiful, sunny 75-degree day, so at least I didn’t have to deal with weather as an additional obstacle.

A year later we were back at the Kenlyn ride, and this time my daughter, who was six years old at the time, was doing her first ride and also another junior, Maddie Silverstein, who was leasing our  indomitable Taz the Spaz.  Although Taz had the heart and spirit I desired in an endurance horse, I am somewhat tall and he is somewhat small, so I leased him to Maddie and got myself a larger Arabian.  We were not so lucky this time around with the weather, which started off cold and overcast, and then began to spit snow during the first 18-mile loop of the ride.  This made for  some memorable moments with 6-year old Jackie, who wailed that we were “all going to die” when she first set her eyes on the Platt River crossing at the end of that first loop, nine miles into the ride.  We managed to get through it, and she had a huge smile on her face when we had to cross it again, but that was soon replaced by more tears as the weather continued to get windier and colder, and her pony acted up in ways that were new to her (and probably to him as well).  At one point she leaped off her pony and went running into the sagebrush.  What she thought she was running to, I can’t quite recall, but I remember clearly that moment of utter helplessness that I felt, followed by grim determination and a perfect acceptance of the circumstance.  Even though I was her mother, there was nothing I could do to “fix” the situation.  It was all up to her.  “Jackie”, I yelled into the wind, “there is nothing Mommy can do to make this go away.  You have to cowgirl up and get yourself back.  If you want to quit when we get back, you can.”

But she didn’t quit, not even close.  And with only a minute to spare at the end, all three of us successfully completed the ride.  Jackie and Maddie went on to complete several more rides that season, and we have a busy looking ride schedule this year.  Jackie now rides our beloved Taz (who only gets called a Spaz occasionally these days), and has completed four long distance rides.  After this year's Kenlyn, she confessed that she wants to do her first fifty miler at the end of the season.  Of course, I am thrilled--it is a great joy to share my passion with my daughter.  And I'm extremely proud of Maddie, who is introducing her mustang Ben to the world of endurance.  This year's Kenlyn was his first, and he was a champ in every way.  We were lucky to discover him at the Strawberry Fields ride a couple years ago, and we promptly adopted him.  He’s only four years old, so they’ll stick with long-distance rides for the time being.  If all goes well, I expect them to do their first fifty miler next year, when Ben turns five.

Just between you and me, I hadn’t planned on attending Kenlyn this year.  After all, I’d already done it twice, and in my mind, it was a beginner’s ride with easy terrain.  Nadrah and I were past that stage, and so why should I spend the time and money?  I could just as easily do my own conditioning ride at home.  Or so I thought.

But at the last moment, I had a number of customers interested in different products I sell through my tack store, Trailwise Tack, and also in fittings for Specialized Saddles.  I also had several friends that wanted to try endurance for the first time, and I knew that the Kenlyn Ride would be a perfect beginner ride for testing the waters.  And, it was a mere hour away from where my barn was….how could I pass up getting credit for the miles with a ride so close and do business at the same time?  So I decided to bite the bullet and go.

Once again, the springtime weather proved to be a challenge, and the ride was almost called off by the advent of a furious wind storm followed by unrelenting rain, but then Linda was able to reschedule it to Sunday, which provided a window of good weather.  The river was running higher than usual from all the rain and snow, so several minor reroutes had to be made; in addition, a nesting bald eagle held part of the second loop hostage via city ordinances, so that loop was slightly altered as well.  But in general it was much the same, featuring all the “urban” challenges that provide such wonderful exposure for new riders and green horses:  freeway overpasses, numerous water crossings, bridges, industrial areas glittering with recycled materials, old, abandoned miniature golf courses, bikers, joggers, barking dogs, prairie dog meadows pockmarked with deadly holes.  And all this juxtaposed by pristine river bottom land and towering cottonwood trees, an unexpected mix of urbanity colliding with nature.  Urban Challenge, indeed!

Now that I’m no longer technically a “rookie” (although I’ll always be a rookie in my heart), and have had the great luck to attend a variety of rides in different states and even different regions, it’s tempting to write off the Kenlyn Ride for sexier rides held in sexier areas.  In my own mind, I’ve long classified the Kenlyn Ride as nothing more than a great beginner ride—flat terrain, easy footing, and close to help if you need it.  Perfect for one’s first time.

And it did prove to be a perfect first ride for the first timers that were with me—Bobby Jo on her mare, Calamity Jane, both first-timers to the sport.  And her daughter, Lily, on her mare Shammie, also both first timers.  And Maddie on Ben, his first ride; and Greg on Buddy, Greg’s first ride.  My goal as their mentor was for them to have a positive experience of endurance riding, which meant no one getting scared or hurt, and everyone successfully completing the ride.  It was hugely satisfying for me to see beaming faces, confident horses, and to watch them find their own way through the maze of vet checks and vet cards, endurance trail etiquette, electrolytes, temporary fencing, and all the other components that go into the preparation of a ride on the part of the rider.   And as such, this year’s Kenlyn was a resounding success—all of us finished, more confident than before and with healthy and sound horses to show for it.  Can’t get much better than that!

I wasn’t expecting to learn much at the Kenlyn Ride—been there, done that, on to bigger and better things was my mindset, I guess.  So I was really surprised to realize that I had learned something really valuable.  What surprised me about the Kenlyn ride this year was realizing that it not only served as a rite of passage for beginners, but also as a barometer of conditioning for veterans.  To be totally honest, my mare was tired after 25 miles at Kenlyn.  Tired.  And I was tired.  It took me about three days to feel my normal level of energy return (in my defense, I had three kids, five rookies, and a tack store to run all by myself, which I’ve decided I’ll never do again alone!).

So I came away from the Kenlyn ride finishing in the middle of pack—which was where I expected and hoped to be—and realizing we had a lot more work to do before our next ride.  And all that easy footing?  Much of it is deep sand—not so easy afterall, and as such, it’s a super ride to gain sand conditioning into your program.

The Kenlyn Ride is not only a great beginner ride—a rite of passage, so to speak—but it’s also a great season opener for our Mountain Region.  It’ll really tell you where you’re at in early spring, after a long winter.  It also reminds you to brush up on all the basics—conditioning, feeding, maintaining soundness, vetting in, trotting out, packing up, breaking down, and just getting out there and riding!

What's next?  The Sangre Scenic over Memorial Day in Westcliffe.  My goal is to pioneer all three days at the twenty-five miler level.  Because of the Kenlyn Ride, I now know what I need to work on to make this happen.  As always, I learn so much about myself and my horse at a ride, and this year’s Kenlyn was no exception--a great "rite of passage" for beginners, and a great season opener for veterans.

Hope to see you down the trail!

--Michelle Smith

April 29, 2010