11.13.07Sweet Briar Stable Manager Hangs on for Endurance Riding Triple Crown
Amie Chenault, the stable manager at Sweet Briar College, and her 13-year-old Arabian, Zeek, are winners of Old Dominion Endurance Rides Inc.’s 2007 Triple Crown.
To receive the award, the same horse and rider team must compete in all three distance rides organized by Old Dominion, a Virginia-based non-profit group that promotes and supports the sport of endurance riding.
The first event, the 30-mile “No Frills” ride was held on April 14 in Front Royal. Chenault and Zeek tied for first place with a ride time of four hours.
The second ride, a 50-miler called the “Old Dominion,” was held June 9 in Fort Valley, Va. Zeek and Chenault rode to a second-place finish in seven hours and 56 minutes, winning the Best Condition Award in the process.
The final leg of the Triple Crown, the 50-mile “Fort Valley” ride, was held Oct. 27 in Fort Valley. Chenault and Zeek took first place with a ride time of six hours, 32 minutes.
“I was really shocked at how well we did at the last ride in Fort Valley because Amherst and the surrounding counties had a few cases of Potomac horse fever this summer,” Chenault said. “Zeek tested positive [for it] in July."
Chenault said she was one of the lucky ones who caught the signs of the disease in time.
“Zeek was treated and, as you can tell, he has fully recovered,” she said.
Chenault said she is grateful for her family and friends’ support, as well as her pit crews at home and on the road. Zeek’s home pit crew includes veterinarians Martha Moses and Anne Bonda and farrier Becky Vail. Chenault’s aunt Melissa Carter and her family and her friend Ellen Eagle supported them on the road.
“Without a great pit crew this would not have been possible,” Chenault said.
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