Canadian Endurance Team Wins Silver at Endurance Young Riders Championships

HunterJumperNews.com
August 17, 2009

Ottawa, ON—Three Canadian young riders Lee Hutten, 17, Kate Coady, 20, and Ariel Macleod, 15, won the team silver medal at North American Young Riders Endurance Ride (NAYRER), held July 24, 2009, at the Clark State Forest in Henryville, Indiana. The competition was held in conjunction with the North American Junior and Young Riders Championships.

The three Canadians joined forces with two riders from Mexico and forming the International Canada/Mexico Team in which all five team members finished the ride. The Canadians rode together and each finished in a time of 11:18 over the five-loop 75-mile ride. Coady of , BC, earned an eighth place finish with Apache Eclypse, a 13-year-old Arabian gelding owned by Elroy Karius. Hutten of Chesterville, ON, rode I Bee Jazzin, her eight-year-old Anglo-Arab mare, to a ninth place finish. Riding A Salisbury Rose, a 10-year-old Arab mare also owned by Karius, Macleod of Montney, BC, finished in 10th place.

“To ride as a team was the best decision we made,” said Coady, who rode Apache Eclypse for the first time at the competition. “We helped each other along the way and the horses bonded, which made it easier to finish the last 10 miles. Elroy Karius and Gail Jewell donated my horse and Ariel’s horse, A Salisbury Rose. We would not have been able to attend the Championships without their generous support.”

“This was my first international competition, and I would definitely do one again,” Hutten, who started riding 10 years ago with Dessia Miller. “To prepare for this competition, I did two 50 mile rides and I conditioned my horse all winter. She really handled the distance of this ride very well.”

Mountain/Pacific Region team won the team gold medal, and the Central team was awarded bronze.

The winning time of 8:19 went to Kelsey Kimbler riding Junior CAHR of the Central Team. Junior CAHR was also named as the best conditioned horse.

“We are so very proud of these young riders, these horses and their devoted crew — a huge team effort and a huge success story,” said the chair of Endurance Canada, Daphne Richard. “Congratulations to all of the riders and thank you for a job well done.”

Complete results of the North American Young Riders Endurance Ride may be found at http://www.youngriders.org/documents/results/2009/endurance/2009FinalResults.pdf.

For additional information on Endurance Canada and its programs, please visit the Endurance section of the Equine Canada website or e-mail endurance@equinecanada.ca.

Written by Julie Cull

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