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Judith S
Platinum Member
 Wales
15686 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Sep 2008 : 07:38:45 AM
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Taken from Horsetalk NZ - what an amazing horse!!!!!:
Mighty Elmer gets two more trail rides under belt
September 6, 2008
by Neil Clarkson
Elmer Bandit, the 37-year-old part Arabian trail-riding legend, is just four rides away from chalking up the highest mileage ever for a horse in competitive trail-riding.
Elmer has 20,480 miles to his credit, just 230 miles short of the record held by the saddlebred horse, Wing Tempo.
Elmer and his owner, Mary Anna Wood, of Independence, Missouri, completed a ride in mid-August and another over last weekend, which included a Labor Day holiday, to stay on track for the remarkable record.
The most recent ride, in the sand hills 200 miles west of Lincoln, Nebraska, was great Elmer country, Mary Anna told Horsetalk.
The area comprises 91,000 square miles of sand dunes covered in wild grasses and flowers, and now partially forested.
The ride was over country with no rocks, no tree roots and dotted with water troughs driven by windmills, meaning Elmer could get plenty plenty to drink without getting his feet wet - one of his pet hates.
She and Elmer travelled some 450 miles to get to the ride. A friend, Lucie, picked the pair up in her three-horse trailer before uplifting another friend, Lucy, and her horse, Chester - a good friend of Elmer's.
"We had a wonderful time," Mary Anna said.
A drying wind was up for the last part of the ride, blowing some sand about. "We had plenty of water to throw on him and keep him cool," she said.
"We took a five gallon bucket of windfall apples and Elmer certainly had his share. He loves apples."
Of the 40 or so horses in the Nebraska ride, Elmer was fourth in the open lightweight division and Mary Anna took first place for horsemanship.
In the mid-August ride, near St Louis, Elmer and Mary Anna both finished second in the division.
Mary Anna says there are five rides remaining for the season. The next ride for the pair is at the Brushy Creek State Recreation Area, near Lehigh, Iowa on September 13 and 14.
As always, Elmer continues to take each outing in his stride.
Elmer's remarkable riding record has been put down to his great conformation and the excellent care provided by Mary Anna.
In 1980, he was among the first five horses inducted into the sport's Hall of Fame.
Elmer's mother was an older appendix (part-bred) quarter horse that Mary Anna owned and his father a three-year-old Arab stallion. Elmer was the successful outcome of what she called a "$50 backyard breeding".
Elmer was born on April 8, 1971, and began competitive trail riding with Mary Anna in 1976. He used to be known as Bandit - befitting his young-gun status - but gradually became Elmer as the years rolled by.
Competitive trail riding is different from endurance riding. Endurance riding involves a race over a set distance where the first horse home to pass the veterinary check wins.
Competitive trail riding involves completing the distance in a set time (within a 30-minute window). Horses are then scored on their condition and soundness. Judges also watch the competitors at various points along the course, awarding scores for horsemanship and the horse's manners on the trail.
Each horse and rider start with a perfect score of 100, with points deducted as deemed by the judges. The pair with the highest score is the winner.
Elmer and Mary Anna, who nearly always score in the 90s, usually compete in events organised by their local branch of the North American Trail Ride Conference. They ride in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
Elmer spends his days in a pasture with a dozen or so other horses a few miles to the east of Mary Anna's home.
He has been on pasture 24 hours a day all his life, she says.
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