Found out that Elmer Bandit successfully completed another NATRC ride a couple of weeks ago. He completed a 2 day, 60 mile ride at the Dave Smith Fall Fiesta in Iowa and won the Open Sweepstakes Division.
Remember, Elmer is the 37 year old half/Arabian who is close to establishing a new lifetime mileage record with the North American Trail Ride Conference. What I find fascinating and refreshing about this is that he appears to enjoy the rides as much as his owner/rider, Mary, does. They are simply a horse and rider who enjoy the competition of trail riding, at least that's how they come across to me. They definitely seem to be a team. That's the kind of bond I'd like to have with my horses out on the trail one day.
Not only do horse and rider complete the 60 miles in two day, at around 5 mph, they also have to successfully maneuver over a variety of natural obstacles like downed trees and logs while being judged.
I am enjoying following Elmer Bandit's progress this year. Mary is planning to enter him in the Flint Hills ride near Manhatten, KS on October 4. If you'd like to read some of the articles I've found about Elmer Bandit, in one place, you can go to thehorse.com. You can also type Elmer Bandit in a search engine and there are a few others who have updates on Elmer Bandit.
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