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A Breeze? No. An Accomplishment? You Bet! |
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“He’s my best friend,” Karen Badger said gleefully. Only, she’s not talking about her husband or any other man in her life; she’s talking about her half Arab/half thoroughbred horse, Bree. Short for What a Breeze, Bree’s training is anything but. Karen and Bree follow a rigid week-long schedule to keep him in ripe condition for his Endurance competitions. They spend an hour and a half doing hill work one day followed by two days of rest. On day four they spend two hours galloping, while Karen monitors Bree’s pulse recovery regularly to decide if he has been working hard enough. Two more days of rest precede a 10-mile run; Bree usually runs at a speed of 12 miles an hour. This interval training is altered in the winter when Karen only makes Bree do the galloping. Before competitions she makes sure he rests for about three weeks prior to the race. “(Endurance riding) is a race to win,” she said. “If the judges don’t think the rider or the horse are fit enough to complete the next portion of the race, they won’t let them.” Endurance riding is done in legs, and the judges check each horse and rider to make sure both are able to move on. The trails are rough and can change with little or no notice and the horse needs to adjust to the different terrain in order to succeed in the race. While the training Karen puts Bree through may seem rough and difficult, she admits, “He’s spoiled rotten!” She has no problem making sure she keeps up with his temperamental feeding schedules because he’s always there for her. When they participated in the 2004 World Endurance Championships in Dubai, located in the United Arab Emirates north of Saudi Arabia, they had to train in freezing temperatures, along changing terrains such as fields, ditches and even highways. “He (would) just get up in 20 below weather and he would do fifty miles for me. All on his own,” Karen said. When Karen was first given Bree, she almost didn’t keep him. “He was very wild and bucked me off more often than I got to ride him.” She admits she didn’t take the necessary time to do the ground training with him, so she made the decision to send him to a friend who could provide the horsemanship needed to train him to be calmer. He was a different horse when she got him back, “He respected me.” Their experience in Dubai was important because it bonded them as a team. They would get up and train together in the cold and in the dark and they began to understand each other. Being a qualifier for this year’s World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, Karen said she has mixed feelings about the competition. The one thing she hopes to gain from the competition is an increase in strength but she has anxiety about the financial costs it’s going to take to get her there. After competing in last year’s World Equestrian Games in Spain, she said she knows what to look for and how to make the most out of the competition for herself and for Bree. “I think him and I will do very well in Germany,” she added. Since her team is improving with each ride she thinks Germany could be their best yet. Karen said she’s looking forward to getting to the World’s in Germany and competing because Bree is so enthusiastic. “He wants to go now.” He hates sitting around waiting to compete. Since he travels well, which a lot of horses don’t, it makes it easier to get him ready for a competition. She gives a lot of credit for her success to the support of those around her. “My husband! He’s the one who does all the housework and all the cleaning! I’ve been very fortunate because he really believes in what I’m doing,” Karen said. Ironically enough, he is allergic to horses and yet will help with the horse if the need arises. He and their daughter even try to make it to her competitions when they are in local or surrounding areas. In fact, Karen said she is hoping that her daughter will be able to come to Germany this year with her. As Karen prepares for the challenge that lies ahead, she brings with her the wisdom she has gained from previous competitions and the support of those around her. She is proud of what they have accomplished and looks forward to what they will accomplish. By Melanie Phelan |
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| Copyright: Alberta Equestrian Federation | |
| 5/13/2008 : 10:55:52 PM | |