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The "Other" Dorchester Racing Team |
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I started riding horses when I was very young. My earliest memories are of horses and riding. My parents enrolled my sister and me in a 4H Light Horse Club and we worked our way up through the 4H program. I showed horses as a teenager but realized it just wasn’t for me. I just wanted to be able to ride. I’ve only been without a horse once since childhood, for a couple of years while I attended NAIT. At NAIT I met the man I would marry, Robin Dorchester. We married a couple of years after graduation and just celebrated our 20th anniversary. We trail rode in Kananaskis Country and we were taken with mountain riding right away. We spent the next several years riding all over the Rockies, with our favorite area being Ram River Falls. I love everything about riding in the mountains; the people, spending hours and hours on horseback, sitting around the campfire, everything. In 1994 I heard about endurance riding. I contacted an endurance rider from my area; got some pointers and 6 weeks later I rode my first 35 mile ride. I was hooked, but my horse wasn’t. I started the search for an endurance horse, and found SH Rock n Roll, a.k.a. Shadow. Shadow was 5, green, nicely put together, bold, confident and had lots of drive. We’ve become a good team, He got me through our first 100 mile race when I was too tired to know the way to camp. While training, he has also faced down a charging moose and has kept his head while we were being chased by a black bear. A few years ago when I decided I wanted to start riding 100’s Robin started crewing for me. My second 100 mile ride was in Montana. There were quite a few Albertans there as it was a qualifier for a PAC. Robin did a spectacular job at crewing for me and the other Albertans. After that ride, I knew I could become competitive at the 100 mile distance. Since we decided we wanted to be part of Team Canada in Aachen, we have competed all over Canada and the US. Some of our more memorable rides include competing at the Canadian Championships (Manitoba) in 2004 where we won the Gold Medal as part of Team Alberta and the individual Bronze, the US Nationals (Montana) in 2005 and the North American Championships (Maryland) as part of Team Canada West in 2005. The World Equestrian Games will be special for us. There is no higher achievement in Endurance than this, and its exciting and a bit scary to be going. I have family in Germany and it will be wonderful my Aunts and Uncles to finally see us in action. Shadow is 15 now and is really hitting his stride in the sport and is a real joy to ride. To have a chance to ride my own horse in an event of this magnitude really is a blessing. There you have the Dorchester Racing Team; Mary-Anne, Robin and Shadow. Please cheer for us and the other Albertans in Aachen as we compete for Alberta and Canada. |
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| Copyright: Alberta Equestrian Federation | |
| 5/13/2008 : 10:54:02 PM | |