Growing old, going strong

In addition to the competitive trail riding opportunities suggested for older horses retired from athletic competition (“Career Changes for Older Horses,” EQUUS 445), I would like to point out that endurance riding is also an excellent choice for aging equine athletes.

At last check, 5 to 10 percent of competing horses in endurance were over 20 years old. John Parke’s Remington, an Icelandic pony, was the American Endurance Ride Conference Hall of Fame Horse for 2013, after competing for 18 years and accumulating 11,300 competition miles at the age of 26. Likewise, Sue Phillips and her 23-yearold Quarter Horse mare, Sussie Prize, and Mike Maul on 25-year-old Rrocomy-Sol won AERC’s Pard’ners Awards in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Endurance is not just about crosscountry racing/riding; it’s about maintaining horse health and conditioning while riding beautiful trails throughout the United States. AERC is proud of these aging equine athletes and their