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 Sunday, August 26, 2007 9:33 PM CDT |
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Area man headed to New Mexico for trail horse race
SANTA FE, N.M. -- William Becknell is called the father of the Santa Fe Trail. The Missouri trader's pack horses and wagons were the first to make the trip from Independence, Mo., to Santa Fe, N.M., in the 1820s. Oxen and horses averaged 12 to 15 miles a day as they pulled freight over the 8,000-mile route that became one of America's major commercial arteries. Each trip took six to eight weeks before the Santa Fe Railroad was finished in the 1880s and ended the trail's prominence. Becknell, who knew the dangers of the trail as well as anyone, would probably be on the sidelines cheering people like Roanoke's Greg Watkins, who intends to ride the course on horseback in just 13 days. Watkins and a team of three others will compete in the first-ever Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Sept. 3-15. Organizer Rob Phillips said the contest is modeled after a famous wager Francis X. Aubry who claimed he could complete the trail in less than six days. Aubry, so bloodied by sores he had to be peeled from his saddle, rode from Santa Fe to Independence in 5 days, 15 hours. The endurance race, reminiscent of the book-turned-movie "Hildago," will send riders over plains and through mountain passes more than 7,700 feet high. Some solo riders will use just one horse to ride the entire route that will be divided each day in 50- to 55-mile segments. Other individual riders will use several horses. Watkins' group, comprised of two men and two women, will ride several horses and trade off riders and horses throughout the day to stay at the pace of a gallop wherever the rugged terrain permits. "It's going to be an exhausting time, but I think it will be well worth it just to be able to say we accomplished that big of a race," said Watkins, 43. "I know the other members of the team are just as excited as I am. ... It will be fun to see how things go." "I think it's probably one of those things that when you get there you say, 'It sounded like a good idea at the time,' " joked team member Eric Oakes, 32, a Gridley native who lives in Dakota. Oakes has no dreams of matching Aubry's time. "That boy was moving. I don't think I can handle that," he said. Vera Betzelberger of Delavan and Jetty Staker of Mackinaw fill out the team. Angela Stahl of Green Valley is the alternate. Watkins and Oakes have been friends since childhood. Watkins started riding horses in his early teens when Oakes' father, Larry, encouraged him. Watkins bought his first horse at age 16. Following his high school graduation he served four years in the U.S. Marines. He began training horses after he returned home. He currently works with about 15 horses, both his own and some owned by others. Most of the animals are Arabians or quarter horses. A ranch outside Roanoke serves as his headquarters. Oakes trains Western horses at E & O Horses near Freeport. He and Watkins still work cattle on horseback, a fading skill. "Here in the Midwest, there's not the call for cowboys who ride fence and take care of cattle like there is out West," Watkins said. "I've always said I was born in the wrong place at the wrong time." "I 'kinda wouldn't have minded being an old cowboy," added Oakes. Knowing how to ride a horse came in handy about a year ago when Watkins and Oakes took part in the making of a western movie at a temporary set dubbed Sand Prairie about three miles north of the Central Illinois town of Hopedale. Set in the 1870s and filmed by a retired Pekin police detective, the movie "Sand Prairie" premiered in Peoria earlier this year. A move is underway to make the set a permanent tourist attraction with a jail, saloon, general store and other trappings of a real town from the Old West. Trail rides and role playing like the movie "City Slickers" are planned. Watkins took part in his first endurance race in 1994 at Sand Ridge State Forest 25 miles southwest of Peoria. Riders completed the 25-mile course in two to four hours. While there, Watkins learned the Upper Midwest Endurance Competitive Ride Association sanctions an entire season of horse endurance races that begin in April and continue through October. The association covers Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. Novice courses are 12.5 miles long. Other races cover 25, 30, 50, or 100 miles. The 100-mile courses can be done in either one or two days. During the one-day events, riders literally have 24 hours to finish. The best riders take about nine hours. The daily distance is halved for the two-day centuries, and times for each segment are added together for a total. Speed isn't the only goal, according to Watkins. "The thing that is challenging with endurance racing is to read the horse when you are on him and bring him through it the best way possible," he said. "You have to judge and read that horse and make adjustments. You have to keep your horse going as good as possible and yourself, too, but you are secondary. It's all about the horse, knowing the horse. You get to know what he can do and what he can't. You take them right up to the limit." "Endurance people say, 'To finish is to win,' " Watkins said. But, despite the rigors, one race is usually enough for a true horse enthusiast to be addicted to the sport. "Most people become hooked and keep doing it every weekend they can go," he said. "I go about every other weekend." Injuries to both riders and horses are possible. "A horse spooks and a rider comes off and gets hurt. One thing, the majority of people wear helmets in this sport. That has saved people from injuries. Horses will suffer injuries like pulled muscles and tendon problems. One of his horses, Rim, has had a year off and is ready to go, said Watkins, who'll take another Arabian, Pashaneck, and a half-Arabian named Vanessa on the race. Oakes, who started endurance racing 10 years ago, will take three animals. One is Remington, a Morgan quarter horse. Another is Flame, a half-Arabian. The third is a mule named Bathsheba. "She has a lot more endurance than a horse and is safer. A horse will go past its limit, but a mule will stop," Oakes said. Animals must be inspected by veterinarians before the race to insure they remain healthy. Veterinarians also monitor the animals during the competition. Riders must prove they've competed in at least one 50-mile horse race so organizers know they can withstand the challenge. The Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race offers a prize pool of $100,000. But it's not about money, Watkins said. It's about history. "(It's for) the satisfaction for being able to say I did it," Watkins said. "This is the first time ever in the U.S. To be a part of that is going to be an honor." Added Phillips: "My goal is to see thousands of people lined up along the streets of Santa Fe the day of the race. I want to see this race become an annual event that families can witness and participate in for years to come. I want this race to become its own legend." The Great Santa FeTrail Horse Race What: A endurance race requiring riders on horseback to complete the entire 800-mile Santa Fe Trail, a major commercial route to America's Southwest in the 1800s. The trail also was used to carry soldiers and supplies during the Mexican War. This year's race is the first. When: Riders will take 13 days to compete the course Sept. 3-15. Why: To be part of history, said to Greg Watkins. He is a member of a team of four riders from Central Illinois who will take part. Learn more: Visit www.sfthorserace.com E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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