Endurance Ride at Antelope Island

 This is the endurance race I was talking about! The one that I volunteer at most years. The one that I'm going to ride in and win some day. It's this weekend!

This is at the other end of the spectrum from quarter horse racing. Those guys are bred for pure acceleration and top out at 1/4 mile. These are mostly arabians, bred for anywhere from 25-100+ long, grueling, foot-sore miles. But if they're lucky, oh man the scenery can be amazing.

Here They Are Climbing Mountains

 Dodging Bison

The Wind in Their Hair (or at Least Their Helmets)

They Ride with Friends if They Aren't too Competitive

They Ride Alone if They Are

Depending on the day, they'll either get wet, muddy, and cold, or sweaty, sunburned, and hot, there never seems to be an in-between. But these guys are in it until the end. Their motto is "to finish is to win," because working a horse up to that kind of fitness is an accomplishment in itself. The race is just the icing on the top.