by Genie Stewart-Spears

The 17th Annual Biltmore Challenge AERC/FEI 100/75/50 Endurance Ride had perfect weather for the 167 competitors. This prestigious event was held on May 7, 2011, on the famous Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, and was managed by Cheryl Newman and Anne Ayala.

Farzad Faryadi on Hot Desert Knight (Desert Heat VF x JA Flirtatious) took first place in the 100-mile AERC/FEI with a ride time of 10 hours 19 minutes. But it wasn’t an easy victory as Claire Godwin on EH Ahmose (PRI Asali Halim x EH Nagidah) and Amy Wallace-Whelan on Wallace Hill Shade (unregistered Half-Arabian) chased and pushed him around the course, finishing a mere 2 minutes behind him. Godwin completed 1 second ahead of Whelan. Meg Sleeper on Syrocco Cadence (Syrocco Troubador x Edgewood Schelite) earned the Best Condition Award with a fourth-place finish in 10 hours 38 minutes.

Gold Medal Farms raced off three of their horses at the finish line to place first, second, and third in the 75-mile AERC/FEI. FEI Young Rider Kelsey Russell rode the first-place horse, My Wild Irish Gold (Brogan x Hals Metourmaline). Cassandra Roberts, an AERC Junior Rider, finished second on Destiny Gold (purebred Arabian registered in Argentina) and Valerie Kanavy, Gold Medal Farm owner with her husband Larry Kanavy, crossed the finish line in third place on Reach For The Gold (Tashkent x CJ Halynova). Their ride time was 7 hours and 14 minutes, each a second apart. The next rider did not complete until over an hour later.

Husband and wife Scott and Theresa Carroll ran the 50-mile course in 4 hours and 46 minutes with Theresa finishing 1 second ahead of Scott. Theresa was riding More Than Faith (By Golly x O Kracklin Rose) and Scott was on ATK Kalypso (Gailano x Kosmopolitan). However, it was Layla Z (Padrons Destiny x Saizahra), owned by Gold Medal Farms (Valerie and Larry Kanavy) and ridden by Young Rider Meghan Delp, who won the Best Condition Award. It was 15-year-old Delp’s first ride on this mare and she guided her to a sixth-place finish in 5 hours and 9 minutes. Delp was also the first-place FEI Young Rider.

See our July issue for complete coverage of this ride.