Hello everyone, my name is Paige and I'd like to welcome you to my blog! I am currently a Senior in college and am studying English and Music Performance. I was recently certified as an equine massage therapist, and three months ago I bought my first horse, a Thoroughbred mare.

Now on to my blog. Each Monday I will be posting a blog highlighting three horse-related events that occurred during that week in history. This week's events feature the first Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Race, the 2006 World Equestrian Games, and the ninth running of the All-American Futurity. These events struck me as interesting, particularly the Santa Fe Endurance Ride, as I had never heard of it before. I've learned quite a bit in researching each event, and I hope that you will find them interesting as well. Be sure to stop by each Monday for a new week of horse history!

September 1, 2007: This day marked the first day of the first ever Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race Endurance Ride. The race lasted 515 miles and was held from September 1st through the 15th. The race was developed to bring attention to the Santa Fe Trail. The Santa Fe Trail has great historical significance to it, as it was first traveled in 1541 by Francis Vasques de Coronado who is responsible for bringing the first horses to North America. The Native Americans also first saw horses on this trail. In 2007 Scott Griffin of Seattle, WA won this first Santa Fe Trail Horse Race by riding multiple horses. Karen Frederickson of Kneeland, CA (pictured below) was the first to finish the race on one horse. She rode mount Murphy for the entire course.
For more information, please visit the race’s official website, http://www.zellgraphics.com/sft/about.shtml

September 3, 2006: This day marked the last day of the 2006 World Equestrian Games held in Aachen, Germany. The competition lasted from August 19th through September 3rd and featured seven different disciplines: dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, jumping, reining and vaulting. 59 nations sent equestrians to participate in the games. For detailed results of the games and many beautiful photographs, please see the Aachen Games’s official website, http://www.aachen2006.de/

Driving, one of the many disciplines featured in the 2006 World Equestrian Games.


September 4, 1967: The ninth running of the All-American Futurity, known as the richest American Quarter Horse race, occurred on this day. The futurity is a race for two year-olds, and is the last leg of the AQHA Triple Crown. The purse offered by the Futurity in 1967 was $486,593, and the winner, a fifteen hand mare named Laico Bird, took home $225,000.
Interesting Fact: The AQHA Triple Crown has only been won once – it was claimed by Special Effort in 1981.

The All-American Futurity. Photo courtesy of www.americanchronicle.com