You'll Meet a Horse, Of Course

Darolyn Butler, award-winning endurance rider, joined us for a very special LIFE program today and brought along four-legged friends Apache and Cielo. Having ridden 35,000 miles in competition and traveled all over the world to compete, Darolyn, along with her assistants Kordula and Aaron, had so many experiences to share with us about how exciting and demanding endurance riding can be. Endurance riding is a cross-country competition that usually takes place over a 50 to 100 mile course. Not only do you have to complete the course quickly, you have to make sure that your horse stays in top condition and meets high standards during vet checks throughout the competition. Darolyn described the details of a typical endurance competition and demonstrated a break in riding where they would take their horse through a vet check, as well as feed and water it before continuing on. Many thanks to our presenters and their beautiful horses, as well as to LIFE attendee Hector, who started off the program by sharing some of his experiences as a polo player!

To learn more about Darolyn and Cypress Trails Ranch, check out the website: http://horseridingfun.com/index.html

Darolyn rides Apache (left) and Kordula rides Cielo (right).