KGW Farms

Endurance riding has been a passion for Guy for over 30 years. Along with countless limited distance, competitive, and endurance miles, Guy is getting serious about international competition. He plans to compete in as many FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) events as he can, move up on the ranking list and earn a spot on the USA endurance team to compete in the World Equestrian Games. Please follow and support Guy in his journey.

Guy also plans to continue riding Spirit, our new guy. He will be moving up to FEI 50 milers this season. Spirit has been doing great on slow open 50's. Maybe you will see him at the WEG someday!  

Augusat 13-14, 2011. Louise Reidel Bra Buster Memorial. Arkdale, WI

What a beautiful weekend! We actually arrived at ride camp in the daytime and were able to set up camp and vet in Spirit for the 50 on Saturday! Then, a little relaxing and bedtime!

We were able to talk a friend of ours, Melinda Anderson, into coming to her first endurance ride. She rides a lot of different horses at home and for work, as well as, showing Paso Finos in equitation classes, jumping and versitility. We have been shoeing for her family for a few years and have always talked about endurance. I guess we finally entrigued her enough to give it a try!

The morning started off a little hectic for me setting up the vet check, preparing goombas and taking care of the dogs, et. al. But, at least I had some help! Melinda was able to spend the day before her big debet ride helping me crew for Guy on the 50 miler. Kim Fosler was also there and graciously helped before her Novice ride on her new guy CJ, which started at 1:30. Thanks guys!!!! You were both a lot of help!!!!

Guy and Spirit came in to the first check running in 3rd place. He maintained a real consistant pace and made sure he did not over ride in the early morning coolness. Having said that, he didn't let the moss grow under his hooves either! Spirit was his usual "spirited" self and his recoveries reflected this...but under 3 minutes none-the-less. He looked grand all day! Guy did each loop a little quicker than the last and in the final loop was able gain the lead on the two riders who had been about 5 to 10 minutes ahead of him all day! He crossed the finish line first and Spirit won his first 50!!!! We are so proud of him! His BC looked fabulous and when it was all said and done Spirit won that honor!

Sunday was Melinda's turn to give a 25 mile LD a try. She rode Abu Jalal, our 18 year old Arabian. He's still got it! Guy rode SerLoki (owned by JG Ranch). I think she had a good time! I also think she learned that this sport is not easy! Melinda did a good job with Abu and took 3rd over-the-line and FIRST Junoir on her first ride, with a ride time of around 3 hours! Guy didn't cut her any slack! Guy was 4th OTL and 3rd Senoir, by the way.....Hopefully Melinda will come again and ride more rides!

The weather definately cooperated this weekend and for that we are very grateful! The weekend went very well and everyone recoved perfectly! All-in-all...a great weekend!!

May 21-22, 2011. Run For The Border. St. Croix Falls, WI

Okay, really……….who is responsible for this joke?????? It rained all friggin’ weekend! I think the only time we saw the sun was for about an hour or two AFTER the 50 miler was over on Saturday!

Well, we are not starting off our ridecamp before dark motto with a bang. This was a trip though! I think it took around 7 hours or so, with gas stops, food, potty (that would be me!). But, we did pull in and get set up about 5-10 minutes before the rain started! All, we wanted to do after setting up camp was have a cocktail and unwind before bed. Then, sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle and whoosh……….. All night long!!!!!

The ride started at 6 am and since we arrived so late, we still had to register and vet in. The office didn’t open until 5 am so we sure had to hustle through everything. This really doesn’t leave a lot of warm-up time. These rides sure do not cater to folks who have to work for a living! But, we managed.

Guy rode PA Hi-Spirit on the 50. The morning warm-up was more like an exhibition show in prancing, dancing and jigging. Spirit was ready to rock-n-roll for sure. The first loop was 20 miles and the vet check was back at camp. I stayed in camp and finished setting up around camp, getting ready for the hold, getting buckets and things to the vet check area, loading the truck for the away check and so on. Guy and Spirit came in looking great despite the bouncy start and nasty weather!

Guy and Spirit come in to the out check.

Unfortunately, we were in unfamiliar territory and had to suffer through VERY short holds with exit CRI’s to further shorten the horse’s rest time. I had everything ready so we could really maximize our time and since Guy was going pretty slowly, it all worked out okay. So, after a short hold and CRI, Guy was back on the trail and I was headed to the away vet check. I am thankful there was a map and hand written directions for this!

Out-check timer....In the pouring rain!

The vet check was pretty nice and was much more organized than the one in camp. Spirit again looked fabulous and set off for his last loop. There was a pretty nasty river crossing that kept getting deeper and faster with each storm. The water was up to Sprit’s elbows! He was a trooper though and went through it without incident.

Since it had been raining off and on all day (mostly on), I was checking my phone for updated radar pictures often. I told Guy he had been not dilly dally getting back into camp as there was a nasty storm headed our way. Well, just as he came into camp, the heavens opened….we were soaked! But, Spirit took it all in stride and actually had a fantastic day…he had another 50 miles in him at that pace for sure. Spirit looked so grand! So, they were 12^th over-the-line and 6^th UMECRA HW (maybe 1^st AERC HW…not sure yet). Not too bad. There were 23 or so who started the 50.

We finished getting Spirit settled in and put all of our tack away and hunkered down in the trailer until the storm passed. Then the sun came out and it was beautiful! I even put my shorts on! We did our paperwork and checked Coronna in for the 25 LD on Sunday. The nice weather was very short lived though, more storms came in and it continued the rainy trend for the rest of the night and in to the morning.

Ridecamp Saturday evening!

Morning came too quickly, although we were thankful for the 7 am start! Guy warmed Coronna up before the 25 LD and started on another fun filled day of riding in the rain. Since it had poured all night again and the river crossing was already quite dangerous, ride management decided to take it out…..good decision! Coronna did a fantastic job and finished very sound and Guy still had a lot of horse left. Time to step it up a notch with her too! The pair ended up in 6^th place. I am not sure how many started but there were quite a few.

During Guy’s last loop, I had everything put away; the trailer hitched up and was ready to go. It is a good thing! About an hour or so after he finished the heavens opened up yet again! Thankfully, we had already pulled the rig out and had the horses loaded up…otherwise, we may still be there. I am anxious to find out how many rigs had to be pulled out after that last storm!

Overall, not counting the miserable camping, riding, crewing conditions, we had a great weekend. Both horses looked superb after the rides and when we returned home! So…..next ride weekend….please NO RAIN!!!!!

May 14-15, 2011. AHDRA I. MyOwn Backyard Ride. Wyanet, Illinois

Have I mentioned I am tired of winter, rain, cold..........at rides, at home, anywhere for that matter? Will it ever warm up? I don't mean 90s and humid.....I really don't care for that, but 70 would be nice. 

We actually arrived at ridecamp in the daylight......what a concept, and one we are going to work harder at this year, we shall see how that goes. Last year we had to park over a mile away from the vet check due to the mud and the fact that the ridecamp was very full. They had to pull the rigs in with a tractor! This year we made it in under our own power, although we couldn't dilly dally around. Camp was pretty nice Friday...then it all went to Hell! Good thing we had the opportunity to sit and chat with some friends Friday night!

It started pouring about 2 in the morning. The ride was scheduled to start at 6:30 am, then got pushed back to 7....then 7:30. By 7:30 am the rain was light but it was cold. All the vet checks were in camp, thank God! I wouldn't have been able to leave anyhow. Guy was funny in the night he would say, "if it stops raining right....now, you can get out to crew." Well, I knew I wasn't going anywhere! 

We had trusty ol' Fast William (Bill). He is such a trouper! Nothing much phases him anymore. He just stood at the trailer in rain, Guy put his tack on and away they went. I brought some stuff up to the vet check and then gooffed off around camp in the rain. JG Ranch is breaking in a couple of new kids, so I hung out with Reno and showed him some crewing things. What a great kid! We had a good time and he was a big help to me and JG Ranch! Guy sponsored a young gal, Aila (I am sorry if I misspelled your name!) on the 50 and they had a good time.

Guy and Bill were 4th place over the line and 1st heavyweight (3rd hw UMECRA). Again, on our superior conditioning program....this was his 3rd time being ridden since July! Not his 3rd ride....3rd time being ridden!

We didn't do too much Saturday evening. It continued to rain and it was very cold. We were both tired and I was still fighting my cold (yes I know......get over it already....guess what, I am still sick!). So, we were in the trailer pretty early again and listened to rain all night long again. They delayed the start of the LD Sunday morning again.

Coronna isn't as experienced as Bill and was cold and a little nervous. She did handle herself very well though. She wasn't in the greatest of shape either and Guy was instructed to go slow and steady. This is the mare that jumped over our fence and broke her neck in 3 places. She is tough with a capitol T! She made it though her first loop looking great. She ate everything in sight and was ready to give it another go 'round. I think she looked even better for her final trot out than she did at the half way and vet agreed with me! She ended up coming in 4th over the line! We even decided to show for best condition. Even though we figured she most likely would not get it....it is still great practice! She didn't get it.....but, never the less, we couldn't be more proud of her! She finished, despite her lack of conditioning and in the cold and rain and looked fabulous!

So, while Guy was riding I made the most of my time packing up the trailer to get ready to leave. Since it was raining so much and entrance/exit was turning into a championship mudbog track, the tractor was gearing up to pull rigs out. Big problem though, we where unhitched. URG! And, stuck! Double Urg! So Moe Miller (Thanks Moe!) had to hitch onto our trailer to get it out onto the road. And then the tractor had to the pull our truck out. No worries! Everyone made it out without incident.

Another very successful weekend. I hope it isn't raining next weekend!

May 7-8, 2011. Glacier Trails. Palmyra, Wisconsin.

This is one of our closest rides. Thank goodness. After a long, and boy do I mean LONG winter, it was very hard to tackle the trailer. I was bad, I have to admit it. I didn't get the trailer cleaned out as I should have after the last ride of the season in October. So, it was a daunting task. And, not only that, our trailer is used to as storage for everything else over the winter as well. So.........URG!!!! The hardest part is finding homes for all the crap!

We pulled in ride camp just about dark, set up and celebrated Guy's birthday. He had been asking for a Toklat Coolback pad. Even though his birthday wasn't until Sunday, I wanted him to be able to use the pad on Spirit for the 50 miler Saturday. Then it was off to bed. We both were fighting colds for most of week...such party animals that we are....it is hell to get old!

Saturday morning........Guy is getting Spirit ready for the 50 miler and I am loading the truck for a day of crewing and an away vet check (YUK!). It was pretty chilly all day too. It doesn't matter if you are going 25 miles or 100 when you have an away check, you never know what you might need so me (having pack-rat tendencies anyway) pack everything! 

The ride went very well. Being it was two weeks ago and I have been very sick, and very busy, and nothing really major happened (which is GREAT!). I really do not have many details about the actual ride. Spirit looked great all day and recovered fantastic. He came in 10th over-the-line and 5th heavyweight. Pretty good for no conditioning! I think he had been ridden a total of 3 times prior to this ride......and each time less than 5 miles! It has been so muddy and cold we really haven't had much of a chance to do much with the horses. So we took it easy on him. But....we are so pleased with the results!!!!!!!

 Guy and PA Hi-Spirit on the 50

 Photo by Kristy Worthington

Saturday evening, after the 50, Guy had to put shoes on Rerun (a.k.a. Ted) so he could ride him Sunday on the LD. Then us old people (hehe) went to bed pretty earlier ....remember we've been sick!

Sunday morning started out a little rocky. Poor Ted. Why Guy picked the first ride of the season to try out a new saddle and pad on a horse who isn't wrapped real tight to begin with is beyond me. Ted really doesn't like to "feel" you on him and we usually use our stiffest pad. But Guy used his new light as a feather, weights nothing, and very thin Coolback.......OH BOY! Can we say BUCK! It was back to the old lead line pony ride around camp for Guy and Ted. Fun, Fun, Fun. I let them go and things seemed to settle down a bit. Usually we (whoever is riding him) wait until everyone leaves camp to start out on the trail, so he doesn't blow up). No one was leaving. So Guy left. Well, I guess Ted had another bucking fit out on the trail. Thank God Guy stayed on!

The rest of the ride went much better, even though Ted was not in the best of shape (unless round counts) he did fantastic. He came in at the same time as another rider but couldn't pulse down fast enough so we took second. Not too bad! I am so proud of him! I miss riding him, although I have to admit with all his antics, I am glad it was Guy and not me on this particular day...hehehe. 

Overall, I would say we had a successful weekend.

All the rides listed below are tentative:

August 20-21, 2011....Rock River Charity..............................................Utica,IL

September 3-5, 2011......White River Fall Labor Day..........................Hesperia, MI

September 10-11, 2011...Lincoln Trail.............................................Kinmundy, IL

September 17-18, 2011...Colorama Classic................................New Prospect, WI

Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 2011....DRAWarama...............................................Palmyra, WI

October 21-23, 2011........Point Chaser.............................................Hinkley, MN

October 29-30, 2011........Big River (AHDRA III)................................Keithsburg, IL

August 14, 2011: Louise Reidel Bra Buster memorial, Arkdale, WI: 25 LD: Guy and SerLoki 4th OTL/3rd Sr. and Melinda Anderson 3rd OTL/1st Jr.

August 13, 2011: Louise Reidel Bra Buster memorial, Arkdale, WI: 50 End: Guy and Spirit: 1st OTL, 1st HW and BC!!!! 

July 31, 2011: Wildcat Rides, Neilsville, WI: 25 LD: Guy and Rerun: 1st and BC! 

July 30, 2011: Wildcat Rides, Neilsville, WI: 50 End: Guy and Spirit: 2nd OTL, 1st HW and BC!

July 10, 2011: Endure for the Cure, Peoria, IL: 25 LD: Guy and Rerun: 1st and BC!

July 9, 2011: Endure for the Cure, Peoria, IL: 50 End: Guy and Fast William: 5th OTL, 2nd HW

July 9, 2011: Endure for the Cure, Peoria, IL: 25 Comp: Kim and Abu Jalal: 5th HW.

July 3, 2011: Big Valley, Avoca, WI: 25 LD: Guy and Coronna: Pulled at first check: Lame

July 2, 2011: Big Valley,Avoca, WI: 50 End: Guy and Spirit: 2nd OTL, 1st HW, BC!

June 12, 2011: White River Summer: 25 LD: Guy and Rerun: 1st OTL and BC.

June 11, 2011: White River Summer: 50 End: Guy and Fast William: 2nd OTL and 1st HW.

June 5, 2011: ApDRA, Palmyra, WI: 25 LD: Guy and Rerun 3rd OTL and BC. 25 Comp: Kim and Coronna: 1st HW and High Vet Score.

June 4, 2011: ApDRA, Palmyra, WI: 50 End: Guy and Spirit 3rd OTL, 1st HW.

May 22, 2011: Run for the Border, St. Croix Falls, WI: 25 LD: Guy and Coronna: 6th OTL.

May 21, 2011: Run for the Border, St. Croix Falls, WI: 50 End: Guy and Spirit: 12th OTL, 6ht UMECRA HW.

May15, 2011: AHDRA I, Wyanet, IL: 25 Mile LD : Guy and Coronna: 4th OTL.

May14, 2011: AHDRA I, Wyanet, IL: 50 Mile End: Guy and Fast William: 4th OTL, 1st HW.

May8, 2011: Glacier Trails, Palmyra, WI: 25 Mile LD: Guy and Rerun: 2nd OTL.

May7, 2011: Glacier Trails, Palmyra, WI: 50 Mile End: Guy and PA Hi-Spirit: 10th OTL and 5th HW.

Please check out past years at KGW Farms.

Endurance Season 2010

Endurance Season 2009

*This website and blog was started in 2009.

United States Equestrian Federation, Inc. (USEF)

Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI)

American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC)

Upper Midwest Endurance and Competitive Ride Association (UMECRA)

Distance Riding Association of Wisconsin (DRAW)

Arabian Horse Distance Riding Association (AHDRA)