2012 News & Events

Belesema Khandy Khiss Earns XP Gold
By Carey Brock

Featured in Golden Empire Arabian Horse Society www.geahs.org

Belesema Khandy Khiss and Carey Brock complete 1,000 endurance miles of XP and Sunrise Ranch rides for the award of XP Gold. The new endurance year begins on December 1 each year. I had ridden Khandy at the Grand Canyon XP ride in October of the 2011 year and realized that she was a phenomenal multi-day endurance horse. I had always thought about ´someday´ trying for the XP Gold award of 1,000 miles in one year with the same horse and rider. Khandy was only 5.5 years old when she did 4 of the 5 Grand Canyon days in 2011, but she did them so easily. I made the decision to go for the gold in 2012. In December of 2011 we did the 2-days (100 miles) of the Death Valley Warm-up ride and we also did the 4-days (200 miles) of the Death Valley Ride. Khandy lost more weight at the 4-day ride than I wanted so I made some serious changes to her feeding program and added some grain.

Our next ride was Eastern Mojave Scenic, 4-days (200 miles) in February. Khandy maintained her weight much better, but she was a high strung, tough to handle mare. In March we did the Cuyama Pioneer of 3-days and 155 miles. I was still using the hot feed and we still fought over which one of us was in control of the day. I cut the grain out and focused on staying off of her between rides and letting her have all the pasture she wanted at home. I wanted Khandy pasture fat when we got in the trailer to go to the next ride. In April we made a big tactical error. Two weeks prior to the big Mt. Carmel ride in Utah, we went to the Lost Padres ride. It was extremely hot and humid. We rode way to slow in the morning and I wasted her energy by fighting her natural pace to slow her down. By the afternoon, Khandy was not eating and not drinking and she was just plain depressed. We came in overtime so those miles did not count for AERC although they did count for the XP Gold. But I lost AERC points for Khandy because of my poor decision. I loaded Khandy up and brought her home. She needed to recover. To compound that error, we took off for Mt. Carmel, in Utah, two weeks later. We did manage to complete 3 of the 5 days. I realized that she had not completely recovered and that we also had a saddle fit problem. After the third day, we loaded up and came home to regroup. Please note here that Khandy had earned 850 miles so far in the 2012 season with not much going in her favor. She is a tough horse. She needed a smarter partner.

I put Khandy out in pasture and probably only put 20 trail miles on her in six weeks. She rested and put on weight. I ordered a custom fit saddle and built shims for my saddle pad to use with the current saddle until the correctly fitting saddle arrived. In June we went to the Wild West ride. It didn't count for the XP Gold, but it was close to home and moderate terrain. I finally got smart enough to ride Khandy more like she was bred to go. On the good ground she can trot at 10-12 miles per hour. On the rocks and downhills she walks. That compromise worked for both of us as far as pace was concerned. My duct taped together pad shims provide much more weight baring surface for the saddle on Khandy‚s back. Khandy flew through 3-days and 155 miles. She did not break a sweat in three days and looked FANTASTIC at the end. I finally had a plan that Khandy could enjoy.

In the last week of August we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to attempt the 5-day ride. The terrain is moderate. We had done 4 of the 5 days the year before, so I had a better idea how to pace out the ride. The weather was lovely. We did have some rain some afternoons, but it was warm. Khandy handled 5-days and 250 miles like it was a walk in the park. She trotted up some of those canyons at 12 miles per hour for miles and miles at a time. She was HAPPY. The most beautiful section for me is the Rainbow Rim trail on day five. Khandy must know I love that section, so she did her amazing 4.5 mile per hour walk and gave me lots of time to see the magnificent Grand Canyon in all of its glory. I took lots of video which is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmCx2_L6ljE Khandy has earned 1210 miles through the first week of September, 2012. A horse like Khandy and the chance to ride in beautiful country are gifts from whatever higher power you believe in. I am very grateful for those gifts. Thank you to Kim Johnson, breeder of Belesema Khandy Khiss, to Dave and Ann Nicholson of XP and Sunrise Ranch rides, to John Grace, my farrier, and to Linda Rogers for taking care of my place when I am gone. Without that team behind us, Khandy and I would not have gone so far in such a short time.

Thank you Khandy