What in the world is AERC?
Patti Stone from Boring crosses the finish line to tie for first place on Monday, Aug. 23, in a 50-mile endurance competition.
Drivers traveling Hwy 31 may have seen a sign not far from the top of ‘Horse Ranch Hill’ with the letters AERC and wondered just what did that sign mean. Well, AERC is the acronym for American Endurance Ride Conference. Okay, so what is an endurance ride? It is a competition involving a horse and rider over long distances in often remarkably fast times. More importantly it is a family sport!
Recently, such a competition has been taking place about three quarters of a mile north west of the sign on Hwy 31, at the historic Gibhardt Well Ranch. The ranch was originally homesteaded in 1895 and lies at the gateway to the Winema, Deschutes and Fremont national forests as well as to endless tracts of BLM lands.
The ‘Well’ element of Ranch’s name came from the 305 foot well, drilled with a steam rig, during the homesteading process, a well that continues to produce pure crystal clear water. This historic property was purchased from Gibhardt by Rube Long who used the ranch as a breeding station for wild horses until he sold it to Jim and Sharon Schaedler in 1969.
Dennis and Linda Tribby took up the sport of endurance riding nearly 27 years ago when they were both in their middle forties. But, saying took up the sport hardly tells their story. They became passionate devotees of the sport and have, over the years, competed at local, regional, national and international levels. As a competitive husband wife team as well as individually they have also received numerous awards.
In 1990, Dennis was the National Champion and in 1993 Linda was the Reserve National Champion. Linda’s riding was sidetracked in 1994 when she fractured her back. She said that she is back riding again since beginning spinal injection treatments, but explained that she is not sure how competitive she will be at age 67.
The Oregon Outback Ride I and II are based at the ranch where a huge sheltered meadow provides great camping for competitors. This year’s competitions are classified as limited distances with horse/rider teams traveling over 50 and 55 mile flagged trails. Outback I took place on Aug. 22-24 and Outback II took place on Aug. 25-27.
This format is called a multi-day ride and participants my chose to ride all six days (that’s 300 + miles over a seven day period) with the same horse or with different horses, or they may chose to ride on just one of the days.
The management also offered a 12 mile fun ride for people interested in getting acquainted with the sport. I was lucky enough to take my five-year-old Arabian gelding on that track which skirted the rim of Hole in the Ground and offered spectacular views.
According to Ride Mgr. Linda Tribby, next year’s ride will have additional trail distances of 75 and 100 miles with these riders going out from the ranch to Newbery Crater and back. Wow!