Southwest Spanish
Mustang Association
2007 Michigan Shore to Shore Endurance Ride     
Who's Doing What
SSMA Horses go the Distance at the 2007 Michigan Shore to Shore Endurance Ride         
At the Finish Line,
Cathy Cook & Red Cloud SSMA 2352, Shelia Dale & Blue By You SSMA and Nikki
Barling-Bridwell
with Hezekiah SSMA 2333.

(even Arabian riders found out how tough our Spanish Mustangs are!!)

I was glad to have the company from Oklahoma and Texas this past summer at the Shore to
Shore ride.  Riders travel horseback, covering 50 miles a day, over a 5 day period, a total of
250 miles, going from Lake Huron on the East to Lake Michigan on the West side of the State.  

It was an experience that no one can fully prepare you for.  You just have to come to Michigan
and ride it!  Beautiful scenery and great company made for a great ride all week long.  We rode
through pine forests, crossed the Au Sable River, sandy trails, rocky trails, hills, ATV trails, across
4 lane highways, and through the town of Empire to get to the shore of Lake Michigan (and to
get to the ice cream store- which is a “must – do” at the end of the ride for both horse and rider
of course!).    

I know all of us riders would agree that we were very lucky to have such great pit crews helping
us along the entire way, everything from taking down camp every morning after getting us riders
out of camp, waiting patiently at the vet checks with food and water for both rider and horse
(thanks for those sandwiches Becky!), to having the rigs parked and camp all set up when we
came into the next camp each afternoon along the way.  A big thank you to my dad, Ralph
Havens, my daughter Becky Kocan, and Sherrie Carlile, Shelia’s sister for all their hard work all
week long so that we could finish our ride.

I want to put out a big invitation to any of our members to come and ride the trails of Michigan.  
Endurance Riding is a great way to enjoy our horses!  For more information on Endurance Riding
and details on all the 2008 Endurance rides, including the Shore to Shore ride, you can visit the
website of the American Endurance Ride Conference at www.aerc.org.

-Cathy Cook
Spanish Mustangs shine at the AERC Awards Banquet
held in Reno, Nevada, February 29 - March 1, 2008
Pictured from Right to Left, Gared Dale,
Shelia Dale, Gunn Dale and Gatlin Dale
(Gatlin is holding their Bill Thornburgh
Family Award won by the Dale Family),

Cathy Cook is holding the Top 10 Jim
Jones Stallion Award her horse,  Red
Cloud, SSMA #2352 won.
Jim Jones Stallion Award:

Honoring the stallion with the
most miles completed during
the ride season
(any number of riders).

Top 10 stallions awarded
Along with the Awards pictured above, the Dale family also received the following awards at the banquet:  

     6th Overall Endurance, Shelia Dale, riding Blue
     3rd in Central Region Featherweight Division, Shelia Dale, riding Blue;  
     2nd Junior Division Central Region, Gunn Dale, riding Locomotive;
     3rd Junior Division Central Region, Gatlin Dale, riding Spotted Wolf.

                                        Congratulations to all!