Posted on 10/07/2007 7:31:07 AM PDT by SoldierMedic
wasn't about the money back in 1848, when Francis X. Aubry entered cowboy lore by winning $1,000 on a horse race.
Then, the 26-year-old rode 800 miles on the Santa Fe Trail across streams, prairies and high country — even encountering a scalped dead man — in a record-setting five days, 15 hours.
And it wasn't about the money for Seattle developer Scott Griffin, 47, who recently won the 2007 version of the Great Santa Fe Trail Horse Race.
Griffin won an engraved cowboy belt buckle. There were no cash prizes.
For that belt buckle, Griffin rode 515 miles in a race that went from Sept. 3 to Sept. 15. Griffin is now back home, after trailering his two horses to where they're kept at a ranch in California.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Along the way, six of the horses that Aubry used either collapsed and died, or the exhausted animals were let go to fend for themselves.
Wow. I love history, and I never knew of this race. I'm glad somebody is trying to bring it back.
Horsie Ping
Wow. I love history, and I never knew of this race. I'm glad somebody is trying to bring it back.
How long do you think it'll be before peta stretches a rope between two trees at a narrow point on the trail, ... just about neck height on a rider?
Is there a map of this?
They’re already after the Suicide Race in Omak. I’ll bet this article is sitting on their desks as I type this.
We far too little appreciate the everyday hardships our ancestors endured in creating this great country. My grandfather, who was about 6 at the time, and his older brother walked about 80 miles herding the family cows between two South Dakota homesteads.
I love history too. They recently opened a hiking / biking trail on a nearby mountain that was used by Civil War soldiers. It ends at a small pond which they used to water their horses. I took my metal detector to the pond and found a spur and a button. I don’t know how old they are but they’re neat and perhaps they belonged to a civil war soldier.
“The rides would last seven to 12 hours each day, and to keep weight off the horse, Griffin never sat on the saddle. Much of the time, he said, he rode standing in the stirrups.”
Sounds like a great adventure; but, it’s early yet, so please ‘splain the above quote from the full article. Maybe you real cowpokes can help me out.
She was sure he was dead, after the war was over she married this Aussie hero.
There was an accident and even though she had never rode a horse before, she rode it in extreme pain with blood running down her legs during a very bad storm to get help.
Please If anybody remembers the name of the series, I would love to get it on DVD.
That’s really cool, and something I am somewhat envious of Southern states for. Washington may be a beautiful state, and I love seeing Totem Poles, but we lack battle sites.
I’ll bet 159 years ago a PETA person stringing rope across
a trail would have ben used as targert practice by the riders or scalping practice by the local Native Americans!
My great grandmother told me about the family getting caught in a blizzard in Michigan’s snowbelt near Mancelona.
Her father spent the night breaking a path through the snow for the horses. He waded out about a hundred yards in front of one horse and waded back in front of the other. Then he would lead the horses up a hundred yards and do it all over again.
They got home around dawn, just in time to start morning chores. There was no collapsing into bed for them. A fire had to be started to warm the house. Breakfast had to be started and animals needed to be fed.
Looks it starts at Las Vegas, NM and ends in KC, via the Cimarron Cutoff route. They cut out about 200 miles in the middle of the route to allow completion in roughly ten 50-mile segments.
The Alamo is about 10 minutes or less from Ft Sam Houston (Home of the Combat Medic!), so I got to go and walk through and see site.
My wife came down (Fiance at the time) and we walked around and even went to this real old Cathedral where what is believed to be the remains of the Alamo defenders were found.
It was very interesting, and is something I will never forget.
For your consideration. OB
I’ll try. Obviously, the weight is still present, but sitting in the saddle puts the rider’s weight on the horse’s spine. This is less comfortable and fatigues the horse more quickly.
Standing in the stirrups places the weight forward so the horse can carry the rider on the shoulders.
I rode the Santa Fe trail in my Honda Prelude. It was a great American experience. I would recommend it for all as a pleasant vacation jaunt.
There are lots of resources with pretty much mile by mile travelogues and most is marked with mile markers.
We decided to learn about chicken fried steak and ate it several times as we drove southwestward.
The trail we followed went from Independance Mossouri to Santa Fe Via Cimmeron (and the Boy Scout ranch at Philmont), and Las Vegas NM.
Independance is also the starting point for the Oregon trail but it is more variable and I don’t think as well marked.
Another interestins historical trail is the Natchez Trace from Nashville to Natchez MS. Great history, neat drive.
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