Oneonta girl wins junior endurance horse race

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·2 min read

May 25—A Valley View Elementary School fourth grade student and her horse won an endurance race at the Biltmore Equestrian Center in North Carolina the first weekend in May.

"I was pretty excited," Kylie Robinson, said. "I felt really, really proud. It took a lot of work." It was the second endurance race she entered, she said.

The 9-year-old rode Lucky Jody, 16, and finished the 25-mile junior endurance ride in five hours and five minutes, one minute ahead of the second place finisher, her grandmother, Patricia Robinson, said. Patricia, 74, also participated in the race, riding Tequila Sue, 18.

"I drove up from Florida and she came down from New York," to meet at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina, Patricia said. "The Biltmore is the biggest house in the United States," she said. "It was a summer residence for the Vanderbilts. She said they got to tour the house as part of the entry fee to the race.

Patricia said she takes her horses to Florida every winter to keep them in shape so they can participate in races. She said a horse not in shape takes six weeks to train for a race, so she goes to Florida with her horses every winter.

Prior to a race, a horse is fed two hours before the run, it is walked in the wee hours of the morning while it eats grass. It is then ridden 15 to 20 minutes to warm up with the other horses. "It is a very exciting time because the other horses want to race," she said. After the horse is warmed up, it is checked by a veterinarian, she said and the pulse has to be around 64. The vet also checks for lameness. At the end of the race the horse is checked again by the veterinarian after it cools down and the pulse of the horse should be 60, and it is checked for lameness again, she said.

Kylie, the daughter of Sara and Jeff Robinson, said riding horses calms her down. Patricia agreed and said they have to form connections with their horses and build trust in order to compete in these races. She said Lucky Jody, a Kentucky Mountain Horse, normally likes to ride behind other horses, however, when Kylie rode him "he led the whole race. They have quite a bond."

Patricia said Tequila Sue is a half Paso Fino, half Florida cracker. She said she rode her first race at age 35. "It's just a passion for me," she said.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.