Featured Article (June 2007)

That ride would become one of the premier 100 mile rides on the East Coast, as well as one of the oldest continuous endurance rides in the United States. In later years the trail would host an international World Championship, several national championships, and be the opening scene last year of one of the most astounding records ever accomplished in the history of endurance riding by a brilliant horse called Heraldic who swept wins in the top three endurance rides – the OD, the Tevis, and the AERC National Championships.

The Old Dominion has, and is, the dream of many national and international competitors to want to come test their skill and luck against this legendary Virginia trail. Only half, however, will claim the thrill of a completion. This year’s Ride Co-Manager, Bob Walsh, remembers his first encounter with the Old Dominion. "It was 13 years ago," he said. "I was a volunteer worker doing pulse and respiration. The next year I was a drag rider, and the following year I took the plunge and rode in the 50." His first attempt at the OD was less than stellar. "I got pulled," Walsh said with chagrin. But his goal was to eventually ride and complete the 100. "My ‘Holy Grail’ was a completion," Walsh said, and in 1998, while riding a wonderful little horse called "Houdini," Walsh finally earned that completion and the coveted silver belt buckle that was awarded for those finishing the 100 mile ride for their first time. Walsh will once again be riding in the 100 mile division this year on his Asgard Arabian horse, "Logic."

Divisions for Weight and Age Offered

Several divisions for weight and age are offered in each of the mile divisions. The Limited Distance (30 mile ride) and 50 mile divisions boast the largest number of competitors, with a finish time of 6 hours and 12 hours respectively, including the mandatory hold times at the various vet checks along the trail. However, the 100 mile division is the premier draw with riders being given 24 hours to complete the difficult trail, with both the start and the finish being held on the grounds of Fort Valley Stables.

Cavalry Division

One division for the 100 mile ride is the "Cavalry Division" which is riding the entire ride without help. Cavalry division rules state that the rider must carry everything they need and may not receive outside assistance without being disqualified from the division. Only water is allowed to be given to the horse and rider; nothing else. The horse may not pick up or eat anything left by another horse, and if the horse loses a shoe the rider must either replace it themselves, or use a boot. It is the hardest division, and demands a high level of strategy for the rider to be successful.

Four years ago Virginian Lynne Gilbert, riding her 14 year old Arabian gelding, Chagall, accomplished what no other rider in Old Dominion history had done – she won the 100 mile ride and the Cavalry Award, and her horse received the Best Condition Award as well. Amazingly, Chagall had almost died from EPM eight years prior. "I was devastated," Gilbert recalled when told the diagnostic results back then. "I feared he would not live, or even recover sufficiently to live a normal life." However, he did recover with only a permanent blindness in his left eye as a reminder of the disease, going on to complete in many 100-mile rides, finishing several times in the top ten.

Over 250 riders and crew from all over the United States, Canada, and abroad will converge on Fort Valley Stables the 2nd weekend in June for the 34th running of the Old Dominion, and to celebrate the final year the ride will be held in and around Fort Valley as the Old Dominion will be relocating across the Shenandoah Valley next year to a new locale near the Virginia/West Virginia border. For more information visit the OD website at www.olddominionrides.org.