Exciting CPAs
Patty Gannon
As a former triathalon participant, the idea of endurance riding appealed to Kathy Kelly when she took up the sport five years ago in order to spend more time with her horse. This year alone, she successfully completed 555 miles of riding. Kelly, a CPA in private practice, lives in Parks, Arizona, with her husband, two children and three horses. She takes advantage of her location near Flagstaff to condition her horse, usually logging in 35 miles per week and participates in a competition about once a month.
The endurance rides are usually 50 to 55 miles long and the competition is judged on the finish time and pacing, as well as the fitness of the horses. Veterinarians are placed along the trails and the horses must take water at 15-minute intervals.
“The horses are taken care of very well,” says Kelly, who says the hardest part of the sport is to get the horse fit enough to compete. “During the competition, the horses are checked by veterinarians throughout the race.”
Kelly says that she even schedules a massage for her Arabian, Gabriel, about once a month. When asked if she gets a massage once a month as well, she admits that she doesn’t and probably takes better care of her horse, but she does practice yoga to keep in shape.
The riding also takes Kelly out to some wonderful places.
“We have ridden in beautiful areas, such as the red sandstone hills near ZionPark, the pony express trail out of Schellbourne, Nevada, and the north rim of the Grand Canyon,” says Kelly. “My family often joins me on these rides and they go site-seeing while I ride, then we camp together after the race.”
She recently won the AHA Region Seven Championship Competitive Trail Ride, a 35-mile race that took them six hours to complete. — Patty Gannon
Are you an exciting CPA, or do you know one? Contact Patty Gannon at pgannon@ascpa.com.
