Episode 15 - Tracy Foley

Tracy is a life-long deep lover of horses.  It’s not a surprise that her very adventurous personality and life led her down the path of equine body work, therapy and strengthening.  And, thanks to a few FEI endurance riders, Tracy is now an endurance junkie just like us.  Many of the riders in the Southeast and Northeast Region may have seen Tracy at the rides, crewing and providing equine bodywork and assessment at the holds and after rides.

Tracy has a unique approach to her equine bodywork.  She walks us through her comprehensive evaluation as well as treatment and conditioning plans.  She also gives us riders some great tips about being balanced in the saddle and how our fitness effects our horse.  She specializes in kissing spine recovery and rehabilitation which you will hear more about in our chat and in her bio.

I think you will really appreciate and resonate with Tracy’s philosophy about our horses.  She encourages us to think of them as the athletes that they are, and to provide them with the proper resources to keep them in optimum shape.  

Tracy had the amazing opportunity to travel with Evelyn Baig’s mare Maggie’s NChanted Pipi, most affectionately called Pipi to Romania.  Uma Kraskin, and FEI Young Rider and Pipi were invited to compete in the FEI Young Riders World Championship held in Romania this last September.  Tracy shares her experience meeting up with Pipi in Germany, staying with her while being hauled to Romania and back.  As well as her work with Pipi and other members of the US team during the competition.

Tracy’s bio and credentials reads like this:

She holds certifications as an FEI Permitted Equine Therapist,  Equinology Certified Massage Therapist, and an EAGALA Certified Equine Professional. She has completed courses in Equine Physical Rehabilitation and Wound Care, including a nine-month internship with Summer Terry at Superior Therapy in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Superior Therapy worked closely with Veterinarian Cliff Honas in the development of protocols for post-surgery physical therapy for Kissing Spine Surgery, and they continue to contribute valuable insights to veterinarians performing Kissing Spine surgery in Texas and Oklahoma.

Tracy has extensive experience working with horse owners, trainers, and riders across various disciplines to enhance the physical fitness, strength, and posture of horses for optimal performance. She focuses on the prevention and treatment of Kissing Spine and Top Line Syndrome. Combining 15 years as a professional human fitness trainer with horsemanship skills and a decade of expertise in equine biomechanics, fitness conditioning, and injury recovery, she offers a specialized program aimed at maximizing the performance and the “Rideable Life” of horses.

Tracy has a deep love and passion for horses and I’m certain that this kind and caring energy is the key ingredient to her remarkable outcomes.

You can reach Tracy by visiting her website: www.EquusMaximusllc.com

Many of us in the Southeast, Northeast Region and beyond know Dr. Nick Kohut as he is usually the Head Vet at many of our rides.  Dr. Nick has also been part of the veterinary team for Tevis over the years.  And wait until you hear about the many adventures he has had vetting rides outside of the US.

During our chat, Dr. Nick gives us some insight into vetting Tevis, shares some funny ride stories and he provides some great tips for how to best present our horses at the vet ins and and vet outs, especially some great tips to riders with gaited horses!

In addition to having boots on the ground at many AERC and FEI rides, Dr. Nick has served as the president of AERC for the past six years.  We talk about the future of AERC and the upcoming 2026 Virtual Convention.

Dr. Nick grew up in Pennsylvania and lived locally until the early 70's.  He attended The Ohio State University achieving a B.S. in Animal Science and then his DVM in 1990.  He became a co-owner of Gap Veterinary Associates in 1996.  Outside of his real job,  Dr. Nick is quite involved with judging Competitive Trail Rides and Equine Endurance Rides.  When not involved with those sports, he is an active hunter and fisherman.  In his leisure time,  Dr. Nick and his wife Ranelle, can be found at their cabin along Penns Creek in Union county Pennsylvania with their dogs Jax and Jiminey.

This podcast is part of a series featuring the stories, struggles, successes and assessments of several riders that decided to make the journey and enter the 2025 Michigan Shore to Shore Ride.  

The Michigan Shore to Shore ride began in 1985 and was held annually until 2018.  With a tremendous amount of determination, love for the ride, energy and vision , Barb Kurti decided to take on the enormously challenging role of Ride Manager to bring this iconic ride back for one time only in 2025.  The ride was held Sunday, July 27 through Saturday, August 2.  Seven consecutive days covering 250 trail miles from Oscoda to Empire, MI following the established Michigan Trail Riders Associations trail connecting 10 primitive campsites from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.

In this podcast Kim Minarich shares her Shore to Shore Ride adventure with her BLM Mustang mare, Maybelle. Kim and Maybelle were the only same rider/same horse team to complete all 7 days of LDs! Maybelle completed in the Top Ten each day, received two High Vet Scores, and completed and won two 3-Day 25 Miles Pioneers!!

Kim shares the challenges of each day on the trail and the special people she met along with way. And, of course, there are some funny ride stories as well as some very emotional moments. Enjoy!

This podcast is part of a series featuring the stories, struggles, successes and assessments of several riders that decided to make the journey and enter the 2025 Michigan Shore to Shore Ride.  

In this podcast you will meet a SE super mother and daughter team Emily & Mattie Compton. Emily and Mattie along with 3 of their horses hit the road to attend the Shore to Shore ride.  Both mother and daughter started competing in endurance in 2019.  Emily has logged a little more than 2000 miles.  While Mattie has found endurance in her young blood.  She started riding with her mom as a one year old.  By the age of 5, she was riding  by herself.  Mattie completed her first LD at age 6, and at the age of 9, she is the youngest junior rider to complete the Old Dominion 100!  Now 12 years old, she has logged more than 3100 miles, with 6 attempts at 100 mile rides, completing 5 of them! 

The plan at Shore to Shore was for Emily, mom, to crew for Mattie who entered the 5-day Flex option - any horse any distance, any day.  With Emily’s major crewing efforts, Mattie was able to complete two 50 and three 25s, 175 miles of the trail.

Emily talks about the unique challenges of crewing at this ride and managing the crazy logistics of having 3 horses and crewing at the same time.  She is one dedicated and determined mom and superstar crew!  

Mattie talks about the trails, the challenges she encountered on trail and what she enjoyed best.  

I really admire this mother/daughter team.  I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did.

This podcast is part of a series featuring the stories, struggles, successes and assessments of several riders that decided to make the journey and enter the 2025 Michigan Shore to Shore Ride.  

The Michigan Shore to Shore ride began in 1985 and was held annually until 2018.  With a tremendous amount of determination, love for the ride, energy and vision , Barb Kurti decided to take on the enormously challenging role of Ride Manager to bring this iconic ride back for one time only in 2025.  The ride was held Sunday, July 27 through Saturday, August 2.  Seven consecutive days covering 250 trail miles from Oscoda to Empire, MI following the established Michigan Trail Riders Associations trail connecting 10 primitive campsites from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.

In this podcast you will meet Rebecca Wall.  Rebecca embarked on her Shore to Shore journey with the whole family in mind —  Her husband, Bryan, and 3 children, Franklin, Amelia and Owen.  And, mom, Kathy Burnett, came along for the adventure as well.  Rebecca and Kathy each brought two horses.  So with 4 horses in the horse trailer. Bryan was in charge of their 3 children traveling in a rented Winnebago. It was really rather brilliant.  The plan was for Bryan to take the kids for day trips to enjoy what Michigan has to offer along our trail route and beyond.  Rebecca and Kathy would primarily take care of the horses, horse trailer and ride.

Rebecca is fun, energetic, adventurous and has a ton on trail experience.  She has attended rides with her mother Kathy since she was two years old!  So to have her kids in tow to this ride is nothing new to them!  She has been competing in Endurance since 2000  with more than 4000 AERC miles to date.  She has been serving as nursemaid to a few of her Arabians, as many of us do.  Some of you may know Rebecca from her posts on the AERC Facebook page about her mare Fable who suffered a sever hoof injury more than a year ago.  Due to a very freak accident, Fable lost a good quarter of her lateral RF hoof wall and more.  Rebecca has been tending to that and Fable is coming along.  Her gelding, Roofie, recently had a tumor in his mandible removed.  As a result, Roofie is no longer able to fully retract is tongue.  So many of us in the SE region know Roofie — he is the grey gelding with his tongue hanging out all the time!  But, the boy is doing very well under Rebecca’s great care and watchful eye.  Roofie and her mare, Ruby came along for the Shore to Shore experience.

I have been fortunate to call Rebecca and her mom my friends, so it was so special to share this experience with them.  We tried to park next to each other at most campsites and Rebecca and I had the pleasure of riding together on day two.

Rebecca shares the sites and attractions her husband Bryan and the kids experienced, some of the crazy logistical problems, her time on trail and of course some funny stories.  I hope you enjoy our chat the humor Rebecca finds along the way!

This podcast is part of a series featuring the stories, struggles, successes and assessments of several riders that decided to make the journey and enter the 2025 Michigan Shore to Shore Ride.  

The Michigan Shore to Shore ride began in 1985 and was held annually until 2018.  With a tremendous amount of determination, love for the ride, energy and vision , Barb Kurti decided to take on the enormously challenging role of Ride Manager to bring this iconic ride back for one time only in 2025.  The ride was held Sunday, July 27 through Saturday, August 2.  Seven consecutive days covering 250 trail miles from Oscoda to Empire, MI following the established Michigan Trail Riders Associations trail connecting 10 primitive campsites from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.

In this podcast you will meet Donna Smith Curtin and her remarkable Arabian Gelding Traction.  Donna and Traction won the challenging 50 Traditional ride at the Michigan Shore to Shore event taking 1st place and receiving the coveted Best Condition Award- The  50 Traditional Ride is 5 consecutive days of 50 miles each day, Monday through Friday covering a total of 250 miles.

Donna shares how she prepared herself for the ride as well as Traction.  Donna primarily competes in Competitive Trail Rides in the Northeast Region.  She loves multi-day 100s and has completed many.  She has logged several 100 and 50-mile endurance rides, but enjoys the CTRs best.  With a host of multi-day 100s under their belts, Donna felt confident that she and Traction could make a go at the Shore to Shore ride.  And that they did!

She and Traction benefitted from a very savvy, willing and dedicated crew, which is essential for 50 Traditional Ride.  Donna talks about some issues with Traction that occurred along the trail and how she and her crew kept him going.

I had the pleasure to share a bit of the trail with Donna over the 5 days they rode and I am thrilled to have this opportunity to chat with her about her amazing accomplishment.  I hope you enjoy our chat as she takes us through their journey.

This podcast is part of a series featuring the stories, struggles, successes and assessments of several riders that decided to make the journey and enter the 2025 Michigan Shore to Shore Ride.  

The Michigan Shore to Shore ride began in 1985 and was held annually until 2018.  With a tremendous amount of determination, love for the ride, energy and vision , Barb Kurti decided to take on the enormously challenging role of Ride Manager to bring this iconic ride back for one time only in 2025.  The ride was held Sunday, July 27 through Saturday, August 2.  Seven consecutive days covering 250 trail miles from Oscoda to Empire, MI following the established Michigan Trail Riders Associations trail connecting 10 primitive campsites from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.

In this podcast you will meet Tami Rougeau. Tami hauled her two mares, Makena Magic and Penelope Rose from her home in Reno NV  to Michigan.  I believe she traveled the farthest to get to the ride.  Tami shares her adventure hauling to the ride and then hauling back home.  Along with her experience at the ride and along the challenging trails.

Tami is a career endurance enthusiast accumulating more than 8800 AERC miles and has been a competitor since 1997.  She currently serves at the AERC Board Vice President.

After returning from the Shore to Shore ride, Tami competed in the AHA Championships held in Idaho riding a 50 and the 100.  Tami chatted with me from her rig at the championship the day before the 100!  I hope you enjoy her adventures at Shore to Shore!

Steven Hay has grown up as an endurance rider! He began his endurance career in 2003 at the age of 13. Since he has logged nearly 7,000 miles. Steven talks about loving the strategy of riding a 100-mile ride. He shares some great advice for Junior Riders. And, he talks about how influential his grandmother was in his love for horses and getting him to endurance rides as well as the importance of the many mentor riders that have helped him along the way.

The Bobbleheads - Crewing - CrewFairy Ride Binders - Equine Sport Coaching...and more

Some of us in the Northeast and Southeast Regions have seen this amazing duo at rides - sometimes crewing or riding themselves.  They have become affectionately known as the Bobbleheads as they wear bright colored helmet covers with the pom poms on top.  They are all about FUN!

Erin and Vic are fairly new to endurance, but they quickly caught the fever and dove in with a lot of energy and passion.  They were each very lucky to connect with Lara & Tim Worden who are both experienced and knowledgeable endurance riders to mentor them in the sport of endurance and more importantly how to crew for endurance riders.  

Vic and Erin are very smart, fun-loving and self-starters.  It did not take them long to learn the art of crewing and actually take it a step higher.  After crewing for Tim and Lara at the Old Dominion ride in Virginia a few times, this dynamic due became quite sought after as crew.  Rachel Land, who completed Tevis on her mare, Kimya, in 2024 enlisted Erin and Vic to join her crew team. Rachel still talks about how amazing they are!

As most passions do, they lead to related endeavors.  Vic and Erin have individually launched small businesses offering services to endurance riders!  Erin started CrewFairy where she customizes ride binders for you.  Everything - directions, packing lists, hold lists, etc right at your fingertips.  And, Vic, as a mental health professional launched, Rivers & Hills Wellness, a equestrian sport coaching service.  

I think you’ll find this episode interesting and entertaining.  They definitely share some good tidbits about crewing!

Lara Worden shares her knowledge of and best advice regarding equine gastric ulcers — identifying them, treating them, and preventing them.  

Professionally, Lara serves as an Agriculture Extension Agent with NC State and Gaston County Cooperative Extension, bringing 20 years of experience working with horse owners. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science and a Master’s in Non-Ruminant Nutrition from Michigan State University. Her expertise and personal interests lie in equine nutrition, pasture management, and equine parasitology.  

I talk with Lara about equine gastric ulcers - a condition nearly all of us have had to deal with at some point in time I’m sure.  So…get ready to take some notes.  Lara is a wonderful resource for all of us and she shares a lot of good information.