Congratulations to Cindy Bradley and her 16-year-old Morgan gelding, Bogar Tucker, on reaching the 5,000 mile AERC mileage milestone. There are less than 300 horses registered with the American Endurance Ride Conference that have reached that level of mileage achievement; for endurance mileage, all rides must be 50 miles and over. Bo also has an additional 435 miles of Limited Distance rides (rides which are 25-49 miles).
Cindy and Bo have been competing in endurance since 2003, with over 120 ride starts at the time of publication, and only 5 “pulls” from rides. Cindy introduced Bo to the sport gradually, with a small number of Limited Distance rides starting at age 5, for his first three seasons, before moving him up to 50-mile endurance rides at age 8. Cindy credit’s Bo‘s longevity with her decision to wait until he was older and fully mature before beginning endurance with him, as well as riding at a conservative, middle-to-back-of-the-pack finishing pace.
(Her idea, not his, she says, since he “wants to go too fast”.) Bo does best on ride with technical trails and a lot of climbing, which helps keep his mind busy. Cindy calls Bo her “once in a lifetime horse and pal” and “every ride [with him] is special, but the 5-day Bryce Canyon XP ride was a highlight” of their endurance career thus far.
Cindy has used Renegade® Hoof Boots for a number of years now, and credits the barefoot lifestyle and performance booting for the improvement in Bo‘s hooves. “They [Renegade® Hoof Boots] are so easy to put on and take off,” says Cindy.
“I was told Bo would never make an endurance horse……I hope we can continue for many more miles.”