Success for Monica Bennett and "Inde" at the 20 Mule Team 100

Is this boy CUTE, or what?!

This is Monica Bennett and "Inde," an Akhal-Teke/Arab cross bred by Katrina O'Neil. 

Monica and Inde just completed their first 100-mile endurance ride in perfect form at the 20 Mule Team 100 in Ridgecrest, CA. 

And in great style on such a good looking horse!

We are very impressed with their amazing accomplishment. 

Here is Monica's  story:

"Inde and I just got back from the 20 Mule Team 100 in Ridgecrest, CA, and it was by far Inde's and my best ride ever, it was just amazing. We finished 9th out of 26 riders with a ride time of 14 hours and 17 mins. I was expecting to take closer to 18 hours. It was a nice solid step forward in our training for Tevis this year and of course I'm extremely proud of Inde and know he has a few fans out there that will be happy to hear about his first 100 mile completion.

I got extremely lucky and tucked in behind Nick Warhol, who has done the 20 MT-100 17 times and marked this year's trail. I've read his 100 mile ride stories for years and knew he was a great horseman with the horse being his priority and his love of the 100 mile distance being his passion. At maybe mile 3 or 4, I figured out who he was and promptly decided to tuck in behind him and the group of riders riding with him (Gretchen Montgomery, Melinda Faubel and Catherine Williams), and wait and see what kind of ride he was riding, knowing immediately I had no business passing him unless he pulled.

Over the course of the ride, I learned that his horse Donny was much more experienced than Inde (he has over 3000 miles and 6 100s which include 3 Tevis buckles and Inde has 615 miles and 0 100 completions until now) and from all that Nick said about him, he sounds like a future hall of famer. He had given Donny a year off and is well underway starting him back and of course will be going to Tevis again this year. I knew if I stuck with Nick I'd learn a ton and not get lost and if at any point Inde wasn't recovering as normal or wasn't EDPP right than I'd take that as my sign to back off and ride my own ride. Well, at no point did that happen and I ended up riding it a lot faster than I ever planned or dreamed I would have. We finished just before 11:00 pm and went straight to the vet where Inde pulsed at 48 (criteria was 64) and got all A's! He then proceeded to eat and drink all night and had zero gait or metabolic issues. A huge success and am I ever grateful to Nick for who he is, his experience, his wonderful horse and his unbelievable patience. I'm sure if Nick hadn't been looking out for Catherine and I, he'd have finished at least an hour faster. His horse was just wonderful, so sweet and good natured. He didn't mind anything around him and was happily following Nick's directions while gazing eagerly ahead at the trail all the way to the end. His ears were always pricked forward and he only needed verbal cues to speed up or slow down, just an angel. Talk about professionals, I can't imagine a better example of what it is to be a 100 mile rider or a 100 mile horse, it was just a super experience and I tried to be a sponge and learn and absorb all that I could from watching the two of them at work.

I would never have believed Inde could do what he did and come out of it looking so great with where we are at in our training/endurance career! I am so happy! We've had a lot of ups and downs over the years, mostly due to my learning curve and inconsistency getting my miles in with juggling working full-time, family etc. I continue to work harder at being better and this year I've been blessed with the opportunity to ride more and it is really fun!

The winner was Jeremy Reynolds in 9 hours and 39 mins, he is one of our top FEI riders in the States, and last horse finished in 20 hours just to give some perspective of the diverseness in horses, riders, conditioning etc. This ride is famed for being a well run ride and a moderate course, great for first time riders or first time horses at the 100 mile distance. I've wanted to do the 100 since I started riding endurance back in 1999, but have never had a horse ready to go further than their 65 until now. I'm so thankful the Ribley's have kept this 100 going, this ride gives me a lot of confidence in our program and it is great to contribute some results supporting the Akhal Teke Sport horse!

Katrina, your boy is doing great! Steve, we're looking forward to seeing you and Pat in July! Valerie, will you be working the night shift again?

Cheers!
Monica Bennett"

Thanks Monica!

We look forward to hearing more great reports from you & Inde soon!