1 Mat hey Tee AY ee bee Ree PROFILE —_—_— WEDNESDAY, August 12, 1992 1B Ae se@eee Ceeeceeusereeers seeuseessrets evs yewveneNy FRESH BAKERY CRUSTY ROLLS SNOW STAR ICE CREAM Assorted Flavours 4 Litre Pail. Limit 1. Over limit price 3.48 ea Check out our Super Shopper this week for over 30 Fresh Chicken and Turkey specials! Some items may not be exactly as shown Have a Grape omy CALIFORNIA GRAPES Fresh. Seedless Green, Red and Black. No. 1 Grade Mix or match 1.7O0/ kg IT. FRESH BAKERY FLAT STY 100% W/W HAM BREAD Olympic Canadian Pride. 450 g Ready to eat. Approx. 4 lb.s CHICKEN LEGS Fresh Back Attached Approx. 5 |b. bag 2.16/ kg Se, Ear extra AIR MILES™! ‘Collect AIR MILES™ at Safeway Take off faster with your Bank of Montreal AIR MILES™ MasterCard. “Now when you purchase your groceries and use your AIR MILES™ card and pay with your Bank of Montreal AIR MILES™ MasterCard, you will receive AIR MILES™ from Safeway and Bank of Montreal. It's as easy as that, and sooner that you think, you'll find you have collected enough AIR MILES™ to take your first flight ‘Earn extra miles when you pay with your Bank of Montreal AIR MILES™ MasterCard. SS BiOtMG we STORY BY JASON KEENAN PHOTOS BY BRENDAN HALPER Vet Colleen Kramer gives one of many horses a pre-ride check-up. Then there’s the smell of horses. It sets off something deep inside my mind. A shared memo- Ty, not of my own past, but of a simpler era shared by all people Campers, horse trailers, and about 50 horses were scattered around the grassy, lightly wooded base camp area, just upstream from the 7 Mile Dam in the Pend D’Oreille valley. A group of rid- ing friends described the real joy ‘of back-country riding. “You're back to reality. A rural kind of reality,” they said. The group at the campsite included Margie and Mike Hinchcliffe, Jim Urquhart, Carol Layboume, Deb- bie Nelson, and Denise Cranna. Despite the fact they've all been riding horses for a long time, the Pend D’Oreille Express was their first competitive trail ride. “It’s a great way to go out and see some different country, and meet some new people.” They all agreed that riding was a great way to slip off the modern world’s mantle of stress. Get on your horse, head out to the back country, and everything is gone. A tough day at the office. The worry of bills. The hurly- burly of every day life. Gone. One from the group summed up the entire experience with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: In the woods we return to reason and faith. “It’s a real back to basics event, when it comes to horse back riding,” said Deanna Gor- don, one of the event's organiz- ers. Just over 50 competitors from eight to over 60 years old compete in the ride’s two levels: i one is 20 miles long, and level two is about 25 miles. All the horses went through a vet check on Friday afternoon to ensure they would be fit enough for the Saturday morning ride. Out on the back-country trails it is pacing, not speed, that makes champions. “The principle of it is to have your horse in top notch shape Back-country socialites share a friendly meal under the tarp. Rita Carlson is seen waiting patiently while ‘Ellani' enjoys an evening meal. THACLS SACK TO THs PAST Jennifer Peters runs her horse, Prince, during the vet inspection to ensure the horse is healthy enough for the rugged 20-mile overland trail. before and after the race,” said Gor- don. Riders have a set time to com- plete the race, with a 10-minute grace period. If they come in too early, or too late, they are penalized. Horses are checked for nicks, scratches, and pulled muscles at the end of the race. If any of these conditions are apparent, the rider loses points. A pulse and respira- tion check are also done along the route, to ensure that the horses are not being pushed too hard. “It gets you to really know your horse, and how to condition it,” said Ralph Neil, another one of the organizers. If a horse's pulse is too high the rider can either be penalized, or held back until the horse has rested enough to continue. Competitive trail riding is still a learning experience for some- one like Neil, who has been around horses his entire life “I’ve learned about how they breathe, how to treat it on the trail, how to cut back, when to quit, proper feeding, and how to check for dehydration.” Horse and rider become a team. Walking around the base site, it was plain to see that the rider’s strongest emotion was a love of horses. “It’s a mode of transportation that you can get on a personal level with,” said Ron Audia Though his wife was competing last weekend, he was just helping make to sure the event ran smoothly for all the competitors. That love was evident, with the constant grooming of the horses. And the riders never stopped talk- ing to their horses, except to chat with their riding friends. “I probably know about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of the people here on a friendly basis,” she added. “The usual peo- ple run the same circuits.” After a travelling 4 to similar events in Pincher Creek, Alberta, Oliver, Salmon Arm, and Kamloops, a group of local riders decided that the Pend D’Oreille was the per- fect place to set up a race of their own They set up their organization, the Kootenay Trail Riders, and have spent the last six months organizing the two-day event. “We have some really nice scenic land, and a lot of people aren't aware of it,” said organizer Theresa Smythe. There's miles and miles of trails in the area, and their ruggedness presents an exciting challenge for the com- petitors The course is made up of tight- knit trails, old roads, power lines, and some rough terrain. And there are obstacles and logs along the entire length. “Nobody has quite the moun- tains we have in this place.” Audia summed up the final attraction of the event better than anyone. “It’s one of the few hobbies we can do as a family and enjoy Families, as well as groups of friends, will set out on the trail in half-minute intervals, and then bunch-up and ride together. The competition is not the important thing. Crossing the fin- ish line as a family is. Carrying a heavy load, Shirley Mclean takes her tack to be weighed. Don Secco of Fruitvale prepares to tether his horse, Zig, the night before the trail ride