High Desert Runner

High Desert Runner šŸŒµHolley, Forest, & Sultan
Colorado endurance rider & mountain adventurer
ā†  Emirate SB - ā€œSultanā€
ā†  Belesemo Royal Actor - ā€œForestā€ (aka šŸ“)

06/02/2026

You know what they sayā€¦ donā€™t get them wet and donā€™t feed them after midnight.

When it starts raining, do you keep riding or head back?

Forestā€™s first trip to Hot Sulphur Springs, CO šŸ”ļøWe rode about 25 miles over the course of 3 rides in 2 days. Courtney a...
06/01/2026

Forestā€™s first trip to Hot Sulphur Springs, CO šŸ”ļø

We rode about 25 miles over the course of 3 rides in 2 days. Courtney and I never expected our baby horses to have such stamina, but they just trucked along.

We rode through vast expanses of BLM land and up mountain passes. We experienced high winds throughout the weekend with scattered storms and varying temperature. We encountered herds of alarmingly brave cows, lots of low-flying hawks and eagles, and one very scary grouse. We shared the OHV trails with side-by-sides, dirt bikes, and Jeeps. We were close to loud gunfire and even had a crazy shirtless man fire off a rifle in front of us.

The only thing that scared Chicken was a rock. To be fair, it was a big, weird-looking rock.

Forest was perfect from the moment I swung a leg over. I didnā€™t even have to lunge him first. He walks off calmly, doesnā€™t rush, and isnā€™t too concerned about his surroundings. Heā€™s happy to walk for miles and miles. This weekend, he really learned how to use his body and support a rider.

Forest gained so much confidence this weekend that he actually got spicy on our last ride. He gave me a few tiny bucks, one dramatic sideways spook, and a big powerful extended trot that absolutely ate up the trail.

There were zero issues with Forestā€™s shoulder all weekend. He feels completely balanced and strong in the saddle. He had a little bit of soreness in his withers and lumbar spine, but I suspect thatā€™s just from carrying a rider in a heavy western saddle for so many miles.

Iā€™m not even going to lie, training Forest under saddle has been the easiest thing Iā€™ve ever done. He was born to be a mountain trail horse!

Lucyā€™s Rock šŸŖ½This rock formation is located within the sagebrush-filled hills of Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado. In the s...
05/30/2026

Lucyā€™s Rock šŸŖ½

This rock formation is located within the sagebrush-filled hills of Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado. In the summer of 2022, my friends Courtney, Kelley, and I set out on our horses to explore the endless trails. During that ride, we ended up at the summit of a massive hill marked by this rock formation, overlooking Parshall and the Williams Fork Reservoir.

I was riding my OTTB, Lucy. This trip was the highlight of our short time together. She died 8 months after this trip.

In May of 2025, Courtney and I took another girlsā€™ trip to Hot Sulphur Springs. This time, I had Sultan in tow. He helped me carry Lucyā€™s ashes up and down 6 miles of trail to that very special rock formation where I spread her ashes. It became Lucyā€™s Rock.

Here I am, one year later, with Forest. I rode him to Lucyā€™s Rock today, making him the third horse to make this special journey with me.

Lucyā€™s ashes are still there. ā¤ļø

05/29/2026

Orange Chicken vs Orange Tarp

I have inadvertently created a horse who fears nothing and tries to defend his red-headed brethren against threats on the trail. Thank you for trying to kick that tarp, buddy. It was definitely coming after us.

Unrelated, but hoping Metro teaches Forest how to be a killer (no pun intended) endurance horse āš”ļø

05/28/2026

Husband appreciation post. The guy you always see in front of us on a bicycle is šŸ’œ

Heā€™s the one whoā€™s been in the background supporting me and believing in me for almost 10 years. Nick crews for me at endurance rides, helps me train and exercise my horses, and heā€™s always game to try my wild ideas, like skijoring.

When heā€™s not getting dragged on random adventures with me, heā€™s out doing hard enduro riding on his dirt bike. We basically have the same passion ā€” only mine is on a real horse and his is on a steel horse!

Thank you for the awesome ride photos from the Greenland Ride! The last photo at the water trough is from a mystery pho...
05/27/2026

Thank you for the awesome ride photos from the Greenland Ride! The last photo at the water trough is from a mystery photographer (one of the walkie talkie crew, I believe).

I am still filled with awe that Sultan was able to accomplish such an impressive feat. When I adopted him from I really just wanted a horse to ride and train. I had NO idea there was a superstar hidden beneath his fuzzy winter coat. Iā€™ve said this many times and Iā€™ll say it again: I won the lottery with this one šŸ’œ

05/27/2026

Seriously guys, Renegades are the best thing to happen to us. I was using them long before I got sponsored. Get yours and use my code Sultan10 for a discount!

05/26/2026

First time out with Sultan since the endurance race last Saturday. We started out on a loose rein at a nice walk, but as soon as we hit the switchbacks, Sultanā€™s alter ego ā€œEl Diabloā€ took over. Iā€™m glad I chose to ride with a bit because the combination of an incoming storm and high winds made this a wild ride.

I normally donā€™t trot downhill, but sometimes you are at the mercy of the storm šŸ˜‚ Sultan has been displeased about his week off after the race and he really had something to say about it. This 8 mile ride at Lincoln Mountain wasnā€™t nearly enough!

05/25/2026

Forest got his first introduction to endurance riding. The lil chicken is growing up!

We hauled down south to visit and explored all the gorgeous trails at her place. The trails ranged from grassy, wooded single-track to sandy two-track through the high desert sagebrush.

Forest backed off the trailer FOR THE FIRST TIME! Until now, heā€™s only been brave enough to do that at home. His shoulder injury happened while exiting a trailer, so this is a huge deal.

Forest was totally chill being in a new place and he gave me zero trouble. We rode about 10 miles, mostly at the walk, but we did have a few long stretches of trot and a little bit of canter! He threw in lots of spicy head tosses and a few happy bucks, but nothing that would even come close to unseating a rider.

For the last loop, Willa and I swapped horses and it was so cool seeing someone else ride the horse I raised and trained myself šŸ’œ Forest is still figuring out how to move out while carrying the weight of a rider, but he gets stronger and more confident every day!

I have a big mountain trip planned next weekend and Forest is going to be my mount. Iā€™m so excited. (Donā€™t tell Sultan) šŸ¤

05/24/2026

This is the hydrating mash I used to get Sultanā€™s body condition back in less than a week. He really didnā€™t lose muscle mass during last weekendā€™s race, but he did get dehydrated.

I just recently started feeding HandiMash and I love it. Sultan is a picky eater and he inhales it. Itā€™s mainly dried beet pulp, it soaks in minutes, and it has electrolytes to help with hydration.

Rice bran is a high fat supplement and adds some good calories to the mash. I use a big unlabeled scoop, but Iā€™d say itā€™s around 4 cups total.

I like to add chunks of banana, carrots, and/or apples just to make the mash even more appealing since those are Sultanā€™s favorite treats.

I fed this mixture every evening for about a week following our 50. Iā€™m really happy with the results.

Just a disclaimer: this is not a complete feed and itā€™s not calorie-dense enough to put weight on an underweight horse. I use this solely for hydration. Although I would recommend adding rice bran to your complete feed to help with weight gain šŸ˜‹

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Hot Sulphur Springs, CO
80451 (PO BOX)

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