August 15, 1987 — For endurance rider Tom Sites, persistence paid off. Sites brought a gold medal back to Page County after helping the U.S. Equestrian Team capture the European Open Championship in Marloffstein, West Germany, Aug. 1.
“I guess it goes to show you that if you keep your head to the grindstone, something good’s going to happen,” he said Monday. “I had people tell me I was out of my league going here. I knew it and didn’t care.”
To get the gold, Sites had to race his horse, Bay Mar, an Egyptian-Arabian gelding, over a 100-mile course through West German countryside and small towns. The race lasted through the night and Sites said he had an inkling of the U.S. victory at 9:30 p.m.
“All I had to do was finish and we were assured with a gold medal,” he said.
~ From the public archives of the Page News and Courier
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