Saturday’s event hosted by Page County Equine Connection
~ PVN staff report
ALMA — This Saturday, Page County resident Tom Sites will discuss his participation in the “Great American Horse Race of 1976” that took him nearly 2,000 miles across the country on a single mount.
Sites will be speaking at 11 a.m. at the Red Show Barn at River’s Bend Ranch just south of Stanley near Alma. The ranch is located at 397 Riverbend Road, Stanley, VA 22851.
The longtime local equestrian will give first-hand details about his grueling 1,966-mile trek from New York to California on horseback in 1976.
Although it’s not the subject of Saturday’s talk, Sites, also a longtime endurance rider, brought a gold medal back to Page County in 1987 after helping the U.S. Equestrian Team capture the European Open Championship in Marloffstein, West Germany.
“I guess it goes to show you that if you keep your head to the grindstone, something good’s going to happen,” Sites told the Page News and Courier in 1987. “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.
A taco bar lunch will be provided at the Jan. 25 event, which is being hosted by the Page County Equine Connection. Bring a chair and dress accordingly.
Please RSVP to Page County Equine Connection at pcequine.va@gmail.com
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