Riding The Crest 2009

The Rider

I, Janice am the middle child of eight, raised on an island near Miami, Florida. I grew up on the beach rather than in a barn but always loved horses. At fifteen I had my first riding lessons and after that always begged to be taken riding. But it was not until Ralph and I moved to Georgia in 1986 that I was able to get my first horse, an Arabian. We still live on that 12 acre farm and now have four horses (soon to be six), all but one, Arabians. I competed in endurance rides in the nineties, am trail design certified, and enjoy camping with my horses.

In 2007, Ralph and took an incredible journey around the Western United States of America for eight months. The American Adventure took five years of planning and saving to take that much time away from the farm and our professions. The trip was a combination of work and pleasure and a whole lot of new sights as we traveled to 20 states and covered 20K miles. 

The Crew

Ralph was never around horses until he married Janice and she acquired her first horse. He is talented in many areas that a support team member needs to be: strong, willing, and able. He also understands C.R.E.W. (Can't Remember Everything Woman!) He is able to fix just about anything and has the added talent of working leather (take a look!). He likes to cook and will get plenty of opportunity as he will not only be cooking for himself when awaiting the rider, but also cook for the team. He has an entertaining story-telling gift too.  

William Critchlow has more experience than most. Having ridden in 32 states and raised many horses, he has fine tuned traveling and camping with horses to an art. Every year he travels up and down the Eastern United States. He began riding with Janice in North Georgia in 1997 in his annual journey between homes in Florida and Pennsylvania. He now rides a 9 year old Tennessee Walking Horse named Wit who is awaiting him back in Florida. William will bring his many years experience to add to the crew.

The Horses

Janice's horse is Jur SuperStar (Jur) out of the great Arabian line of Fadjur. Bred out of her Palomino TN Walker/QH mare, all his training has been by Janice. He was trained to pull a cart before he was ridden under saddle and he seems to love to pull the cart. On June 3 he will be nine years old. He's been barefoot all his life and has traveled so extensively that we can not leave the back doors of the trailer open or he will get in. He has been known to snore almost as loud as Ralph and is a big Chow Hound, which is his trail name. 

Janice's back up horse, Harmony, is an Anglo-Arab also out of the Fadjur line. He has completed several 50 mile Endurance Rides. He is a gentle soul that is the more timid of the two but with a big heart. He can spot things long before Janice sees them. He acts afraid of his own shadow and yet will do anything asked. He came to our farm in April of 2008 and has made himself a place in our hearts. His name fits him. 

The Team