Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Kim Abbott
Kim looking for third win in annual Man Against Horse Race
Endurance rider Kim Abbott loves the annual Man Against Horse Race in Dewey, Arizona. She should - she has won it twice and placed in the top 10 several times. This Saturday, she'll be looking to wrest a third win from runners and horse/rider teams in the 50-mile race over Mingus Mountain and back.
The Man Against Horse Race, in its 30th year, and the Whiskey Row Marathon are the two longest running races in Arizona. The late runner and former Yavapai County Supervisor Gheral Brownlow started both.
Abbott won the race in 2000, which also was her first endurance ride victory, on her Arabian horse Zionastar. In 2008, eight years to the day, she won again, on Sea Spot Run.
That year, well-known Scottsdale runner Paul Bonnett was close behind. He crossed the finish line in 7 hours, 57 minutes, just 20 minutes behind Abbott.
Race director Ron Barrett said this year's trail could be a tough one. He had to cancel last year's race for a number of reasons, so the mountain has been at the mercy of the weather since. While crews have been out every weekend for the past couple of months, cutting and clearing brush and placing markers, summer rains have uncovered a lot of rocks.
That's where the runners can gain an advantage on the horses, Barrett said.
"It should be real close this year between the runner and rider, because horses have to slow up on that terrain," he said.
Abbott isn't worried. She generally dismounts, and in what endurance riders call "tailing," hangs on to her horse's tail and walks behind him up the backside of Mingus, where the trail is steepest and rockiest. The two also are hot off the Big Horn 100-mile endurance race in Wyoming, where they finished fourth.
She'll have a tough challenge, though, as Bonnett's son, James, a world-class runner himself, and friends are planning to tackle the race this year.
If any of them are the caliber of Hopi runner Dennis Poolheco, who smoked the trail six straight times between 2001 and 2006, they could start a new dynasty.
Runners also have an advantage as horses must stop and pass two timed rest/veterinary checks before they can continue along the trail. Runners can push themselves as hard as they dare.
Whether on horseback or running, the race is grueling. Weather can vary from freezing to boiling, and include hail, rain and wind. Both runners and riders must be cautious to avoid injury while moving fast enough to win. One year, Abbott led a horse home that had fallen on the trail and injured its rider. The rider had to be airlifted off the mountain.
Riders have been bucked off by fractious horses in the early morning chill, and runners fall on the trail and hopefully cross the finish line with badges only of skinned knees, sprains, sunburn and chapped lips.
While the trail may be tougher, the weather should smile on runners and riders this year. The forecast is for a low of 36F and a high of near 70F on a sunny day.
Along the way, Barrett said, the Yavapai County Jeep Posse members are the race's angels. They assist runners and riders with food, water, first aid, and encouragement, and at the end of the race, make sure all racers are safely off the trail.
The 50-mile race begins at 6:30 a.m. at the base camp off Highway 89A and Old Fain Road. The 25-mile run and ride begins at 7:30 a.m., the 12-mile run at 7:45 a.m. and the 12-mile trail ride will begin at 9 a.m.
Runners and riders still may enter on race day.
Details and entry forms are available online at www.managainsthorse.net.