Winter 2024/2025 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Winter 2024/2025 Page 21 Corcoran Survives Blinding Storm at World Endurance Championships AWeather Alert Once they arrived in Mon- pazier they learned that weather would be a big factor in the competition. “We had actually had a fair amount of rain going into that week,” Corcoran says, “so we were able to pre-ride one of the loops. It was an opportu- nity to see what the footing was like. There was one part that was downhill. It was slippery and ‘slidy’, but we got through it.” Corcoran is a CPA at heart, and she always has a plan. “I had allocated certain times for each loop,” she says. She was espe- cially concerned with following a plan because her horse had never dealt with a start as big as this, and because the weather threat was significant. “I started out very conservatively,” she says. “It was a bit of misty drizzle before we started, but when we actually did start, it poured. Rain, light- ning, thunder. I had to stick my glasses to the end of my nose to see.” They started at 5:30 a.m. It was dark as well as stormy. “We weren’t able to see the footing, and at one point we were on a camber trail (where the trail’s outside edge is lower than the inside edge so the slope points away from the rider) that had puddles on both sides. Lori- enn kept trying to get on top.” Corcoran says it felt as if her horse was going to lose her balance. The riders were supposed to finish the 100-mile ride before 9:30 p.m., she says. That was the ideal time if the weather had not been so unpredictable. Corcoran’s planning paid off. “I had built in a 50-minute buffer, and some loops I was on time, some I was a little late. We finished about 9:45. The last loop we actually passed horses that were exhausted. But we caught up with one of our teammates, Kelsey Russell, and we rode into the hippodrome together. It was a wonderful way to finish the ride.” Corcoran finished 33rd and Rus- sell finished 34th. Only 45 of the original 118 horse/rider combina- tions finished the ride. “Thankfully over the years I’ve had the experience of riding in the rain, in the dark, and I could barely see,” she says. “Honestly, I almost felt at this ride that I was in a bubble. As I was riding, I would see the lightning crack and thought ‘this could be dangerous!’ But it was a matter of acknowledging that all this stuff is going on— you’re soaking wet, it’s dark—but that’s endurance.” As always, her focus was on her horse. “Measuring the condi- tions, whatever you’re facing at the time, and taking care of the horse and getting through it.” Corcoran is not one to dwell on things she can’t control and is happy with how she and Lorienn finished their epic ride. “Our goal was to finish,” she says. “Could there have been times I could have gone faster? Yes. But my goal was to finish. And that’s what we did.” Taking a Break After a year Corcoran mod- estly refers to as “busy,” she is taking a break. She is president and treasurer of the non-profit USANortheast Endurance Inc., which she and other Endurance enthusiasts formed to cultivate the sport by supporting young En- durance riders and horses through clinics, competitions and rides. In June they showcased young and experienced riders in the North- east Endurance Team Challenge at Fair Hill, MD. “It’s been an abso- lutely crazy year,” she says. From the Fair Hill event to a horseback riding tour of Botswana. “It was wonderful with the horses and the guides we had,” she says. “I am not putting anything on my calendar right now.” Except this. “I’m going to do a ride in October, but that’s about it.” It's Always All About the Horse Corcoran will tell you that there are a thousand ways fate can intervene and topple even the most carefully crafted plans. It’s not always a clear path from wanting to compete to competing. In Monpazier, Alex Shampoe, a young rising star in Endurance, withdrew from the competition at the last minute because her horse was lame. It was an unenviable dilemma for the young rider. At the World Endurance Championship in Pisa, Italy in 2021 Corcoran and the entire United States team withdrew when one of their horses de- veloped a fever. Because the US team’s horses had all been stabled together prior to the competition, the team could not be sure that whatever was affecting the individual horse was not contagious. It was a courageous and painful deci- sion, but it was the only correct decision. (Continued from page 1) Like what you see? Subscribe today!