SHE’S A RENEGADE – SMALL BUT MIGHTY

Renegade Rendezvous Official Ride Photos Here. Official Results Here.

(June 30, 2018 Naches, WA) – It’s common to see other breeds alongside the Arabian at endurance rides, identifiable by a splash of color, a butt too big to be anything other than a beefy quarter horse, or a gaited horse ambling down the trail.

But every now and then you stumble upon a little squirt, with a spirit so fiery, they dare you to question their height.

Meet Rachel Miller and Skeifa, a 12.3 hand, 20 year old Icelandic mare.

“I hadn’t ridden her in a month,” said Rachel after the ride. Just casually dropping that she had a concussion from her other horse.

“But her training has been going really well, I had brakes this time!”

Skeifa, which means “horseshoe” in Icelandic, came to Rachel in a package deal with the aforementioned “other horse”.

When asked how she landed on such an unusual and rare breed of horse, Rachel sheepishly admitted to having seen a program on TV when she was nine about Icelandics and vowed she would one day own one. Now she has two.

Rachel and Skeifa made their first foray into endurance at Coyote Ridge in the 25. They completed and then set their sights on Renegade, arguably the toughest 25 in the state.

There they top tenned with a 7^th place finish among the big horses. Skeifa performs a tolt, a rolling gait unique to the Icelandic breed.

“It’s more like riding a horse where you just go into different gears instead of changing gaits. I’m still figuring it out,” said Rachel.

They are well on their way.