Joe Holloway: I have always thought that horses were very magnificent creatures but had no firsthand experience with them growing up � or for that matter � not until very late in life. Then, when I was 72, Dennis Tipton, a friend of mine who had been riding in EXCA events, found that my wife, Sunny, and I had been volunteering at a horse rescue. He invited me to come and ride with him using one of his horses � Solanos Moonlite Run, aka �Annie�.  Annie came from a Montana ranch and �knew the ropes�. Problem was � I knew little to nothing. After some coaching and a couple of months riding Annie in an arena, Dennis suggested that we attend an obstacle clinic in the Mid Atlantic Region of EXCA. We attended and I did some slow motion work on simple obstacles and then had a �fun race�. Happily, I was still mounted at the end of that race and joined EXCA. The rest is history.

After a couple of races it became very evident that I had better learn fast if I wanted to stay safe and ever be able to compete. It took about 3 and one half years to learn enough to reasonably take Annie through a race (at the Novice level). When asked what it was like learning to ride at age 72, I always replied that it was no harder than learning to fly a Boeing 747 � only difference being that none of controls were labeled. After about a year, I attended Craig�s clinic. During a race that he was calling, I kept Annie at a lope through the first few obstacles and Craig made the observation that �he is really smoking�. He coined the handle �Smokin Joe� and it stuck.  Eventually we improved enough to win Novice Regional and National Titles, and place in the top ten at the Worlds. Every ride is a learning experience and now at age 80, I still have a very long way to go.

I missed some races in 2016 due to quadruple bypass open heart surgery. I was unable to attend and compete in the Worlds even though I was honored by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. After months of recovery, I am able to ride again and participate in races. One thing I find very rewarding is the camaraderie among EXCA participants. I have been assisted and encouraged by fellow competitors at every step along the way and I find myself cheering them along as I watch them ride. And � I am still cheered along the way by my wife, Sunny, who tolerates the things I sometimes neglect in order to ride.
 

Channel 11 (NBC affiliate) in Atlanta  decided to do a story � again about me and the race. That piece ran last night on the 5pm news and again this morning on their morning program. Here is a link to that story