Everything was muddy. The rain was relentless. Bill told Shana that it was just too dangerous. Horses sometimes slipped in the mud -- riders were thrown and sometimes trampled. Adding to the danger was the fact that most of the competitors were men who had trained and ridden for decades -- and they were out to win. When the call for "running walk" came, their horses would be going full speed, the huge bodies of the horses potentially trampling anything that might be in their way. A fallen rider could be fatally injured.

Shana loved competing and was willing to ride, even though it was dangerous, in the mud and...