Endurance rider will be back on the trail; Swiatek cancels her retirement

LARAMIE – Endurance riding is a matter of balance.

For Bonnie Swiatek, balance was both the reason for retiring from the sport she loves, and the reason to return to it.

Endurance riding is something of a marathon on horseback. Riders can travel from 25 to 100 miles, through mountainous terrain, sometimes at altitudes of up to 10,000 feet. The trails are rugged and demanding.

According to the American Endurance Riders Conference, which organizes these rides, to finish is to win.

Late in 2022, Swiatek announced that she would be retiring from the sport she enjoyed for 22 years with more than 6000 competitions and 20,000 miles of back country travels with 13 different horses.

She knew she had to address serious back problems when she discovered that the balance she maintained as a rider was not what it used to be.

"You have to be a balanced rider to go long distances," Swiatek said. "I was listing to the right all the time, and I knew that stresses the horse."

Though she and her husband still had horses on her family's 157-acre ranch in Roger Canyon, Swiatek's retirement meant looking at a future without endurance events.

It was a difficult view for someone who had known she wanted horses since she was 8 years old and who insisted on having horses as a condition of marriage.

But after back surgery and two months of physical therapy, Swiatek was able to envision a few more wins in her future. In 2023, she completed two endurance rides in Colorado, one in Wyoming and one in South Dakota.

"I misspoke last November 2022 when I said I was retiring from endurance," she wrote in her email announcement about her comeback.

Years of making friends with fellow competitors, as well as the riding experience made it important to her to return.

"At the end of a ride, you're tired but it's a good tired. You're happy and you're content because both you and the horse have made it, completed the ride. And you're with friends, you're almost always with friends. They are family," she said.

The injury that sidelined Swiatek for a year was the result of a practice ride before an endurance event. She was riding a "spunky" horse on a mountain trail that inexplicably tried to kick the mare behind her.

"I don't allow that," Swiatek said.

She pulled her mare's neck down to keep her from kicking, and the mare reared straight up.

They were on a narrow mountain trail and the horse was starting to pivot down the mountain.

Swiatek pulled her mare's head and adjusted her balance to the upside of the trail, and as Swiatek shifted her weight, the mare did too, her shoulder and head falling on Swiatek's leg.

She was able to get out from under the horse, but also knew this was a serious fall.

"I know I'm hurt but I'm not broken," she said, and walked back to the starting point.

She recovered, but not completely, and made the difficult decision to quit competing.

She also made the decision to have back surgery in January 2023.

The surgery went well, as did nine weeks of physical therapy. At week 10, she was back on a horse.

"When I sat on Willa, a big horse for me ... I sat on her and there was no pain, and I said, 'Hallelujah! I'm doing endurance this summer,'" she said.

One of the doctors who treated her agreed, with some reluctance, that she could ride after the surgery as long as she was only walking the horse.

Another doctor told her that she could ride, but nothing faster than a trot. No cantering.

"We forgot to tell the horse," Swiatek said.

Endurance riding is a sport that rewards speed but also the condition of the horse before and after the event. Swiatek takes particular pride in winning Best Condition at some of these events.

Best Condition is an honor given to the rider of a horse that finishes among the top 10 finishers. The award is based on the horse's health after being checked by a veterinarian before, during and after the race.

In the Greenland Open Space Ride in Colorado, she and her horse, Willa, came in fifth out of 19 riders and earned the trophy for Best Condition.

In addition to other awards, Swiatek hopes to receive three Century awards this year.

That award is given to a horse and rider whose ages add up to 100.

"We're all old. I'll be 79 in February. My horses are 27, the oldest; 22 is the one I've been riding, Willa; and then 20 is the youngest. So we've all been aging together," she said.

Age will not be one of the reasons if Swiatek decides to retire again. She plans to continue endurance riding as long as she can.