Local youngsters ride the distance

Like many other girls her age, Denali Ceragioli enjoys taking her horse out for a ride on the weekend.

Ceragioli, 11, of Woodfords didn't go out for any ordinary ride on Saturday, Sept. 16. Young Ceragioli and her Arabian, Sid, hung out together all day and all night - a total riding of 17 hours, 47 minutes (not including mandatory rest stops).

Long enough to finish the 18th annual Virginia City 100-Mile Endurance Ride.

Ceragioli was the first junior to finish, four minutes ahead of Carolyn Meier of Washoe Valley, a Pine Middle School 8th grader. Interestingly enough, this was the first 100-mile race for both youngsters.

"I got to wake up early and see everything ... the moon go down and sun come up, and then I got to see moon come back up again. And we saw wild horses; they were pretty, too," said Ceragioli, who earned a silver belt buckle for her effort. "It was fun ... but tiring."

No wonder. The race started at 5 a.m. with 75 riders setting out from downtown Virginia City. The third and final leg of Nevada All-State Trail Riders (NASTR) Triple Crown Series - including the Derby Ditch 50 and NASTR 75 - was no ordinary ride. Of the 75 riders who started, 51 finished.

The first loop of the race covered 50 miles, over the Virginia City Highlands, down Old Stagecoach Road toward Reno's foothills, and then through Bailey Canyon on the way to Washoe Lake. The course passed through Washoe Lake State Park along the east side of Washoe Lake, then returned over the mountains to Virginia City. The second loop, which covered 28 miles, dropped down toward Mound House and returned back near the top of Mt. Davidson.

Young Ceragioli checked into the finish shortly after 2 o'clock on Sunday morning. She made the ride, start to finish, with her mother, Kathy Ceragioli.

"The conditions were perfect for that kind of a ride," Kathy Ceragioli said. "There was a little breeze in the afternoon, which was good for the horses. It was a nice, warm evening, it was so calm out there, and the moon was out. We had a lot of fun."

Even with all the time put that goes into preparing for an endurance ride, it's still a tiring ordeal. Ceragioli was determined to finish the race, nevertheless.

"Yeah, I was," the Mountain Sierra Christian School (Woodfords) 6th grader said. "I have a star program at school where we learn about finishing goals. This (ride) reminded me of that (program)."