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Meet Mark & Becky Elliot of Sunburst Stables
July 27, 2009
By Mary Kiley
Sunburst Stables, located north of Clarkesville, GA, has much to offer the horse enthusiast. With over thirty miles of trails that wind through private lands and the adjoining national forest riders can enjoy the beautiful nature of the mountains close-up. Owners Mark and Becky Elliott offer full boarding, guided trail rides, and summer camps.
Neither Mark nor Becky was raised on a farm, but early on both developed a love of horses. Becky started riding lessons when she was a girl and developed an interest in endurance racing while in college at Valdosta State University. She and Mark met at a fox hunt near Athens and Becky introduced him to endurance racing, where both have excelled. In fact, Becky was at one time President of the Endurance Riders Association. The couple has participated in races throughout the southeastern U.S. and as far away as Ireland and Dubai. Mark has trained several champion endurance horses and has sold several horses to racing enthusiasts overseas.
For those unfamiliar with endurance racing, they are horse races of 50 or 100 miles over various terrains. Each 50-mile race has three “holds” – or rest stops. The horse’s heart beat must slow to a certain beat and then the horse and rider rest for a half hour before continuing. 100-mile races will have five or six holds. Endurance races will last from three to five hours for a 50-mile race and nine to eleven hours for a 100-mile race, depending on the terrain that the horse and rider must cover. There are races every weekend and some will have as many as 200 horses and riders participating. The endurance racing motto is “To finish is to win.”
One of Mark’s favorite endurance horses, Milky Way, was injured a year ago and a top horse veterinarian told him there was no hope for the horse, he would have to be put down because of a broken leg. Mark says, “At the very last minute the horse stopped limping, was walking around like he wasn’t lame and we had to give him a chance.” With the help and care of a local veterinarian Mark and Becky put Milky Way into a stall where he stayed for the better part of a year. The broken leg is healing and today Milky Way is back in the pasture with the other horses from the stable. Mark is looking forward to riding him and hopes to even race again.
For right now though the couple has put aside endurance racing events. Mark says, “There’s no time to train a horse. Training would consist of 20 miles at a canter twice a week.”
The Elliott’s purchased Sunburst Stables thirteen years ago and are enjoying raising their family, including 12-year-old Austin, 7-year-old Carson and 14 month-old Sari in the rural setting of the north Georgia mountains.
"It’s personal, not just a business relationship."
Members of AgGeorgia Farm Credit for the past seven years, the couple is well pleased with the service they receive. Mark says, “We wanted to finance locally and the first time we met with Frank Dean he seemed like a guy who would listen to me and take our plans seriously. It’s personal, not just a business relationship. Terms are good, we like the cooperative style of business, and it benefits us in the long run with the patronage. We have a good relationship with Janice Farr, our Farm Credit loan officer.”
Sunburst Stables offers riding lessons in both English and Western disciplines. The stable boasts a new indoor state-of-the-art riding arena as well as an outdoor arena where lessons are held. Boarders can also use the arena to ride or train their own horses. And Mark continues to train horses. “In thirty days they will walk, trot and canter on cue,” he says.
Several guided trail rides are offered, including a one-hour family ride through wooded trails, a mountain view ride that leads to a picturesque overlook of the town of Batesville and surrounding countryside, a three-hour lunch ride to a local country restaurant and back and a sunset ride to a scenic ridge where participants enjoy views of the sun setting beyond the mountains and a twilight return to the stables. The Family Adventure Ride combines a trail ride with a visit to the farm’s miniature animals, which include donkeys, cows and goats and an aviary housing peacocks and other exotic birds.
Summer camp for girls ages 8-15 includes basic care and horsemanship. During each week-long camp girls also enjoy swimming, bowling, roller skating and a ropes course.
For more information about Sunburst Stables go to their Web site at www.sunburststables.com.
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