Your full name: Angela Rea Horn (aka "angelon400ex" and "angelonpredator")
What type of quad do you ride? 2005 Troy Lee Edition Predator
 
What current series do you compete in?
Mideast and the GNCC - Women's Class

 
How old are you Angela?
36
 
What do you do for a living?
I am a "domestic engineer", have written for our local newspaper and I am an amateur photographer.
 
Where do you live?
Boiling Springs SC
 
What is your current racing number?
#317
 
Angela, please tell us about yourself:
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (an auto immune disease that causes debilitating pain, fatigue and a weak immune system) about 10 years ago and Narcolepsy (yes, the sleeping disorder where you fall asleep uncontrollably) 3 years ago. It makes this sport one of the toughest I could possibly participate in and yet pushing myself to meet the challenge makes me feel more alive. I do a lot of praying before the race and during the race.

If anyone ever hears me talking out loud on the track I am talking to God and often asking for His help. The last race I wasn't feeling real strong and I started quoting a Bible verse out loud "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I feel very blessed to be in this sport and able to race.

Tell us about yourself off the track:
I have a wonderful husband, Ron, 14 yr old son, Kyle and 7 yr old daughter, Christin. Ron will join me racing next year and Kyle will try the GNCC youth 13-15 class if they add it to the morning race. Christin plans on racing one day also. I love God, family and friends and we lead a full, busy life. I love writing, photography and the outdoors.
 
How many years have you been racing?
Six years
 
What got you started in racing?
I started riding in 1998 at age 27 and the guys I rode with kept telling me I should race. I decided to give it a shot and raced a motocross race in 2001 finishing fourth and then went to my first Mideast hare scramble August 2001 on the same track as the GNCC Big Buck race. The first turn I ran into a tree with my 400EX and had to get off and pull it back. I figured I was last of the three females. I ended up passing one gal and so I was feeling pretty good about getting second. When I saw hecheckered flag I remember asking if I was done and Lynn Towery told me I won first. I thought they were just mixed up or something so I collapsed in a chair for about 30 minutes trying to cool down. The biggest surprise was they were right. I won first and I was hooked. I went on to win three more that season and place second in a race when I missed a checkpoint in the boiling dust clouds. I was tentative about being able to continue but with the encouragement of my friend, Gary Ford, I decided to pursue running the season for points. I won the Mideast Women's Championship for 2002 and it just kept going from there.
 
What keeps you coming back to the track and competing?
My passion for the sport is strong and I feel it is a gift God gave me to be able to keep me strong physically, mentally and emotionally despite a lot of things I have faced in the last ten years.
 
Was there any concerns or fears you had to overcome to get to where you are now?
This sport has actually helped me face a lot of fears (especially fear of heights while riding in mountains) but I still have fears...Buren Hamrick puts creek jumps in a lot of our tracks and I have yet to jump one with the Predator. I did jump one with the 400ex and it was a big thrill for me.
 
Do you have a favorite track?
Parker Valley, Belwood NC because I love the motocross track there.
 
What would be your favorite part of the race weekend?
Honestly, I love it all. I love seeing and talking to everyone, the terrific gals I have gotten to race with this year, and my wonderful "racing mom and dad" Bob and Ellen Cashion who faithfully take pictures and video. The spectators are awesome to come and cheer us on and the track officials are fantastic to do the job they do while dodging mud chunks and choking clouds of dust. I love the moment time seems to stand still when Ricky Towery yells "Ten seconds!"and times you are racing along and it is like art in motion...everything just feels great.
 
What memory stands out in your 6 years of racing or riding?
My honeymoon at Windrock Tennessee. My husband and I had quite an adventure and got to ride our quads together for four days. My best racing memory was winning by 2 seconds in 2002 when I severely jammed/sprained my wrist halfway through the race and had to battle to the checkered flag.
 
Is there a not so great memory from  the past years?
I had heat stroke during a race last year. The heat index was 112 due to high humidity. Even sitting at the rider's meeting I felt like I was roasting but I thought I would cool down once I got going. I started racing
and I knew something was wrong. I felt like I could die. My thought process was that if racing felt like that for me I would have to give it up. I was a wife and mom and they needed me alive. I kept thinking when I hit the open straights going faster would cool me off but when I got out of the woods into the open sun it was worse. In the next to the last lap I started"blanking out" and not knowing where I was momentarily so when I got to the white flag I wasn't thinking sensibly enough to pull out. I kept going through the last lap still having delirious moments and near the end riding "over my head" to try to get to the checkered flag. In the video we have you can see me coming and I am bobbing over the handlebars and once I got over the finish line I fell onto them. I couldn't walk or even stand and the paramedic and friends spent about 45 minutes trying to get my body temp down. One guy let us use the shower hose on the side of his horse trailer to spray me. I hope I never feel that hot again in my life and I am thankful my guardian angels had the handlebars when I wasn't with it. I do think if I had stopped out there in the woods I could have died.
 
What is the force behind you and your racing goals?
In my opinion this is the greatest sport on earth. God brought this sport into my life and as long as He allows I want to stay involved. I also hope someone will be encouraged by my life and will see what can be possible despite obstacles. I think this sport is amazing for women to build confidence and strength.
 
Do you have a training program?
I would love to get more seat time but because our closest riding area is almost an hour away I have to work out hard at home. I do a variety of programs to build strength, endurance and cardio. With my medical issues the working out can be as difficult as the racing but I know I have to do it to be able to muscle that Predator around for 2 hours.
 
What is your single biggest accomplishment in your years of racing?
I would have to say winning the 2006 Mideast Women's championship. It meant that I had to stick with the racing from 2003 through last year despite not having a women's class. During those years I raced C class and vet class with some of the toughest guys around on some nicely decked out machines. I have always put everything I have into every race and it got discouraging at times but it was worth it to get the women's class going again and see the level of competition reach exciting levels Mideast has never seen. The women I raced with this year are just great. They are all intelligent, beautiful and talented racers who made me have to keep pushing myself. We had some pretty exciting battles with just seconds between us. It made it my most exciting year ever in racing.
 
What are your plans for next year?
To race the Mideast Harescramble series and defend my title and race as many GNCCs as I can. I am always up for something like a 6 hr, 12 hr or night race if funds and time allows.

What are your feelings in regards to the growth of the ATV Industry?
I am awestruck by the progress this sport has seen since I first got involved in 1998 to now, less than 10 years later. It is very exciting to be a part of. I am working on a book now about my experiences and the sport as a whole.
 
Tell us how you feel the GNCC compares to the local Mideast races?
Well, at the GNCC’s you get to see more of the superstars of our sport, the big rigs and crowds of people but Buren Hamrick and his daughter Bonnie Cook put on a great race, too. Buren works on the GNCC tracks and brings us the same style and oftentimes tougher, tighter tracks to Mideast. The same track official you see whipping the green flag for the GNCC start, Ricky Towery, is our Mideast man! I feel the Mideast series is highly competitive and also prepares a racer well for running GNCC’s. Several of the GNCC superstars were born from the Mideast series! And thanks to the encouragement and dedication of our Mideast spectators that faithfully show up they make us all feel like someone special!!!!! I think both series are vital to the life and growth of our sport.
 
Is there anyone you would like to thank or recognize?
My hard working, supportive husband Ron(also one man pit crew) Palmetto Cycle, Custom Covers and Eddie Siegers, for his trustworthy mechanical work.

It is admirable to hear Angela’s stories and notice how far she has come with medical conditions that the normal person would consider a crutch or a set back. But Angela saw them as yet another challenge to overcome and incredibly she has done so. ATV Exposed hopes to see Angela defend her title in the Mideast series as well as get to some GNCC events in 2007.