Tevis Comes to Us!

The Tevis Cup. 

If you are an equestrian, you have the image of lean Arabian horses and their riders, scrambling up Cougar Rock.   Or the adrenaline rush of starting from  Robie Equestrian Park in the dark.   

100 miles.  24 hours.   The winner will usually finish in under 15 hours.   It's not enough to "finish", your horse must finish and be "fit to continue".   Every horse and rider pair that finishes in 24 hours and is fit to continue gets a coveted Tevis Cup belt buckle.

But it's not just the miles.  Temperatures will range from 40-120 degrees F.   It's a brutal, and beautiful ride.  From the Tevis Ride website:  Beginning at the Robie Equestrian Park (elevation 7,000 feet), south of Truckee, California, the trail descends gradually approximately nine miles to the Truckee River at the Midway Crossing on Highway 89. The trail takes a route through Squaw Valley, the U.S. Olympic training facility and site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, and ascends from the valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass near Watson's Monument (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in 4½ miles. From the pass, following the trail once used by gold and silver miners during the 1850s and rediscovered by Robert Montgomery Watson in 1929, riders will travel west, ascending another 15,540 feet and descending approximately 22,970 feet before reaching the century-old town of Auburn via the traditional route through Robinson Flat, Last Chance, Deadwood, Michigan Bluff, Foresthill, and Francisco's.

Except this year, they won't be starting from Robie.   Thanks to COVID-19, the ride was canceled.   All the work, all the conditioning...the disappointment.  And the loss of an annual fundraiser for the trail.    

So it went virtual, and the ride opened to anyone who was willing to try to ride 100 miles in 100 days as a one horse, one rider pair.  There's even a non-riding division:  you can walk, bike, swim, kayak, hike, crawl - if you are on your own power, you can sign up.

And what do you know, I have a little black horse I bought to do distance riding with.   Who knew he'd end up Tevis material?

At our starting line!

We are bib # 262

100 miles in 100 days doesn't sound hard.  Mile a day, right?   Then factor in weather, things like vet appointments, farrier days, days I simply can't find the time to ride, and the horse needs days off to just be a horse.   Now it means get all the distance we can every time we ride.

14 days in, and the weather has been brutal.   Hot, steamy, foggy, buggy.   I can't remember a time I didn't feel...swampy.   Deuce isn't in shape to run, so we do a lot of walks with bits of jogging and in the heat, we are aiming for a mile and a half every ride.   It doesn't seem like a lot even then...until you are slapping at deer flies with sweat rolling off your face, and your horse is constantly shaking himself to get rid of all the bugs on him, and you rode through a spiderweb and is that a spider crawling up your back now...   But we do all this slow work now, and by the time the weather cools off - we should be fitter and ready to ride harder.  The days will get shorter, the rides will get longer.   We'll meet friends to ride together.   

It's just been plain sticky, even at 7am

What will we get?   A t shirt and a sticker.   But by gods - I will wear that t shirt with pride!   I will be able to say we finished the Tevis ride in 2020.   And I perused the Tevis online store...there's a flask and a wine  sippy cup.  It's like they've met my horse!

I would be lying to say I'm not excited.   I'm disappointed for all the people who planned to compete on the actual trail, but hey, this is my chance and I'm using it!   I've had big fun with the vet and farrier "Make sure he's comfortable, he's entered in the Tevis ride this year!" and the looks I get with my pudgy, out of shape horse.   Tevis material, indeed.

The organizers have set things up to be fun for us.  I log in my miles (honor system) and I see a dot on the map where I'd be on the trail.   At certain points, I earn a "trophy" and get a view of the actual trail for that point.   They've set up a FaceBook group for all of us competitors, and it's amazing.  People from all over the world, posting photos of their trails, their mounts, videos of their trail rides.  People who entered as non riders, but are going to walk miniature horses, people riding draft horses.   Hikers, bikers, moms who ride horses along side their kids on bikes, doing the trail together.   The woman who lives in the eastern US on her kayak she named Buttercup, cheering on her friends riding their horses on the west coast.    The endurance riders who are still doing training and conditioning, hoping for their next ride, and the people who are starting young horses, or rehabbing old horses (or themselves!) and only riding a slow mile here and there, quietly plugging away at those 100 miles.   

Our progress to date

And the sad posts - the woman who had a happy 10 mile ride one day, only to have her horse colic the next day and not make it.  She's now walking alongside her young horse to get him used to the trails.  There's been a few rider mishaps and some entrants are now sorting out how to do things like ride with a hand in a cast.  

No matter if you have a ton of trails and a fit horse, or if you only have a small round pen and a horse just started under saddle, everyone gets encouraged.   We are all doing a different ride, and that's ok.  It's a great group, some of the photos are silly, and there's now a thing with creating your own "Cougar Rock" to post when you pass that mile marker.   

So onward, little Deuce!   We have miles to cover - one slow stroll at a time!  We will update you as we go!

Happy Trails!

Decade of Deuce

10 years.  It seems like a lifetime and a moment at the same time.

Ten years ago I lost my big Burt.  It took a while to warm up to looking for another horse, but I knew I wanted something different than what I'd had - something small, something that wasn't grey, and a fun project.   I was hoping to do competitive trail again, like I did with Burt.  I tried out a few horses.  Nothing really clicked.   A friend sent me this ad for a little black horse that was titled "Trail Horse Deluxe".   Ad said he was 7 years old, husband safe, experienced on trails, a good guy.   He was also a half Arab, which at first I wasn't too keen on.  I called, turned out they also had a 3 year old for sale, so I could meet both horses and see if I liked one.   So I drove to Fayetteville and we took both horses out on a trail ride - I started out on the 7 year old half Arab, and rode back on the 3 year old.   I really liked the 3 year old.   A lot.  But he had some funky shaped knees and I had concerns about his long term soundness.  The 7 year old...he was ok.   I decided to think about it for a bit, went back and rode him again, thought some more, and decided he'd be "suitable", and if I didn't like him, I could work with him and sell him.  No hearts in my eyes, no big dreams of greatness....just that this little black horse was suitable.

The day we met

I told hubby that I found a horse I wanted to buy.  He had 2 questions:  Is it ugly?  Is it crazy?  Definitely no for the first question, this little black horse was really cute.   Crazy?   Eh, that's subjective.   So I made arrangements with the seller, picked Deuce up, took him to my vet for a once over to make sure he was healthy, and took him to where we'd be boarding, turned him out in his new pasture so he could get used to things for a day or so....and he promptly kicked through the wire fence at the mares next to him, got his back legs tangled in the wire, took off in a panic, ripped the wire off that entire length of fence from corner to corner, and let me have my first heart attack as his owner as he tore through trees trying to get free.  I was sure we'd be putting him down on our first day together.

Deuce just hoped chicks dig scars.   That was all he ended up with - 2 tiny scars on his hind legs.

It was not the best first day.

And now you know why hubby drinks

Grady came out to meet my new horse and help me start him.   He put Deuce in the round pen to see what Deuce knew, and apparently Deuce had always been chased in the pen, so he took off like a maniac, and when Grady stepped in front of him to have Deuce change direction, Deuce ran Grady over.   Grady quietly left the pen, said let's let the horse sort his life out, and he let Deuce run for 20 minutes on his own.  And that was the end of round pen lessons for Deuce.   Grady asked if the horse was broke to ride.  I said I rode him twice!   Grady responded well, you aren't riding him again till I say so.

And so we started.   Weekly lessons with Grady.  Homework for us on the days in between.  Teaching Deuce new things like loading in the trailer, tying quietly, clippers, seeing new things, just learning to be sensible with good manners.   It was a long road.   By December, I still wasn't enthralled with the horse.   I remember Grady sitting me down and saying "We are taking a break for the holidays.  When we start back up in January, I want you to decide if you want to work with this horse or not.  If, not, we sell him and find a better horse for you, but I'm not spending any more of my time or your money on a horse you can't get along with".    Grady comes with a lot of tough love. 

Our first lesson back I hauled Deuce to Grady's place, he has an obstacle course set up in his big arena, and he had me and Deuce work through it.  Then he said "hang on" and opened a gate.   2 goats, a pony and a donkey wandered in.   He said your horse needs to learn to focus, ignore them and keep going.  I said ok, but there's a goat in my way...."Well, either be stop and let the goat take over, or move that goat and keep going!"   Then I had a roping lesson.  "If you can rope a goat, you can rope a cow".  It was Deuce's first time roping, too.  (I still can't rope a goat.  Or a cow.)

And pushed way out of our respective comfort zones, we clicked.  That was it.  Like soldiers in a trench together, we were partners to the end.  We found Deuce and I do best when we both learn something brand new at the same time.  As Grady says "you two aren't afraid to fail, you're afraid to miss out on fun".   Or, as I say it "we aren't afraid to suck at something new".

So we tried a lot of stuff:

Deuce is a good sport - we were Juan Valdez and his coffee donkey

All I can remember is how tight a fit this was!

We were not good at working cows, but we had fun!

So, I had bought the horse to do competitive trail riding, and Deuce tended to be totally unpredictable on trails.  Grady said he wasn't worried, he was sure I could handle the horse, but I didn't see 25 miles of "when is he going to rear and bolt" being a lot of fun.  Deuce just didn't dig the whole trail riding deal. He'd do it because he's a good guy but it didn't light him up.  So I asked Grady what he thought.  He said if I owned a horse like that, I'd compete at something until I won, I'd hang that ribbon on the wall, and then I'd try something new with him, and keep going like that.  So that's what we did...ranch horse versatility, trail classes, western dressage, cow work, reining, extreme trail challenges...  Some things just aren't for us, but we tried them anyway.   We had a blast.  We had really bad days.  We did dumb things.  I learned Deuce didn't work for me, he was my partner.

You never know when you'll walk out of an arena, and Grady will be right there, smiling, saying don't worry, we'll fix it, go have fun with your horse!

Awards dinner for our first year of showing.  I think Grady was  proud.  

That bossy attitude got us into trouble more than once.   Deuce would figure out he could bully barn staff, and we'd get a call that Deuce refused to get his blanket on, or he was being difficult in some fashion.  So hubby or I would go to the barn, Deuce would be well mannered and respectful, and what can you say - he's too smart for his own good.   But that motivated us to get our own place, let him live with us and he'd be happy and we'd be...essentially his barn staff.   He runs this place and everyone knows it.

When you are a boss, you can run things your way

He doesn't need tied - he won't leave me.

It seems like the last few years haven't been good to us.  Deuce had a fall while training, damaged a ligament in his leg and I bruised soft tissue in my knee.   We both had to rest for a while.   When he was ready to start working again he started showing back pain and we found out he had kissing spine - which explained why such an athletic horse struggled with some maneuvers.   He had some problems with his feet.  Arthritis started to set in.  I'd get him going, and something would happen and we'd have a setback.   So we started doing a lot of slow trail rides with his buddy Chuck, and Deuce decided maybe trail riding could be a fun, relaxing thing, and he didn't need to be so anxious all the time.   And I said good, because for all your injuries, we can't go back to what we used to do - no more hard stops or quick turns.  It's time to look for new options. 

Ten years together, and we've never grown tired of taking a step back, working hard, and being willing to suck at something new.  Sometimes I look at him and wonder if he's ready to hang it up, just be a fun pleasure horse, save the harder training for Joker.  Deuce certainly doesn't owe us anything.   And every time I think maybe it's time to let him chill out I get that bright eyed, "you better hang on tight today!" look and I know this isn't a horse who is going to retire gracefully.  He's not done helping me train Joker yet.  We aren't done having fun.   We haven't finished our battle of wills. 

Having a "discussion" about which trail we are going to take.

The little guy didn't end up "suitable", we ended up well suited for each other.  As hubby says, any sane person would have shot or sold the horse by now.

But we work well together, somehow.

Some of Deuce's ribbons, there's more in a drawer somewhere.

Hoping there's another 10 years of him being my partner.

"I'm lucky to love something that loves me"

Happy trails!

-J.

Joker meets Mr Pants

So, repeat this really loud for those in the back: When done properly, training a horse is a long, slow process full of small accomplishments that eventually add up to a confident, well trained animal. It's boring to watch. Contrary to what you see in movies, there shouldn't be a rodeo every time you work a horse. Think about it - are you getting anything done or learning when you are stressed and feeling defensive? Why would an animal be different? And why do I want to risk the fireworks and end up getting hurt? If I'm hurt, I'm not going to be working horses. I want to work horses.

And so the goal is small bits of progress on a daily basis. And it also means the mistakes are smaller and easier to fix as you go. The horse gets confident in himself and in his handler. He decides hey, maybe this 2 legged beast makes good decisions and won't let me get hurt.  

And so it goes with Joker. Small goals. Marathon, not a sprint.

Of course, we also like to have fun while working - if it's not fun, why do it?

So we've been working on this riding thing, and I am feeling Joker is ready.  However, I want to be positive that he's totally prepared for what's ahead, because getting bucked off isn't the goal here.

Enter Mr Pants.

Mr Pants was recommended to me by a friend who has started some of her own young horses.   He's not terribly tall, but he's stuffed with sand and pine straw, and a willing stunt man.   He weighs about 35 pounds.  Not much compared to a human, but hey, Mr Pants needs a leg up from me every ride, and I don't want to lift something heavy that high.  He has shoes on - not the greatest shoes to wear around horses, but that's his decision.  

We weren't sure if Mr Pants was insured, so hubby said I needed to make sure Pants saw the liability signs.

Joker got a good grooming, and I put a saddle pad and surcingle on him so Mr Pants would have somewhere to sit and hold on.   I don't have a saddle that fits Joker yet.  Joker brought his usual enthusiasm to the table.  

Hubby joined us at the arena, to take photos and video, and also because he was curious - he doesn't watch Joker's sessions very often, and he didn't quite seem convinced when I said I felt Joker was ready to start carrying a rider.  Plus Mr Pants had been hanging around the barn for a few days and we all had a bunch of laughs with him.  Time to see him in action.

I put Mr Pants on Joker's back, and...nothing.  Pulled him back off.  Back on.  Joker yawned.  Literally.   Then I took Joker and Pants for a walk.   Joker wanted to know if he could chew on his rope.  Sometimes he'd turn around and nip at Mr Pants for fun.

Since this was apparently no big deal, it was time to ask Joker to work a little harder.  I tied Mr Pants to the surcingle, sent Joker out on a short lunge line.  Anything happens, I want to get control as fast as I can.  Joker moseyed.  I asked him to trot, and he gave me a nice little jog.   Totally relaxed.   Change directions.  Trot again.   Mr Pant's legs and feet were bouncing on Joker's sides, like a rider with really bad lower legs, and Joker just said "ok".   

And so we stopped.   He met my goal.  We'll do this 2 more times, and if he's still totally chill about it, then I know a Mr Scarecrow who will make a nice torso...    When this is all over, Joker will know what it's like to carry a rider, see something above and behind him, and the day someone sits on him for real, he should yawn and move off just as quietly as he did today.   Confident, relaxed, happy in his job.

Training is serious.  It can be dangerous.  But boy I have fun with this horse!

Happy Trails!