The Tevis

July 20-21 2013

The Tevis is known as the hardest endurance race in the United States. 100 miles in 24 hours from Tahoe to Auburn. 

Last year, I witnessed it as my first introduction to what 'endurance riding' was.  After seeing the physical work, heat, and risk I was was hooked. I still probably couldn't tell you why. 

Jennifer and Jenni coming into the check point

Fast forward to this year and (if you have been reading my blogs) you know my mustang Dixie and I have competed in some AERC events. We began last year when she was 4 with LD (Limited Distance) 25-30 mile rides. 2013 brought on the 50 mile competitions. She has 2 under her belt now.

Dixie's first 50 mile AERC ride

When it came time again for the Tevis ride, it was exciting to be asked to crew again for good friends Jennifer Waitte and Jenni Smith. Anthony and I headed to Auburn to help set up camp and prepare for the next 24 hours. 

If you followed the race, you would find many exciting stories, including both of our riders:

Jenni Smith's story was featured on Equisearch. Read it here.

Jennifer Waite's story was featured on the EasyCare blog. Read it here.

At this point, you may start to think our riders did fairly well to both be featured on websites (hint hint).

the girls!

Well, if you are still reading this far then I will tell you they did. But that is not really the story I can share with you. I wasn't out on the trail riding, I was crewing. Along with quite a few other dedicated individuals, we were committed to making our riders and their horses as well fueled and prepared to continue trucking through the wilderness to cross the finish line. 

With the help of technology, we were able to follow our riders through the race. Most of the dozen or so check points did not allow crew to be present. So, when they checked in with the vet, they had someone there to record the time they passed through and pass the info along to an app. We all became quite obsessed with the 'refresh' button seeing when and where our riders would show up. 

The few check points we were able to be at are always fairly chaotic. People are everywhere trying to find a spot for their rider, set up mini-camp, and then take care of horse and rider. If you are not there early to stake a spot, you are not going to have an easy time finding a spot once the riders come in. The phrase 'hurry up and wait' was a pretty accurate way to describe the event. 

Once our riders came in, we started to take the horses saddles off and cooling them down with water. The riders were given food, water, and a chair. It is so important to keep the muscles warm, so the horses don't cramp up. This meant walking the horse every 10 minutes during the 1 hour hold time. We took 2 people so one could walk the other horse while the other held food. Talk about multi tasking. These horses are no rookies. They had already competed in three 75 mile competitions and came in the top every time. They were used to the routine and quietly went along with everything. 

As they left, we hooted and hollered to cheer them on along with the rest of the crowd. We cleaned up the mini camp and headed to the next stop. And then back to 'hurry up and wait'. 

As darkness crept in, we could see (on our app) that our riders were in the top and that meant they would not be taking the full 24 hours to complete. The race starts at 5am and riders have until 5am the next day to finish. 

We waited with the crowd at the finish line. And waited. It was a little after 10pm. All of a sudden everyone started to cheer and make noise, everyone was squinting to see who it could be... 

a deer walking on the trail. 

False alarm. 

 It was so exciting, that any little movement sparked people to think the riders were arriving. Finally, first place flew in at a canter. It was Rusty, from EasyCare. We waited a little longer and then saw Jenni and Jennifer coming in together... 2nd and 3rd! We were so thrilled, the horses had gotten separated by 5 minutes at the last vet check, so we all assumed the 2 horse difference may not have been made up.

Seeing the 2 come into together was such a great feeling. The finishing rate for this race is less than 50%!

Now you may think that once the race is over the story ends, but really it was just getting started for us.

Again, we took the saddle off and start cleaning the horses. Since they finished in the top ten, they are eligible for the Haggin Cup (best conditioned award). 

This meant cleaning the horses, tack, and you thought because they finished at a decent hour sleep? Nope. In order to keep the horses muscles from getting tight we had to wake up every hour to walk them. Thank goodness it was not every 10 minutes! Fortunately all the dedicated crew worked together, so I only was up every other hour. 

Jenni and Stella showing for the Haggin Cup.

Like I mentioned, I still don't know why working so hard, being exhausted, sweaty, and tired is so much fun. But it is! The Tevis is once of my favorite experiences. Once it was all over, we headed home buzzing about our exciting weekend. It was hard to believe that it was only 24 hours. 

Thanks to Jennifer and Jenni for letting us crew for you. It was an unforgettable experience for everyone!

Hello, Goodbye!

As predicted, I was unable to keep you all very updated on Maverick and his impressive progress. In the 12 days since coming home from the corrals, he has learned to take a halter, fly mask, lead, lunge, lift up feet, play with de-sensitizing cones and other random objects, and today... he left. It took all of 10 minutes to show him the trailer, move his feet both directions, and simply ask. The look on Sara's face when he jumped in was priceless. I don't know who was more surprised, her or Maverick. It was a short amount of time, but we all learned quite a bit. She promised to send me updates so I could share his continued progress. Good luck Maverick and Sara!

New Beginnings...

Since my last post, quite a lot has happened. Anthony and I traveled to the Canary Islands in Spain for our wedding (June 22) and also spent time in Michigan with more family celebrating our special day. But before we left, there was one more event that I didn't have time to blog about... Napa Mustang Days! It was a great success and about half of the animals (horses and burros) that the BLM brought were adopted, I think the final number was 20. One of the lucky ones went home with a friend of ours...

We are so excited to welcome Scout to the mustang family!

Once we got home, our plans were to find Anthony a mustang. We headed up to the Litchfield Corrals along with a friend and a 2 horse trailer. 

As always, the crew in Litchfield made us feel at home and had the 'best' pen already brought to the front for us to look at. After a few hours of watching, sorting, and luck 2 geldings were selected to come home with us. 

Of course it was a hard decision and there was a lot to choose from, below are available 2 year old geldings that would love to find a home. Feel free to share these pictures and spread the word. They are all at Litchfield Corrals and are 2 year old geldings. 

Once we loaded the trailer, we were headed 5 hours back home. It made for a long day but that didn't seem to tire anyone out. It was like Christmas in July!!!

Once the boys unloaded they had a chance to settle in. As soon as we started working with them, it was clear they were smart, kind, and curious. Sara is keeping her boy Maverick with us for a little while before taking him home. She has already accomplished so much in the short 5 days we have had them, it is going to be hard to keep my blogging up to date!!! Anthony has had a big smile on his face since we have brought El Capitan home, almost as big as when we got married! 

Me and El Capitan

Sara and Maverick

Anthony and El Capitan

I am sure you are all wondering about sweet little Dixie. Well, she had her 'capture date' anniversary July 4th and we celebrated with a nice long trail ride at Skyline. 

We are looking forward to a couple more good rides with friends soon. And I can hardly wait until El Capitan and Anthony will be by our side!  

Horse Expo and another AERC 50!

We are all looking forward to summer, but the spike in heat was not exactly welcome. Upwards of 110 degrees, Sacramento Horse Expo was unseasonably hot this year. Last year Dixie and I rode in the demo and it was only by chance that I had something else planned for her this weekend so I declined on bringing her again. It turned out to be a good idea, because the demo was cancelled due to the heat! Instead, Winston filled her place in the booth and we talked with people about mustangs, Extreme Makeovers, training, and TIP programs. I met a lot of great people and am glad that we braved the heat to be there. 

Geyserville also saw extreme heat Friday and Saturday, and when I arrived at 5pm it was still in the 90's! I settled in and walked Dixie around and prayed the weather would be cooler as predicted. The rider meeting let us know the race would begin at 5:30am instead of 6 to try and beat some heat. I also picked up a junior rider (they have to ride with someone older) and enjoyed hearing stories of the day. The ride managers were thrilled that even in the extreme heat, there were no metabolic pulls from the ride that day, meaning people took really great care of their horses. I knew I was with a good group of people! After an amazing Paella dinner, I headed to the truck for some sleep. 4:30am rolled around and I started getting Dixie ready. Once 5:30 hit, we headed out onto the first loop. Our horses were matched pretty well and held a good pace throughout the race. Each of the 3 vet checks we came into Dixie scored all A's and in the final check she only got one B in her gut sounds. I was so proud of my tough little mare! As usual, many people asked about the 'mustang' and how they always dreamed of owning a 'wild one'. I encouraged them to check out the different programs featuring mustangs and get involved.  

All throughout the ride, I kept thinking the weather seemed so nice... I hope it holds! Fortunately, it did!   As we neared the end of our ride 8 hours later, we were met at the finish line by Anthony and Winston. As I recounted the day, only one wrong turn slowed us down and a broken gator on Dixie's EasyBoot Glove made me consider taking her back boot off. Surprisingly, the broken gator didn't affect her boot staying on for the last 20 miles! I was very proud of myself for putting them on! I am sure I owe a big thank you to my farrier for making sure her feet were nice and clean the day before!  We walked back to camp and took care of our horses and relaxed a little bit until the awards ceremony. 

I knew we took a moderate pace so when I heard my junior's name called... I was thrilled! He had won the TOP JUNIOR in the 50 mile ride award and a gorgeous cooler for his pony. The vet spoke about how well he took care of his horse and I was so happy for him. All throughout the day everyone that saw us cheered us on, the future of the sport really is up to the young people that choose to keep it up. We also got to meet one of the younger relatives of the Cooley's, who graciously allowed us to ride on the beautiful piece of private property. It took so much work for this ride to be created, and it really showed that the endurance community is a great group of people. I wanted to thank the ride managers, Cynthia and Forrest, as well as the Cooley's for providing the amazing land. It was a fabulous ride and you can be sure we will be back next year! 

Shine and Shine Only

I am a little late in giving you all the play by play on our multi-day ride in Gilroy, but it is worth it!

Dixie and I headed up Friday May 17th to the Shine and Shine Only ride (put on by Becky Hart). Now that we have been to a few rides, it was fun to recognize people and horses. Although I have to admit, I am much better at remembering horses names than people!

Since Dixie was given a little more time off than normal from my last adventure with Sweet Pea and the Extreme Mustang Makeover, I thought doing 2 LD's (25 miles) in a row would be a nice way to get us back on track. 

As usual, Dixie camped like a pro...

In fact, I would say that I was pretty pro-like with my tent setting up skills too! Truth be told, I spent the first night with a few friends in a bus (Thanks Jennifer and Barry!) but did set up my tent all by myself for the next night. 

The weather couldn't have been more perfect if it was ordered. Dixie was more than ready to go and as the start of the ride began, I knew I had a hot little mustang underneath me! We immediately found a riding buddy that was similar in pace and enjoyed the whole ride talking and sharing horse stories.  

At each vet check, we passed with ALL A's and at completion she got only 1 B in gut sounds. I expected this because Dixie didn't eat very much during the ride, she was too busy thinking about crossing the finish line! We finished along side our friend and took 3rd place overall. Now, in limited distance endurance, the place does not really matter BUT what does matter is getting the Best Condition Award. Well, I am proud to say we DID NOT get that award, but it was not Dixie's fault... it was mine! There are a lot of things you base the award on and rider weight is one of them. Since Dixie had the highest vet scores of ALL 10 riders she was the natural choice but my weight was the lightest, so in combination we lost. I guess that is a pretty ok reason to lose if you ask me! Don't forget, I still have a wedding dress to fit into! 

As for the second day, Dixie was fresh as day 1. I was expecting her to be slower but the heart rate monitor guided our ride and she showed she was fine to ride at a nice clip that day too! We rode with a new buddy and I think Dixie made a boyfriend! They were so cute, my favorite part was when her buddy would canter and Dixie would go into the extended trot. The rider said "Do you know you horse can trot at 12 miles per hour?!" I was so proud of her and when people asked "What kind of horse is that??" I proudly told them she was my American Mustang! 

We are headed to our next adventure this weekend and I hope to update you soon... stay tuned! 

Thanks for reading :)

xo Alyssa & Dancing Dixie

Clinic Weekend at Sonrisa Stables

Norco may have been the finale of our 90 training experience with Luna and Sweet Pea, but there was one other special treat we had at Norco last weekend... Team Sonrisa drove all the way down to support us at the competition too! They have their own wild horse training program and have had their mustangs 30 days now. Anthony and I came out to give them a clinic and a little fresh perspective on how they can gentle their new friends, Hulk, Mickey, Cruise, and Simba. 

Team mascot, Megan cooling off in the ice chest!

Working with Mickey, he quickly showed his one-sidedness. We focused on keeping our bodies in between his shoulders and hips to allow us 'in'. As she moves towards his hips, he is driven forward... move towards his shoulders, he is stopped... when you get to say where the feet go... you're the leader :)

One of the high lights of the weekend was Anthony saddling and putting the first rides on Hulk. The team was ecstatic! He was the most laid back gelding, if you could have seen how many kids were crawling all over him you would know why! 

Team Hulk! 

Getting ready to ride...

First steps, Hulk seemed relaxed when he had his team near him. It is clear they have shown him nothing but love and he trusts them. What a great moment it was!

Baby Cruise is the only yearling. He liked to turn his butt towards you so here I am using 'the cool kid method' to draw him towards me (head first). Pressure and release can be one of your most useful techniques if you pay close attention to your horse and their signs. The girls knew what signs to look for and immediately picked up on the subtle cues Cruise was giving them. 

I was so impressed with the teams and their support. Parents showed up with breakfast, lunch, water, and were so kind to us. Coach Karen was the reason we were invited, and I just think she is the bees knees!  It must be the company she keeps ;) The teams patience and perseverance has me so excited to see what they will accomplish in the next few months before their adoption event! Stay tuned, I am sure there will be updates from these guys!

Extreme Mustang Makeover Norco, 2013

What a weekend. After 90 days, all your hard work pays off at the show and then...it's over. 

Anthony and I both miss our horses, but I can assure you that they got the BEST homes we could have ever asked for. This event was so much fun to be a part of, I am still just reeling from all the emotion that went into it. If you followed me on facebook (facebook.com/mustangadoptions) then you may already know how we did. Here are some of the highlights...

Charles Brooks took this great picture of Marissa and Don and I before receiving our top ten awards.
Don took 1st place and Marissa 2nd, I was so honored to be in the top ten with them!

Getting ready for our top ten introductions

I can't believe I made the list!!!

Back, Back, Back, Blindfold! 

No hands! (or eyes!)

This was my impromptu freestyle outfit courtesy of CVS drugstore (crepe paper and scarf)
and Target girls department (dress)

Anthony and Luna-cita

So happy my mom came all the way from Michigan to watch me!

Anthony in the arena with Luna

 Not only did I make the top ten, my mom flew in to visit with my cousins from SoCal, Karen and some of the fabulous Sonrisa team drove to support me, Sarah and Monte drove up ready to adopt Sweet Pea, and I got to be a part of something so much bigger than a horse show. The trainers at these events are more than just horse people, they are down to earth, fun, generous, and I had so much fun being with everyone. There was not a single moment where I felt competitive pressure. Of course, I was nervous and so thankful I had Anthony and my mom by my side to keep me calm and collected!

The show itself went really well. Anthony's high point was taking 3rd in the handling and conditioning class. He not only called his horse to him like a puppy dog, he also picked up a front and hind foot at the same time! The crowd went wild!

My highlight was being a part of the top ten, it was somewhat un-expected and I only had 2 hours to come up with a plan. In the end,  decided that bareback and blindfolded might be fun (and it was!).
I also used the big ball she loved to play with so much, in fact, she has never hit that ball harder and I know the crowd could tell we were just having a grand time playing! My favorite part of that freestyle was having people come up to me and saying that they could really tell I was having fun! It was true, I really did a total blast.

Driving home 9 hours with an empty trailer really made us start thinking about our next adventure. Anthony and I decided he would be searching for his very own mustang next, and I promised to help keep him in shape while Anthony is busy with harvest. Oh yea, and we also have that wedding coming up in June to think about ;)

Once we got home, I checked the mail and found my application to title Dixie waiting for me. What a great way to end an adventure and begin the next, horse ownership! Watch for more posts about Dixie and her next endurance ride. We have a few planned!

I hope you enjoyed reading and following our progress. I am very happy to say that our mares are in wonderful homes and ready to begin their happily ever after. I will post more pictures and updates as I get them!

xo A & A