This was the first time I experienced Tevis with a horse.

Not as a competitor, but as a support crew for riders. 

Dixie and I had qualified a few months back at an SOS ride and were really excited to participate as a team. 

 We rode with Lyssa and her POA from Robinson Flat to Dusty Corners. It was about 10 miles of the 100 mile race. We had to take a few selfies before we got started. Dixie won the award for best smile. 

We did this trail once before to get familiar and look who else was familiar with the trail!

Of course I still got to cheer on my friends who were competing and visit with friends who were crewing.  

Our good pal Jenni Smith landed in 5th place and winning the coveted Hagan Cup for Best Condition. 

We did see at least one mustang complete the race, last but not least! With less than 50% completing, finishing is quite a feat!

Congrats to everyone that got out there to help or ride. It was truly a great day.

Dixies 7th year

Since I have clearly been delinquent about regular updates, I thought I would give a summary of Dixie's year...

Mostly, we have been out on trails. Skyline, Stanley Lane, Briones, and Angwin

Dixie has put on a solid base from the last 3 years of endurance training and competing. Animals are not like people when it comes to maintaining fitness levels. 

In addition to trail training, Dixie and I have been taking dressage lessons. Teaching collection and rhythm pays off in any discipline. I noticed the biggest difference while we were climbing a big hill, Dixie lowered her head and really started using her hind end. Since hills are probably her biggest challenge (literally and figuratively) it was cool to see one discipline helping the other.

We competed in the American River ride, it is the oldest sanctioned 50 mile race in the WORLD. Of course my crew, Ashton and Anthony were there to help me along the way. It was actually Ashton's first birthday that Friday so at the ride meeting dinner the ENTIRE RIDE sang happy birthday to Ashton. It was the sweetest thing and brought a tear to my eye. What a fantastic group of people to share the weekend with. Big thanks to the new ride management for a great weekend. 

Any endurance rider has their eye on the calendar planning and prepping for their next ride... I have decided to try something a little different with Dixie this year. Instead of going to the Tevis as crew, Dixie and I will be a part of the SOS team of drag riders. We qualified last month at a ride in Cool, CA. It will be a whole new experience from this angle and I am really excited to be "part of the solution" as their motto says.

Happy trails!