I can actually say that Tevis was a blast this year.
If you haven’t already figured it out, Stella and I finished 3rd! ?Jenn and Czoe just in front of us in 2nd! ?We exceeded our wildest secret hopes by a large margin. ?You can check the Tevis website for full results and information. ?The Tevis Facebook page is also chock full of fun coverage.
We were chased for the majority of the ride by four professional riders. ?Well, Christoph Schork (finished 4th, nearly 20 minutes behind us) and Jeremy Reynolds (pulled at Lower Quarry – last vet check 6 miles from finish) are actually in the business of buying, training and selling endurance horses. ?Rusty Toth (the winner) and Kevin Myers (finished fifth, 30 minutes behind us) work for EasyCare. ?So they do have jobs that involve other than riding but I’m guessing that collecting good horses and getting them fit to do well to showcase the boots is a key part of their job descriptions. ?Plus Rusty and Kevin live in Durango – nice to start your training ride at 6,500 feet.
That these mares did as well as they did against clearly prime horseflesh with excellent riders up is significant testimony to Jenn’s wise breeding, training, and conditioning program. ?She’s very systematic and strategic in her thinking and planning to make sure we can get the most out of the horses while taking the least out of them – if that makes sense. ?I feel very fortunate to have fallen into her circle and had the chance to learn from her and ride with her (on her awesome horses).
The ride itself went by like a blur. ?This week since has followed suit. ?That was the best finish I’ve ever had (was eighth twice in 2002 and 2003) and the earliest finish of a full Tevis (not counting the re-routed version we rode in 2011 due to snow) I ever hoped to see. ?We were in at 10:30 and I was in bed by midnight.
Awesome!
[I’ll post again shortly with a pictorial story.]
