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Epic Tevis Adventure, 2014 Edition: Part Two B: Foresthill – Sunday wrap-up

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment
When we last left off, Kaity and I wrapped up the Robinson Flat check and were heading back to Foresthill…

Then it was down to Foresthill, where we found the trailer, found a Funder, got everything we would need for the evening set up, got the cart ready for meeting Lucy on Bath Road, then we wandered over to see what food vendors were set up this year. An excellent taco truck provided sustenance, then we went down and hung out on Bath Road – word was that the front runners would be coming through shortly, and we will had time before we had to leave to meet Lucy at the Chicken Hawk check.
Funder shows off her shiny truck tailgate step
So we found a spot in the shade and hung out and watched Jennifer Waitte be the first rider into Foresthill, followed by Tom Johnson (who rides a beautiful little grey Al-Marah mare I was drooling over the entire ride…my love for these horses is a bit sickening, I know…), Tennessee Lane, and Heather Reynolds.
AM Lady Liberty Wins — such a pretty mare!
After watching them come in, Kaity and I headed out to meet Lucy at the Chicken Hawk check. It may seem redundant, having a crew person (or two) meet you at a check that is only 4 miles away from your next big hour-long check, but both Kaity and Lucy have called Chicken Hawk a tough, low-point check for them, so I can see the value in having your own personal crew to give you a mental boost. 
Fergus wasn’t particularly difficult to get cooled down this year, but if it’s a really hot day or your horse is having trouble pulsing down, I can see where it’s super-helpful to have someone to help with that process. Plus, there is still one more canyon – a small one, but still goes down and up – left before Foresthill, and I can see where hitting that with a horse who has had a chance to cool off and refresh a little bit could make the difference between a horse that drags up Bath Road versus one who is a bit more sprightly.
At Chicken Hawk, we hung around the check itself for a bit, getting a feel for the new layout – has a couple of bugs to work out, such as the vet area possibly being a bit close to the out-times. They had hay out near the out-timers for horses to eat after vetting, but it wasn’t actually apparent from where you were standing and looking in that direction – as was evidenced by the large pile of hay still there when we rode on Monday. Consequently, we went back to the hay/mash area for Fergus to eat some more, and then had to navigate through the crowds to get to the out-timer.
troughs, food, sponging in lower area, vetting and out-timer
at the top

Having a good spread-out space and a graveled area to sponge was very nice – I had never been to the old Chicken Hawk check before, but Kaity said this one was much, much nicer. Less mud from sponging meant it wasn’t so hot and swampy, and being on a slight rise, it was catching some breeze as well.
We met Lucy down on the road into the staging area, walked up to the troughs, and got to work cooling Fergus as he drank and ate. They had sponges and buckets there, as well as alfalfa and large pans of LMF mash. The volunteers were also excellent about keeping the sponge water topped off with cool water – excellent service!
Lucy and Fergus coming in
After vetting, we gave Lucy a few minutes to sit and Fergus a few more minutes to eat, then piled the girl back on her horse and sent them on their way.
vetting at Chicken Hawk
You can’t drive in to the Chicken Hawk check – have to park about a mile out on the road and walk in/out. We were all prepared to hoof it out of there, but managed to bum a ride from a volunteer who was driving out and had half a dozen people piled in the back of the truck. That shaved at least ten minutes off the time it would have taken us to get back to the truck!
Back at Foresthill, we found fellow crew member H, set up and waiting on Bath Rd with the cart, and we settled in to wait for Lucy. We didn’t have to wait too long before the large Golden Freight Train came powering up Bath Road. We stripped tack and hosed him at the trough set up on the road, then took him up the road to the check. He was still a little high on his pulse, so he got hosed some more, then once he was down, he was pulsed, then over to the vet line for his check – also successful!
eating in the vet line at Foresthill
Fergus trot-out…he looked more inspired IRL
Back at the trailer, we got him started on munching while the rest of us prepped tack stuff for the ride portion. Funder taped on the headstall to Lucy’s helmet, I taped glowsticks to the breastcollar, Kaity changed out saddle pads, and Lucy showered, changed, and ate.
We were scuttling a bit to get everything done in time – that hour seemed to go by awfully fast. Until we got to the out-timer, that is, and they noticed a mix-up on Lucy’s out-time slip – they had written too early of a time on her card. By the time we got to the out-timer, we still had about four minutes to kill, so Fergus got to stand up the troughs and I spent the time stuffing as much last minute hay into him as I could. They left right on time.
waiting to leave Foresthill

on their way again!
(Funny enough, this is actually my own personal strategy I use deliberately at rides – I mentally “reset” my out-time to anywhere between 2-5 minutes before it actually is, because I hate leaving checks late…when you ride a back-of-the-pack turtle horse, every minute is precious.)
Once the girl + horse had disappeared into the darkness, we packed up the trailer and all made our way back to the Fairgrounds. Lucy had reserved a spot in the North Lot camping area (the same spot Kaity had last year), and it got all prepared for Fergus’s arrival with his Spring Tie, shavings spread, and food and water waiting.
We all stayed up chatting for a bit, then gradually succumbed to the idea of grabbing even a couple of hours of nap-time. I stretched out on the backseat of Kaity’s truck, and dozed fitfully only to discover I was laying with my head facing downhill. That never works, so once I righted myself and tucked into my sleeping bag (I can’t believe I was COLD…but 2:00AM + being tired will do that to ya…), I managed to snooze for another hour or so.
Based on her times, and online tracking and updates, we expected Lucy in around 4AM SUNDAY, so we were waiting for her on the hill at the Official Timed Finish (which they had all lit up with Christmas lights – pretty!) by about 3:30ish or so. It’s fun to watch the riders come in – you can usually see glowsticks before anything else, so you wonder if that’s your rider yet…you try to remember who they were riding near…you whoop and holler and cheer…and keep watching for glowsticks…
fancy decorated finish
Lucy and Fergus had three very bright green glowsticks (battery-powered, reusable type, so brighter than even the standard green crack-and-go type)…we kept watching…riders we knew had been riding near her came in…and then there they were.
Fergus was doing his big striding/shuffley/gaity thing he does, and he just marched right under that lit-up banner, and just kept on marching right down to the stadium. 100 miles, and he still was doing his Big Trot around the stadium…and predictably spooked at the chalk finish line.
heading into the stadium

FINISHED!
All day long, every time we saw him, his attitude had been “Yeah, I got this.” He knew exactly where he was, what he was doing, and how this game was played. They finished faster, too. (22 minutes faster, and Lucy was almost spot-on with her goal time of 4:00AM – they came in a 4:03AM.)
The same attitude carried over to his final vet check – he strode out, he strode back, and he looked absolutely fantastic. And then he proceeded to drag me back to the trailer for food. Kaity wrapped his legs, then we took him back down for one final check – within 1-2 hours of finishing, the horse has to come back for one final metabolics check, just to make sure they’re not experiencing any kind of delayed post-ride problem.
final trot-out
When the head vet of Tevis does the final check on the horse and says he looks good, you know he looks good. And he did. He really did. Back at the trailer, Fergus settled in with a few more bites of food, then he was ready to sleep. Kaity and I threw sleeping mats and sleeping bags on the ground behind the truck – I figured that as soon as the sun was up (which was going to happen in about an hour at this point), I would be awake…but what they heck, it was a chance for another nap at least.
I managed to sleep until almost 9AM.
A shower was the first order of business, and it involved a bunch of us ladies commandeering the men’s room temporarily when it was discovered only one shower in the women’s bathrooms was functioning. Fastest shower ever – and it still didn’t remove the Tevis tan line of dirt embedded around the ankles – but at least removing the outermost layer of dirt felt really good.
Tevis tan line — sexy, no?

Then we grabbed breakfast and watched the Haggin Cup judging. Five of the Top Ten horses showed this year. I would love to be a fly on the wall for the Cup Committee discussions – it would be fascinating to know what was said, what was seen by Committee members, and all of the other factors aside from just the trot-out that we see that go into the decision of awarding the Cup.
I did a bit of shopping at the Tevis Store – wanted to get raffle tickets for the big raffle they did to support the rebuilding of the Swinging Bridge, and got a couple new decal stickers and new Tevis t-shirt. Drooled over shiny merchandise with “Tevis” embroidered on it, but my deal with myself is that my name actually has to be on that rider list before I will justify anything beyond a t-shirt. (Don’t mind me, I’m weird. I also won’t buy any of the silver buckle decals or pins or anything until I actually have a buckle, either.)
my friend Hannah came in NINTH on her
home-bred, raised, and trained gelding Stuart
(she rides in Renegades, and her finish was the
first Top Ten Tevis finish for Renegade)

I’m usually pretty mentally cooked by the time the awards banquet rolls around. Fortunately there was plenty of tasty food, I stood and clapped in all the appropriate spaces, and then it was done. We socialized for a little bit afterwards, then headed back to the trailer to wrap things up, pack up Fergus, then head back to Low Camp. The rest of the evening was low-key, hanging out on the back porch, then eventually turning in at a fairly reasonable hour. Kaity and I were going to do one final ride in the morning…because OF COURSE that’s what you do the day after you’ve been crewing Tevis all weekend. 
…more still to come…

Epic Tevis Adventure, 2014 Edition: Part Two A: Prep – Robinson Flat check

/ Ashley Wingert / 4 Comments

This is getting away from me…I’m making this a long and detailed write-up, which may be boring to many, but I do know when I first started crewing, I would have loved to have access to the kind of blogs and online resources that are available now, and any little information bit helped.

Part A Details the Thursday and Friday before the ride prep through the first crewed vet check at Robinson Flat, 36 miles into the ride.

Part Two: Tevis Time!
THURSDAY was packing and prep day. It was a fairly lazy morning – no riding, so we didn’t have to get an early start. Lucy is very good at making lists and crew instructions, and Kaity and I have both crewed for her before, so there wasn’t much new/different to go over. Lucy’s crew box was packed with all of the dry goods necessities for Robinson Flat (fleece blanket, spare spare boots, feed, brushes, electrolytes, syringes, spare tights for Lucy), buckets were sorted and counted, bins were filled with pellets and feed for Fergus, hay bags were stuffed, water jugs were filled, tack sorted.
After getting the trailer ready to go, Kaity and I headed out to food shop. Lucy had a creative plan involving bento boxes for storing small amounts of a variety of foods in bite-size pieces that would hopefully be appealing on ride day, and we went armed with a list of food items to buy that would hopefully tempt our rider.
From my memory, things that went in the boxes (some were a hit, some weren’t): small boiled potatoes, bites of lightly seasoned cooked chicken, mini chicken-apple sausages, melon (cantaloupe and watermelon), chocolate whipped yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, pasta salad, varieties of cheeses, lightly seasoned rice, and energy gummies, squeeze applesauces, and string cheese to re-stock Lucy’s saddle packs.
*Ashley’s Egg Salad recipe*

16 oz elbow macaroni
one bunch green onions, thinly sliced
half a dozen hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 c mayo (start with less and add to taste…may need more if you like a very “mayo-ey” salad)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta until desired doneness (some like it more mushy, some like it al dente…it will soften as it sits in the container, too) and drain. Place in mixing bowl and drizzle a tiny amount of olive oil on it and stir. This’ll help keep it from sticking together.

Add the green onions and eggs and stir to combine. Add half the mayo and stir. Add small amounts of mayo until it reaches the desired taste/consistency.  Salt/pepper to taste. Store in refrigerator/ice chest.

Fed one Tevis rider + two crew people for approximately 2 days.
Thursday evening was dinner with friends – always fun to catch up with people I don’t get to see nearly enough, and outside of the immediate, more stressful environment of Tevis itself.
FRIDAY was Departure Day. The plan was for Patrick and Lucy to drive the rig, and Kaity and I follow behind in Kaity’s truck, which was the designated crew vehicle. Food and drink coolers were packed and loaded, Fergus got a bath, clothes were packed, and we were on the road to Robie Park by noon.
scenic drive: heading east on I-80
A couple of stops along the way for road snacks and gas, construction in the canyons, and being in the middle of a bubble of bad traffic with idiot drivers meant we didn’t actually catch up to the rig until Robie Park, but no matter…that was where catching up counted.
We got Fergus unloaded and beautified , then headed over to get Lucy checked in and Fergus vetted. Slacker Crew R Us never actually looked at Fergus’s vet card, but he looked phenomenal on his trot-out…
We took Fergus back to the trailer to get his mane braided and to tack him up for Lucy to do a quick leg-stretcher pre-ride. While she rode, Kaity and I wandered around the vendor area. Not that I need anything…but it’s fun to browse.
vetting in

Fergus floats
Friday dinner before briefing was a bit of a let-down…we had tickets ahead of time, but by the time we got there, they had run out of all food except salad. We got the dinner tickets back, and hopefully Lucy is able to get a refund…because I’m pretty sure the point of pre-selling tickets is to get an accurate count ahead of time and know how much food to have available. Fortunately, we had extra pasta, sauce, and sausages back at the trailer, so I was able to feed all of us after the ride meeting.
The Tevis ride briefing really is unlike any other ride briefing I’ve attended. I think because so much information is published and available ahead of time – the trail, the checkpoints, extensive rider and crew info – they don’t waste time reiterating it at the meeting. Tevis riders are a group of experienced people, so there’s not the need for extensive information and explanations as there would be for a local ride that might be drawing a larger crowd of riders new to endurance.
Ride briefing also wraps up pretty fast, with enough daylight left to head back to the trailer. Lucy and Kaity worked on the final packing of her saddle packs while I put together dinner, then we all did a final run-through of what was to come while working through bowls of pasta and sausage.
In an ideal world, we would probably all be in bed by 8:00 at night…but let’s face it: this is Tevis. It’s a whole weekend full of “far from ideal” circumstances, and yet, we manage. Bedtime was closer to the double-digits hours, but Kaity had pitched her tent, it wasn’t too cold out, and I know I slept soundly until the alarm went off at 3:30 Saturday morning.
Kaity prepared coffee, I got Fergus a mash, then we stood around, sipping coffee and slipping Lucy bites of breakfast until it was time to saddle up Fergus. While Kaity took down camp, I walked with Lucy to her Pen 2 start.

one more bite for the road…
For those that aren’t familiar with it, Tevis utilizes a “pen” system: Pen 1 is basically the 60 or so horses who, based on their previous year’s ride record, qualify to be up towards the front because it’s likely they will be riding faster than someone who may be starting at the back of the pack and riding just to finish. In the last number of years they have been using this system, it seems to have helped with some of the start-line congestion, to get the faster-moving horses sorted out and at the front of the pack at the starting time.
Everyone still starts at 5:15, the pen system just helps get everyone sorted before that time, on the road down to the official start, so you don’t have a bunch of front-runners trying to jostle up from the back of the pack immediately at the start.
Everyone else who didn’t get selected for pen one is in pen two, and it isn’t mandatory – someone who wants to start at the very back, for example, can hang back at their trailer and leave a couple minutes later. Only rule is that everyone must be out of Robie Park by 5:30.
So I walked – and half-jogged/half-stumbled in the dark after Fergus, following Lucy to pen two. My red headlamp also earned a “red light district” quip. Yeah, that’s right – endurance edition!
At the entrance to pen one, I tightened Fergus’s girth, wished them a final good luck, told Lucy I would see her at Robinson, and told Fergus to take care of Lucy. I hung out off to the side, out of the way, until they released pen two to head down the road. Lucy got out in a good position – somewhere in the first third of the pen.
After she was on her way, I headed back to the trailer, and Kaity, Patrick and I waiting until the magical 5:30 hour when vehicles could be started and moved – because the horses go down the road in and out of Robie Park to the start, no vehicle traffic is permitted until all horses are clear and on the trail.
Our parking spot at Robie is a pretty good one (no, not telling where…) in that it allows a decent exit on Saturday morning. It’s a bit of a hike for anything in the registration/vetting/vendor area…but the leg stretching and walking exercise is good, right?
We got what I suspect was a pretty big jump in traffic, and everyone was quite polite and reasonable this year. Last year, water bars had been recently installed on the forest road in to Robie, and it slowed down traffic big-time, and rigs had to basically crawl over them. This year, they were better bedded-in and much smoother to drive over. The conga line of trailers flowed really well, and it took us about half an hour to reach pavement.

the annual Robie Park trailer race
Once we hit pavement, it was smooth sailing all the way to the Foresthill exit. We grabbed food and McDonald’s to go, jumped back in the truck, and headed straight to Foresthill. All of the crew gear had been packed in Kaity’s truck ahead of time, so we never even had to stop in Foresthill. Patrick would take the rig to Foresthill, park it, then head home on his motorbike (parked in the trailer) to check on the dogs before heading back to Foresthill later in the afternoon.
They have started instituting a time cut-off for vehicles in to Robinson Flat – which made sense after I saw how they now let you drive straight into the check and dump your stuff of the road, versus before, when they would stop you at the entrance to the check, let you dump your stuff, and turn you around there on the road. Cut-off this year was 9:30 and we made it at 8:30.
on the road heading to Robinson Flat

waiting for the caravan of vehicles
Once we were allowed up to the check, Kaity dropped me and the stuff, and while she parked the truck, I found a crew spot and started setting everything up.
For those interested in what was hauled/set up, we used Lucy’s large hay cart (big and bulky, but fits lots of stuff). She utilizes a crew box to contain all of the smaller items (more spare boots, rasp, spare tights, sponge, horse food, extra people water, electrolytes, syringes, fleece blanket, stiff brush, carrots and apples, washcloth and neck cooler for Lucy), stack of buckets (one large, 5 small, one large feed pan, one small feed pan), medium-sized cooler, two folding chairs, gallon-sized jug of people water, and a hay bag with glass and alfalfa.
They don’t open up the water truck until the first horses are already in – before then, you can use the hand pump at Robinson – so while I was waiting for that and for Kaity to return, I set up: large feed pan with Elk Grove Milling pellets and LMF Gold feed – water would be added to those closer to Fergus and Lucy’s ETA, small feed pan of same for F to eat in the vet line, flake of alfalfa, set crew box within easy reach, set cooler in shade, spread chairs out to save our space.
water rationing at Robinson — troughs were for drinking
only; water for cooling had to be obtained from the pump
or water trough, then sponged out of buckets — no
indiscriminate dumping of five gallon buckets at a time
Once Kaity got back, we fetched buckets of water – large one for drinking, and three small ones (clean-up, horse feed soaking, extra) – and hauled them back. The large feed pan got started soaking, water was added to Lucy’s clean-up washcloth and neck cooler and those were placed in the shade to cool, and we prepped the cart (two small sponging buckets, sponge, pan of feed, part of a flake of alfalfa) to meet Lucy out on the road that riders come in on.
I love watching riders come in to Robinson. Normally endurance isn’t what one would consider a “spectator sport” but for those who are endurance riders, being at the Tevis vet checks can be some pretty good spectating. It’s organized chaos – and the degree of organization varies, depending on the number of crew people, experience level, advanced planning, etc.
waiting crews, incoming riders
Lucy came in right on schedule, just after 11. Kaity started sponging while I stripped tack and Fergus munched alfalfa, then I trundled the cart and tack back to the crew spot while Kaity went with Lucy to pulse and vet. Since I wasn’t at the vet area, I didn’t see in person how it went, but everyone was smiling when they came back.
here they come!
into Robinson Flat to get pulsed and vetted
I took over Fergus at that point – my job was to get as much food into his as possible during the hold. He’s a pretty good eater, but he’s so large (16.2 hh), his intake requirements are pretty significant, and it’s a constant game of catch-up during this ride trying to get enough food into him. He doesn’t make things any easier by being very distracted by other horses, so he basically needs someone at his head reminding him to keep eating.
Fergus’s personal servant
The only problem with crewing Fergus is tacking up – he is tall and I am short. As in, Fergus is actually taller than me. Consequently, it is usually a two-person job, with preferably the taller person (Kaity) doing things like checking to make sure the saddle pad is straight.
Once he was saddled and bridled and Lucy’s needs were all taken care of, we whisked them away to the out-timer and waved them off down the trail. Once they left, we cleaned up the crew area, packed everything onto the cart, and headed back to the truck. We were parked probably close to a mile down the road…but at least it was all downhill.
action shot!
hand-off of the out-time slip
and they’re off 

Next up: Tevis afternoon – Sunday wrap-up

Epic Tevis Adventure forthcoming

/ Ashley Wingert / 1 Comment

300+ photos to sort. ~40 miles of riding over three days. Swimming in the American River. Too many late nights and short hours of sleep, but the laughter, fun, and friends more than make up for it.

It was another EPIC Tevis year.

Spoiler Alert: Lucy and Fergus finished!!!

Fergus goes “wheeeeee!!!!”

Photos and epic, multi-part write-up to follow…

Tevis 2013: pre-Ride

/ Ashley Wingert / 6 Comments

Or, Part One of this year’s Epic Crewing Adventure.

My Tevis experience lasted a full week this time. The fun started last Tuesday when I flew up to Sacremento. Fellow crew member, friend, and rider-I’ve-crewed-in-the-past Lucy picked me up at the airport and we made our way back to “Tevis Low Camp” — aka Lucy’s place. It was the gathering place of the week, with, at various points, up to seven people (plus a dog and a parrot) all crammed under one roof.

Wednesday was the start of some good fun, as Kaity wanted to do one last ride from the Finish to No Hands Bridge and back. I borrowed Lucy’s pone Roo, and we trailered him and Kaity’s Kody over to Auburn. We’d gotten a late morning start, so it was a bit warm, but a lot of the trail is under shade trees, so it was never really too bad, temperature-wise.

I’d hiked the last 1/2-miler or so of the trail from the Fairgrounds before, and hiked from the Hwy 49 crossing to just past the waterfalls and back, so I’d seen parts of the trail, but never the full 49-to-Finish section. (All part of my long-term plan to see as much of the trail and experience as much of The Ride as possible before riding it myself.)

Heading out from the Auburn Overlook

I’d also, for curiosity and education’s sake, booted Roo in a full complement of Renegades. Not only has he been notoriously hard on boots in the past (he really torques with his hind hooves when he goes up hills), this section of trail has some “boot-eating” areas of water crossing + mud + uphill climb over rough terrain. It was very educational and I got to experience firsthand some of the challenges of why boots can come off it this type of terrain. (As I’m half-hanging off Roo’s side as he climbed up out of the Black Hole, watching his hind boots twist a little bit more with each step.) Finally experiencing the terrain firsthand gave me some great insight into the boot-hoof-trail relationship and have some ideas on how to work through some of these challenges in subsequent years.

We remembered the helmet…and forgot the bridle.

The pre-ride (8 miles or so?) was tons of fun. Roo, true to form, had to gawp suspiciously at all culverts, chalks lines, and large rocks, but he only gave one truly spectacular sideways Arab-teleport-maneuver spook, and he chose a nice, wide, safe area to do so.

Back in to the Overlook. A bit hot, sweaty,
muddy, and hungry. 

I love little grey Arabians of the Al-Marah variety
(Roo is AM Ruwala Land)

Look, Ma, no hands!

Riding across No Hands was a blast. On the way out, I did a staged “no hands” photo op, and then we trotted across the bridge on the way back. (Even more fun!)

After the ride, we hustled the ponies back to Lucy’s, got cleaned up, then zipped back down to Auburn for the Tevis BBQ and standard perusal of the horses staying in the barns at the Fairgrounds. Not too many in the barns ahead of time this year — fewer out of state riders? Or more riders going directly up to Robie Park?
Thursday was prep day: Grocery shop, clean stuff, pack trailer, wash pone, and we managed to get everything done by a reasonable hour so that we could sit back and enjoy pizza.
That’s about it for part one (unless you want a play-by-play of rig packing), so it’s on to part two — The Ride!

random musings on crewing Tevis

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

This is by no means a hard-and-fast rulebook of how crewing must be done, but instead more of a look back at my crewing experiences, since I have managed to properly blog about absolutely none of them. I’ve not been in the position (yet) to have to write crew instructions, but this is coming from the perspective of one who has been the crew, and what is helpful and useful and what riders can potentially do ahead of time to make for a very happy crew.

I’ve been very fortunate to crew for friends and fun people. I’ve not had the experience of grumpy riders, or demanding riders, but instead riders who have been conscientious about things like providing water/snacks for their crew, and being gracious, grateful, and generous in how they’ve treated me before, during, and after the ride. (This is why I like crewing: It’s been a positive experience for me.)

Crew instructions are good. Cherish the rider who hands you a multi-page stack of instructions that spell out their routine and expectations of what they would like to see happen. Whether all of this actually happens is another story. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to clarify what something means.

Take care of yourself! Know how it’s important to take care of yourself while riding? Same goes for crewing. Blessed be the rider who provides for their crew with extra water/snacks, but don’t assume that will always be the case. Check with them ahead of time on whether you need to provide for yourself or not. Making sure you as the crew stays hydrated and fed means you won’t pass out partway through the day, thus being completely useless. (People electrolytes are good, too.)

Sunscreen! You’re going to be out in the sun all day, and very likely wearing fewer clothes than when you’re riding. (Unless you’re crewing at a cold, windy, winter ride, in which case, you’re probably wearing more layers. But since I’m coming at this from a mainly-Tevis perspective, odds are good attire will be of the shorts-and-tank-tops variety, thus, sunscreen.)

Crewing is so glamorous. If you’re lucky enough to be assigned position of “food intake monitor,” be prepared to get slopped on. Degree of mess will depend on exactly what your rider chooses to feed their Muggins, and what Muggins deigns to consume at any given point. Rule of thumb: The more rice bran, the messier the slop. Some horses are, in theory, delicate and neat eaters. I’ve yet to come across one. Roo, in 2009, was probably the neatest eater, and even he managed to dribble on my shoes. You will also, at various points, be sneezed on, used as an itching post, and guaranteed to come home with electrolytes in your hair. And the dirt just goes without saying.

Be a Learning Sponge. I have learned so much about Tevis, and endurance in general, by crewing. I spend a lot of time at this ride just quietly taking in everything around me and watching the very experienced riders.

Cooling gear is not just for riders. Those cooling vests and neck scarf things feel really good in the late afternoon hanging around Foresthill.

Hurry up and wait. The modes of Tevis: frantic, anxious, impatient, relieved, ecstatic. Frantic comes in when you’re racing the morning clock and traffic, trying to get the rig from Robie Park to Foresthill, then the crew packed up and to Robinson Flat before your rider comes in. Anxious is after you’ve set everything up and the waiting starts. “Is that them?” “What number were they?” “Is the pull list updated?” “When are they going to get in?” “What’s the time cutoff?” Impatient is sitting around Foresthill in the middle of the afternoon, feeling utterly useless for several hours. Relieved is when the familiar bay/grey/chestnut/whatever comes into sight, decked out in their color scheme du jour. And finally, ecstatic is when you get to see your beaming rider cross the finish line under the bright lights of the stadium. (That’s the late hour making your vision blurry, not happy tears, really…)

Be a cheerful, smiling presence. Don’t volunteer to crew unless you really want to be there. The rider has enough to deal with without a grumpy, whiny crewperson. You don’t have to be a Brilliant Endurance Rider to be a good crew. Knowing the front end of the horse (food goes here) from the back (don’t get kicked by) is a great start, and the ability to schlep heavy objects will make you invaluable to the other crew members.

Say good-bye to sleep patterns. Part of the fun of Tevis is being up for all hours. Last year was a new record, when I stayed up for 26 hours straight. Caffeine is your friend. I try to “bank” sleep in the week leading up to Tevis weekend and have found this actually does help. For the past week, I’ve been really good about sticking with a regular sleeping/waking pattern, and getting a full 8 hours.

You might get the bug. Or you might not. To some people, they don’t “get” Tevis and it’s just another ride. To others, it’s the ride of a lifetime. For me, crewing was enough to ignite “the bug” that’s been biting at me ever since that first crewing experience nine years ago.

Now that I’ve probably managed to scare everyone off…don’t worry! I didn’t know a thing about endurance before my first crewing experience. NATRC, yes, which helped, but Tevis was literally the very first endurance ride I ever attended. Talk about your trial by fire. But it got me hooked, and two years back-to-back of crewing gave me the nudge I needed to start down the endurance path.

I’m sure there is stuff I have missed along the way (memory usually winds up a little fuzzy by the time Tevis week/weekend is over) and I’m sure I’ll come up with other stuff to address after this year’s ride, but for now…

8 days and counting!