Blog Hop: Why Did You Start?

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

Mel linked to an article of “Why the Heck Some Good Runners Started Running in the First Place“. I won’t spoil it, but it’s a good read — and some of the reasons are definitely not what you would expect!

The blog hop question is simple: Why did you start riding and/or running in the first place?

Riding: I think horses have always been in my blood, plain and simple. My great-grandfather was an officer in the Polish cavalry, so blame a throwback in genetics. I have photos of me in a baby stroller, no more than a year old, staring fixedly at the ponies in the corral at the petting zoo. Forget the goats, the sheep, the chickens. I wanted the ponies. (Not that I remember this.)
And when I was young, I went through a litany of activities, like all young girls do, trying to find their place. My parents only stipulation was that I do one activity at a time, and that if I decided I didn’t like something, I had to at least finish out the season/lesson course/whatever measure of timing is used to determine little kids’ activities. Ballet, gymnastics, t-ball, Girl Scouts…and horseback riding.
Throw enough mud at a wall and something eventually sticks…horses stuck. I honestly don’t know why. I had such a rough start to the whole horse experience that I probably should have been scared off of them for life. I guess if something’s meant to be, that’s the way it goes.
Running: I’ve dabbled in running off and on for years, usually forced through gym class requirements, and occasionally a wild hair when I would get tired of my pony being fitter than me. This time around, I was initially motivated by getting Artemis. Once she hit 6 months old back in the spring, I knew I needed to start doing more than just walks to burn off some of her energy — I only have so much time to be out walking before I have to be back home for work, so a 10-mile walk in the morning wasn’t going to happen. Since she was still young, we started off very slow, very short distances…but it was more intensity than just walking. As she got older, and fitter, we increased distance. And because I was giving her such a slow legging up, I wasn’t subjecting myself to my usual over-ambitious, under-conditioned running attempts that made it so miserable in the past.
I hit the running path hard at the beginning of the summer after the break-up of what I thought had been a good, pretty serious relationship. Perhaps a questionable motivation…but I discovered how much of an escape running is for me. It’s something that is between me, my body, and the ground. I can control what happens, insomuch as anything in life can be controlled. My success is tied in to me and whatever effort I put into it, with some pretty direct and immediate feedback. It’s head-space time for me, whether it’s to think, or try to clear my head.
Horses are my passion, but I’m liking how well running (especially trail running) seems like it’ll be able to co-exist with it.

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Javelina Jangover 7k

/ Ashley Wingert / 10 Comments
Disclaimer: Please consult with your financial information provider about whether your wallet is healthy enough to engage in another competitive activity. ;)


Cat’s out of the bag: I’ve officially taken up trail running. I did my first-ever trail race on Saturday night, the Aravaipa Running Javelina Jangover 7k.

It was awesome.

Some history:

I started incorporating some running into my daily walk routine back in the spring, once Artemis hit about 6 months old. Upping the intensity by upping the pace helped get rid of some of her excess energy, while still keeping the time I was spending to a reasonable level. We started off very slow, keeping in mind she was still young, and only ran on dirt or grass surfaces. And when I say slow, I mean slow. Like, 1/4 mile of a 3-mile session would have been spent jogging, the rest walking.

In June, we did our first actual training walk/run on trails…Artemis took to it and behaved much better than she does on normal walks, and I found it much easier and more enjoyable to run the desert trails versus slogging out the miles on the flat canal paths around the house.

We’ve spent the summer doing our daily walks of 3-4 miles, and a couple times a week, we add some running to that. I’m not a good consistent runner — I can go, at most, about 3/4 of a mile before I need a walk break — but I do lots of short runs interspersed with walk sections, and go up and down “hills” at the water retention basin of the local park. Not ideal…but when your closest real trails are 30 minutes away…you make do with what you have. I’ve also been trying to do an actual trail hike once a week as well.

And that’s about as scientific as I get. I don’t wear a GPS, I don’t track speed, distance, or time, I don’t keep logs or records. Worst Runner Ever, I know. But I started this just for fun. I’ve never been a great runner — too slow, can’t sustain it, not built for it, have broken myself in the past when I’ve tried — but despite all of that, there’s a part of me that actually enjoys it. I like the runner’s high, but it also fulfills some of my control-freak needs: when everything else is going wrong, this is one of the few things I can directly control (as much as anything can be controlled) in that I’m not relying on another person, or a sound horse, or anything other than access to some decent running area and a body that doesn’t fail me.

And it turns out I’m actually semi-competent at trail running. I finally figured out, after Saturday night, that I’m trying to set too fast a pace on the flat stuff, and I can’t sustain it. (Mostly because it’s flat and boring and I just want to be done.) But trail running was something else. The variance of terrain kept my speed to a slow jog, and I was able to maintain it for all but a 1/2-mile uphill climb section of the race. This is unheard of for me.

The days leading up to the race had been calling for rain…and race management said, “bring jackets.” Hmmm. My first trail run, possibly in the rain…and did I mention it was a night run? I have The Best Ideas Ever. The one thing I had going for me was it was at McDowell Mountain Park, and the trail was one I have ridden on many times, so I knew it well.

start/finish line at the Pemberton staging area

Driving up to the park, I was chased by storm clouds, and I watched lightning striking in the distance. Upon arriving at the staging area, a quick Facebook update was made, just so everyone could be informed of my Best Idea Ever:

“This may be a Very Bad Idea. Definitely getting
wet tonight. Lightning already striking in the
distance and part of the course is on a ridgeline.
Race strategy: try to run near someone who is
taller than me so they get struck by lightning first.”

The 7 k started at 8:30, with the longer distances of 75k, 50k, and 25k starting earlier. I had gotten there about 6:30, knowing that parking was going to be interesting and wanting to get my race packet before the skies opened up.

Got my number bib and participant shirt (just like endurance, I do this for the t-shirt), then hung out around the starting area for a bit, getting a feel for things. I also succumbed to a Good Deal on a really nice new headlamp (Black Diamond Spot) that is much brighter than my old one. Old one is great for riding in that it has one switch and two modes, red or white, and is about as idiot-proof as a headlamp can possibly be. This one is much fancier, with six different light options…but I will keep the old one as the riding headlamp and the new one as the running headlamp.

run swag

And then it started raining. I retreated back to the suburban to shelter for a bit and recharge my phone (wanted to actually GPS what I was doing for once), visited the facilities one last time, and by the time I headed over to the start area 15 minutes before the start time, it had stopped raining.

I have a strong competitive streak that tends to surface in these sort of situations, such as an en masse race start…but I also knew that would be the fastest way to wear myself out. So I stuck to the last third of the pack and headed out at a reasonable jog pace. A lot of the trail is single track or wide single track, especially the first mile, so it was fairly easy for people to spread out and pass when needed.

My main goals were to finish without embarrassing myself (I figured maybe an hour and half realistically…maybe an hour if the stars aligned and I discovered my Inner Runner), try not to wipe out on the rocks/downhill, and to avoid breaking myself.

As I mentioned earlier, the varied terrain made it easy for me to keep the pace reasonable, and I just chugged along at a little jog. I knew where the trail went, but being dark, I didn’t have a sense of the surrounding and scenery that I usually use to figure out exactly where I’m at. So it was a shock when I hit the one uphill climb of the race, at just over a mile in. I couldn’t believe I had jogged the whole section non-stop, and wasn’t doing my usual “gasping-for-breath” routine.

I power-walked up the half-mile climb…very rocky singletrack that just sort of climbs and climbs. And I passed several people on the way up. I may not be a fast runner, but I have an excellent powerwalk, and I hadn’t burned myself up in the first mile. At the top of the climb was the bench that Mimi always spooks at…the trail levels off and smooths out (a bit), so I picked up a jog again. It goes along the top of a ridgeline, fairly level (a few sections maybe 30-40 feet long that were inclines that I power-walked), then drops down on this awesomely fun, zippy downhill section.

I motored the downhill — was super pleased with how controlled the descent was, but I still kept running. Even though it was dark, and rocky, and this was the part I was most likely to wipe out, I wasn’t thinking about that — I was having fun!!!

Then the trail hit the flat, and the turn back to the finish. I had a brief thought of, “Oh, I remember how far this intersection actually is…” and kind of wanted to walk…but then the competitiveness did me a favor. I had been pacing a couple of people along the ridge and down, and I didn’t want the one in front to get away from me, or the one behind to pass me. I accessed — I still felt good, physically, was still breathing evenly, and nothing was sore. So, mental wall it was. Alright, then…keep running it is.

And I kept going. I passed a couple more people on the flat (and got passed by a couple others, but…*shrug*), even bumped up my pace a tiny bit in the last half mile or so…and then I was done, with an official finish time of 57:38.

57:38. My secret, not-going-to-tell-anyone, wildest goal was an hour.

In reality, I know this is still So Slow. But in my own little world, which up until now has been populated with the overwhelming belief that I Am Not A Runner, this is a Major Victory. I proved to myself that I could do it…and more importantly, it was fun!!! It wasn’t getting out there and slogging out the miles for the sake of Proving Who Knows What to Who Knows Who, but it was finding an activity that I enjoy, that makes me feel good, that boosts my self-confidence, and has the bonus points of being something that, if done right, will continue to improve my health, fitness, and well-being (physically and mentally…running is almost as good of mental therapy for me as riding, and in some ways better when it’s horses causing mental angst).

finisher award (mason jar, Hammer recovery
drink, and bottle opener)

A quick breakdown analysis of what worked and what didn’t…

My Gear: I wore a simple pair of New Balance running shorts that I’ve had forever that have never done me wrong, one of my Kerrits Ice-Fil tank tops, a Buff headband, Panache sports bra (one of the few I can actually run in), SmartWool socks, and my ancient Vasque trail runners (complete with split in the sole…new shoes are on their way after a discussion with running buddies impressed upon me the importance of Having Good Shoes). Nothing rubbed, nothing chafed, no blisters. We’ll see what happens when I start upping the distance.
Food: I ate dinner late afternoon, and next time, I will probably try eating a larger meal in the middle of the day and snacking before the race. The first mile or so, I felt like my digestive system was contemplating a minor revolt…it never followed through on the threat, but this is a whole new world for me.
Post-race, I hit the aid station for some snacks, then got a wood-fired pizza for some real food.
Overall: I was really thrilled with how good I felt afterwards. Maybe I could have gone faster…but one of my goals was “don’t break myself” so I’d rather be a little slower and not in pain. Had a few sore muscles the day after — outside of my upper quads, just below the hips, and the outside of my left knee. Don’t know if that’s from the hills, or needing new shoes, or what. Something to explore…or experienced running friends, please chime in your two cents! Felt good enough to do a couple-mile walk with the dog yesterday, and this morning, we ran around in the rain down at our little neighborhood park.
I’m really excited about how this will cross over for endurance, and being able to competently get off and jog alongside the horse during rides.
Off to sign up for next month’s race!

Epic Tevis Adventure, 2014 Edition: Part Three: Last Chance for Adventure

/ Ashley Wingert / 4 Comments

Final part!! Unless, of course, I think of some things I forgot along the way. But for all intents and purposes, we’re done. :) Good job if you’ve gotten this far along the journey. Less words, more photos in this part.

MONDAY morning, we rounded up our respective mounts, stuffed them in the trailer, and zoomed up to Foresthill to do a quick ride from Foresthill to Chicken Hawk and back. We parked right in front of the cemetery (no, not ominous at all…), rode through the Mill Site, down Bath Road and into Volcano Canyon. Volcano is the smallest and “tamest” of the three canyons, but it still has its drop-off areas, and you still go down two miles and up two miles. And it’s also very, very dusty.
all dressed and ready
heading towards the Mill Site — can
just barely see the trailer in the background

they leave chalk signs on Bath Rd to tell you how far you are…
I’m side-eyeing it more than the horse
down Volcano Canyon

Volcano Creek
where the trail crosses and continues — this is looking
towards the Chicken Hawk side

pausing to water the boys in the creek
Going up towards Chicken Hawk, we saw bear tracks in the dust. And passed this really creepy-looking tree, all charred and dead in the middle of a bunch of greenery.
dusty!
CREEPY TREE!!!

climbing

The new trail out of Chicken Hawk is interesting – I would love to see what it’s like after a winter of getting bedded in. As it is now, it’s very dusty, and there are random small holes to trip over/step in that are hard to see due to the fine, powdery footing. It’s definitely made for small, zoomy pones, with more twists and turns…but far more interesting than the old road. Slower, for sure…but I’m guessing the trade-off of having the larger vet check and more space is probably worth the trade-off.
going up to Chicken Hawk — flyin’!!!
The boys got to clean up the hay leftovers at Chicken Hawk, and we surveyed the suddenly-ominous skies. “But rain was predicted for the high Sierras, not the foothills!” protested Kaity. The port-a-potties were still in place from the weekend, so we made use of the facilities, went through the check to the road and then back into the check – miming our way through “ride procedure” and then back out to the new trail.
“Nomz” go the boys.

rider refueling

coming in to Chicken Hawk from the road — ride direction

signage
leaving Chicken Hawk on the new trail —
DUSTY!!!

heading towards Volcano Canyon

bombin’ down the road!
I actually really enjoy Volcano Canyon – running it in the direction the ride goes is fun. A lot of the downhill can be trotted/shuffled down, so you can really make time. We briefly got sprinkled on (if a dozen drops of rain counts) going up the canyon when we passed through a break in the trees, but that was it.
yes, Roo, I *know* you enjoy tightrope-walking the edge

makin’ time! (camera doesn’t cope well with low light)

dueling cameras

Tevis ribbon!
going down
lookit that pone corner at a trot!

Kaity stops to smell the bay leaves

“Why are we stopped? WHY???” Fidget pants r us.

the clouds we were racing

cool rocks

back at Volcano Creek

scenic moment

“Ani, don’t LEAVE me!!!”

bottoms up! (there were trout in here)

mining remnants (and there were mining claim signs on
some of the trees)

going up!

drinking at the spring halfway up Volcano Canyon

at the top of the canyon, almost to Bath Rd
New appreciation for how far up Bath Road you still have to climb – it’s not “just around the corner and you’re there.” But since the boys had only done about 8 miles at this point, as opposed to the 68 on ride day…we trotted.
at the bottom of Bath Rd, just out of the canyon. on ride day,
they have troughs here.

about halfway up

at the boundary of the Mill Site — approximately where they
set out the trough on ride day
We did a bit of hay clean-up at the Mill Site, then headed back to the trailer. We got sprinkled on yet again right about the time we were getting in the truck, and then that was it for the rain.
The plan for the afternoon was to finally, finally go play at the American River Confluence. Every year I’ve been to Tevis, the topic of playing in the river has been talked about, and never ends up happening, so we were determined to make it happen at some point this year.
It’s been something that has been added to the “must do yearly” list. We found a spot that was just past No Hands Bridge, with its own “private beach” with areas to swim, wade, or just sit. Beautiful, clear, cool water, gorgeous views…definitely a relaxing way to spend the afternoon.
view from our private beach

No Hands Bridge from below
Monday night wrapped up with me doing some creative packing (I was bringing home a saddle pad Lucy had borrowed and a quilt she had put together for me), but I managed to get the important stuff in there (and ship the less-important things home).
TUESDAY morning wrapped up the fun…we did some vehicle shuttling and shuffling to enable Kaity to ride the California Loop from Foresthill to Driver’s Flat, one way. Once we got her situated and trailer moved, Lucy dropped me off at the airport on her way to work. Fortunately, my flight home was much quieter, and my parents brought my little Artemissy-puppy to the airport to pick me up!
THE WRAP-UP: The more I crew, the easier it gets. It really helps when you’ve crewed multiple times for the same rider, and for the same horse. You learn quirks about the horse (For example: Fergus can be touchy about his ears, so allow a couple of extra minutes to bridle, and don’t unbridle him except at the big checks. He’s easier to syringe from the off-side. He prefers LMF and beet pulp sloppy mashes to pellet mashes. He likes bite-sized apple pieces hand-fed to him.)
I also learn new tricks every year, things that get filed away in my mental filing cabinet of “how to make my eventual Tevis ride easier.” Things I would like my own crew to do. Notes to self on my own care. And, of course, seeing as much of the trail as I can ahead of time to know what I’m up against and how to best train for it.

This might not be everyone’s idea of a vacation…but in my world, it was exactly what I needed. (And I’m ready for vacation again, thanks…)

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