Liberty and I are riding for our first Tevis buckle…

Virtual buckle, that is. :)

With life Tevis being cancelled this year, the WSTF came up with a fun alternative…a virtual Tevis, to ride 100 miles in 100 days (as well as a non-riding division to bike, walk, run, etc). And finishers do get a completion buckle sticker.

I figured this would be a great first goal for Liberty and myself. We’re #499, if you want to follow us on virtual Tevis. Those shorter, leg-up rides will all add up, and even more so once we hit the trails. It’s something fun to do, but at the same time, provide a concrete goal and time frame to work within. Miles are submitted as you go, starting on what would have been the actual ride date, August 1, through Nov 9. Significant milestones that you reach along the way (Cougar Rock, vet checks, etc) are noted as the miles are submitted.

After being at Tevis annually since 2012, and a few times before then, it felt very strange to not be there this year. Earlier in the year, shortly after the ride got cancelled, my initial reaction was kind of, “meh.” I understood the disappointment for those planning to go, but I was in the midst of a major case of burnout — crewing burnout, catch riding burnout, and a fading interest in endurance and riding in general. It’s kind of amazing how the addition of Liberty into my life has restored my enthusiasm, and once again infused me with the drive and desire that’s fueled my endurance dreams over the years.

Rewatching the Japanese Tevis documentary from last year’s ride also got that Tevis flame rekindled again. I don’t know if “Tevis” will ever be in Libby’s and my vocabulary…she is 14, and we’ve not even completed a 50 yet. Because as much as I say, “low expectations,” at the same time, it’s hard to not at least entertain some dreams, both big and small, in the back of my mind. Because you just never know.  To me, at least, it’s always better to have hope and possibilities that can develop into something, than to have nothing to reach for and move towards.

Cougar Rock practice? Climbing at Groom Creek a few years ago.

So to that end, we’re going to start with the baby steps of virtual Tevis. Maybe it will be the start of an actual road to Tevis. I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a small portion of both my heart and brain that have squirreled away this notion. Nobody can ever accuse me of not dreaming big, that’s for sure. The biggest unknowns are if she likes longer distances (won’t know until we try) and if her age will catch up and work against her (also don’t know until we try). She’s certainly got a lot going for her — the brains, the heart, the self-care, good metabolics, savvy trailcraft, and the fact I don’t have to try very hard to imagine myself riding her for 100 miles.

But ultimately, as I’ve come to learn in this sport, a goal isn’t the end point, but rather a point along the larger journey as a whole. And with this mare, I think I’m going to enjoy the journey.

Virtual Tevis, Week One

In our first week of virtual Tevis, we’re a whole 2 miles down the trail. Baby steps right now as we work on laying that foundation. We’ve done two short arena rides so far, and I’ve quite happy with the levels of success we hit. Her first ride back after sitting for the past year+, she was an absolute gem. We did some obstacles in the trail course, we walked, we trotted a bit. The second ride, we went into the proper arena. She tested the waters a bit on this ride — a little up, a little nervy — but I was able to maintain my calm, work her through those testing bits, and we ended on a really good note of walking around on a loose rein for a few minutes.

This will be an interesting road, because she’s above the level of “green horse” and has the advantage of mental maturity going for her. Gina did more with her than I previously realized in terms of life experiences — in addition to the 5 AERC LDs she’s done, Gina took her to at least one NATRC ride and was a safety/drag rider, she’s done some horsemanship clinics, went to an intro to cow working clinic, and has done a lot of trail riding. So she’s got more exposure than I originally thought, but “niceties” like arena work are still a bit of a hazy concept to her.

And everything I’ve done with her in the past has been the very focused ride environment with the sole intent of “get on the trail and keep moving” and I squashed in whatever training I could do along the way (which was the reason for both of our OT pulls — the ride itself turned into someone of a training session, and I chose to take the time to sort some issues out at the expense of finishing in time, but with both of our brains and bodies still intact).

Pretty girl. For all my love of wild colors, I’m really liking the black/white on her. 
And someone needs a crupper.

Now, I’ve got the luxury of time and my own schedule on my side, and I find myself not in a major hurry to rush things. I want to take the time to us to figure each other out. It’s actually been a long time since I’ve been in this position of being in the driver’s seat and calling the shots with my own horse, so I’ve savoring the entirety of the experience. I learned a lot of “on the job training” via catch riding and having the chance to be mentored by some very experienced endurance riders whom I greatly respect, and now I’m eager to put that learning into practice.

Things I’ve Learned And Some Things I Already Knew About Her:

• She hates being syringed (break out the molasses and cue “every ride dosing with the syringe” practice)
• She loves water and is totally unfazed by the hose wrapping around her legs and flailing about her body
• She probably needs a crupper (but I don’t think she’s ever worn one)
• When you upgrade your horse size by a good 6 inches, you need longer girths
• She’s a solid 15.1 with no withers…and her size feels very “right” to me
• She’s retained her perfect manners for mounting
• She’s never worn a fly mask or fly sheet before and neither one of them fazed her at all
• She’s just as fussy as Mimi about finding an acceptable bit
• She loves being groomed and fussed over — at-a-ride grooming has always been more along the lines of “get the job done” style, but in reality, she’s perfectly happy to stand tied and be pampered for an hour
• She has a huge “try”
• I’m indecisive about color because she’s another one that multiple colors could look good on…so we’re going with black/white right now

On to Week Two!

Leaving this here. Because the moon is absolutely Tevis-iconic, so I feel like this makes for a very appropriate quote.