When trying to distill my hopes, dreams, and work ahead for a year (though no hard and fast goals this year), the thesaurus is my friend. I knew my intentions for 2024, but it took some hunting to find the right summary word. Last year was all about putting the work into motion, racking up competition miles and testing how far we’ve come. With our families travel plans to Germany sucking up the available “fun” funds, I’ll only make one or two endurance rides to keep plugging away at my decade team goal. This allows for space and time to settle in and focus on building us into a team that will attempt a 100 miler someday. I was wishy washy last year on whether or not a 100 was ever in our future. Having had a solid taste of what Tarma and I are capable of out on those faster trails, and the more I read stories of 100 miler and multi day riders, the more right it feels.

The details, miles, training, and futzing that go into a 100 miler is triple what went into getting us 50 miler fit. The biggest haul is in myself. I was enough last year, barely, and for our first finish not enough to take care of Tarma how she deserved after the ride. Taking everything I already know, seeking out more knowledge and a mentor, putting the work into the smaller details beyond just “ride x miles at x speed per week” is the shaping work this year allows for. We have a solid foundation, though there will always be days I wonder how Tarma feels about what I ask. We could keep plugging away at 50s for fun, and we still will. We’re both capable of more, and I want to be better for her.

Much of the work to form a 100 miler team is on myself. Just like any reasonably fit horse can complete endurance (if properly managed), so can a reasonably fit human complete LDs and 50s. I can say with complete confidence that while I’m a proven 50 miler rider, I’ve never been a 100 miler rider, even when I was a fit young thing chopping down trees and carving trails in the wilderness. As folks smarter than me have pointed out, 100 milers require both partners to be athletes, and the past few years I haven’t really been treating myself as such. Just ask my dressage trainer about my dismal posting!

I’ve done the work before, lost 65 pounds for the surrogacy, though my goals were different. While loosing weight for Tarma is always a good thing, the main thrust is building physical strength and management systems or routines. At some point, all strength training and preparations fail, but having practiced systems in place can catch you and help you still complete a ride. These can be small things, like always keeping the chewable Tums in my saddle bags, to dragging supportive friends (or offspring) into the wilderness to assist you at vet checks. Staying organized and knowing exactly what I have in my trailer has saved me so much time during rides, including when tack breaks or someone else needs a helping hand.

For Tarma’s part, there is some physical work still to do. We’ve been plugging away at dressage lessons for almost a year now, and I’m really starting to feel the difference. We still have things she argues with me about, namely not blowing out through that right shoulder, but we’re coming along. She needs some respiratory system building, she can get blowing harder than I like after several faster miles. Futzing with her electrolytes and supplements never ends, especially when she turns her nose up on her supplements that I made the mistake of premixing a month ahead of time. There are some behavioral holes I would like to fill, namely travelling at speed in a group. If it’s just two of us, she’s decent, but any more than that and it’s a struggle for awhile to keep her where I’m asking. Forget cantering in a group at all, the second she feels someone coming up alongside us at a canter she still wants to throw her brain away and bolt. As I’m getting more confident in my strength (and the A-frame position Stevie DeLahunt taught us) we can start chipping away at that. Thankfully the vast majority of actual endurance rides are at a trot, the cantering really comes into play for those respiratory building conditioning rides.

The biggest struggle for me with all this in mind is not overdoing it. We have a lot to do, but we have time. I’m full of things we can be working on even at home, pole work, body work, dressage, riding with Kade, the list goes on. Tarma showed me over our holiday shutdown that she’s much more willing when she’s in regular work. Instead of two or three days off between rides, a day or two is all she needs, but I don’t want her to sour on dealing with me. I’m lucky enough to have access to a trainer’s wonderful lesson horses, though I can’t afford that weekly.

Shaping is what Tarma and I will be up to for 2024. I can’t wait to spend another year with my spicy chocolate lady, whatever it brings us.