Tis the soggiest time of year, when I have ample time to ride…and the winds are gusting and the sky is dumping and the heated blankets sing a siren’s song. I’m reading plenty of books, selling off spare tack, and pondering the upcoming year. Several of my friends like to choose words for the year, or mantras or “Year of” theme to set their intentions, but I think I’ll take a wider lens this time. Everything I’m dreaming or planning or hoping to accomplish or experience next year and beyond will not be done in a vacuum, and cannot be a solo pursuit. Given the state of things nationally and even locally, the building of communities, the care and maintenance of them takes on even more importance. Being good stewards of the communities we choose to be a part of will make hard things possible, whatever those communities or hard things may be for everyone.

For myself, in order to keep pursuing my endurance and horsemanship goals, I’m leaning more into the lovely endurance community. I’ve joined the founding cohort of The Sweaty Equestrian’s Essential Endurance Rider Fitness program, and I have high hopes this structured setting with other endurance crazy folks will help fill the gap I’ve been struggling with. Where I am now is solid, but not where I want to be. Or, better stated, how I am now will not get me how and where I want to be. As a person, both in my career and in my horsemanship, I operate best with a big, out there goal to always be marching towards. When faced with a choice in the day to day humdrum like “Should I decompress on the couch or take the dog for a walk?”, I have to have the question in the back of my mind, “Is this getting me closer to my Big Goal?”

This worked wonders when my Big Goal was “Complete a 50 mile ride with Tarma in 2023.” I put in the hours of training (horse and human), the research, the futzing with gear and protocols and we managed 4 50s in a year, all turtle completions. This year I haven’t had a big goal, so we’ve been having fun with LDs and other events. The effect of this means I haven’t had that question in the back of my head driving me towards something. I also knew that doing 50s would reveal the deeper things we have to work on, which I’ve narrowed to three buckets: Jame as a rider; Tarma’s movement; saddle fit.

Fixing the saddle was the most straightforward. Tarma’s grown and changed through our work, both endurance and dressage, that she was ready for a custom saddle. Our used tack sale find Synergist saddle brought us so far, almost 2000 miles, but it wouldn’t take us to the next level. We received our Allegheny Mountain Saddle, Renegade model, a few months ago and it’s been wonderful for both of us. I feel a tad more secure with the seat that’s actually sized for me, and it’s reassuring to know it’s made for Tarma. I might have some futzing to do with pads, but the saddle itself is confirmed to fit her as it needs to.

Regular dressage lessons are helping even Tarma out, teaching her to carry herself in a stronger frame, giving us buttons to adjust her tempo and speed, and gives me the reassurance of a professional keeping regular tabs on us. Including the poking I need to grow, change and adjust how I handle Tarma so we’re both more comfortable with each other, with few surprises to upset our flow. I’m lucky enough to have found a wonderful trainer who adjusts and nudges in equal measure, who flexes with whatever we’re going to get from that day’s lesson, whether it be actual dressage practice, a body work session before an endurance ride, or working on behavioral stuff outside the arena.

Jame as a rider (and an athlete) is the toughest nut to crack. As I dig around the past 10 years or so, I’ve been unable to keep at any kind of exercise other than riding with any consistency. I’ve tried jogging (we hates it), swimming (too much fussing and time consuming), joining two separate gyms, physical therapy (super helpful but holy copays Batman), buying kettlebells for my house that just gathered dust, and of course, teaching my Labrador to annoy the shit out of me when he’s not walked enough. I knew I needed a new Big Goal, and when I was hitting “refresh” on the Tevis live feed back in the summer it snuck up on me.

Tevis, beast that it is, is not a goal made lightly. I’ve been riding endurance for a decade and other than cheering on friends and local riders who’ve entered, it’s not been on my radar. I can’t quite pinpoint when my mind began to change, but two things recently emerged: Following the journey of Flash the Hackney Pony and his young rider through their Tevis completion, and how absolutely joyful my endurance rides this year with Tarma were, despite being widely different experiences. Still Prineville could have been a wet, cold slog, but I was just comfortable enough and Tarma was a beast all day, eating up Still Hill and taking care of us both through the slop, and we picked up a supportive riding partner a few miles in who stuck with us the entire way. Santiam was a beautiful day with fun new friends and a freight train of a mare, always with those eagle eyes on the horizon. The Open ride at Nationals we cantered more than ever, and I barely had to touch the reins all day (aside from the start, of course). We capped off the season with a 23ish mile ride in the mountains, and Tarma didn’t put a foot wrong or hesitate all day.

As I’ve mentioned to a few friends lately, I know I have the community surrounding us with enough knowledge, experience and available mentors to shape Tarma into a Tevis mount. I can easily see her tearing up the hills and flying down the roads with that ground devouring Morgan road trot, taking care of herself all day and into the long night. We’d have to find a good buddy that can pace her and badger me to eat, but I can see it…for her part. The question remains, can I make myself a Tevis rider? And before that, can I make myself a 100 mile rider? The road to any 100, let alone the Toughest Race on Earth, isn’t a clear shot or a smooth path, and I’m starting from farther than others right now. I’m no couch potato, but the real things to transform me from a back of the pack rider to an endurance athlete on my own merit aren’t in place quite yet.

Sitting down and sketching out a path to Tevis brings a lot of things into focus. First and foremost I need to establish and keep up with a fitness program, then address my own longer term nutrition. I still need to futz with hoof protection (I’m definitely waiting on those EasyCare Change shoes!) I’m going to ask around at the PNER and AERC conventions and look for a dedicated 100 miler mentor. I’m looking at the rides already approved and planning to pick the toughest, hottest 50 miler that’s a reasonable distance to us. Our rides this year were pretty flat and not super technical, so we need to find a gnarly, butt busting, hot as hell ride to test ourselves on first.

We’ll take whatever lessons learned from that ride (whether we make it or not) and adjust conditioning and protocols from there. Assuming no horse, human, truck, trailer or work gremlins have struck, we’ll finish out 2025 learning and adjusting, then head to the Tevis Education Ride in 2026. If that goes well and I don’t melt off my horse in the heat of the Sierra Nevada canyons, we’ll send in our entry for Tevis in 2026.