Welp, I declared my Tevis goal (or at least, Tevis curious goal) and am already facing an immediate pivot…but I’m not super sad about it. The road to Tevis is long, and Tarma’s only 10 (ish) this year, so a few more years to prepare (hopefully) won’t hurt. What has derailed me is delightful! One of the rules I grew up with I’m now holding Kade to; he has to do a sport. Doesn’t matter what it is, but it must be physical and regular. In high school I kept up with soccer in the fall, basketball for the winter, and a terrible round robin of track and field events in the spring (ask my parents how my foray into pole vaulting went). Summers were spent on trail crews in the woods (which I sadly found out that due to insurance reasons Kade won’t be able to go til he’s 16, alas). Our school district luckily has a wide range of sports to choose from, including OHSET. I took Kade to a few practices and neither one of us got good vibes, and he dropped soccer a few years back, so he’s chosen endurance as his sport for this year at least.

This means, in essence, I’m conditioning not one horse and one person, but two people and two horses. Kade’s riding Cody while Rachel’s arm recovers, which has been a bittersweet win all around. In case I haven’t said it to your face often enough Rachel, I miss ya and thank you a million times over with trusting us with your noble steed! Just when you think you’ve got endurance figured out, a new avenue opens or a curveball pops up out of nowhere. If it was just myself, Cody and Tarma I could manage well enough, but accounting for Kade’s mental and physical conditioning is a whole other kettle of fish. Having to keep four beings in mind when planning and loading and moving down the trail makes me feel like I’m back to playing SIMS, a game I enjoyed but did questionably well.

For a kid that has grown up in ride camps and is now taking the reins himself, I can clearly see how well they’ve helped form him as a human being. He’s always quick to pitch in and can see what needs to be done; he understands that the horse comes first, always; he can handle anything the horses throw at him with humor and patience; he always ends a ride in a better mood than where we started. Bringing him along is not without a few challenges though. He is a full teenager, and some days his moods are just that, storm clouds blasting through with no rhyme or reason. I’ve learned those are quieter days when aside from making sure he and Cody are still upright, I leave him be and don’t force things. We rarely are in the saddle before 11am, as was my usual for many years. For best nutrition and mood, we’re usually riding into sunset (teenage hours are wonky). He’s a bit of a fair weather rider but as we’re keeping Cody fit for Rachel we go out regardless, and even with the best gear it’s not always super fun but I do try to pick and choose our days out as best I can.

Keeping him comfortable is super tricky, as in some ways he’s clear about telling me what’s not working. His hands are always an issue, if he wears gloves he complains about not being able to do some things but without his hands are too cold. In other ways he’s silent about things that if we just adjusted a little he’d be miles happier (tell me when you need new socks kid!) However, being comfortable with a certain amount of discomfort is par for the course with endurance, and we’re slowly stretching Kade’s abilities. I’m aiming to be up to 15 mile rides by mid-April, we’re currently at 8-9 miles and he reports feeling sore but not impossibly so.

I’m getting better at choosing the right questions, which can change a ride from quiet to having us chattering away in minutes. I keep readjusting my role between mom, trainer and Responsible for Four Living Beings person. He’s in regular lessons with one of my long term trainers so I can spread around the “instilling new knowledge” and correcting things part (my Kade As A Rider Top Pet Peeve is his reins are always too long). I’m learning how to give guidance without it being an edict. A good example is last weekend’s ride, we encountered a ton of downed trees after the last big storm. Of course I forgot my saw at home, so we had to navigate over them as best we could. Tarma’s a rockstar at this, she never refuses and usually listens to me when I suggest where or how she should get over, or figures it out and I stay out of her way. Cody…appreciates a bit more leadership. He and Kade made it over the first log after two attempts, but the second one, which Tarma made it right over, Cody wasn’t having it. I watched Kade’s mounted attempts to show Cody where Tarma had crossed for a bit, then suggested it might be easier for them both if Kade dismounted and lead Cody instead. Viola, they made it right over!

Kade’s reported he’s really happiest just cruising on down the trail, which is where Cody excels so they get on like gangbusters. In addition to endurance Kade will be horse camping with me as much as possible, so if anyone has a spare mostly sane mount I would love to chat with you! His favorites are the broiest of bros geldings, he gets along with mares too but really shines with those in your pocket, “what’s up fellow kids”? Geldings. I would especially love to find a mount for him for the Cross State Ride in May. I did it with Tarma a few years ago and had an absolute blast (despite saddle fitting woes with the old Wintec) and that type of riding is exactly what I think Kade would most enjoy. Get up, tack up, watch the horses, ride 10-20 miles with no real time limit, eat good food, camp cozy.