With Tevis 2027 only *checks calendar math* 1 year, 1 month and 1 day away (how funny I’m finally getting around to the next update today then!) I teeter totter between feeling like we can totally prepare to show our faces in Robie Park or absolutely ready to throw in the towel, because how could we ever be ready for such a thing? Even when I’m trudging uphill on a hot day or struggling with stretches in the gym, I think about how far I have to go to be able to do the same things at mile 75 with the sun fading from the sky. I have yet to figure out my own electrolytes and stomach maintenance, heat training will be a whole thing, and there’s the big question about the weight of myself and my tack that Tarma has to reckon with (which is just one factor among many during the normal course of things, but deeply affects our Tevis prospects).

We have moved forward on some things now that I’ve returned from all the travelling. I’m back in a solid fitness schedule, with two to three gym workouts a week, another Sweaty Equestrian challenge to work through (this one called “Sweaty Summer” and focused on flexibility). I’m eating better, partly with tricks I picked up while in Europe (eat, then walk!) I’m aiming for three Tarma workouts a week: One dressage ride of some sort, an in hand session, and one or two conditioning rides depending on weather and how she’s feeling.

For the in-hand workouts I’ve been jogging up the hill and around the fields. It’s a quicker workout, not every mile needs to be asaddle, and she’s not always the greatest at matching me on the ground at speed so any practice is helpful. My jogging speed is either a fast walk or slow jog for her, so she gets a lot of transitions while I’m trudging ahead and that slow jog is more work for her than her main endurance trot speed. I can also set my expectations a bit better, whether I want her behind me, towing me via tailing, and asking her to maintain her own straight line instead of wandering into my space when I’m too slow for her. I also had her saddle fit rechecked (close enough with a better pad and a shim or two), plus a red laser therapy session which Tarma clearly loved, so I’ll try to schedule those more often.

For some reason, the Renegade boots on all four feet are working out great this go around. Thanks to the wraps on her rear hooves, those boots don’t budge or rub. We did have a captivator come off a front boot on our last conditioning ride, but only after a combination of some deep, deep mud, creek crossings, more mud and a sprint uphill. Thankfully it was easily mended with my multi-tool I always carry in my saddlebags. I think it was ultimately user error; I didn’t adjust the boots at all from their factory settings, so I think the cable keepers were too loose. Benny was, as usual, worth his weight in gold as he saw the boot fly off and grabbed both pieces and brought them to me by the time I got Tarma to halt. Best Boy Benny!

As for our next ride, I’m aiming for a 30 miler on Saturday with a focus on going as fast as can, and the option of a slightly slower 25 on Sunday to see if we finally dip our feet into multi-days. The Santiam Cascade ride is close to home, run by a friend, and the camp and trails are utterly familiar to us both. I know we can get through the 50 miler, but judged by the fact that riding three miles the day after the Nevada Derby looking for a loose horse was super tough for me, a second day 25 miler is a big stretch. It will be a good test of the boots and my extra conditioning, and a bit more heat to deal with. On the other hand, I’ve never, ever focused on speed at an actual endurance ride with the vets there to help me assess the impact of it on Tarma. Sections of Tevis have to be done far faster than I’m used to, due to the cut-off times to get folks down and into the canyons with enough time to tackle them. 30 miles on familiar trails doesn’t seem like much (listen to me, a real endurance rider!) but if we aimed to do them at say, 8mph versus our normal 6mph that’s a whole different ball game. That could also leave the possibility of doing the 25 miler on Sunday a bit slower, and that’s still a 55 mile weekend.

Before that, apparently I’ve signed up to enter a dressage show this upcoming weekend, based on this lovely text I received from my barn owner after our lesson last week.

It’s a whole different ball game, but at least the packing list for a school show is so much shorter than for a endurance ride! I’m entering three classes to see what we’ve got, USDF dressage Intro A and B (without canter, we’re not quite show ready with our arena canter yet), and Working Equitation Intro Dressage. The tests are all things we can do, and it’s time to see how well we can do them in mixed company. Tarma’s a mature horse and a season campaigner, so I’m fairly confident we won’t have too big of emotions or spookiness. It’s my first dressage show since I was a child, so learning the lingo and running through the tests in my head will occupy most of my week!

In other news, I’ve been grappling for a week over this comment, from a good friend I highly respect (I’ve hidden her name as this isn’t a “call out” but a starting point for a discussion):

For a good friend to call for banning the very ride I’m training for-and the 100 miler distance at all-puts me in a weird place. I’ve always maintained (and still do) that endurance is one of if not the most ethical horse sport, for a variety of reasons but primarily that it’s closest to what horses were designed to do: Travel miles and miles with rests in between, carrying relatively little. As with all things horses, everyone’s lines of ethics, expectations and what they think is best varies widely. As I question above, where is the line between what should be allowed within guidelines, and what deserves or requires outright banning? What lines get crossed in pursuit of human goals that shouldn’t be crossed?

My own viewpoint is clear, but differs from my respected friends: 100 milers can be completed ethically and safely, where both horse and human can thrive with proper preparation and share in the joy of a wild accomplishment. Tevis, billed as “America’s Toughest Endurance Ride”, is the pinnacle of this sport and yes, there have been fatalities, either from accidents or overriding or not supporting the horses well enough. Rules have changed over time in response to each one, but for some it’s clear that no amount of support is enough to be ethical to them. But should such a thing be banned based on that? Where do we, who believe ourselves as horse first as possible, start drawing lines to ensure no horse is pushed beyond their limits or exploited? There’s no definitive answer, but for myself I feel comfortable I can prepare Tarma and myself to complete longer distances, as safely as such things are possible. I do my best to prepare, to weigh risks and adjust to issues, without letting the “what ifs” nibble away at us.