Tevis Cup

[49'er]

http://www.teviscup.org/ <http://www.teviscup.org/

[Auventera Two]

Yep someone just emailed me that release. :( That's terrible. How sad. I was looking forward to following the race this year. What a crappy year it's been for endurance riding. :cry: One of the major rides in our region was just cancelled for financial reasons.

[BarbeyGirl]

Oh, geez. How frustrating for the entrants who'd been looking foward to this year's race. :no:

Oh the bright side, this is yet another example of our sport's focus on the welfare of our horses. :cool:

[karenstandefer]

Oh, geez. How frustrating for the entrants who'd been looking foward to this year's race. :no:

Not to mention the ones that were already on their way and some that had just arrived!

[Pocket Pony]

They made the right decision for sure. It is very smoky up here, and it has gotten worse in the past few days. The air is hot and still, the smoke burns your eyes, and it wouldn't be possible for horse or human to give their best. It is a hard enough race in the best of conditions. No need to cause a health risk for anyone involved. Let's just hope for better conditions, fire control and prevention - I don't think I've ever looked forward to rain as much as in the past couple of weeks!

[questisthebest]

It was such a bummer; we had 6 riders and horses going, 2 people form Switzerland and 2 from Australia. We all decided on the Big Horn 100 instead since everyoe had already flown in.

[matryoshka]

It sounds like the right decision, but is a huge bummer!

[Dressage_Diva333]

I'm about 45 minutes out of Auburn, and I agree, they made the right decision :)


Although it's hasn't been too bad for the last couple of days, when it's bad, its BAD. To the point where my head begins to hurt so bad I can't even think straight. It's really been awful.

[matryoshka]

I'm really sorry it is so bad there. I hope you and your horses are okay!

[SabalPalm]

Oh, it was bad out there, that's for sure. And what was worse . . . I hauled from Florida and got to Auburn on the 8th only to get the call on the 9th that Tevis was cancelled. On the 8th, it wasn't that bad in Auburn but when I woke up on the 9th, it was a different world. My eyes, nose, and throat were burning from the smoke and it was only 6am. So the decision was the correct one and I was thankful they made it so early even if I'd driven all that way. It gave me the opportunity to turn around and go to northern WY and ride the Big Horn 100 on the same day as Tevis would have been. We completed, albeit in last place with 40 mins to spare, but my Florida horse did it and looked good at the end. I was the weakest link, having a bad day physically, starting with hip pain that I did not warm up out of and ending with terrible left ankle pain from an ankle that kept rolling in the stirrup. So much for all the running I did this past year to get in shape (to the point I ran a marathon and a 50K ultramarathon). Thank goodness my new friends,the Stalleys from CA, had an ankle brace that I put on at 75 miles and thank goodness for my new friends from WY who asked if I wanted to ride the final 25 miles with them as they graciously handled the multiple gates we had to negotiate. I would not have made it without all that help that miraculously appeared at the right time in the right place. Maybe it was a return on the times I've slowed and helped others through bad patches on rides. My horse went from dragging trail to super horse after the 75 mile mark, wanting to move out faster than I could tolerate. My horse was amazing and the Big Horn is an amazing ride. And tough does not even describe it!

Debbie

[matryoshka]

Glad you got to turn something bad into something good. It's a reminder to all of us to be good to other riders, because someday we might need them to be good to us!

Congratulations on the completion!

[Auventera Two]

Oh, it was bad out there, that's for sure. And what was worse . . . I hauled from Florida and got to Auburn on the 8th only to get the call on the 9th that Tevis was cancelled. On the 8th, it wasn't that bad in Auburn but when I woke up on the 9th, it was a different world. My eyes, nose, and throat were burning from the smoke and it was only 6am. So the decision was the correct one and I was thankful they made it so early even if I'd driven all that way. It gave me the opportunity to turn around and go to northern WY and ride the Big Horn 100 on the same day as Tevis would have been. We completed, albeit in last place with 40 mins to spare, but my Florida horse did it and looked good at the end. I was the weakest link, having a bad day physically, starting with hip pain that I did not warm up out of and ending with terrible left ankle pain from an ankle that kept rolling in the stirrup. So much for all the running I did this past year to get in shape (to the point I ran a marathon and a 50K ultramarathon). Thank goodness my new friends,the Stalleys from CA, had an ankle brace that I put on at 75 miles and thank goodness for my new friends from WY who asked if I wanted to ride the final 25 miles with them as they graciously handled the multiple gates we had to negotiate. I would not have made it without all that help that miraculously appeared at the right time in the right place. Maybe it was a return on the times I've slowed and helped others through bad patches on rides. My horse went from dragging trail to super horse after the 75 mile mark, wanting to move out faster than I could tolerate. My horse was amazing and the Big Horn is an amazing ride. And tough does not even describe it!

Debbie

It's wonderful you were able to take something bad and turn it into something good. Completing a 100 is excellent, regardless of where you place. You stuck with it and managed to get through!!

One of my trusted endurance mentors says that running is one of the worst things you can do if you're a rider. She says it very effectively shortens the tendon and ligament tissue in your legs and causes muscle contractions. When you get in the saddle for a long ride, you are fighting against your body trying to stretch out all that contraction and shortening and riders end up with joint pain and muscle cramps. She says that walking and strength training through the use of free weights and yoga are exponentially better than running. She had also told me that marathon runners seem to have the worst time in the saddle because they often have microfractutures in the long bones of the legs that are only revealed on MRI. These microfractures cause tightness and pain and inflammation that makes you stiff and cramp up.

I used to work with a long distance runner - I think she ran about 5 miles a day and when she couldn't run outside, she was on the treadmill. I worked with her for 6 years and toward the end all she talked about was the pain in her legs and how it was affecting everything she does. She ended up in the ER having radiographs and MRI when the pain got so bad she couldn't stand it. It turned out that she did have many hairline fractures in her legs. I'll never forget that because I watched her lose all this weight and get into amazing shape but then saw all the discomfort she was in.

I just wanted to pass that on because I thought it was really interesting. I had been talking to her about getting in shape for the longer distances, and I mentioned running. She was like - NO, do NOT run, whatever you do.

Hmmm.

[SabalPalm]

I'm a 4 day/week runner at best and since my long runs in Feb and Mar, my running has been pretty light. I'm also slower than molasses! A 10 min mile is blazing fast for me. I run on trails or on a rubberized running surface. No treadmills and I avoid the streets as much as possible. I started to run because I'd like to continue to eat and the older I get, the bigger the battle is to keep my weight down. And, unfortunately, being able to run 3 miles is a requirement of my job. No mercy for old bones. But I know it's easy to develop stress fractures. I'm sure I've had a few; I just refused to let my coworker doctors order a bone scan to confirm them! I just took time off from running and let things settle.

One thing about the running that I've found helpful is in my own endurance. And I do think it's made me a stronger rider. I think the problem during this ride was due to the long days driving and then a week of relative inactivity before the ride. I was on vacation--I normally start my day at 3:40am and tend to my herd (14 head), cleaning stalls, feeding, etc, go to work, run a few mornings before settling in at work, coming home and repeating the horse chores and riding. Now that I'm back in my normal routine (other than running; I'll start back with my plodding on Monday), my back and hips are getting better every day because I'm moving instead of napping, sitting around reading, napping, sitting around eating, etc, etc. I was a slug and I think that was a big contributor to the pain. Just too much rest! And the ankle pain was completely out of the blue. I'd have understood it if it had been my right ankle because I've injured it a few times in the past 6 months. Who knows? I just chalk it up to getting old! Or maybe it was the full moon . . .