My Rocky Rode to Tevis '27

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My Rocky Rode to Tevis '27

With only 3 years of endurance riding under my belt, I have set a goal of getting to Tevis in 2027.

12/04/2026

Hard to believe that we are 4 months into our Tevis journey, which means we've completed 20% of our training. Ride season in New England started in late March and both horses completed their first two 50's finishing in top 10 at both events. First up was Rabbit Run in NJ and then Foxcatcher in Maryland last weekend. Last year Foxcatcher was our first ever 50 and I wanted to use the previous years results as a benchmark for how much the horse's conditioning had improved. Unfortunately mother nature had a different idea...We were coming from 32 degrees and snowy over the weeks leading up to Foxcatcher and during the ride the temps rocketed up to over 80 and with the sun beating down it felt even hotter. We made the decision to slow down and get the completion rather than push for speed. Thankfully lot's of great natural water holes were available to take advantage of. This was a good test of my electrolyte protocol, which was difficult to get right last year, but now I seem to be on top of it. The only item lacking was potassium. Little Man, as a big black horse, could have used some as his heart rate hovered at 60 for a very long time at the finish. Lesson learned! The video is of us at around the 47 mile marker. Both horses were moving nicely and I felt like they had another 25 in them if asked.
The Rocky Mtn (Rumor) has finally been cleared to return to work slowly. It was determined with X-rays that his back feet needed to grow out to correct the angle to his coffin bone. As a result of having the wrong angle he had developed some very minor tendonitis in his deep tissue flexor tendon. Very gradually he will be returned to work with the hope of getting a really late season 50 in - possibly a long haul South over the winter..

13/03/2026

Another challenging month for training with lots of snow and more ice and winter just wanting to hang on. Some days my dream seems completely crazy and impossible and other days I’m confident it’s doable. Currently both horses have a resting heart rate of 28 and they both have a heart rate that skips a beat at rest. With our first competition next weekend, I’ve been working on some trot outs on off days to make sure my horses will actually trot and not pace when presenting for a CTR or BC. Last year, both horses were extremely pacey and doing 50 miles was not fun for either of us. Now, thanks to Gaye Derusso Gaited Horse Training with Gaye DeRusso The Majestic Rider for getting the champagne Kentucky Mountain to develop a beautiful running walk and Saddle gate and Ivy Starnes for her clinic in New Hampshire that I brought Little man to and then followed up with lessons so that he’s now doing a beautiful saddle gate and rack. Both have been wonderful coaches and I highly encourage anyone with gated horses who isn’t sure what they’re doing to take virtual lessons. I am also grateful to all the people who are far more experienced than I am who have reached out and offered advice. It’s been incredibly helpful and truly appreciated! Now that my horses are using their bodies properly and are in condition, we are starting to work on speed for the first time. I found out Little man has a lot of it when he decided to bolt on me! But who can blame him when he’s in great shape and has no place to let loose! Thankfully, we are both OK. But that was definitely one of those days when I thought my dream was crazy. A 50 mile endurance next weekend should help to get some of that out of him😳. Good luckGeneva Soule who will be riding Little man while I’m on Cruiser.

10/02/2026

It’s been one month since I set up my FB Page and declared my intention to enter Tevis ’27. Making that declaration accomplished two objectives. First, it established a clear goal and timeline without which I would have a dream to accomplish Tevis - someday. Once I set a goal, I almost always achieve it! Second it connected me with Tevis experienced gaited horse riders who have been very gracious about sharing their experiences and providing suggestions for conditioning. Thank you to everyone who reached out! This has been impactful as I have already adjusted my conditioning routine. I’ve incorporated additional rest days into the horse’s schedules, and I am focused more on hill work and less on distance and speed.

The last month has been a bit of a challenge with the weather being extremely frigid and snowy for most of it. Despite the snow and low temps (I have a firm rule not to condition below 20 degrees, and between 20-25 only if the humidity is over 75), I still managed to get Little Man (the black Racking/Rocky horse pictured on the left) out for 74.5 miles, and Cruiser (Kentrucky Mtn on the right) for 67miles. Rumor, the Rocky Mtn in the middle will start his conditioning in mid-March. Cruiser now has a resting heart rate of 29 and Little Man’s is 34. It is my goal to have all 3 horses fit enough to enter Tevis. IF they all stay healthy and uninjured (okay, that would be a miracle), I would look to pick up 2 catch riders and enter all 3.

The biggest beneficiary of my conditioning so far has been me! I want to have the ability to run next to my horse for 10-15 miles if/when needed so I have gotten back into a workout routine and managed to run 33 miles over the last month! That's a long way from zero over the past year..

Finally, because I’m a numbers person. I am breaking down the months into percentages of training completed. I started conditioning in mid Dec ’25. With Tevis being held in mid July ’27 - that’s 19 months. Each month represents approximately 5.25% of my conditioning journey. Therefore, I am 10.5% of the way to Tevis ’27!

11/01/2026

Many of you that know me, know that I aspire to compete in The Tevis Cup with one of my gaited horses. I have created this FB page to chronicle my journey with an aim to compete in '27. I will update my progress monthly, the good the bad and the ugly along with my successes and failures.
For those of my friends that aren't familiar with endurance, The Tevis Cup is considered one of the Top 10 toughest endurance events (Time magazine). Starting near Truckee and ending in Auburn, the course spans 100 miles through the Sierra Nevada mountains.
I only have 3 years of endurance experience under my belt, so I will welcome suggestions for improvement in conditioning, nutrition, competitive scheduling, etc - especially from fellow endurance riders that compete on gaited horses.
I have 2 gaited horses that I will be conditioning for Tevis. The first is a 9 year old Racking/Rocky mountain (Little Man) that will be entering his 4th year of endurance this season. He has completed several 50 mile events - including Gobble 'til you wobble in Ohio in November. Our goal for this season will be be complete a 100 mile event, which I hope will be the VT 100 in July. The 2nd horse is a 10 year old trail experienced Rocky Mountain that started in endurance last year and finished with a 50 mile endurance completion at the end of the '25 season.
Our '26 season will begin with the 25 mile CTR in NJ at the Bunny Hop on March 21st followed by the 30 mile endurance Rabbit Run on March 22nd.
We began conditioning in mid December and currently have a 5 day every 2 weeks target (in VT in Jan/Feb its very weather dependent). One day of HIIT that's 4-5 miles, two days of speed work on a relatively flat road/trail targeting 10 - 12 mph for one hour, one day of L*D (started at 13 miles today) and one day of walking hills.
Not all the conditioning is for the horse! I will also need to get in better shape and plan on running 15-20 miles/week. At week two I hit 8 miles!
Look forward to reconnecting in Mid Feb with how we are progressing!

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