My Tevis Ride- 1998 Nick Warhol
The Tevis is 30% rider, 30% Horse, 40% Luck
Those were the words head vet Mitch Benson told me at the finish line of the 1997 Tevis, (my first attempt) where the leased horse I was riding was pulled for lameness. Zion had brought me all the way from Robe Park to Auburn in splendid fashion only to come up lame in the last couple of miles. It was an incredible ride despite the disappointment.
August 8, 1988. Fast-forward one year to Robe Park for the 44th annual Tevis Cup 100 mile ride. I had an entire year to replay the 97 ride over and over in my mind. My own horse Shatta had completed his first two 100 mile rides this past winter in excellent shape and was ready. We had a large group of riders in the event this year. My wide Judy had her “Wonder Appy” Warpaint ready to go as well. He finished his first Tevis attempt in 93 but injured himself in a fall in 96 on the bike path before Squaw and was pulled at Robinson Flat. Our long time friend and endurance buddy Marilyn R. Russell (5 completions out of 11 starts at Tevis) brought her feisty mare Cresta out for her first attempt at Tevis. Carolyn Stark-Schultz is a good friend and fellow club member who was trying Tevis on her new horse Echo that she bought from Becky and Judith this year. This would be Carolyn’s first attempt at a 100-mile ride. Norma Kover wanted to attempt Tevis, but like me last year realized her horse was not yet ready. Norma leased a horse named Josh from Potato Richardson for the ride and her first attempt at a 100. My buddy Brian Reeves brought his horse “Goofy” out for his first attempt at Tevis. Brian and I rode our horses’ first two 100’s this winter together from start to finish and developed a great team with Shatta and Goofy. Rounding out our group was none other than Samm Bartee and Kathy Adair all the way from Alabama. How in the world did they end up joining our group? That’s the beauty of the Internet. Judy and Samm became friends via E-mail immediately since they both ride Appys in endurance, one on the West Coast and the other in the South. We met Samm at the convention in Kentucky last year where she won an entry to Tevis in the raffle. She knew her Appy “Sir Revel” was not quite ready for the Tevis so she borrowed a wonderful Arab gelding named Cojur for six months to get ready and ride Tevis during a once-in-a-lifetime three week vacation. She sent out an E-mail asking for Tevis advice, so I asked her if she’d like to join me for the ride and for crewing help. She said, “Okay!”
Once again our crewing effort was headed by Jean Schreiber who is two for two at Tevis. This year’s ride was a little different due to the fact crews could not get to Michigan Bluff. Judy and I drove to the start on Wednesday night since the temperature in the Sacramento Valley was something like 110 degrees! That’s just too hard on the horses. We had visions of melting saddles down in the hot canyons on the ride. The two days before the ride were nice and relaxed while we let the horses get acclimated to the altitude of the Sierra. Friday morning brought the vet check that we all passed without any problems. Shatta looked great, that’s all I could hope for at this point. Our friend Pat Gay almost didn’t make the ride due to her truck blowing its transmission on the way up highway 80 from Reno. She got to the check in with about 5 minutes to spare! Nothing like a little stress to start the weekend. The ride meeting was handled efficiently by Ride Director Larry Sudijan’s crack crew. I was pleased to see Mitch Benson would once again be head vet. He explained his crew of 17 vets were here to help us riders get through but they would be watching the horses very carefully and would be pulling those horses they felt could not go on. I was also pleased to see my friend and vet Jamie Kerr working the ride. He was the one who had to pull me last year at the finish. When he saw me he joked, “Hey Nick, good news! I won’t be working the finish this year so maybe you’ll get that completion!”
The ride started out at 5:00 am sharp on Saturday morning with 230 some odd horses starting. That’s a whole lot of animals going out on the same road at the same time. It was just as dusty as last year for the first few miles. All you can do is just stay in the pack and try to keep a little distance around you. Samm and I started out together riding with Brian, and Karen Chaton from Northern Nevada. Karen is having a super year on her horse Dream Weaver so far, especially considering she had a very serious accident while unloading a friends horse from a trailer only a few weeks ago. She suffered broken ribs, a concussion, a huge hematoma on her leg and assorted smashes, bashes and bruises all over her body. And here she is starting Tevis! Endurance riders are tough customers. She and Weaver were pulled at Robinson Flat last year in their first attempt. We survived the dusty start and rode in an amazing single file line of riders for the first ten miles to Squaw Valley. It got real cold down by the highway 89 crossing and at Squaw- our crews were wrapped up in the horse blankets. Shatta didn’t drink yet but that’s consistent with his normal routine. Karen and Brian went on up the 2600 foot climb (that’s right, 2600 feet in about 4 miles) a little faster than Samm and I. We crested the top in perfect weather and began the decent down into the Granite Chief wilderness, the most difficult part of the ride. The trail is all single track and nice in some spots but the majority of the miles consist of nasty, horrible rocks and steep up and down pitches with muddy boggs and water crossings thrown in. This is “take it easy” terrain for sure, at least in my book. All the riders around us were really great since all we wanted to do was just get through this stuff with a sound horse. Everyone waited patiently for the horses to drink one at a time from the many water crossings. Riders would wait before leaving for the horse that was drinking to finish. It was a great display of camaraderie. One poor guy in front of me had his horse step down a rock ledge and slip- the rider went flying over the horse’s head face first onto the rocks. Ouch! He jumped up and got right back on. Endurance riders are tough people. Samm was enjoying the views- nothing like this in Alabama!
We joined back up with Brian and Karen at the end of the nasty stuff and rode on down to Lyon Ridge together for a quick stop for water and electrolytes. Just as we were leaving Judy and Warpaint showed up! All right! They made it through the tough stuff. Warpaint is more like a Sherman tank than a mountain goat; he sort of bulldozes his way through the nasty trails. Off we rode up to Cougar rock. I had already decided to go around again this year on the bypass trail. “Why?” someone had asked me. “I want a buckle, not a picture,” I replied. I was taking no chances. As I rounded the corner I looked up and saw Samm shooting over the top of the Rock! She had done it! “I did it! I did it!” was all she could say when we joined back up. She was so excited she was shaking! Way to go, Samm. Afraid of heights? Maybe not any more. We all trotted and walked along the ridges towards Elephant’s trunk. Samm was a little worried about it but I tricked her and told her we were almost there just after we crossed it. “That was it?” she asked when I confessed. Piece of cake. Besides, Cougar Rock and the Granite Chief Wilderness make Elephant’s Trunk seem like stepping off a sidewalk. We moved along briskly and stopped at Red star Ridge for some water. The ride workers at this ride are incredible! They are so helpful it’s hard to describe. We were trying to keep moving but spent 13 minutes here letting the horses eat and drink. (us too!) We took off at a nice pace and trotted just about the entire 7 or so miles to Robinson Flat. Brian and Goofy fell a bit off the pace when Brian seemed to notice Goofy wasn’t acting like he usually does.
Robinson Flat! The place is, how shall I say, a beehive of activity? There are people and horses everywhere and not enough room for all of them. Samm, Karen and I arrived at the same time and went right down to the water troughs for a huge drink. I stripped Shatta’s saddle, doused him with water and took him right to the P&R people. What was the criteria? Who cares? He was at 52 or so when we went in to the timers. He breezed through the vet check and began eating well when we arrived at our crew spot. Our crew people were great and very helpful as always. I ate and drank a lot since I would be doing a lot of footwork later on. After about 30 minutes Judy and Warpaint showed up- Shatta recognized the big Appy and started shouting. The War Pony was not down yet; he always recovers fine but it just takes him a little longer. He came down in about 10 minutes and passed right through the vets looking good. Judy was relieved as she rested up. Samm and I mounted up and headed out, right on schedule. We began the rolling ride along the ridge leaving Robinson then began the first big decent of the ride. Lots of down hill stuff, some trot, some walk that led to the freeway- a wide, smooth gravel road with great footing. We boogied down the road making up time, passing about 10 horses in the process. Down the neat single-track trail (that was marked like crazy this year), back onto the freeway and more down hill all the way down to the bottom of Deep Canyon. We headed up at a slower pace and made it to the trot by vet check at Dusty Corners. There were quite a few pulled horses, but not us. Both horses looked good as we continued out of the check onto the new section of trail Larry mentioned at the meeting.
This new trail was really neat. It was two or three miles of nice single track completely in the shade that ran flat along the edge of a HUGE canyon, I think it was the American river down below us. Boy, it was a long way down that sucker off the trail to the right. The view was like being in an airplane. The only problem with this trail was the dust. If only we could get the ride management to run a little water truck down there, or maybe install some sprinklers for next year? Sure, right. It was okay until Samm and I caught up to four horses in front of us. The dust was so bad we had to drop back or not breathe. We passed them (whew) when they stopped and it was tolerable again. The neat trail ended too soon for me; our only excitement was when Cojur tripped and stumbled on the one part of the trail that you would not want to fall off down. Samm said her heart was beating double time for a second but her horse pulled her through. We joined the road at Last Chance and headed down the first big canyon at a walk. The trail was in terrible shape- all rocky, chunky, and beat up big time. It was not worth jogging since you would just trot, stop, trot, stop, etc, etc. We walked all the way down on foot to the river at the bottom for a nice splash in the cool water. Out of the water and across the swinging bridge. Shatta and I went right across- I turned to watch Samm and Cojur. I think Samm’s eyes were as big as her horses! That bridge really does sway back and forth.
Now it was time for the first really big climb since Squaw but now in the heat of the day. The weather was not nearly as hot as it has been in the past but it was still plenty warm. I rode Shatta up for a couple of switchbacks and then hopped off to let him tail me up. I can easily confirm that the climb up to Devil’s Thumb is long, steep and not so easy. Samm was on and off her horse up the climb but I stuck it out and walked the whole thing. The ride volunteer at the top took one look at me and said, “hey, your horse looks great but you look like hell!” Thanks, guy. It was okay since he felt sorry for me and gave me a triple ration of lemonade. The workers had trouble keeping water here since the horses drank so much. We headed out for the couple miles to the next check at Deadwood. Samm was a little worried about Cojur, saying he was not feeling as perky as he had and seemed to be slowing down a little. She was going to have the vets at Deadwood take a look and see what they thought about his condition. It turned out to be a moot point since poor Cojur trotted out lame on his right rear leg. My other vet buddy Nancy Elliot was the one who gave us the bad news. Samm was out of the ride at Deadwood after 54.5 tough miles. Being in front I kept trying to find out the status of Judy and our other riders- no one seemed to really be in a position to tell me anything. That was a little frustrating.
Shatta looked great but now I was out a riding partner. As luck would have it I ran into Karen Chaton who was trotting Weaver for the vets a second time. He moves a little differently than the average Arab- not bad, or a problem, just different. Her normal routine was to trot him out, tell the vet his situation, then trot him again and all would be fine. This went on at every check as consistent as clockwork. Poor Karen- if there were 9 trot outs in the ride she ended up doing 18. We headed out together down the longest downhill in the mountains to the bottom of El Dorado Canyon; this trail goes down for almost 4 miles. It’s a good single-track trail you can trot down so that’s what we did, me on the ground running in front of Shatta and Karen on Weaver behind. It felt good to get to the bottom and begin the steep climb up to Michigan Bluff. I tailed Shatta most of this climb as well and was beginning to feel the effort near the top. We walked in and headed over to the water for another huge drink, both the horses and me.
Shatta and Weaver share one nice trait- we just take them to the P&R people and they are down. It’s such a nice feeling on a ride like this to have your horse totally recovered when you reach the checks. We both breezed through vets again (Karen trotting twice), but here’s where my story got interesting. It was good old Jamie Kerr there who evaluated my horse. He said Shatta looked really good and told me he was excited about our chances. There were no other horses in the check at the time so Jamie took a closer look at my horse. He inspected his legs carefully, his muscles and his feet. Jamie gasped when he picked up Shatta’s right rear foot. The shoe was bent badly and was hanging on by about a nail and a half! “Uh oh,” Jamie said. “We ‘gotta fix this. Let me get my stuff.” He ran over and got his tools and pulled the shoe without damaging any nail holes. I dug out my Easy boot (a number 2 for his front feet) and found it a little big. Karen loaned me a number one that was a little small but Jamie got it on for me. Shatta ate for the short (ultra-short) 15-minute hold and just as we were ready to go our minute came up. We left word for the farrier at Foresthill to be ready for us when we arrived and left right on time. Off we went on two energetic horses. I had a chance to think while we worked our way down the steep trail towards Volcano Creek. Why didn’t I check Shatta’s feet? What would have happened if Jamie hadn’t noticed the lose shoe? I would have lost it in a heartbeat and might have injured his foot, or damaged the hoof walls. I only had a size 2 easyboot. I was lucky my riding partner had an extra. (she carries two) I thought is was really neat that it was Jamie who had helped me out on this occasion, since he was the one who pulled me last year.
It didn’t take long to arrive at Foresthill where we were greeted by the neatest cheering crowd I have ever seen. There must have been a couple hundred people there lining the road before the check. It felt neat to have everyone standing and clapping for each horse. We went into the check and found our helpful crew. We stripped Shatta and got ready to present him for P&R. It was here I got a little irritated at the ride workers manning the P&R gate. As we walked up they started saying that I should be really sure he was down since they would impose a 30 minute penalty on us if we presented him and he was not at criteria. What? “What are you talking about?” I asked. “This isn’t an FEI ride. That rule was never announced.” Rather than explain how or who or why that decision had been made (if it even had been made) they got kind of nasty to me and told me “That’s the rule and get out of the way so other horses can get in here.” (There were no other horses behind me) I took Shatta’s pulse (it was 52) so I presented him to the grouchy P&R person. Oh well. I told the vet about the Easyboot, Shatta looked great again. I took him directly to the farrier and let him eat while he got his shoe put back on. The farrier yanked the other rear shoe and reset it as well since it was a little loose. He also stuck a couple of insurance nails in the extra holes in both front shoes. My crew led me to my rig and lavished me with incredible service. I got a massage, clean socks and clothes, food; Susan even went and got me a burger I had to have when I smelled them cooking. Shatta was eating like I have never seen him before. I didn’t like the fact this was the first place he could really spend time eating since Robinson Flat many hours ago. I was finally able to learn some info about our group. Judy and Brian were still in the ride but had made it into Deadwood with 5 minutes before cutoff. Oh no! Too much stress. Marilyn had been pulled at Robinson for a metabolic problem. Carolyn was still out there, riding with Judy. All right, Carolyn! Kathy Adair was pulled at Robinson. Norma was still going on Josh but where they didn’t know. My crew got Shatta ready after waking him from his little nap (and his massage) and took me to the out timer. There was Karen, ready to go after two trot outs.
Out we went into the town of Foresthill as the sun was low in the sky. Our horses still felt good as we began the decent into the California loop as the light began to fade. We were with a few other riders but we left them behind us as we worked our way down the canyon. Shatta was in the lead as the night began to fall. We had a rider with us named Judy Houle who had only finished the Tevis 12 times before, 10 on the same horse, Shatir. Good Greif! The three of us went in formation down the trail at night, trotting along through the forest, up and down, just absolutely enjoying the ride at night. I remember how much I loved this part of the ride last year riding with Steph and Leonard; this year it was even better since I was on my own boy and he was perfect. He was leading the entire way, never spooking at anything. (he’s a big time spooker) The three of us chatted a bit but mostly just trotted through the night, by the light of the moon, down the trails above the river below for almost three hours. Just like last year for me- if there is a highlight in this ride, it is this section. There is nothing to compare the feeling of riding like this to, except doing it. We stopped for a restroom break and to walk down a nasty hill but other than that we kept up a nice pace that turned out to be faster than last year. One strange thing was the lack of horses. We never saw another horse for as long as we were on that trail from Foresthill.
It seemed to take forever to get to the next check but there in the distance were the lights of Francisco’s. This place is so cool since it is like a little city where there should not be one. Once again we were treated to the fantastic service from the ride workers. Instant blankets appeared for the horses, people came up and really wanted to help the riders with everything. I was craving my coke so I asked a nice worker for three cans of anything. She brought them over and I downed them all. I had a sandwich, cookies, grapes and a donut. Whatever looked good I ate. Shatta breezed through the vets again, his hydration improving all day as well as his gut sounds. He got a chance to eat for a few minutes while Karen trotted her two obligatory trot outs but this time the vet was a little more concerned. Karen took off Weaver’s front easy boots and replaced the vet wrap with clean stuff. She trotted him for the third (!) time and all was fine. We thanked the workers and headed out down the trail once again.
We thought our riding partner Judy had already left but it turned out she was behind us. Karen and I left in the dark and headed down the trails again towards the river crossing. It only took about a half an hour to get there at the pace we were going. It was nice to remember where I was and knowing how long it was going to take. The river crossing is an oasis in the canyon- we stopped to say hello and went on down to the water. Shatta led the way in and after drinking a bunch led the way across in tummy deep water. It’s a little spooky being out there in the middle of this genuine river but the horses just cruised right on across. Up the steep little trail to the old road and its off and trotting again. This section is neat since it is darker and harder to see. (that sounded strange but it’s true) It was a few miles to the quarry and the last check. At this point I began to really think we were going to get through this thing but didn’t want to jinx us. It was so nice to know where we were- I kept telling Karen about how long it would take to get to my next point of reference. She and Weaver were back there behind us, trotting along as reliably as the sunset, at our nice pace. We were making better time than last year and all on the second half of the ride. Still we saw no horses anywhere. It was as if we were the only two riders on the planet out for a nice, quiet trail ride. (right!)
We rounded a corner and saw the lights of the Quarry in the distance. Our plan was just like last year- get in here, let the horse drink, go to the vet and get out. It was chilly now and we didn’t want any cramping at this late hour. We came in and still no horses except for one that had a serious problem and was being treated. I looked at Shatta eating hay while the vet examined him, looked at the horse in danger, took a deep breath and focused on the rest of the ride. Shatta was great- we walked around while letting him eat while we waited for Karen’s two trot outs. It was so strange with no horses anywhere. We left around 2 am and began trotting up the nice road towards the highway 49 crossing. We finally saw a horse- we caught and passed him as we moved out smartly up the road. These two horses were still moving at a good trotting pace after 95 miles. We crossed the highway and climbed up the steep hill that leads down to No Hands Bridge. In a flash we walked across that and started the last leg. I had to stop a few times and re-adjust Shatta’s girth since he had lost some weight on the ride and the saddle was slipping back after the steep climbs. We still trotted along in the dark knowing the end was near. I could not help but remember last year. It had to be out here somewhere that Zion had tweaked himself and I didn’t want a repeat! We climbed the steep hill up to the pavement and dropped down onto the last little 2 mile loop through the hills before the finish. Still not a horse to be seen! Last year I finished just after four am and it was like the start of a ride through this section with about 15 horses in a hurry and the dust. Not now- it was just Karen and I cruising along in the silence. I kept telling her around this bend, up this hill, now up this one, and there it was- the light at the finish. We heard voices as we rounded the last corner. There was the finish! We trotted across just after 3am in 44th and 45th place to much applause and a huge drink of water for the horses.
Now- for the test. All I could think about was last year as I walked over to the little vet check at the finish. There was Jamie- he saw me and said, “Get that horse over here!” He ran up, listened to Shatta’s pulse and told me to trot him out. I did- Shatta jumped out beside me and trotted like he had all day at every check, fast and dead SOUND! “Okay, Okay! Shouts Jamie. He runs up and grabs my hand and says he wants to be the first to congratulate me. I will admit I actually got a little teary as I looked at my horse and hugged him. It turns out Shatta now has exactly 1000 AERC miles.
Karen only had to trot once this time, I think and got her completion. We went down to the fairgrounds very happy this time. My crew jumped up and ran over as I did the post ride check- Shatta looked great. We did the victory lap and although there were only about twenty or so people in the stands it didn’t matter. Shatta had done it. We took off his tack, blanketed him and let him eat. The first thing I said when I saw the crew was, “Where’s Judy?” She cleared Franciscos, just minutes before the cutoff time. Carolyn had been pulled at Franciscos for lameness. She turned in a fantastic effort for her first 100 mile ride and was the one who had the terrible luck this year. Brian was out at Michigan Bluff even though he had just barely made the cutoff. He made the right decision when he felt he would have to push Goofy to make it to the finish; he was not willing to do that to his horse when he felt Goofy was not feeling like he should. Norma was still in the ride although running near the back. I sat and had some wonderful soup the ride workers gave me while Shatta ate. It was 3:30 am and I figured if Judy was going to make it to the finish in time it would be close. I changed my wet clothes and sat nervously waiting. Brian came over and the two of us went to the overlook at 4:30 am to wait.
That was one of the hardest things I have ever done in the 15 years Judy and I have been married. I was actually pacing, looking at my watch every minute. There’s some horses! I can’t see in the dark until they round the last corner. A gray, another gray, damn! And a dark horse but no blanket. Aarrguhh! This is murder! It’s 4:45 now and I can’t stand still because my back is tingling with anticipation. I can just imagine the dread Judy is feeling out there not knowing how much further she has to go. More horses but no Judy! Hey, there’s Norma! Fantastic! But no Judy. Damn! Now it’s 10 minutes until five! I’m pacing like my horse does in strange stalls. I want to run out on the trail and find her and tell her to hurry up! Three more horses- no Judy! I can’t take this! At 4:52am a pack of four horses come up from the draw. First horse, no Judy. Second horse, no Judy. I’m feeling faint! Third horse- There’s Warpaint!!! He comes cantering up the last hill with Judy all smiles on his back. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a feeling like that or ever will again. She hops off her horse among a huge celebration. They did it. I couldn’t believe it but they had done it. Warpaint drank a lot of water, we took him to the check. Jamie came over all smiles and checked Warpaint’s pulse. Judy told him he better not do a husband / wife thing and pull her now. No problem- the Appy was sound. Judy had finished her second Tevis on the Appy, her last 100-mile completion being five years ago. It turned out Judy had brushed a tree branch with her head just after dark and had lost one of her contact lenses. She rode the whole night with only one eye working.
Before the ride someone asked me what I thought my chances were this year. I said, “I know my horse can do it, I know I can do it, I just need a little luck.” For all the bad luck I had last year I figure I got plenty of payback. I was lucky that shoe didn’t come off and I’m really glad Jamie noticed it. Everything else went perfectly. I’m so happy Judy made it, congratulations to Norma for finishing her first try, it was great riding with Karen and Weaver who got their first completion as well. I feel terrible for the bad luck Carolyn had; Marilyn, Brian, Kathy and Samm all gave it their best shot and came up short. Special thanks to all our crew people and to the superb care we received at the hands of the ride workers in those remote checks. See you next year? Count on it!