Tevis Memories - Part II, Angels on the Trail

The Tevis Fever is contagious at Desert Bred Arabians (aka The Riding Center of Freeburg, IL), and many of our boarders and friends caught the bug. Paula Kaigh (pictured at left, on AAS Sivad Yasmeen during a Tevis training ride), shared her story:

I first wanted to try Tevis from talking to Casey Davis. At one of my first riding lessons, she asked me if I was afraid of heights. Little did I know...

I tried it twice, 2001 and 2002. I went out in 2000 to check it out and to cheer on Yasmeen who was eventually pulled.

In 2001, my horse Lyric went lame at 46 miles. I wasn't looking so good either. In 2002, Prince, looking perky and refreshed, and I, looking anything but, arrived at Francisco's, the 86-mile mark, about 2 hours over time.

I was most surprised by my motion sickness in the night ride. I usually only get motion sick if I'm spun around, but I was really tired, and those #@@^%$% glow sticks appeared to be floating all over the place making me very disoriented.

But I still can't wait to do it again. Absolutely. Now that I am more accustomed to long rides and have a faster horse (DB Dahman, pictured at left, and DB Ibn Desert Dhellal), I think I will hold up better and finish earlier thus limiting the amount of night riding.

My first Tevis attempt in 2001 is a vivid memory. My first Tevis attempt started smoothly enough with a single-file, nice, steady trot just before sunup. I was reassured by the less-than-frantic pace and started to believe for the first time that I might not be in quite as far over my head as I previously thought. Then everything changed.
The Riding Center had nine horses in the race. One rider, Mike, started toward the front of the field of 200-plus horses. Sarah Sanders and Kate Jordan were the last to leave camp because Kate was on an excitable stallion. The rest of us—Rodger Davis, Katie Davis, Sally, Amanda, Elena Macia, and I were somewhere in the middle. Within minutes of the start Katie’s horse Amiga tied up, so she and Rodger, her sponsor, were out. We trotted on. Sally was sponsoring both remaining junior riders, so a short time later when Elena’s horse Fabayah tied up, the three of them proceeded very slowly toward water and assistance for the mare while I trotted ahead on Lyric, an upset gelding whom I barely knew. As Lyric nervously climbed Squaw Peak tugging on the reins and franticly calling out, absolute dread of the next ninety miles replaced those earlier, more confident feelings. Robinson Flats, the first vet check and hold located 36 miles into the ride, might as well have been on the moon!
About the time I thought our situation couldn’t get much worse, my jittery mount freaked at one of the 37 gazillion rocks along this incredibly scenic trail and tossed me over the side. Here is where I strongly suspect divine intervention. I landed without my characteristic THUD, cradled by sage brush on the steeply banked side of the mountain. I cannot begin to explain how I managed to hold onto the last two inches of one of my split reins. As I lay there on my back, rein in one hand, arm stretched way over my head, head cocked back, staring straight up Lyric’s nostrils, a female rider came to my assistance. First, she yelled “Rider down” just as loudly as possible. I’m not sure if she was only trying to embarrass me further or if she had a valid reason for broadcasting my predicament. Regardless, she then dismounted and held Lyric so that I could roll over and climb out of there. I thanked her, she remounted and rode on.
I stood beside Lyric catching my breath and wondering at the futility of mounting again just a few feet from the scary rock that set this whole scenario into motion. Then, miraculously, a cherubic voice called out my name. “Paula, how’s it going?” This is where my faith was truly renewed. Turning to my right I spied two horses approaching out of the dust, one a springy young bay gelding, the other a no-longer-so-excitable black stallion, and their riders Sarah Sanders and Kate Jordan. Perhaps I had conked my head a little harder than I realized, but in that moment I thought I saw halos, not helmets, on their heads, and as the three of us trotted off together, Robinson Flats was once again within reach.

Tevis Memories - Part 1, A Family Affair

The Western States Trail Ride (Tevis Cup) is this weekend and here at Desert Bred Arabians we find ourselves musing over our own Tevis memories.

Desert Bred Arabians and the Davis Family, along with many of our boarders and friends, have had a long romance with this endurance challenge. But our first experience with the Western States Trail wasn't on a horse, it was the 100 mile run.

Rodger Davis (below) initially completed the 100 mile run as a result of a bet in 1978 and he was hooked. Apparently the Tevis bug is contagious, and this virus eventually infected Rodger's daughter, Katie (pictured above, on Zeke), his sister Casey with completions in '81 and '97(pictured at bottom), and Casey's daughter, Elena Macia.

Katie knows how challenging a Tevis completion can be, and the frustration of getting pulled both early in the race and late. She's been pulled at only 10 miles in to as late as 85 miles in. But with two completions to her name, she has the right to brag at having finished as first place junior both times!

But the pride from having such an accomplishment isn't her favorite memory from the ride, "...it's sharing and accomplishing such an incredible feat with my Aunt Casey, cousin Elena and father Rodger."

While Tevis is unique in so many ways - the steep climbs, the heat, the heart pounding drop offs - Katie found her biggest surprise at the end of the ride. "In '98 Zeke trained mostly on the latter part of the trail so he was very familiar with it. After traveling 90 miles, he still had the energy to buck a couple of times during the last 10 miles because he was in a hurry to get home! I was very taken by his spurt of energy after a long, hot day of canyons and trail."

It's been 7 years since Katie last attempted the Tevis Cup, but the lure of the ride is still calling. Would Katie still want to tackle Tevis? "Heck ya! I'm literally chomping at the bit to take on that challenge again. If I could, I'd do it every year!"

Endure for the Cure - Bittersweet Success!

With all the rain we've had in the midwest this spring and summer, it's slowed down our progress in building the endurance resumes of some of our horses.

Endure for the Cure came up on the calendar and luckily it wasn't going to be the usual high heat and humidity for this ride. And although ride management does a fantabulous job taking care of horses and riders (handing out cool towels in VC line - AWESOME!), it may not be the preferred ride to start out some of your newbies at. But this year, a little cool weather and a promised window between T-storms, and it seemed like the perfect time to bring some horses.

Attempting their first LD ride at this event were Desert Bred Arabians' young stallion, DB Ibn Jalam (pictured above from his performance at the Al Khamsa convention last year) along with the horse version of the energizer bunny, DB Caprih (pictured below at a H/J show). Caprih is just cute as a bug, and a dynamo in a small horse body (she's about 14.2). She's incredibly balanced and athletic, so it was exciting to see her taking on a new discipline outside of the show ring in endurance. Sarah Sanders, the head trainer at DB Arabians, was riding Jalam and one of the young assistant trainers, Megan, was riding Caprih.

Providing transportation, housing and all around inspiration was Paula Kaigh, one of our boarders and endurance guru with over 1000 miles racked up. She was bringing her 5 yr old gelding Ibn Desert Dhellal who was adding one more LD to his young career.

The 3 started the LD together and all was going smooth as silk. They were pacing well together, and stallion Ibn Jalam behaved like a gentleman on trail and off. The 3 were in the lead into the second loop, and eventually Sarah and Megan chose to slow up a bit so Caprih started paying better attention to taking care of herself, eating and drinking.

Paula finished in 1st, at least a half hr ahead of other riders, and Sarah and Megan were likely in 2nd and 3rd out on the trail. But SURPRISE - ride management advised because of some confusing trail markings she had missed going around a certain meadow. To get a completion she would need to go back out and get that meadow. Argh! Sarah and Megan ran into the same problem, but they were told while they were still on the course, so they didn't have to come all the way in to find out. By then, RM figured out the snafu and had sent someone out to advise other riders of the confusing spot and to better mark the turn.

So back out to that evil meadow went Paula...which meant a 45 minute detour for her, all to pick up that meadow that took a whole 7 minutes to go around. Double argh! Even more frustrating to know that even if she had done that meadow, she still would have finished well in first with that 30 minute lead that she had.

But the ride was still a success - Ibn Desert Dhellal added 25 miles to his mileage and gained much more in experience and maturity. Ibn Jalam and Caprih began their journey on learning what pacing, eating and drinking was all about. Definitely a great foundation to their endurance careers!

It's a Girl!!!

The first foal of 2009 arrived a couple of weeks ago, and here she is with her proud mama.

I went out to get her pics for her baby book, and of course all her adoptive 'Aunts' had to escort her everywhere! It was hard to get into the throng of curious 1 and 2 yr old fillies just to get close to the new baby. :)

This little chestnut beauty is the first filly by the stallion, DB Khrush, who has competed succesfully in dressage, hunter and endurance. Her dam is a powerful AQHA mare, Belle. With the power and athleticism of these two parents, it will be exciting to see this little filly's skills when she gets older.

But right now she's content to have her mom swat flies off her face with her tail!

Pics of DB Khrush at left. The jumping pic is of Sarah Sanders, head trainer at DB ARabians, in their winning round at a AHA Region 11 show in Hunter O/F.

Sticking close to mom.

I was finally able to outstep the curious fillies to get in front of mom and baby for a face shot - face just like her mom's, don't you think?

Fainaarah and Foal

Another trip through the archives yielded this lovely photo that just had to be shared. Pictured here is Fainaarah (1978 bm 185180 AHR)and one of the beautiful foals she produced, DB Fabayah. Fabayah and her sister, Desert Fainett, went on to produce several foals of their own, known for their agility (you should see their spins and their jumps!) and speed, kicking up some dust on the endurance trails.

It's foaling season at Desert Bred Arabians, and we're looking forward to seeing the beautiful athletes that 2009 will bring us!

Spring and Rain and Fun with Fundamentals

We've been having a very wet spring this year. Not a ton of rain, but just rain almost everyday, keeping us off the trails. :(

But there was a brief window where we could get the horses out and actually trot on some dry trails (oh that seems so long ago...sigh :)). The trails are so beautiful this time of year at The Riding Center - May Apples are popping up (left)

And the dogwoods are bursting with blooms. Warm enough to be riding in t-shirts, and early enough in the year that spiders haven't built webs across the trails (nothing like a face full of spider web to make you say I love summer! lol)

So while we are busy riding indoors in between the rain, Sarah Sanders, the head trainer at The Riding Center, held a riding clinic, Fun with Fundamentals! She covered a lot of things that she fine tuned with Janiece Wilson in Utah, but down to basic steps and slower speed. The group was a nice mix of green horses and experienced 'been there done that' horses, arabs and QH's, and we all learned a lot. We covered rollbacks, 360's, collection, with a little jumping and a lot of laughter mixed in.

You never know when your horse might surprise you with what they need to work on. The most experienced horse in the group decided this was his day to be deathly afraid of horse eating striped trotting poles. The greenest horse in the group showed being green isn't an excuse and did BUUTEEEFULL spins. But the riders came away from the half day lesson with more tools in their toolchest and more versatile horses, and with that mix a more confident relationship with their horses. A successful day!

Utah Recap

Our road weary riders have decompressed from their journey and had lots to share. See below:

“Turn the worry into work!”

Paula, atop her young 5 yr old Arabian gelding, eyed the round pen with suspicion. Here, in the middle of the Utah desert, her horse thought he was under attack by hissing, spraying monsters. Well, not exactly monsters….sprinklers really, but they were keeping them from entering the round pen to continue their lesson with a renowned clinician. Some clinicians would have turned the sprinklers off, or some clinicians would have you work somewhere else. But not Janiece Wilson– it’s a training opportunity! So when Paula’s young horse decided he wanted no part of these monsters and backed away, Janiece told her to push on and “turn the worry into work”! Janiece had Paula and her horse continue backing and turned it into an exercise. Eventually, the horse got tired of moving backwards, and eventually went forward and thru the water, building confidence in himself and his rider. Success!

“Turn the worry into work!” This was one of the many “Janiece-isms” heard by Sarah Sanders and Paula Kaigh during their week of clinics with Janiece Wilson in St. George Utah. Janiece Wilson, one of the few remaining certified Monte Foreman trainers, forms her teachings around the Monte Foreman Basic Handle which teaches riders to move with their horse in a way that communicates with them naturally.

Sarah Sanders, manager and trainer for The Riding Center of Freeburg, Illinois and Paula Kaigh, endurance enthusiast and one of many riders who board at The Riding Center, were enjoying their second series of clinics with Janiece on this trip. Last summer, The Riding Center benefited from a visit from Janiece where she instructed trainers, boarders and working students alike. The lessons were long and challenging, but enlightening. So much so, that when Sarah and Paula had an opportunity to take another round of Janiece’s clinics in beautiful Utah, they had only one reaction – ROADTRIP!

So trailer packed, and accompanied by assistant trainer Jamie Lamborn who wore the photographer hat for the trip, the ladies headed out on their adventure. Other than running into a snowstorm in Texas (who would’ve thought?) that almost forced them to overnight at a dead ringer for the Bates Motel, the trip out was smooth sailing. Unfortunately, their schedule meant they drove through the most beautiful scenery at night, so they made sure they saw it on the way back.

This was the first long journey for the horses they were bringing with them. Paula brought her two Arabian geldings, DB Ibn Dhellal and DB Dahman, along with Sarah’s mount, DB Ibn Jalam, an Arabian stallion owned by The Riding Center (aka Desert Bred Arabians). All three handled the journey like veterans, even though none had been on an all day trip before, let alone 2 days.

Both Sarah and Paula had goals to build on what they already knew, but for different purposes. Paula reflected “…It was a great way to jump-start the spring season. Time to throw out the old excuses and just get on with it.”
As a trainer, Sarah wanted to not only add to her skills, but learn the skills in a way she could instruct other students. "I wanted to work on advanced movements with my horse. Janiece helped me with finishing work and really got my horse and me dancing with each other. Now I can take the information I learned in Utah and apply it to all of my other horses. I can also better help my students in communicating with their own horse.”

What is unique about the teaching skills of Janiece’s? Why would two riders want to travel half way across the country just to ride under her guidance for a few days? “Janiece absolutely lives and breathes the Monte Foreman method and can apply it to any level of horseback riding and any discipline. She pushes us to think about why we are doing what we are doing in the way that we are doing it. How will one particular skill help with another?
Sarah notes that the Janiece’s instruction of the Basic Handle isn’t focused on western arts style of riding. “She rode Hunter/ Jumpers when she was younger. I think that gives her credibility to being open minded. She understands different disciplines and that helps her students in every discipline.”

And for Sarah and Paula, the measure of the success of the trip was in quiet moments of moving in synch with their horses. For Paula, “... all it amounted to was a 360 over the haunches that felt light and perfectly in synch. Janiece said that my horse wanted to dance with me, and in that moment we danced. “

If you want to learn how to dance with your horse, Sarah Sanders is available for lessons at The Riding Center (www.theridingcenterinc.com) or clinics at your place or hers! Learn the Monte Foreman Basic Handle and contact Sarah at (618) 977-2625.