Tevis buckles

["Barbara White" <barbdoug@syix.com>]

My 24 buckles, each of which I cherish, took 31 starts from 1967 through
2000.  I was a teenager that first year and now get the AARP Magazine
(yikes!).  The ride does get easier with time, I find, although I am still
quite nervous and emotional in the weeks leading up to it every year.

About the borrowed horses - 8 of my starts were on horses I owned, the
others were owned by friends or family, and I had ridden them previously. 
Only once did I ride a horse I had met at the pre-ride vet check, due to a
tragedy on my entered horse shortly before the ride.  Although I didn't
know Venture well before that ride, I certainly was a close friend after
100 miles!  For trivia buffs, part of my crew that year (1980) was a young
veterinarian named Mitch Benson.

I am grateful to many people for this wonderful ride that has been part of
almost every chapter in my life.  Although I don't remember every ride
vividly, I can still remember the feel and way of going for each of the 14
noble horses.