Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Have you ever had a dream? A really BIG dream? How about one that you always kept in the back of your mind and heart, but wasn't sure when or if you'd ever be able to reach it?
Well today I just sent  in my entry for the 2004 Tevis Cup Ride! I can't believe that I'm finally on that long, long, impossible-seeming road to California. 
Here I am, a mostly competitive trail rider who has always ridden somewhat conservatively, embarking on the toughest most challenging thing I've ever done. 
When I was 20, (in 1982) I trained and trained , then loaded my over-worked Moyle horse into a  borrowed two horse trailer, and set out for the mountains of North Carolina to do the WNC 3-day 100. Before I got 100 miles from home, (Orlando area), my aged Ford truck died on me. Some very gracious, dear friends told my fiance to bring me their truck so I could finish the drive up there. Well I made it there, and by the skin of our teeth my horse finished the ride. 
I think the idea of Tevis took root even then, but a 3000 mile trip across country and the funds to support it always seemed out of reach.
Now, 21 years later, I'm competing the third Moyle horse that I've owned since "Xander", the one who carried me in NC. Matthew Mackay-Smith owned Xander before me,  and says his first endurance ride was the Tevis in 1964, and it was on a Moyle horse.
Although Miles and I have yet to do a one-day 100, he has 1500 miles on him in which six-hundred of those are 3-day 100's. He's thirteen this year, and sound and strong. 
Hopefully, my endurance photography business just might supplement my income enough to make it out west next year! 
I have carefully planned this adventure with all the enthusiasm of a person preparing for their first ride. I attended the AERC convention in March, and bought Julie Suhr's book "Ten Feet Tall Still". This inspired me so much that I told myself I just had to try. I wrote to WSTF to receive any information I could get my hands on. They sent me a very handy little rider's recommendation booklet on what you need to start preparing. (boy, did that booklet scare the crap out of me) It has questions in it like "do you have health concerns that if someone couldn't reach you for hours would you be able to walk out"? And, "are you prepared to ride after dark on treacherous single-track mountain trails that can only be reached by helicopter"? "Wow, I thought, what am I getting myself into?"
Anyway, being the type of person who wants something and goes for it, I decided to attack the idea with a vengeance. I've probably visited the Tevis website 200 times since April 1st. I've looked at every picture of Cougar Rock that is on there (which actually scares me less than other aspects of the ride). Roxanne Ciccone and I flew out in August to ride the CA Loop with Judy Houle to see what we wouldn't see if we get that far next summer and will have to ride it after dark.
I'm picking everyone's brains who've ever ridden it (not many have from Florida). I've had the pleasure of picking John DePietra's brain until he had a stroke a few weeks ago. (sadly, he talked of making the trip out there next summer too). Claude Brewer from NC has completed it twice now on mares that only had a couple of fifties on them when they went.
I even e-mailed Julie Suhr, who was gracious enough to reply and refer me to her daughter Barb.
Although Steve Rojek only rode the trail once, he and his wife Dinah are good friends and a wealth of knowledge on tough 100's. They have offered me to train occasionally with them this winter out of their second home in Georgia.
Fortunately, I live in an area of Central Florida that actually has some "big", tough sandhills. If you do it right, you can get their heart rate up to 180-200 on them. Also, it's been said if you have a horse tough enough to do a 100 in the Ocala Forest, he can go anywhere and do a 100. My horse has done several 100's there, so I guess we'll see next summer.....
For those of you who wish to offer me any advice on conditioning for Tevis, or training a "flatlander" for it, (keep in mind, he was raised on the range in Idaho hill country and has done the mountainous VA 100 twice), or just offering me your Tevis stories, I'd love to hear from you. I will report on ridecamp from time to time on how my conditioning program is coming and how he's doing. 
For those of you who dream the dream, I hope it can come true for you as well!
Becky Siler
and Moyle Miles
Clermont Fl