MONTAGUE - Yvonne Underwood discovered Endurance Riding 25
years ago through a friend.
If the idea of a sport that requires you to
prepare for months in advance, building up yourself and your horses' strength
and abilities steadily, involving lots of traveling, entrance fees and medical
inspections with the final culmination being a physical token that says 'I did
it' then Endurance Riding could very well be for you.
This sport began
50 years ago with a simple bet. In 1955 the attitude among horse enthusiasts was
that modern horses were not as strong and resilient as the horses during the
pony express days. A small group of men decided to test that idea and proposed a
challenge to have a ride from through the Sierra Nevadas from just north of
Squaw Valley, a parcel of land now named Robie Park, to Auburn, California, a
100 mile distance. The terrain includes steep hills, rocky surfaces, single
tracks (narrow trails), creeks, a swinging suspension bridge and a crossing of
the American River.
Six men began the challenge and five finished. This
was the beginning of what is now known as the Tevis Cup ride.
