Earning 300 AERC miles and meeting the 300-mile rider requirement for the Tevis Cup was a major focus of my training efforts last year. My first 50 miles were earned as a catch-rider in Oklahoma several years ago. I had planned to do two or three 50-mile rides in fall 2020, but COVID put an end to that. I knew I had to complete 300 miles before entering Tevis, and I was worried that the ride would fill before I could enter–foolishly, it turned out. Only around 140 horses ended up entering by the time of the ride, far fewer that the 210 allowed. (My post on How to Enter Tevis.)
As it turned out, I got stuck at 250 miles. There were no AERC-sanctioned rides until April, but fortunately, as I learned last January, WDRA miles count, and the Nicholsons put on several xp rides. By the end of March, I had 200 WDRA miles, but Fantazia first pulled a muscle by cantering sideways up a hill at Cuyama Oaks, took a while to recover, and then had a muscle spasm on the other side at Wild West. That would have been my last opportunity to reach 300 miles, but it would have done no good, since Fantazia was not ready anyway.
Above: The Cuyama Oaks xp ride was amazingly beautiful! It was also the site of Fantazia’s first muscle soreness (and beginning of saddle fit issues).
Reaching 300–and five!–AERC miles
Many months after our last completion at Cuyama Oaks, Fantazia and I completed back-to-back 50s (plus an LD) at the Sesenta Años pioneer ride in November. Technically, I could ride Tevis at that point, with 200 WDRA miles and 150 AERC miles. Sesenta Años was both AERC and WDRA; I did the AERC because they were longer, and everyone knows where to find evidence of AERC competions! I don’t know if that also qualifies as completing for WDRA or not.
At Cayuse in December, we completed another 50 miles. Then last weekend it was back to the desert for the Fire Mountain Pioneer: 50 miles on Friday plus 55 on Saturday. Total AERC miles = 305 (plus 200 WDRA). More than enough. At that point, it was easy. Fantazia is super-fit, and improving mentally at each ride. Desert rides are perfect for her too; cold (because they don’t happen in summer) and dry. Perfect conditions for a horse with anhidrosis.
Above: The first loop of the Fire Mountain 55 that would put me over 300 AERC miles.
Earning 300 AERC miles does not mean we’ll be doing Tevis this year
First, I’ve got Fantazia’s partial anhidrosis to worry about. She sweats fine when it’s cool, but, as I suspected at the Quicksilver Fall Classic and confirmed at Sesenta Años, as soon as it heats up, she doesn’t sweat. It’s possible the issue will resolve, with supplementation (OneAC), better electrolyte management (see this article), and/or time. I’m going to post about it when I’ve had time to do more research. For the moment, I’m starting her on OneAC. If she’s not sweating normally, there is no way she can do Tevis.
Second, I’m going to breed her this spring, pending promising results of a reproductive exam. If she takes (and we’re using frozen semen so that remains to be seen), she can’t do Tevis. That’s okay. I can still do easier rides, after about two months and until she’s too heavy with foal. She’ll be able to do endurance in 2023, once the foal is weaned, so we can still try for things like Decade team. And we can attempt Tevis another year.
Do I think earning 300 AERC miles has made me better prepared to do Tevis?
There’s no doubt that more experience riding endurance is making me better at it! However, most of the knowledge I have gained this past year is about managing my horse rather than riding. Honestly, if I had followed advice about elyting scrupulously, Fantazia definitely wouldn’t have cramped at Wild West… and she might not have cramped at Cuyama Oaks. Maybe cantering sideways up steep hills would not have resulted in a cramp if I had elyted her that day before the hill… and/or if it hadn’t been the first warm weather ride we’d done.
I don’t know, but what is certain is that I’ve learned a lot about feeding and managing an endurance horse.
The thing is, even if I had had those 300 miles and entered Fantazia last year, we wouldn’t have done Tevis. We would have got to the summer, done Wild West (because it was the last ride pre-Tevis I’d have done), and had the same result: Cramp. Because I would have made the same mistakes with lots of alfalfa at home, no serious elyting at the ride. I’d have had to scratch.
Sure, I could have ridden a well-managed horse and followed its trainer’s instructions to complete Tevis. But that’s not the point, not for me. I want to be the one to train the horse, and I want it to be my horse.
Don’t get me wrong. I love catch-riding. But Tevis sounds like a lot of pain, sweat, and tears… the kind of thing I only want to do on a horse of my own. At least the first time. If it’s not as bad as I am imagining, maybe I’ll change my mind.
