Press coverage of the Tevis Cup 2021 (Road to Tevis # 48)

I had so much difficulty locating the results and details about the ride that I decided to compile all the press coverage of the 2021 Tevis Cup here. For those of you not following my blog, I was planning on riding, but due to a series of bad luck events and poor horse management decisions, Fantazia wasn’t ready.

(See my post about Everything I Had Been Doing Wrong.)

Even worse, my original plan to volunteer if I couldn’t ride was foiled by life circumstances out of my control. So I followed via the Tevis Watch Party Facebook group, as I have for the past several years. But eventually I went to bed (only after Jeremy Reynolds had crossed the finish line). When I got up the next morning, I couldn’t for the life of me find the official results. This was made worse because google put results from the Virtual Tevis Cup 2020 at the top. (Clearly, the virtual Tevis receives more hits!)

Read the official Tevis 2021 standings on the Tevis Cup webpage.

Jump to:

Non-Arabian completions
Pulls
Some statistics
Press coverage
Resources

Read my post on the 2022 Tevis cup.

Brief Summary

There were 133 entries–far fewer than the 210 allowed! I so wish Fantazia and I had made it. She would have benefited from a smaller field. Everyone who told me I didn’t have to worry about entering early was right. One more thing I can regret, trying to pack in many rides in a short time.

Of these, 63 finished, or 47.4%. This is a fairly average completion rate for Tevis. It’s a tough ride, this year made worse by the smoke.

Start time was 5:15am.

Top ten

Jeremy Reynolds finished at 10:03, in slightly less than 17 hours. Jeremy is from Florida and rode a 11-year-old Arabian mare (Treasured Moments) who had three previous Tevis completions and had won the Haggin Cup in 2017. (This was Jeremy’s fourth Tevis win and seventh completion.)

Second place was Christoph Schork from Moab, UT (I want to go live with them! I love Moab.) He rode a 12-year-old grey Arabian gelding (VA Blizzard of Oz) and finished an hour and ten minutes after the winner (11:13) at the same time as the next two riders, Vicki Holzer (riding 11 yo Arabian mare SW Majestica) and Susan Kramer (riding 11 yo Arabian gelding A Ali Aseel). Just two minutes after these three came Suzanne Huff, riding the 17-year-old Arabian mare, S D Expressa.

27 minutes later, at 11:42pm, Jay Mero, DVM, crossed the finish line on the 9yo Arabian mare Ozark Kaolena SWA. “Lena” went on to win the Haggin Cup (Best condition). It was Jay’s fourth Tevis completion and Lena’s second. Beside them finished Jay’s daughter, Reyna riding the 8yo Arabian mare Chndakas Eklipse SWA.

The eighth to finish came in nearly an hour later, at 12:35am the next day: Dante LaPierre riding (wait for it) another Arabian mare, 11 year old Ms Dennie Mhf.

Finally, Ann Hall (riding and 18 year old AngloArab, Greenbriar Al Jabal) and Courtney Kizer (riding a 19 yo Arabian gelding called Vegas) came in at 1:09am. With them was Mollie Quiroz riding the 11 yo Arabian gelding, Chndakasexpress, in 11th place but also at 1:09.

The non-Arabian completions

Yes, the vast majority rode Arabians, but there were exceptions!

A mule came in 26th place, at 4:15am, Lotto Ticket ridden by Shane Lesher.

Two Rocky Mountain mares came in 32nd and 33rd, at 4:32am: the 7 year old Ace’s Queen of Hearts ridden by Leahe Daby and 16 year old Sassy Cassie ridden by Dean Moon.

One minute later, at 4:33am, two Mustang geldings finished in 34th and 35th place, 11 yo Favor the Bold and 13yo MM Cody ridden by Alicia and Ken Campbell respectively.

Also at 4:33, the second junior rider to finish, 13-year-old Kyla Law, rode a 12yo Hackney gelding Piece of Perfection. Kyle was riding with her mom Natalie Law, who also finished at 4:33, riding a 9yo Saddlebred gelding, Mo Motion Jack. (36th and 37th place)

Ten minutes later, at 4:43am, a Pinto gelding came in 40th. 12-year-old SS Celestial Luminance ridden by Cristine Grey.

Four minutes later, Carmen Jackson finished in 43rd place, riding the 10 yo Mustang/Arab cross gelding Red Hero.

Just after them, also at 4:47am, Madison Smith Benson finished riding the 14yo Saddlebred/Arab cross mare Sparta.

At 4:58am, Annette Phillips came in 48th riding the 15yo Tennessee Walking Horse/Spotted Saddle Horse gelding Johnny’s Star Kicker.

The 7yo Anglo-Arab gelding HCC Tetherow Joe ridden by Sara Anderson finished 52nd at 5am.

At 5:08, a 15yo Appaloosa gelding, The Big Brass ridden by Jessica Cobbley, finished 57th.

The nearly 10yo Mustang mare Rho Sham Bo, ridden by Victoria Olsen-Mikitowicz, finished 59th at 5:12am.

The rest were Arabs. I am not discriminating against Arabians! I have one… but I am always interested in the other breeds that finish. Others are as well, I’ve assumed! That’s 14/63 (22.22%) non-Arabians.

The six that rode the 100 miles but were overtime:

The 17-year-old Arabian/Appaloosa cross gelding Dandy Sergeant, ridden by Kelly Deas,

The 8yo Rocky Mountain gelding Nova ridden by the junior rider Haley Esteves.

The 14yo Quarab mare Angel ridden by Debbie Glasow.

The famous-in-the-endurance-world 21-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse grade gelding John Henry ridden by Jennifer Gomez.

The 20-year-old Mustang mare Liliana Vess ridden by Lucy Trumbull.

The 12 yo Morgan mare Pearl Layne ridden by Denise Ziegler.

The pulls

8 Rider Options: 5 Arabians, one Morgan cross, one Kiger Mustang, one Standardbred/Arab.

1 not reported (at No Hands Bridge): Quarab. I’ve heard that horse and rider fell off the trail due to horse injury and had to be rescued. Lynn Atcheson, if you read this and would like to share your story, please contact me!

6 Over Time (before the finish: 3 at Last Chance, one each at Deadwood, Robinson Flat, and Foresthill): all Arabians.

2 Surface Factors: One Arabian and one Shagya.

24 Metabolic: 17 Arabians, one Arab cross, one AngloArab, one Appy/Arab, one Quarab, one Quarab/Morgan, one Rocky Mountain, one unknown.

23 Lame: 18 Arabians, two Appy/Arab crosses, one Arab cross, one AngloArab, one Pinto.

The riders

There were four junior riders. Caroline de Bourbon finished 16th at 2:07am on her Arabian gelding RTR Thunders Nusabre. The second junior rider to finish, Kyla Law, has already been mentioned above, as has Haley Esteves who was overtime at the finish. Ally Wheeler, who rode the Arbian mare Belesema Rosa (and lives close to me, in Visalia!!) was overtime at Last Chance.

(More to be added later…)

Some statistics

Arabians

47/70 (67.14%) pulls were Arabians; 72.18% (96/133) of the field were Arabians. In other words, 48.96% of the Arabians that started were pulled.

Non-Arabians

All of the 6 horses that were overtime at the finish were non-Arabs, although two were crosses.

78.26% of the lameness pulls were Arabian….

OK, I don’t have time to do this now, but I will run some chi square tests on these later, just because I am a statistics geek.

Press coverage of the Tevis Cup 2021 and related resources

Press coverage

The first was published by The Horse: Jeremy Reynolds Wins Fourth Tevis Cup

The Gold Country Media published: It’s all downhill, and uphill, for Tevis Cup winner, as Jeremy Reynolds puts his feet to work

From Church News: Mother-daughter duo finish world renowned 100-mile horse race

Natalie Mayer Law shared this piece from the American Saddle Horse Association: CH-SH Mo’ Motion Jack Finishes 37th in the 2021 Tevis Cup 100 Mile One Day Ride. It includes her (and her daugher’s) great Tevis story.

From Sierra Sun: Tevis Cup returns, 133 horses take on 100-mile ride

Endurance Horse podcast featuring Dr. Jay Mero: Dr. Jay Mero, Winner of the 2021 Haggin Cup

And that’s it, folks!! Wow, I really thought I’d find more. It’s 6 days after Tevis 2021, and that’s it??

Resources

Official Tevis Cup Facebook Page

AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference)

AERC Facebook page

Endurance.net Tevis page

My blog post on How to Enter the Tevis Cup

Brief history of Tevis on Horse Illustrated (2006)

A List of Books about the Tevis Cup

Photos of the volunteers at Foresthill.