The Road to the Tevis Cup, Post #1: Introducing Fantazia

Perhaps I ought to say “introducing my blog about my road to the Tevis Cup” because this is the first post. But that’s self-evident, so I’ll introduce the most important and unpredictable element of the road, my horse, PGN Fantazia.

I’ve wanted to ride the Tevis Cup for years. I even explicitly mention it as a goal in an interview with my editor in 2015. But I was never in the position to plan for it, not really. I did have plans for Fantazia’s full sister, PGN Zimpressive Lady–she is what encouraged me to believe Tevis was a realistic goal when I mentioned in the interview with Trafalgar Square. But while making a recovery from sweeney shoulder (read about it in my illustrated blogpost), Lady fractured her humerus and we had to put her down.

With that setback, I put off my road to the Tevis Cup until I could move back to my home state of California. I was planning to look for a youngish (4-5) Arabian to start. It would take several years, but I prefer to train my own horses from zero. Then a miracle happened: Fantazia’s owner asked if I was looking for a horse. Fantazia wasn’t young (she’s 13), but I had ridden her when she was (more on that in Post #3: When I met Fantazia). I knew she was a great mare; that’s why Lady had been my favorite of a large crop of nice fillies.

Of course I said, Yes, I’ll take her! I couldn’t take her at that moment though… I was still living in Oklahoma. Fantazia was in California, close to Auburn. I knew I’d be moving back to my hometown of Springville, CA. in June. Pre-COVID-19, I had planned to arrive June 28th. One of the few silver linings of COVID was that I ended up moving June 16th. I picked up my new mare June 21st.

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Fantazia’s history

A year or so after I last rode her in 2013, Fantazia was sold to Jenna Towner. Jenna bought her to do endurance, and trained her accordingly. Jenna brought her along slowly until her first ride, a 25-mile LD (limited distance ride) in spring of 2015. She progressed quickly to 50 miles, and over the 2015 and 2016 seasons completed 250 endurance miles and 105 LD miles. (Fantazia’s AERC record.) Jenna and Fantazia started Tevis in 2016, but did not finish (it was a metabolic pull with extenuating circumstances). Fantazia has never been lame.

Of interest to me about Fantazia’s AERC stats: Her fastest 50 was her first (7 hours 40 minutes). Her slowest 50 took 10 hours–she finished mid-pack in the Cache Creek Ridge ride. Interestingly, her first event was the 25-mile LD at that ride the year before (which she completed in 4 hours, 23 minutes). Her fastest LD took her 2 hours and 54 minutes. I don’t know anything about the rides themselves, so I cannot tell too much from her times. I can tell that she’s plenty fast enough for me.

According to Jenna, Fantazia is good on the trail alone. She leaves other horses well, but can become anxious if left. She isn’t very competitive. That’s okay, at the moment all I want to do is finish. She’s not spooky. She is hot. I knew this. I love hot horses.

What happened since her last endurance ride in 2016?

I don’t know all the details, but I do know that Jenna tried to sell her more than once, and it never worked out. From what I understand, the main reason is that Fantazia is hot. Deceptive, too, in that she is calm (but forward) most of the time, but when she gets excited, she gets very excited. And she’s fast. If she jumps or shies, it’s not in slow motion. Fortunately for Fantazia, Jenna was able to get her back, so she didn’t have to stay in bad situations. Fortunately for me, Jenna knew I had liked her and got along with her, and she knew I had lost Lady.

Fantazia had been hanging out with a few other horses and a donkey in Jenna’s pasture since February when I picked her up three weeks ago. This was a good thing, because she was quite thin when Jenna got her back. Of course, moving her caused another weight drop, but she’s gaining now.

What’s next?

In my next blog, I’ll cover her first three weeks. Then I’ll do a short recap of my experience with Fantazia 7-8 years ago. Today (July 13, 2020) is the first day of week 4. This morning my farrier shod her; as soon as it cools down a bit, we’ll hit the trails and start training seriously.

I plan to blog at least once a week about our road to Tevis. At the moment, we’re aiming for 2021, but given my lack of experience and COVID-19, it might be 2022. That’s okay. It’ll take as long as it takes.

The Road to the Tevis Cup, Post #2: Fantazia’s first three weeks

The Road to the Tevis Cup, Post #3: When I met Fantazia