Welcome to the Akhal-Teke Breeder's Co-op Website
Photo: Jas and Patrick (in back) and Steve Hallmark and his Arab Tug at the Tevis finish line, right around 3 am Sunday morning.
This year's Tevis was historic for several reasons; first, it was run in October instead of July because of record snowfall. Second, it had to be rerouted 24 hours before start time because of more snow making the high country too dangerous for riding. And third, one purebred Teke and one partbred Teke finished! Yes, Jas and Patrick came through with flying colors, excellent vet scores and a great attitude. The ride started at 6:30 am on October 8th, in a huge, milling rush. From our vantage point (that of crew), it appeared quite civilized and orderly. We later heard that was a bit deceiving. Horses were very amped up, some riders made unplanned dismounts, and several people ended up riding a much different race than they had planned. After the start, Monica, Alice and I walked back up to the Auburn fairgrounds (and up and up and up) where we were camped. We then broke camp and headed to Forest Hill where the 2 out vet checks were located. We were in convoy with the crew of Linda Fisher's Kenlyn group, who had brought Jas and Patrick with them from Colorado. This was great for us too, as they were a lovely group that most importantly, knew what they were doing. We just helped out as we could and watched and learned.
We watched the front runners come into the ForestHill vet check (Dennis Summers, Rachel Shackelford and Jeremy Reynolds, but don't quote me on that) and watched what their crews did. We had a bit of a wait until our first riders came in. The group of 7 horses and riders had split into two, which made it a bit easier for us to take care of them. The horses all looked good and the riders were very happy (mostly, a few 'bobbles' in there). After they vetted through they had an hour hold. Then, it was onto the 20 mile loop that we later heard was down and up (or vice versa) a canyon. This loop took a toll on quite a few horses and riders. Inde and Monica Bennett were pulled at Forest Hill, although I don't remember if she did the loop or not. Inde wasn't recovering as he should, so they made the correct decision and pulled. He looked great later, so maybe next year!
Our horses and riders came back in, once again in two groups. This time we had it down - tack was pulled at the water troughs before the in-timer, any sponging necessary was done there and then they walked up the hill to the in-timers, pulsers and vet checks. Once again, all our horses vetted through. Another hour hold and horses and riders rested and ate. They left for the ride home in two groups, and Steve Hallmark, on his big arab Tug went out about a minute after the group Jas was with. Once they were gone, we broke camp and drove back to the fairgrounds. We missed the first finishers, but once we were set back up, we watched some happy riders come in. Then, we took a few hours to rest and were back at the finish for our riders to come in. The first group came in somewhere around 2:15 am (not sure exactly) and Jas and Steve came in right around 3 am. The last two came in a little bit later. All the horses vetted through and were fine at their hour check (they did a post-ride check at about an hour after the completion vetting to catch any problems). We then poulticed legs, wrapped those that needed it, made sure everyone had full hay bags and tubs of beet pulp and went to bed. When we got up a few hours later, the riders were tired but looked great and the horses were the same. Amazing after 100 miles!
We went to the awards banquet, watched each rider get their completion awards and heard a bit more about the amazing reroute that had to be done to make this year's Tevis happen. The organizers should be immensely proud that they could reroute a 100 mile ride and get all the vet checks and volunteers organized in such a short time. I heard that their were 4 volunteers for each rider; at 170 riders, that is 680 people to re-organize within 24 hours. That everything worked smoothly was a real testament to organization and hard work. Sunday afternoon, we all packed up and left the fairgrounds, Jas and her group towards Colorado, Monica, Alice and I to Steve Hallmark's driveway for the night. We arrived back in Seattle Tuesday and now have to catch up a weeks' worth of work.
This was a wonderful trip and really made me appreciate the time, dedication and hard work that goes into making a hundred mile horse. I won't say I'll never ride a hundred (never say never), but both Monica and I agreed that we'd like to ride the Tevis trail in much smaller chunks, preferably in good weather, at a leisurely pace. But, who knows what the future will bring?
We also need to thank everyone that donated money and items to Jas to make this trip possible. Without the support of the Teke community and her friends and family, she wouldn't have been able to go and be the first purebred Akhal-Teke to finish Tevis! Thank yous will go out soon.
The Breeder's Co-op's latest adventure is to help a long-time dedicated Teke breeder and competitor, Jas Shearer-McMahon, who has just sent in her entry for for Tevis, the premier 100 mile endurance ride in North America. I'll let her tell you about it:
While my final decision to ride the Tevis this year may seem like a sudden one, that is far from the truth. I have been considering it ever since the end of the 2010 ride season. I know my horse is ready, but I am the one who kept thinking it wouldn't work for me with the extreme heat in the canyons in July. I have had two heat related problems, one each in 2010 and 2011. The first was pretty uncomfortable, but by the second, I had learned to take better care of myself. When the Tevis was rescheduled for October 8th, I realized that the heat would not be as great an issue for me, and even though there will be more hours of darkness to ride in on both ends, I have faith in my horse as I know he can see much better than I can at night. I began planning a ride schedule and training protocol so that we both ( Patrick and myself) would be at the peak of our conditioning by that date. He has been a strong competitor this season and at the last ride we did, the Happy Jack, in Laramie, Wyoming I thought we were right on track. I have had some unfortunate events this season, a mare that we couldn't get settled, the loss of all of my stored frozen semen in the CSU-ERL lab fire on July 26th, 2011, and the unexpected, expensive, diesel truck repairs. So, before that ride, I was pretty down and discouraged, but since then, the stars seem to be aligning for me to go west next month. I have had several friends and business clients try and talk me into going, and I guess it was time to listen. When Cathy proposed fundraising through the Breeder's Co-Op, it finally dawned on me that with help and support I can do it! A fellow Endurance rider from Colorado has room for me in her rig, she has completed the Tevis twice, has all of the support crew lined up and knows the places along the trail where you can pass other riders and/or make up some time. So, that, in a nutshell is how this has all come about...it is also the month that I will turn 60 years young, and as most of you know I like to mark those decade passings with once in a lifetime experiences! I doubt that the Tevis will be run in October again :>)
So, please help Jas out if you can. Info for donations is on the Donations page, any extras will go into a competition/scholarship fund. You can also still order Logowear through Freedom Run Farms fundraiser. Great products, lovely logo! Go to the Fundraiser page for more info.
WEG Anniversary Project