2024 Tevis Cup - Kristen Grace

Part 1

I have three amazing topics to cover for Tevis 2024: Joslynn Terry and Monster, me and Bobbi Walker’s Chancie and most surprising of all - EMDR therapy worked PERFECT to resolve my terror of the drop offs in the canyons! So much to cover so I’ll post them separately but will definitely start with Jos and Monster.

Of all the horse and rider pairs that I’ve known, 14 yo Joslynn and 19 yo Monster are as perfect together as anything I’ve ever seen. Joslynn seems to just THINK what she wants him to do and he does it with glee. Joslynn rode her first 100 on him as well as a whole lot of other rides, so the two of them have a lot of miles together already.

Signing up a Junior to ride my stallion through the toughest 100 on earth was nothing I took lightly, but I had 100% confidence in Monster (he is super cratty and had already done this trail 2 and 3/4s times - got pulled at Chicken Hawk once) and Joslynn is an amazing horsewoman and takes all instructions with ability and a smile.

Monster was absolutely perfect as Joslynn cruised effortlessly all the way to Cougar Rock where she led our group up and over with a huge smile on her face! Perfect job Joslynn!!!!! They cruised perfectly through Robinson with Monsters best CRI I’ve ever seen him have. They cleared every other vet check in that same amazing condition. They tackled Pucker Point like it was absolutely nothing and motored down the first canyon and into the river at Swinging Bridge, and then over the bridge and up the other side. They climbed the canyon effortlessly up to Devils Thumb, having to pass a downed horse in a scary tight place on the trail just ahead of a horse that went off the edge without batting an eye.

When we got to Deadwood, however, Monster was off just a smidge in the front and after three different vets watched him they agreed that it was very very subtle but decided to pull him. After the trauma earlier on the trail, I frankly wouldn’t have minded if we both got pulled! So Joslynn stayed put (in excellent care with amazing riders, vets and volunteers) while I sadly went on without her. I swear that I’ve never had a more enjoyable first 50 miles on that trail!

Joslynn is hands down the most incredible, tough, capable, fun, smart kid to ride with! I almost never had to remind her of anything (mostly to slow down) and she took the best care possible of Monster. He LITERALLY had better recoveries in this tough hot ride, which sounds crazy but it’s true! Monster absolutely loves Joslynn and watches her and follows her everywhere. They are a special perfect pair and I am incredibly proud of them both. I was glad that they didn’t have to pass later trauma on the trail with us and I’m thankful for what might have been divine intervention to keep them both safe - I guess that makes our vets just that much special to me.

Part 2

I have three amazing topics to cover for Tevis 2024: Joslynn Terry and Monster, me and Bobbi Walker’s Chancie and most surprising of all - EMDR therapy worked PERFECT to resolve my terror of the drop offs in the canyons! So much to cover so I’ll post them separately but will definitely start with Jos and Monster (former post).

This Tevis was pretty special for me because I not only got to sponsor a junior (Joslynn Terry), but I also piloted one of the toughest training horses that I’ve ever “retrained” as he came to me with a lot of habits that were not conducive to being ridable (ha!) let alone riding in groups at endurance rides.

His owner, Bobbi Walker, was amazing to leave him with me and was very hands on throughout his training. She would come to Oregon from Washington to ride him at rides, was super communicative with me about her wants and needs for him so that when he goes home he will be HER perfect horse, not just mine. She asked if I thought he could do Tevis this year and I think I snorted and laughed (in horror) at the thought of it! He was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO terrible for months and then one day it all just clicked and he became an angel.

I knew we were in the clear after Bobbi and Sally Melendrez had perfect rides on him (Sally needed miles to qualify for Tevis and Chancie was happy to volunteer). So we signed up, got to the start, sponsored the junior, led middled and went last, tackled Cougar Rock (I was glad to have Joslynn my junior there to do the hard part and show us the way!), Granite Chief, water crossings, Swinging Bridge, long strep canyons in unbelievable heat, vet checks where he was down (heart rate) every single time without waiting even a minute (we were able to make up tons of time by cruising right through every single check), going over a downed horse on one of the cliffs, jumped some logs (we had to have a little fun!), went first into the American River in the dark and climbed his way all the way to the finish!

I have never had a more enjoyable Tevis. Chancie has a perfect smooth big trot, forward walk and a floaty canter that I could ride all day long. I am in absolute awe over Last Chance MF and will forever be thankful to Bobbi for sticking with us through my training program and knowing that her boy could do it. I am THRILLED with this special horse!!! And we even had 14 minutes to spare!

I forgot to mention that I was throwing up almost the entire ride, not able to keep ANYTHING down (including water and electrolytes) until it finally cooled down about when we hit Franciscos and that sweet boy Chancie took incredible care of ME!

Part 3

Last big topic from me is to discuss how I seem (please God let it be true!!!) to have completely conquered my terror of riding along drop offs, cliffs, canyons, etc…

A good friend Stacy Berger recommended a therapist who had helped one of her other friends through past trauma related fear. The therapist specialized in EMDR (I basically held two smooth, small river rock type magnets), which as far as I can tell takes you back to the original trauma (in my case a horse went off a cliff with me when the trail literally fell out from under us and I am incrediby lucky that we both survived) and then you focus on and address the fear in small pieces until you understand where the fears come from.

Mine were ALWAYS with me like a stomach ache. There was no crazy emotional outpourings or crying (thank goodness!) during the therapy session. I was not expecting this to work at all as my terror at Tevis has always been a 10 out of 10 taking it off the table as an enjoyable experience for me.

This year was maybe the toughest Tevis in at least the last 20 years and my fear was, get this, a ONE out of 10, just enough to keep a healthy respect for the trail. Many miles of loose rein, even in the dark along the canyon between Forrest Hill and Cal 2. So there’s that. So many people have stopped me and asked questions and said they liked that I put it out there because they, too, have the same fear but had no idea how to tackle it.