Race Miles:
26.3 miles
7:21:14 hrs
We are…. pretty behind. 720th place out of 1050 so far. With Dino being sick and then the disappointing weather, we’ve got some work to do.
T is pretty out of shape after two weeks off. Playing catch up is so much fun.
But we reached Cougar Rock! If you don’t follow Tevis, in real life, this is what Cougar rock looks like: 
Also sneak peak of my new endurance goggles: 
Race Miles:
19.7 miles
5:43:14 hrs
It’s been a disappointing week – but I guess it’s time for a new blog post.
Sad to say Dino Booty isn’t feeling well. We shall now call him Booger Boots. He’s got the sniffles and has needed to take the week off. That’s okay – we’ll catch up.
He’s still super cute tho
As horrified as I am to write this post – it needs to be shared.
Something has been happening on the trails recently that causes great concern.
The trails we ride consist of dirtbike trails, power lines, dirt roads, and the occasional walking trail.
There are people in this world who feel entitled. They feel that having dirt bikes and ATVs on public property is inappropriate. They feel that they are the ones that need to put an end to this.
This past weekend, the following were found on the powerlines that I posted about in my August 1st blog.
There have also been reports of wire strung across trails.
How sick do you have to be to put these on our trails? My heart hurts for myself, my horses, my team, and all others who use these trails.
Moral of the story: Be careful out there. There are some sick fucks out and about and as much as I think I would be amazing at writing a True Crime blog… I don’t want to be featured in one.
Race Miles:
15.9 miles
4:38:54 hrs
Time to get these miles really ramped up. Looking at nothing under 5 miles a ride now.
There is a nice little beach about 1.5 miles down the road from our barn. I don’t typically ride there on my own as you have to cross a highway, but I took a trip there with Isadore last week. Two days later, we brought T-Rex and Belay.
Picture perfect Sunday morning, 7:30am. We meet no one on the trails until we are heading back to the farm.
T-Rex is pretty good about things. You can drive a car right by him, he doesn’t care. Dirtbikes? ATVs? Mailboxes? Those horrifying trash bins? Nothing. Enter: Dog. T HATES dogs. He won’t spook at them, no. He will attempt murder.
We’re walking along this trail and come upon this couple with a brown lab. The dog looks older, clearly doesn’t know what a horse is or why it is on his walking trail. The couple pulls the dog to the side and I ask if he’s seen a horse before. The woman responds that he hasn’t. We go to walk by and the dog, who’s leash was being held, charges towards us. He’s silent, no teeth or voice, but the retractable leash they were using chooses that moment to fail. See below:
Moral of the story: T-Rex is an amazing animal.
Now enjoy a video of him trying to push me off a cliff while we hand walk up part of the trail…
Bonus content – T-Rex learning how to be ponied off of:
Race Miles:
5.6 miles
1:36:51 hrs
I’m sure you knew this about me, or maybe you didn’t, but T-Rex is not my normal endurance mount. I usually spend my days on the trails on the back of #Isadorable but he has bonded and will be taking this journey with his best girl Kayleigh.
My endurance loop is 5.6 miles long and loaded with massive hills. You can easily add in another leg, which will bring you anywhere from 7-10 miles till you get home. Riding Isadore, the 5.6 miles was easy. He loves it and we can gallop almost the entire thing (minus some time spent on the road). I had hesitations about bringing T on this loop because I know his stamina isn’t the greatest, and in the past long trail rides have left him a sleepy grumperoo – nobody likes T when he’s grumpy. I thought the hills would kill his energy.
So we set out on this loop, me with my Dino, Brandy with her She Demon, and Kayleigh with Isadorable who has done it all before (albeit still won’t behave). I was fully prepared to hand walk T up these hills. He lazy.
Or is he?
Queue Brandy and Kayleigh having a gallop race up a steep hill. All in good fun. Except… I’m also galloping? Maybe I should have taken more rein.
He’s not the most sure-footed. Did I fear we would trip and die? Certainly. Did we do it anyways? For fucking sure.
If you missed my “Underdog” post on Maguire Equine, check it out. Cause that’s what we do. That’s who we are.
And T LOVED it.
Apparently the thing he hated about trails was just how BORING they can be.
Me too, Dino, me too. So I promise I will always try to make it fun.
And I keep my promises.
Until next time 😘
The longest journey begins with the first step
Fortune Cookie
Pre-Race Miles:
7.4 miles
1:39:54 hrs
I feel obligated to post about my adventures this past weekend with #TheFlyingDino – just kidding, you know I love you guys
At our second 3-phase event we moved up to elementary eventing which is bundles of fun for Dino, not so much fun for Jamie (queue immediate anxiety). Good news is we both lived and Dino is better at this than I ever expected. I’ve got a lot of work to do.
On our list of Tevis goals:
– get in shape (especially if I’m gonna be doing the Mongol Derby)
– get T in shape (more so than he already is)
– convince Brandy to show T Novice for me (cries laughing)
– do other things
Okay, it’s a short list.
Pre-Race Miles:
2.3 miles
30:47 hrs
We picked a super hot day to start our blog rides. Dino Booty and I are showing Novice A this weekend so we needed to practice our dressage test.
Aside from the fact that I am horrible at memorizing tests (queue me practicing in my sisters living room with her telling me if I did my transitions in the right spot) it will also be our first dressage test with the canter. 50% chance we will not die. Gotta be optimistic.
Hot as balls, as some would say. Humidity + Temp = 158 but a nice breeze so I decided to do the test 1-2 times and just walk the rest of the time. 1/2 successful attempts ain’t bad. Why did I train my horses to voice commands?
Join us next week on “What stupid thing is Jamie gonna make her horse do today?”!
Road To Tevis 