Tevis Cup facts for kids
The Western States Trail Ride, often called the Tevis Cup, is a super tough 100-mile horse race. It's an amateur event, meaning people ride for fun and challenge, not for money. This exciting ride has happened every year since 1955. The only times it was canceled were in 2008 because of big forest fires and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tevis Cup is known as the very first endurance ride, inspiring many others.
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About the Ride
The Tevis Cup takes place in California, starting near Truckee at Robie Equestrian Park (39°14′20″N 120°10′39″W / 39.23889°N 120.17750°W). Riders and their horses cross the high Sierra Nevada mountains. The trail goes through El Dorado County and finishes in Auburn in Placer County.
The ride starts early, at 5:15 a.m., and riders have 24 hours to finish. That means they must cross the finish line by 5:15 a.m. the next day! Along the way, there are special stops where horses must rest. Vets also check the horses to make sure they are healthy enough to keep going. These checks happen at places like Robinson Flat (around 30 miles in) and Foresthill (around 70 miles in). Vets also check the horses at the finish line.
If a rider and their horse complete the 100-mile course within 24 hours, and the horse is still healthy, the rider gets a cool silver buckle. The ride usually happens in July or early August. This is so riders can use the light from a full moon to help them see the trail at night.
Ride Facts and Figures
The Tevis Cup is a big challenge! As of 2017, over 10,000 riders have started the race. About 5,600 of them have finished, which means only about 54% complete the tough course.
Many different riders have won the Tevis Cup. There have been 32 male winners and 33 female winners. Horses that win are usually geldings (male horses that cannot have babies). About 72% of winning horses have been geldings. The average age for a winning horse is 10 years old. The oldest horse to ever finish the ride was PL Murcury, an Arabian gelding, who was 27 years old in 2018! The youngest horse to finish was Capella, who was only 3 years old. Now, there's an age limit for horses.
History of the Tevis Cup
The Tevis Cup trail was created by Wendell Robie from Auburn, California. He wanted to show that horses could ride the tough mountain trail from Lake Tahoe to Auburn in just one day.
The Haggin Cup
In 1964, a horse named Keno, ridden by Paige Harper, won the first James Ben Ali Haggin Cup. This award is also called the Haggin Cup. After the race, the first ten riders to finish can show their horses to a special committee. This committee chooses one horse that finished in the "most superior condition." This means the horse is the healthiest and strongest after the long ride. This tradition of picking the "Best Condition" horse started a long time ago with U.S. Cavalry officers.
The Haggin Cup has been given out 49 times by 2014. Most winners have been geldings (80%). In 2014, a 17-year-old Arabian gelding named MCM Last Dance won the Haggin Cup. His rider, Barrak Blakeley, was the youngest rider to win this award, and MCM Last Dance was the oldest horse to win it.
Junior Riders and Special Awards
There's also a special award for young riders called the Josephine Stedem Scripps Foundation Trophy. It honors all junior riders who finish the Tevis Cup. This trophy was first given in 1994. Wendell Robie, who started the ride, made a rule that riders must be at least 12 years old to enter. Riders are considered "junior riders" until they turn 18.
Memorable Rides
- 2008 Cancellation: The 54th Tevis Cup was supposed to happen in July 2008. But big wildfires in the area forced the ride to be canceled. It was held the next year instead, in August 2009. That year, 169 riders started, and 87 finished. The weather was cool, which was good for the horses. Sarah Engsberg and her horse K-Zar Emmanuel won the 2009 Tevis Cup.
- 2011 Course Change: In 2011, there was a lot of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The snow didn't melt, so the ride had to be moved to October. Then, just two days before the ride, another snowstorm hit! This made the starting point impossible to reach. So, officials changed the course. The ride started and finished in Auburn, going up to Foresthill and back. About 70% of riders finished that year. Jeremy Reynolds won his third Tevis Cup on his horse Riverwatch. He also won the Haggin Cup again.
- 2014 Ride: The 2014 ride was won by Heather Reynolds, riding a 14-year-old Arabian gelding. Barrak Blakeley, a junior rider, won the Haggin Cup with his 17-year-old horse, MCM Last Dance. Barbara White earned her 33rd Tevis buckle, which is a record for finishing the ride the most times! Hal Hall is close behind with 30 buckles. Many riders also earned special buckles for completing 1,000 or 2,000 miles over many years.
- 2017 Ride: In 2017, there was still a lot of snow from the winter. The starting point had to be changed, and the trail was rerouted. Tennessee Lane won the ride on Auli Farwa, who was 17 years old. This made Auli Farwa the oldest horse to win the Tevis Cup! Jeremy Reynolds won his third Haggin Cup with a different horse, Treasured Moments.
- 2018 Ride: The 2018 ride was very hot and humid, with temperatures near 100°F. Heather Reynolds won her third Tevis Cup on her horse Cayucos.
- 2020 Cancellation: The Tevis Cup was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
See also
- Endurance riding
- Arabian horse
- Western States Endurance Run
