"The power of imagination makes us infinite."
– John Muir
On October 9, 2014 will be the 59th Tevis Cup endurance
race. This 100 mile international horse race takes place in the Sierra Nevada’s
and is the granddaddy of endurance racing. This year, for the first time,
Israel will be represented by two riders -a father and son. For some Tevis Cup background , the following was taken from Chapter 6 In “ It Has
Nothing To Do With Age “ A short segment
of that chapter reads as follows:
“The Tevis is a 100 mile one day endurance ride that begins
at Robie Park near Truckee (north of Lake Tahoe) and ends at the fairgrounds in
Auburn. The Tevis is rich in history and characters, and I’d like to share a
bit of history about the ride in the man who started it. The following
information is found in Bill G. Wilson’s book, “Challenging the Mountains: The Life
and Times of Wendell T. Robie.”
In 1955, the Reno Gazette Journal in an article describing, “Some
gentleman from Auburn are attempting a one day 100 mile ride out of Tahoe City.”
Five riders; Nick Mansfield, William Patrick, Pat Sewell, Richard Highfield,
and Wendell Robie said they could ride over 9000 feet of summit, go through deep canyons, and follow a
trail that no other horsemen had traveled on such a ride. This ride had a lot
of unknowns. One major question was, could a horseback rider travel and cover
100 miles in a day?
Robie claims that organizing the event would bring new home
and property orders to Auburn and give valuable publicity to the town (Robie
was a businessman in Auburn-he was into lumber, real estate, and later started
a bank). He quoted the Vermont organizers of a 100 mile Green Mountain trail
ride, who claimed that people keep fit by riding horseback. He also quoted
Winston Churchill’s famous phrase, “The outside of a horse is good for the
inside of a man.”
Robie was influenced by pioneer Bob Watson, who was the last
constable of Tahoe City. One of Watson’s mission’s in life was to re-establish
the original Emigrant Trail over the Sierra crest. Long lost to overgrowth and
lack of use, the trail was used by Native Americans as part of their seasonal
migratory route, as well as gold miners in the late 1840s and early 1850s that
traverse this rugged trail in their search for instant riches. Later on in the
1850s, the trail was also used by those leaving California in search for silver
in the Comstock Lode in Nevada. Watson’s quest to redefine the trail was a
proud endeavor and he enlisted like-spirits in finding the trail, including
Wendell Robie, and a group of Auburn man who belonged to the Native Sons of the
Golden West. In one of their trail- marking journeys in 1935, they took along a
movie camera and captured the adventures of their ride, including pack horses
breaking loose and scattering their goods over mountain ridges. In addition to
finding and marking the entire trail, when he was in his 70s, Bob Watson
erected a shrine dedicated to all the pioneers who had traveled this trail. The
edifice was later named Watson’s Monument; located at the top of Emigrant Pass,
and topped with an American flag that all the runners and riders pass by during
their events.”
Good luck to all the riders and their steeds.
For more about this illustrious event and other
extraordinary events and the people that compete, I refer you to my book. In
the meantime, keep moving, laughing, smiling, bonding, loving and appreciating
because it’s good for you.
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