Jun 11, 2024

Inspirational Stories From Mustang Owners

Amanda Whitmire
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There are so many incredible mustangs out being amazing ambassadors for their kind. Here are some of the stories from their owners.

I will add more stories as I receive them!

"A Wild Horse in the Dressage Arena" > READ THE FULL STORY HERE

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Mustangs in the 2017 Tevis > READ THE FULL STORY HERE

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Here is Jake Hashagen's story, who is competing in one of the toughest 100 mile endurance races with his mustang Cas in 2021

UPDATE on the Tevis race: Tevis… first thing I have to say is that I love this horse and proud of the effort he gave. Rider option pull 68 miles in at Foresthill. Castillo had been telling me he was done and cramping up. Difficult to stomach not doing well and succeeding like I had hoped and thought we would, but even more difficult to see the look in his eyes saying I’m sorry, I’ve had enough, can we just walk it out and call it a day. This year was not our year. Castillo has a lot more in him, and if he is willing, we will attempt it again. Today he’s already full of energy, trotting around in his pasture. Thanks for carrying me so far.

And thank you to all my friends and family that have supported me and helped out. My sister Hana Brissey, and Eve Blumenfeld for crewing for me. And always a huge thank you to Corinne Elser who helped me start him with such great training for both he and myself.

How Jake Got Into Mustangs: So to try to make a long story short, my older sister was the one into horses when I was a kid. She had to muck out stalls to pay for lessons. I chose basketball--less to clean up, but I loved going out and sitting on her TB while watching her work. I always loved the mountains and the wild, and always thought if I ever get a horse I want a wild mustang....Fast forward to 2015 as 33 year old I finally was in a placed to "get into horses." I took 6 months of riding lessons 2 days a week, and then went to the Kiger Auction in Oregon. I wanted a wild mustang from my boyish dreams. I wanted to be a part of the process from wild, to first touch, to being my partner. I love to hunt and fish, and wanted a horse that would naturally be comfortable, and probably more so than me out in the back woods. I wanted a mustang as I heard they were sure footed, hearty, and good bones and hooves, but mostly because I wanted the process of having that partnership from start to finish.

(A picture of Cas in the wild)

I ended up buying two Kigers at the auction in Burns in Oct 2015 and drove from Cal every other weekend for 6 months to be a part of the training process. One of the two naturally just loved running right behind me, and felt he would be my endurance horse. Growing up in Auburn, I knew I wanted to try for Tevis, but really wanted to use endurance just to help keep my horses in shape and feel comfortable with them on all trails. Castillo (Cas) has excelled (at least to my standards) at 50's. He loves the trails, whether out in Idaho racing back to camp after a long day of packing me around or for endurance.

(A picture of the mustangs drinking while on a pack trip in Idaho)

The past two years I've wanted to do Tevis but with fires and Covid we have not been able to. We have still been able to spend more time out on the trails conditioning and getting to know each other and being able to read each other (more so me being able to read him) and for that I'm grateful, as we are doubling our distance on one of the hardest 100's for our first time. I'm nervous, and excited. I'm competitive, but know that I need to read him correctly so that when he says he's tired, I give him a rest, or get off and run in front. Doing whatever I can so that we both can hopefully be successful and hopefully both enjoy the grueling tough trail that is the Tevis. To answer your question of knowing if we are ready... I'm not sure. It's my first time, but I have a partner in him and hope that we are ready, and hope that we can be a success in whatever that looks like at the end of 100 miles.

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Wow so this is Victoria and Rho's Tevis story. They traveled down from Arizona state. First attempt at Tevis. This is not an easy ride and these Mustang 's have the will and mostly heart!!!! Get your kleenex ready!! This is her story:

The Tevis, the hardest endurance ride in the US. And this mustang proved just how strong she is and completed 100 miles in 24 hours. She was an absolute rock star all day. She was on her A game and nailed Cougar Rock like she had done it a hundred times. She vetted through well at Robinson Flat thanks to my awesome crew Blake Potter and Matt Sammons. We took off for the canyons and I did some good old fashioned hiking. Coming out of the canyons to Michigan Bluff I was again grateful for my crew and keeping me on schedule. They sent me running up the hill toward Chicken Hawk. My third crew member, Jenn Shirley Potter cooled us down quickly and we vetted through well. We were able to link up with Maddie Smith Benson on Sparta and her team. We could not have asked to better company and Rho was now happy to lead down the mini canyon. Hitting the up hill, Rho kicked on her power walk and we motored into Forest Hill. Again my crew helped get us in and pulsed down, through the vet and eating tacos in a flash! After the hour hold with quick dance party, we went through the town in the dark, glow sticks in place lending an eerie green light to our dark world. Hitting the track was wonderful, but we were in a long line of horses and were slowly and carefully passing people until we found a nice bubble. After getting passed by a stallion I was having trouble navigating and keeping Rho focused. Unfortunately we had a major mishap in the dark over a ledge. Rho lost her footing and plunged down the ravine slipping on the scree and vegetation. I tried to keep her head up, pulling on her reins while bracing my feet, but the ground was slipping out from under me, I don't even remember I came off her back. I felt the reins slip through my fingers and I heard her crashing down. I kept slipping and ended up down the side and separated from Rho. I was terrified. I didn't know where she was or where she would go. I yelled out "loose horse!" in case she came up the side, but I saw the green glow on her breast collar and sent a quick thank you to Jenn for strapping them on. I approached her slowly and talked to her, I realized she only stopped due to a large down log that obstructed her way, it also meant we would have to find another route up and out. We took a moment and composed ourselves, did a quick assessment and I knew I had to get her back to level ground to see what we were truly dealing with. I miraculously had cell phone service and phoned my head crew, gave a brief description and kept moving. Rho trusted me to lead her through the undergrowth and sapling trees, needing to hold branches to the side and send her through. Slowly we picked our way through brush, working our way at a traverse up the incline. We were about 15 feet from the trail and we saw other riders. They were kind enough to stop, helped me look for the path of least resistance and gave us the encouragement to give one final push to the trail. I grabbed Rho's tail as she went by, dragging me on hands and knees up and over the ledge. We had backtracked and I truly don't know how far we fell, but in the moment it felt like 50 to 100 feet. I looked her over and there were some abrasions, but nothing urgent. I gave her some electrolytes and BCAA and started walking. The last sign I remember said 5 miles to Cal 2 and I estimated that was two miles ago. My crew checked in on me, made sure we were alright and informed me the head vet had made the decision to pull us and had a trailer heading to the aid station to get us a ride out. The sweep crew was also a few miles out. We stopped again at a spring and took a moment. Rho ate, drank and peed. All good things, but my adrenaline was sapped. I looked at her and asked if she could carry me awhile. Her foot falls were even as we walked. We heard other horses behind us and we stepped to the side to wait. I assumed it was the sweep riders, but no, it was a group of Tevis riders! Rho saw the other horses if front of her and she was back on track. She trotted steady and sound, with me reminding her to slow down. I was scared about some of the turns and rather disoriented in the dark. She kept it moving. We were held at Cal 2 for about 30 minutes while the vet discussed with the Cup Committee member present whether or not we could continue. During this time our trail angels Lucy Chaplin Trumbull riding Lilly (owned by Andrea Maitland) appeared. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have a familiar face at that moment. I saw Lilly leaving and made the decision to mount up, not knowing if we would be released, I knew I had lost some gumption after the fall and needed Lilly on trail if we were going to get through. As the riders had just pulled out, I turned to see Judy on the radio giving us the go ahead and to get the vet check at Francisco's. We were still in it. I was shaken, but had been told to trust my horse, and I wasn't going to give up if she was still strong. I sent a quick text to my crew and we went out again into the night. We caught up to the riders. Rho knows Lilly from previous rides and respects her immensely and Lucy is the woman you want with you on any trail, especially the trails she knows so well. Another rider was with them and was a great pace setter. We knew time was running out and we would be chasing the clock. Lucy described the trail flawlessly and reminded us to look at the river as it reflected back the Tevis moon. We kept a good pace and trotted by more ledges that made my stomach clench. We passed the group of riders that had helped get Rho back into the game and made it into Francisco's. I was told we were over time. I cooled Rho down and spoke to the vet. They had been waiting for us, we had been granted a 20 minute extension the in timer had not been made aware of and that was enough to keep us in the running. They were expecting us, knew our situation and vetted Rho carefully. I heard A's in lots of places and was given back my vet card with the ok to proceed. Lucy was already to go and gave the 2 minute warning. Our group of three was out again. Fifteen miles to go. The trail was moonlit and perfect heading out. We rode just above the river and it was bright! At the river crossing we met up with another rider and their horse had some thoughts about crossing the river alone. Rho led the way, angling herself in the current, water so high my feet were soaked through. The other horse was a lovely grey we had met earlier on trail and paced well with him. He took the lead like a little flashlight. These were the longest 6 miles of the ride. The temperature was steadily dropping, the road was wide, but hard packed. Coming into Lower Quarry for our last out check was a whirlwind. We got water, boots off, rump rug on and vetted though. I was told to move out now! I didn't see Lucy or the other horses I had been with, thought a quick good luck and knew they understood the course. With another text off to crew, we were out at 4:16 AM. I knew my crew was waiting for me at No Hands Bridge, two miles up along the ridge. I heard them as I came down the hill and was so relieved and overwhelmed, I started to get off, but Blake threw me back in the saddle and explained quickly the extension time was up. The race cut off time was 5:15, no exceptions. We rode out. No time for tears, we started trotting across the bridge. We had riden the finish a few days earlier and Rho knew the way home. She surprised me again with her stamina by kicking it up a few gears, trotting and cantering up the hills. We had less than 30 minutes to get four miles. Four miles of up hill and not exactly "walk in the park" terrain, but Rho kept pushing. She turned herself into that locomotive and we started passing riders. The minutes were ticking away, but I didn't trust myself to click the light on my watch. I started talking to Rho about how we might not make it and that was ok, she already proved how strong she was and how much heart she had and I was so so proud of her. We passed another rider. Then two more. She drank deep at the trough set out and walked out down the steep hill. Then again picked up her trot. I could see the lights of the fair grounds, we passed another horse. We were heading around a bend and I heard a sound I knew and dreaded. Pop. My stirrup billet broke and my cage was the only thing keeping the stirrup on my toe. I plucked the useless thing off my foot and put it on my wrist. Rho never stopped. We have ridden with one stirrup before. We only had about two miles to go, I didn't dare look at the time. We kept on. I started to hear the noise of the crowd, my crew was yelling and I thought I heard something about minutes. We took a hard left turn Rho remembered, but I didn't and almost lost my seat, lost my other stirrup and heard Blake's voice in my head "Stay on top". No stirrups. It didn't matter I gave a "Hiya!" and Rho took off galloping up the hill. I grabbed mane and got out of her way. We went under the banner 5:12 AM, 3 minutes to spare. This mustang never gave up, never said quit and rallied to make this an epic adventure, all in 24 hours.

I am so so grateful to my crew, you all gave so much for Rho and me this ride. I knew she was in the best possible hands at every step of the way. You kept me focused, sane and lent me your strength. Even when we were lost, I knew I wasn't alone. Huge thank you to the rest of Team IPA for the encouragement, advice, training and hugs. I also really appreciate the Zonie crew including Pam Bringham, I will treasure the memories forever and the photos are priceless. Thank you to Judy Suter for helping us through Cal 2. A huge thank you to Carrie Miracle-Jordan who took me under her wing, offered her wisdom, and encouraged me every step of the way. And of course I will always appreciate that Jeff Cook matched me with this mare saying he had never seen her get tired and thought she would like endurance.

To finish is to win.

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Here is Jamie's Story: