100 MILE JUNIOR Meet Carolyn Latham

I am 17 years old and am a Junior at Terra Linda High school in San Rafael, California.

Windy (Wind Charm's nick name) is a 13 year old gelding. He is a bay and 15 hands.

Windy is a retired race track horse and has gone through many different owners throughout his life. From the first day he came into my family to today he has changed immensly. When we first got him he was very nervous and reserved. Now he is much more secure with us and enjoys seeing us. He even whinny's when we pull up to feed him.

I did a lot of the conditioning with Windy, but I also had some help. Because of work and school I was busy. My Mother and Step-Father both ride and rode when I couldn't. Also some friends of the family ride along with us and rode when we couldn't. As often as possible we would make the trip up to parts of the Tevis ride to train on it. The most common part of the ride that we would train was from Forest Hill to Auburn. That was the most important part to train to me because it would all be ridden in the dark and getting the horses used to it was vital. I made it a point to train as much as possible with Windy. I wanted to really make sure that I knew his strengths and when he needed this or that. I really believe that no matter how skilled the vet is, the rider, as long as they know their horse, will know when their horse is under stress or in pain.

The reason that I wanted to ride the Tevis 100 miles in One Day, was because it is a family tradition and is the "big kahuna" of endurance riding. When I finished the Tevis the first time I was the 7th person in my family to finish and the third generation. In 2003 it was my second year to finish the Tevis, and that same year another family member, April McKenzie my cousin, finished as well. When I finished the Tevis for the first time in 2001 I had the biggest feeling of achivement because I had finished something that my Great Grandfather had finished.

The best part of riding the Tevis Cup was coming across the finish line and seeing tears in my Great Grandmother and Grandmother's eyes. They had both lived to see their grandchild and great-grandchild finish the Tevis cup.

The hardest part about riding my first 100 miles was staying awake during the early morning hours. My Aunt was leading us down the canyon and my horse and I were following. I was pouring water on my head, shaking my head violently and even pinching myself to keep awake. On my second 100, I was the leader during the night portion, and that made it was easier to stay awake because I was concentrating so hard.

During the training I would eat all the time. Just snacking as we rode. As it turned out, on the 100, I never once touched my goody bag with food in it. I guess the fact that it was the actual race, I was more concentrated on my horse and where we were going, rather than my needs. On the rests I normally eat some pasta and drink a coke to help me stay awake. I would eat pretty fast so that I could get back out to tending to my horse.

The day after finishing the ride (or should I say that morning) was so hard to get through. As soon as I finished the ride I jumped in the back of our van and fell asleep. I woke up, took a shower and then went to the awards with about 4 hours of sleep, if that. That is so tough to do. The recovery was brutal. All I wanted to do was sleep. I felt bad just lying around when the rest of my family/crew were outside cleaning the trailers and unloading the cars, but I just couldnt find the strength in me to get up. I would say that after a day of good rest I was recovered, but still very sore.

My advice would be to sleep as much as possible and go in a jacuzzi. That helps so much to rid your body of soreness.

A good sponsor is someone who has rode the ride before and is not worried about the place that they will get when they finish. Riding with Juniors is an experience in itself. Anything can happen, just like with anyone but we are younger and need that stability. The sponsor needs to be relaxed and encouraging and patient.

I have ridden another 100 since my first. I rode the Tevis another time, 2 years after my first completion. I love doing the Tevis. It is such an accomplishment when you finish.

My first year of doing 100 miles was the year after I graduated from 8th grade. Instead of getting a job or just hanging out with my friends, I moved in with my Grandparents for the summer and trained almost every day. Since my grandparents live close to Auburn, we were able to train most of the Tevis trail. For my second time doing the Tevis, we had our horses about a mile away from our house so it was easier to train at home.

I play varsity soccer and play for another soccer team outside of school.

My ultimate riding goal was to do the Tevis and become part of my family legend, but I have already accomplished that at a really young age. I guess my new goal would be to do the Tevis with my mother and then, a few years down the road, do the Tevis with a daughter of my own.

My advice for other juniors would be to KNOW your horse. You need to know when your horse needs a rest and when they are feeling good. A vet is trained to detect things that are wrong with your horse, but ultimately you will know when something is wrong. Also, know the trail of the 100 that you are doing. This way you know how far you are and where you are. You can make sure to conserve your water to make it to the next stop and you know where the really tough parts are and you can pace your horse.

Endurance riding has given me deep appreciation for my horses. They are such amazing animals. The fact that they carry me that far with out quitting is amazing.

I really hope that endurance riding is in my future. I am going to miss it immensely when I go off to college and have to leave the horses but I really want to come back to it. Especially since I would love to see one of my children finish the Tevis.

I don't ride horses for awards or for getting the most points over the year or first place in some ride. I ride because I love horses and doing endurance rides. It is a passion of mine and is something that I am blessed to be able to do.

Riding 100 miles is a very intimidating thing. It is a VERY long ways to be on a horse and, to many, does not sound appealing. I think that the only way to get more juniors interested in doing 100s is solely in the hands of the people that surround the juniors during their endurance riding careers. I would never have even thought of doing my 100s unless I had the role models of my family to strive to "be" and without the support of my family in me doing it.

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