“She was pretty healthy looking, but she was really wild and traumatized,” says Valdivia-Abdallah. “If you just walked in her pen, she would jump out. She did it multiple times.”

It was a familiar situation. The mare was one of eight at a “loose horse” auction (horses are bid on while running loose in a pen) that Valdivia-Abdallah bought.

“An Oregon man had been breeding mostly Shagya Arabians, and he died,” she explains. “The family called a horse trader who rounded 53 of them up. Most on that property were adult horses that had never been handled. She was such a difficult horse, and so not into people, that I named her after the Taylor Swift song, Love Story. It’s a version of Romeo and Juliet that has a happy ending. I like to give horses names with positive affirmations.”

Vera Valdivia-Abdallah, founder and director of Love This Horse Equine Rescue, says Love Story took about six months to tame after coming to her facility. Photo courtesy Vera Valdivia-Abdallah

Gaining Trust

She recalls that it took about six months just to tame Love Story. Valdivia-Abdallah and her daughters, Tamarah and Erna Valdivia, plus one other trainer, worked to gain Love Story’s trust. Even during this time, Valdivia-Abdallah had a special feeling about the mare.

“Once we got her going, I said that’s a Tevis horse right there,” she says. “Don’t ask me why. I just had that feeling.” California’s Tevis Cup is considered one of the toughest 100-mile endurance rides in the world. Horse and rider pairs have 24 hours to complete the race, with regular vet checks that must be passed to continue along the route.

Susannah Jones, a friend of Valdivia-Abdallah from Rough and Ready, Calif. (between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe), is always on the lookout for her next Tevis Cup horse. The three-time finisher of the race adopted Love Story in February of 2021. She took the halter-broke mare home and sent her to a trainer. The first trainer rejected her as too dangerous. The next trainer broke her to saddle, and eventually Jones began riding her.

But Love Story could still be difficult, and she bucked Jones off during a trail ride. Injured and sidelined for six months, Jones didn’t want Love Story to backslide, so Valdivia-Abdallah welcomed the mare back to Love This Horse Equine Rescue in October 2023. Her daughter Erna Valdivia began riding and conditioning the mare for endurance rides. Now 17, Valdivia learned to ride at age 5, and has been starting rescue horses under saddle since 2020.

Love Story intimidated Valdivia at first.

“The first time I got on ‘Lovie,’ I acted like I didn’t know how to ride, because I was so anxious,” she recalls. “I was shaking in my boots. She’s a big horse. She has a lot of power. It was just in my head, because she was Susannah’s horse, and I didn’t want to mess anything up and ruin her. But as soon as I stopped thinking about Susannah, and just treated Lovie like I was riding one of the rescue horses, she was easy to figure out.

“Lovie was very sassy,” Valdivia continues. “I had to be a little bit more stern with her because she’s a mare. She’d get upset with me, but then we pushed through it. When she’s with me, she knows she can’t get away with stuff.”

The two finished their first 25-mile ride together in California in January of 2024, then moved up to 50-mile rides, getting to know each other and building a strong partnership.

Valdivia took over the training on Love Story, taking her to the mare’s first 25-mile endurance ride in January of 2024. Photo courtesy Vera Valdivia-Abdallah

Targeting the Tevis Cup

After breaking to riding, many of Love This Horse Equine Rescue’s horses compete in endurance.

“Endurance riding is so good for starting our horses,” says Valdivia-Abdallah. “You have a different horse at the end of the ride. Even if somebody wants to adopt one as a trail horse, taking him to an endurance ride is valuable training. They must travel in the trailer, camp, stay tied to the trailer overnight, ride in a strange environment, ride a minimum of 25 miles under timed conditions, and complete successfully without having any issues.”

As Lovie and Valdivia accumulated more endurance rides and miles together, the “T” word came up again. Both Valdivia-Abdallah and Jones, now riding again, suggested the Tevis Cup. Jones volunteered to ride her other horse, Eli, and mentor Valdivia aboard Love Story.

“I was like, um, no!” Valdivia laughs. “I didn’t like the idea at first, because it’s Tevis. But once we got closer, and started making plans, I thought maybe it’s not too bad of an idea. I warmed up to it toward the end, and I was actually kind of excited for it.”

With Jones riding Eli and Valdivia aboard Love Story, the pairs rode two days and 50 miles of the Tevis Educational Ride in June, giving both newbies a good taste of the trail.

“It helped me, because the trails are narrow and the turns are pretty tight,” Valdivia says. “It gave Love Story peace of mind, too. It helped her watch her feet and be careful where she stepped. It was definitely a good experience.”

Erna Valdivia on Love Story (front) and Susannah Jones on Eli. Photo courtesy Vera Valdivia-Abdallah

Tevis Time

The atmosphere and idea of the Tevis Cup itself can make riders apprehensive, and the start can be chaotic. At the 5:15 a.m. start time on July 29, 2024, Love Story, not used to such a big field of 137 horses, was agitated.

Valdivia was nervous going into the Tevis Cup, but once the riders were able to space out she and Love Story relaxed. Photo courtesy Vera Valdivia-Abdallah

“I had to relax myself in order for her to be relaxed because there were so many horses around her, and all that adrenaline and energy,” Valdivia says. “It was nerve-racking for both of us.”

For most of the first 6 miles, Tevis is a single-track trail where it’s not possible to pass horses. It wasn’t until the trail opened up and they were able to spread out that Love Story settled down.

Jones rode her other horse, Eli, and mentored Valdivia for Tevis. Photo courtesy Vera Valdivia-Abdallah

The 2024 Tevis Cup was one of the hottest on record, particularly in the two deep canyons horses have to traverse, contributing to the low 40 percent finish rate.

Eli and Love Story successfully made it to Foresthill at the 68-mile marker at 9:35 p.m. They passed the vet check, but Jones and Valdivia opted to pull their horses and not continue the last 32 miles.

“Our horses were tired,” Valdivia says. “It was so hot. Their energy was just not up. The vet said we were good to go, but I felt like if we would’ve kept going, it would not have ended well for us.”

Valdivia and Jones decided to pull out of the Tevis Cup at the 68-mile vet check, where the horses were deemed sound to continue, but the riders felt they were tiring. Photo courtesy Vera Valdivia-Abdallah

A Happy Ending

And so ended the potential fairy tale story of Valdivia and Love Story LTH completing the Tevis Cup. But the plot doesn’t end there.

After Tevis, Love Story was slated to return home to Jones, her adopter. But that’s not how the cards fell.

“Susannah told Erna she was going to gift Love Story to her,” says Valdivia-Abdallah. “It took Erna a minute to process what had just happened. And then Erna totally lost it, jumping up and down and laughing and crying at the same time.”

Valdivia modestly downplays the moment.

“I figured after Tevis, Love Story should go back to Susannah, but I’m happy that she’s mine,” Valdivia says. “We got really connected doing all the endurance rides together. We know each other pretty well.”

Jones and Valdivia became close friends while training for Tevis, and afterward Jones decided to gift Love Story to Valdivia. Photo courtesy Vera Valdivia-Abdallah

Recipe for Success

Since incorporating in 2016, Love This Horse Equine Rescue has rescued 702 mostly Arabian horses and adopted out 534, and currently has 125 in its care. The horses come from a combination of owner relinquishment, law enforcement seizures, and low-end auctions.

What contributes to the group’s success is Valdivia-Abdallah’s focus on attempting to get every horse broke to ride before offering them up for adoption.

“Since I come from a training background, I get the horses going under saddle, because a riding horse will find a home,” she says. “They’re endurance horses, therapy horses, trail horses. We’ve had horses move on to hunter/jumper careers. We have one adopter who shows in hunter under saddle and dressage at Scottsdale [Arabian Horse Show], and this year she’s gone into ranch riding. So they’re really versatile.”

By taking the time to rehab and train rescued horses, Love This Horse Equine Rescue proves that adopted horses can not only become great companion horses, but they have the potential to perform at the highest levels of their chosen sports, including endurance riding’s legendary Tevis Cup.

This article about a Tevis Cup love story appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post A Tevis Cup Love Story appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Tennessee Lane, riding a 17-year-old, bald-faced chestnut Arabian gelding named Auli Farwa (“Far”), won the 62nd Tevis Cup on August 5, 2017. Her picture graced the front page of local California papers and flashed across equestrian newsfeeds online.

The story of the pair’s victory is compelling, involving love, death, challenges, and a pause to scatter the ashes of Kevin Myers, Far’s former owner. It brings tears to both those telling it and those hearing it.

But what of the other 91 riders who successfully completed the grueling, beautiful, life-changing challenge? Everyone started at 5:15 a.m. Tennessee finished at 10 p.m. Fifty of the 92 to complete in 2017 finished in the last hour of the time limit for the 100-mile race. From first to last and in between, there’s a story behind every horse and rider.

Last but Not Least

Jala Neufeld of Yelm, Wash., and her half-Arabian mare, CH Memphis Belle, crossed the finish line and earned their completion buckle at 5:07 a.m. The crowd waiting in the early-morning California darkness was actually larger than the crowd waiting to see the winner. And more vocal.

“Come on!” barked a six-foot-five bald man with a wrestler’s build and a military demeanor. His encouragement sounded like a command.

A ride official stood behind a half-dozen exhausted looking timers sitting at white portable tables near a makeshift arch covered with Christmas tree lights. A chalk line crossed the dusty trail beneath the lights and a large electronic clock blinked the time. The big generator powering the lights and clock drowned out most conversation.

Horses began to emerge from the darkness, usually in groups of three or four. Each time they crossed the line, the crowd and timers erupted into cheers. Like a detonation clock, the numbers kept changing, and if the clock hit 5:15 a.m. and a horse-rider team was not across the line, it would be their dreams blown to bits. No finish. No buckle. Didn’t count.

The tall military man paced and peered down trail, bellowing “Come on!” into the darkness. 5:01, 5:05, 5:06, 5:07. Some spectators had followed their riders off to the stadium and final vet check. Timers rustled papers. Was there one more rider out, or two? They checked their radios. Alone, the final rider, Jala, appeared, and to chants of “Cross! The! Line!” she fulfilled a two-year quest to finish the toughest endurance ride in the world. They had just eight minutes to spare.

Jala and Memphis Belle complete their mission: 100 miles in 24 hours.

Jala had won. She beat the clock. The big guy? Greg, her husband.

“Even after six tours of combat, he got emotional at the finish line,” Jala admitted. “I couldn’t have done it without him and Nicole Miller, my best friend and crew leader.”

The Neufelds saved for two and a half years to fund their Tevis quest.

“A dollar here, some quarters there,” Greg explained. Nicole drove her own truck from Washington state to make sure there was back-up transportation in case the Neufeld’s 2004 white truck with 330,000 miles on the odometer gave them trouble.

“My job,” Greg stated, “was to feed the horse, cook, and sometimes be a personal counselor.”

Winner’s Glory

Was the battle for first place as intense? While Jala was running against the clock, Tennessee and Far had a seriously competitive field of talent to outrun.

Last year’s winner, Karen Donley, and past winners Jeremy and Heather Reynolds were there. The toughest competitor that full-moon Saturday proved to be a 15-year-old powerhouse named Monk, ridden by Lindsey Fisher. Monk had finished fifth last year and as the miles fell away, it became clear Monk had higher aspirations than fifth.

“He felt stronger than last year,” Lindsey recalled. “He was a beast.”

“I think my lowest moment was when we finished the canyons at a walk,” said Tennessee. “And there was Monk up ahead, trotting all the way into the vet check. He looked good.” In 2014, Tennessee finished second on a horse named Shazam, five minutes behind the leader. She had higher aspirations this year too.

Monk left the Foresthill vet check with 32 miles to go, only 6 minutes ahead of Far. As Far waited, Tennessee felt him say, “Don’t worry. I got this. I can do this.” They loped off and caught Monk before the Francisco check (mile 86).

The two world-class endurance horses swept along the trail in the dark. At one point when Far was in front, the trail caved way beneath him.

“His right foot reached out and pulled us up on the remaining trail,” recalled Tennessee. Monk struggled to safety, too. “We both stopped and regrouped, calling back and forth, ‘Are you alright?’”

At the Francisco check, a crew was hastily dispatched into the dark to route riders up the bank around the damaged trail. Far and Monk flew into the final vet check on the trail, Lower Quarry, only 6 miles from the finish.

“I knew I had to leave the vet check in front,” said Tennessee. “After passing the check, I practically swung my leg over the vet’s head as I mounted, and I handed off my card to the out-timer at a gallop. I didn’t look back.

“During the final miles, it felt like we were the only ones on the trail. I didn’t urge Far; I just let him go. We stopped and he tanked up at the Robie Point water trough. All I could hear was my heart beating. I kept listening for the sound of tack jingling, of Monk coming after us. But I knew Monk couldn’t touch us if Far galloped.”

Both Near and Far

Far’s 2017 Tevis win brought closure to many who love the sport, its horses and its people. Far carried his longtime owner Kevin Myers to five Tevis completions, and he won the Haggin Cup (for best conditioned) in 2015 with Jennie Smith.

Under Kevin’s care, Far built the bulk of his present 74/74 race completion rate, consisting of fifteen 100-mile events and fifty-nine 50-mile rides. This record is both highly admired and unusual in the sport. Myers’s sudden death on June 28, 2016, devastated the endurance community. Myers bequeathed Far to Rusty Toth, and when Toth approached Tennessee about riding Far in the 2017 Tevis, they both knew only a win could improve Far’s record.

“I felt tremendous responsibility,” she admitted. Her mission also included a request to spread some of Myers’s ashes on Cougar Rock, the iconic rock climb where riders seem suspended above the mountains.

If Tennessee’s low point was watching Monk trot ahead up a hill in the lead, Jala’s was even more devastating.

“It happened at Robinson Flat,” recalled Jala. “We almost got pulled. The vets were concerned about Belle’s gut sounds. We’d only been 36 miles, and they wanted to see me after our rest hold before we could time out. I was really down, but Belle said, ‘Mom, I got this. I’m fine.’” Cleared to continue, Belle’s gut sounds at the finish-line check were perfect.

Tennessee’s best Tevis moment actually occurred before the ride during Far’s last training exercise. Tennesse had been riding Far for a couple of months to get to know him and things were fine, but jumped to a whole new level of connectivity due to a mountain bike.

“This mountain bike careened around the corner, heading straight for us, and Far went right up a steep bank and came down gently,” she recalled. “After that, we moved as one. We connected viscerally. I rode with a softer touch and we flowed like water. We returned to my crew and they saw the difference. From that moment, everything fell into place. It was such a truly recognizable ah-ha moment. I told my crew: ‘We got this.’”

Tennessee Lane and Auli Farwa finished first at the 2017 Tevis Cup

At the awards banquet held Sunday afternoon, Tennessee and Jala both received a belt buckle, a certificate, and a carnation. Of course, Tennessee’s experience also involved a big trophy, a medal, and a special blanket, but their tears flowed from the same source: gratitude for the horses who carried them 100 miles, keeping them safe, fulfilling their dreams, and bringing them home.

Learn more about The Tevis Cup >>

This article originally appeared in the November 2017 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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