Keens ready to compete in Tevis Cup

Within essentially all competitions, there is a certain plateau or level a person or team would like to reach.  Within high school sports it’s the state championship, and with pro football it’s the Super Bowl.  

If you’re a fan of horses and endurance riding, then you have more than likely heard of the Tevis Cup - regarded as the most difficult 100-mile race in the United States. 

On July 28, two locals and their horses will be making the trek up to Robie Equestrian Park in California to take their crack at the trail.  That would be none other than Beth and Dale Keen.  

Many know Dale as the cross country and wrestling coach at Yoe High School.  

The longest-tenured coach at Cameron ISD grew his passion for endurance riding at a very young age in Colorado, where he grew up around the animals. 

“I grew up on a thoroughbred horse race farm in Colorado,” said Dale on this childhood.  “My entire life I had heard of the Tevis Cup.”

Beth did not initially have the same exposure to the sport, but has most certainly taken to it over time.  

“I’ve grown to love it,” she said.  “I didn’t grow up with horses like Dale did and I was a city girl.  It took him about an hour and a half to get me on a horse the first time.  Sometimes it takes him that long to get me on now.”

Dale rode in his first endurance race back in 1973 while back in college at Colorado State University.  When the couple came to Texas there were limited races, but that has since changed as the sport continues to grow in popularity.  

“When we came to Texas there were only about two endurance rides a year,” said Dale.  “I saw an ad in the Dallas paper and that put me in contact with people.  Now, the sport has grown so much in Texas, and in the winter months there is a ride every two weeks.  It’s like that in every state and it’s just grown.”

In total, there are 157 riders signed up for the race.  Dale and Beth will be joined by Jonni Jewell of Decatur, Melanie Martin of Amarillo and Carrie Merson of San Antonio as the only five riders from the state of Texas.  

The horses and training

Every rider needs a great horse, and Dale and Beth have been doing their part over the past several years to get everything in place.  

Several years back, Dale got in contact with a Edie Booth out of Canton, who was known for breeding Arabian horses that had competed well in endurance events.  

“She had been breeding them and I saw that one of her horses won a race out in West Texas, going 60 miles carrying a rider that weighed 225 pounds,” said Dale.  

“I went looking and they were pretty wild and unbroken.  They made me such a great package deal.  I was supposed to come home with one and ended up with three.”

Those three were AAS Munif, AAS Kamsin and AAS Domino.  

We have been training them for about five years now, and it takes about that long to get their bones, ligaments and tendons set so they do not break down,” said Dale.  

Dale noted that he has heard pretty much every excuse in the book from his students over the years for not being able to practice.  He has not heard one of those from a horse. 

“You have to be careful with horses that you don’t over-train them,” Dale said.  “One day I’m going to write a book named “My Horse Never Misses Practice”.  They don’t.  They never say that my alarm didn’t go off or this or that.  They are amazing animals and one of the greatest gifts that God gave man.”

The rider also must be in tip top shape for a ride of this nature.  “The ride tests the animal and yourself,” said Beth.  “You have to be fit to ride.  Your feet, knees and back have to hold up and there is a lot to it, so you have to be physically fit.”

These last six months have been the most intense leading up to the actual race.  Every weekend, the Keen’s have taken their horses out for a 20-mile trek.  

“We are pretty well-focused,” Dale said.  “You can do a lot on only three hours a week, but that’s only on the horse.  There is a lot of other things that you do such is wrapping their legs, nutrition, and you take care of all that.  You spend 15 to 20 hours a week interacting with the horses.”

“A lot of it’s mental and you have to train their mind as well,” added Beth.  “They don’t have the reasoning power to know that they are going 100 miles.  You have to control them and make sure he maintains a pace that you know he can do over the long haul.”

Expectations

With this being the most difficult race out there, you would expect that just finishing would be a major accomplishment.  Only 50 percent of the riders actually make it to the finish line.  

From TevisCup.org: “The Tevis Cup Ride follows a rugged portion of the Western States Trail which stretches from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Sacramento, Calif.”

“Much of this historic route passes along narrow mountain trails through remote and rugged wilderness territory. Participants who are unfamiliar with this area should use caution when planning training rides with their mounts, especially in the high country and the route out of Foresthill to Francisco’s.”

To even enter the race, you must have 300 miles of lifetime riding.  

“If you finish the Tevis you get a silver buckle, and it’s very meaningful and people will recognize it,” said Dale.  “We’ll have to pay the price to finish, but we’ll see.”

Riding is something that has meant a lot to this family for some time now, and to put how much they enjoy it into just a few words, Dale said it best - “Some people go on cruises and we do endurance riding.”

The Keen’s will be wearing a tracking device during their ride, so if you would like to follow along, visit TevisCup.org.