The Shagya-Arabians entering The Tevis Cup Ride this year proved true to their heritage of a horse bred to master the rigors and versatility of a good cavalry horse.
Tevis climb for horse and rider
The Tevis Cup, a 100 mile endurance ride staged out of Auburn, CA, is considered one of the toughest rides in North America with an average completion rate of only 50%.
© 2017 by Marion-Bourgeat
The Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry (PShR) congratulates their registered horses Lily Creek Kong, a Shagya-Arabian Sporthorse, ridden by Cameron Holzer and Ninja PFF, a Shagya-Arabian gelding, ridden by Shauna Glorioso on their Tevis completions as they placed 16th and 43rd out of 174 starters August 5-6, 2017.
The Tevis Cup, a 100 mile endurance ride staged out of Auburn, CA, is considered one of the toughest rides in North America with an average completion rate of only 50%. Ninja PFF received special recognition this year as a recipient of the Wendell Robie Trophy.
Named after the founder of the Tevis ride this honor is for any horse who has completed five times. Only a small group of elite horses have reached this status with 60 recognized since the beginning of the ride in 1955 according to Deborah Lyon with the Western States Trail Foundation.
When asked about the ride Cameron Holzer, rider and owner of Lily Creek Kong, and Judith Moore, owner of Ninja PFF, both had glowing reports of how their horses handled the ride. Holzer stated that “Kong never tires, and just keeps trucking along. Every time I asked him for more speed he would give it to me. This is an inherent trait for him, he never gives up on me the whole 100 miles.”
Moore had similar comments for Ninja PFF who “has a resting heart rate of 36 beats per minute, so he just breezes through the vet checks. Ninja makes a 100 mile ride look easy and keeps getting better every time.” That last statement is reinforced by the fact that despite a potential career ending stifle injury as a 5 year old Ninja has completed Tevis 5 times and currently has 2590 miles recorded in competitions.
Moore said her proudest moment of the day was when Ninja was awarded the Wendell Robie Trophy and stated that it was “nice to have an award recognizing the horse” and that Ninja receiving it made her tear up a little.
Holzer’s proud moment of the day was how Kong handled the canyons. “I thought they would be hard on him and he breezed through. I was the tired one! I felt like I was holding him back all day.”
While Shagya-Arabians are less common than other breeds, both Moore and Holzer can’t stop singing the praises of their Shagya-Arabians and are sure that once a person loves a Shagya-Arabian you’re hooked for life. Holzer says that “you won’t find a tougher or more loyal horse than a Shagya-Arabian.”
Moore said that the number one quality of the horses is “a great temperament, they are very personable, smart and sweet.” However she also notes that the Shagya-Arabian is “the best all-purpose horse and can do whatever they want to do.”
About Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry
The Shagya-Arabian was started in 1789 when the Hungarian military set out to develop a new breed of horse that combined the very best of Bedouin Arabians -- elegance, endurance, hardiness, athleticism, temperament, and devotion to their rider -- with larger size, jumping ability, and riding ease to master the rigors and versatility of a cavalry horse.
The Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry was established to ensure the integrity and legacy of the Shagya-Arabian bred horses in North America.
To accomplish these goals the organization holds regular breed inspections and utilizes performance testing in compliance with internationally established criteria for all horses in the registry.
For more information on the Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry and our horses please visit our website http://performanceshagyaregistry.org.