2022 Registration is Open

Health Certificates: Address – County Road 363, La Veta, CO 81055

Pick up a rider packet upon arrival, ONE per rider. This packet will contain everything you need to register as well as your maps and ride meeting informational flyer.

Registration: Click the above “sign Up” link to REGISTER PRIOR TO JUNE 10th (and avoid a late fee.)

Then when you arrive at camp, you’ll just submit one RIDE CARD per rider DAILY in the red submission box at the registration barn. You are not entered in a ride unless you have submitted a (legible) ride card. Submit your card the afternoon before the ride that you would like to enter, probably right before you vet in. You may alternatively text a picture of your ride card to 719-989-8409 for a “zero contact” experience, or after hours. If you pre-registered and gave us membership numbers, then all we need are names and distances. For example: “John Doe, 50 miles on Spud.” Don’t worry, it will make sense when you get there and see the daily sign-up system.

Ride meetings have been replaced with informational flyers. There are Q&A/comment cards in your packet for any questions you may have, submit them as you would submit a ride card (either in the red box or via text, and your questions will be answered expeditiously by one of the SoCo team members.) Please read your flyer before asking questions.

Awards & DINNER will be at ~6pm after each ride. Wahatoya Cup 75/100 will do awards at ~10AM Sunday. ALL BC judging will be performed post-completion.

Start times: All 50s – 7am, all LDs – 7:30am, 75 and 100 milers start together at 5am. All riders must check in 15 min before your start time with the timekeeper, failure to do so may result in disqualification.

Vet Checks: Some vet checks will be OUT, most will be IN camp. Dates of OUT checks are June 20th and June 25th.

Entry Fees: These entry fees INCLUDE DINNER after your ride! $135 for an LD/50/55, $75 for the fun/intro ride, $200 for the 75/75 elevator, $300 for the 100 mile “Wahatoya Cup” (or if you end up elevating to the 100.) We are offering discounts for riders entering multiple days as follows: 2 days = $10 off your total, 3 days = $20 off your total, 4 days = $30 off, 5 days = $40 off, 6 days = $50 off total. These discounts are PER RIDER TOTAL, not per couple/family/day. Prices are the same for Juniors, but there will be special awards for them. You DO NOT need to pre-pay. Please confirm your total amount due at the Registration barn before departing camp, and pay with cash, check or PayPal by clicking here.

Ferrier: PRE BOOK your appointment with Turner Kincaid by calling ot texting him at 719-331-0497 If you do not pre book an appointment then he will be available in the evenings to tack on lost shoes.

Hay: We will have a mountain mix available for purchase at camp, we will bring a small load up from dry storage at Tennessee’s place daily so it won’t get wet.

NEW FOOD: catering by Smith Grubs food Truck

We have had trouble with unreliable food trucks in the past… but this year I have found a way to SECURE FOOD!!! I have increased the entry fees slightly to INCLUDE DINNER for riders after their rides (this insures a certain amount of business for our awesome new caterer.) All spouses, crew, spectators etc may easily buy a plate at dinner and be served alongside the riders.

Delicious BREAKFAST AND LUNCH items will be available for purchase at your convenience! The menu will evolve throughout the week. As mentioned above, dinner is INCLUDED for riders and available for purchase to all. Let’s give a warm welcome to Smith Grubs Food Truck!!!

OUT VET CHECK FOOD MONDAY: As always, “the moms” will have snack/lunch items (sandwich fixings, chips, candy, drinks… and salted jello shots!) available to riders during the OUT vet check. Debby Blouin and Neecee Lane provide this lunch for you, please thank them when you are out there!

Of course, we’ll have our traditional WHOLE HOG HOOTENANNY! This will be on Wednesday the 22nd of June. A whole-pig roast right in camp with live music played by Floyd Bauler. Come check out the “spectacle” while enjoying a beverage and great music among friends, surrounded by panoramic mountain views. Along with the delicious, fall-off-the-bone pork, we’ll have plenty of sides and salad to accompany and complete this delicious feast, so pig out, and enjoy your day off the next day! The hootenanny is included for ALL TO ENJOY, courtesy of the landowners, who may join us all for the fun that night.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Merri Melde did an awesome job 2021 and will be taking pictures again this year! View and purchase pictures on her Equestrian Vagabond page by clicking here.

Base Camp

EARLY ARRIVALS: Ride camp opens on TUESDAY (the first day of the ride is SATURDAY, this should give you plenty of time to rest up after your long journeys.) Safe travels!

Primitive camping- horse water will be provided at the tanks in camp. There are permanent “cowboy bathrooms” and a trash dumpster available to you. Contrary to rumors, we do not have a well in camp, all water is hauled to the camp cistern in a truck!!! If you need additional water for your trailer, you may fill a small container from our hose to transfer to your trailers. PLEASE CONSERVE WATER.

Please spread your manure and fill in any holes your horse digs. We have a safe, large community turnout, please be respectful of each other’s time and share it in 15 minute intervals. No overnighting of horses in the community turnout pen. This is just a great place to allow your horse to stretch out “off leash” or roll.

We built very nice 20’x10′ single-horse, steel-pipe corrals at camp, these single horse pens cost $15/horse/night and are first-come, first serve! Yes, you can park right next to your corral. Tammy Gagnon is in charge of camp stabling, please be sure to check in with her if you will be using a pen. You may pay for your pens at registration, take note of you pen’s number(s) when you head to register. They were built for you, but they were not built for free – please be sure to pay for any pens that you use. We also have several portable panel pens set up on the West end of camp, these are reserved for VIP (vets and volunteer’s horses.)

Dogs are welcome in camp. Any aggressive dogs should be left at home or kept on a very short leash. NO LONG leashes on dogs, it’s too dangerous around horse traffic. Any dogs that bark incessantly, instigate fights, or get in to our food, will be given a large bowl of very spicy chili and 2 snickers bars, and then locked in your LQ for a splatterfest. NO DOGS ALLOWED AT WHOLE HOG HOOTENANNY. PERIOD.

The Wahatoya Cup

Distances offered: 100, 75, and 75 elevator. This single day event follows immediately after the Spanish Peaks Pioneer, and the Whole Hog Hootenanny. The trails will all be nicely broken in by the traffic from the pioneer – as I had hoped, this factor GREATLY decreased our average completion times last year, along with the course changes. We also replaced the 30 most difficult miles, with what are now likely the 30 easiest miles. This beautiful, challenging, and mountainous 75/100… can now be completed with very reasonable finishing times. There is one out check, the rest are in.

Anyone arriving for the Wahatoya Cup is extremely welcome to arrive early, enjoy the Spanish Peaks ride, maybe even warm your 100 mile horse up with an LD / Intro ride, and join us Wednesday night for the Whole Hog Hootenanny. Vet In will start at noon on Friday, and the ride meeting will be at 4pm, so that we can all retire early and get some rest. To start, you must be vetted in by 4pm. Best Condition Judging will take place after your completion, and the Mimosa Awards Ceremony (buckles, Wahatoya Cup, and Kevin Myers Memorial Cup presentations) will start at 10am Sunday.

For EMERGENCY info click here.

The Weather / Temps

Click here to see what the La Veta Traffic Cam has to show you about the weather right NOW.

Colorado is known for packing 4 seasons in to a day so be prepared for anything. BUT, generally speaking, the weather is great and fairly predictable June, July. A breeze and mid-afternoon sprinkles are common, hail and fog can happen too. Here are some charts to help you with your prep. Many have asked why I don’t have my events in Aug/Sept – the answer is simple: hunting season. We are extremely thankful that all of these landowners grant us permission to host these rides annually, but hunting season around here is sacred.

A note from Tennessee – Wondering what to wear? LAYERS. I’ll spend most of my time in a Sweatshirt with a T-shirt underneath. BUT, my mornings start off bundled up in my Carharts, I’ll shed layers throughout the day, some days I want to strip down to shorts, and by sunset I’ll be layering back up. Pack PLENTY of layers, you’ll be happy you have them. Get yourself a light weight rain jacket that will fit over all those layers, but will still crumple down in to a pocket on your saddle – and never leave home without it… even if it’s a clear blue sky.

La Veta temps1 La Veta temps2

The Trail

Very generally, our Intro rides are a single loops ranging from 5 to 15 miles. Our LD/25s are 2 loops, (the first is longer and the 2nd is shorter,) with a single vet check in between. The 50s are 3 loops with 2 vet checks separating each, we try to do a big 1st loop, medium 2nd loop, and small 3rd loop.

This is a true representation of the Southern Colorado Rockies and I don’t intend to butter that up for you. If you are worried about it being too challenging or technical, then ride the LD, I will make sure the LD is geared back so that inexperienced riders and horses can enjoy a less challenging but equally beautiful ride. The awesome geology around here makes for diverse terrain, with lots of climbs and descents as well as a few flat easy miles to cruise on. There will be some brief technical stretches to keep you entertained, so dismount if you are nervous. As for the longer distances (50+ miles) yes, this will be a challenging ride interspersed with technical stretches that will slow you down, so be smart with your pacing, make up time on the easy stuff and take your time in the tough stuff. I have designed the loops to mix it up, nice easy fast stretches interspersed with slow challenging climbs, descents, and fun technical stuff to keep you awake, and give you something to write home about.

The scenery is truly unbeatable, the ride camp setting is gorgeous, and as I said, the trails are diverse, with footing varying from flat, canterable-sandy-loam, to steep, walk-it-rocky. The land we are riding across is cattle country – there will be gates. I do my best to minimize the number of gates, and improve the functionality of the ones we must keep closed. There is ample water on the trail, mostly cow tanks but also natural streams and ponds. Altitude: Camp is at >8000′ and the ride will range from 7000′ to a little over 9000′. Please feel free to give us constructive comments, advice, and recommendations, we’re doing our best for you!

Vet Checks: There is an OUT vet check (Albright Barn) on Day 3, and during the Wahatoya Cup, all other checks are IN. One Vet Check for LDs, two VCs for 50s. A crew trailer will take your crew bag to the out vet check (day 3 & WC only.) All days/distances end in camp, no rig-moving. We provide an awesome lunch at the out vet check!

Local Amenities

La Veta has fuel stations, a grocery store with an ice cream shop, a well-stocked Big-R, an Inn, several B&Bs, a propane supplier, and a mechanic… not to mention an awesome coffee shop, several little restaurants, a salon, multiple art studios, a library, a gym, yoga etc… The town is quaint but has just about everything you could need.

Private Land

Please be respectful of the private land owners who have gracefully allowed this ride to take place. 100% (one hundred, as in ALL) of this ride is on PRIVATE LAND; the base camp and all of the trails are on private land and are only open to insured SoCo Endurance entrants during SoCo Endurance Events. The many landowning families who live off of this land, and who have granted SoCo permission to host these events, are being more than generous – anyone who does anything to upset them may be pulled without refund, fined for any damages incurred, and denied entry in future events. The success and continuation of this ride requires that we be respectful of their land, livestock, and rules. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, for absolutely any reason.

Volunteers

THANK YOU!!! Your meal is on the house, just report for duty at the pre-ride meeting (6pm the day before the race) so that we can designate a certain task to you, alternatively just show up during the ride (7am-7pm) and fall in line where help is obviously needed…usually need more people taking pulses (ask for a HRM or stethascope or bring your own if you have one,) or scribing for a vet, or helping fill water tanks, or making sure riders are hydrated by handing off water bottles, or just holding a horse while he snacks so the rider can sneak away for a second etc. Always tons to do! Thanks so much for your help!

What is SoCo Endurance’s 2021 COVID Plan?

It’s short and sweet.
If you are genuinely worried about getting sick, then you should absolutely stay home.
Your health is 100% your own responsibility, as are the risks you take (socializing, traveling, exposing yourself to different environments, and riding.) If you disagree with this statement, then stay home.

Please respect each other’s space, and socialize at a level that you feel safe.

You have the right to wear a mask or socially distance at all times, but it is NOT required.

We encourage all to pre-register, this will greatly minimize contact and help management with a head count. Our registration process can be virtually contactless if you do pre-register. Daily ride cards (Duck Cards) can be submitted in person or digitally (take a picture of your ride card and text it to us) and payment can be performed via PayPal, for those who prefer a zero-contact experience. To reduce risk, we have made some changes that will minimize gatherings and contact, you’ll see, just pick up your rider packet when you arrive and READ WHAT’S INSIDE.