This story showed up on my FB today… Since the Tevis 100 mile endurance race is run right near Grass Valley (during August, the hottest month), and because I love mules, here are Brian and Hondo!  Bless them for helping others in need on this incredibly difficult ride!

FROM THE POST ON MY FB PAGE:

There are always a lot of amazing stories from Tevis, but I wanted to acknowledge Brian Reome who completed the ride on his mule around 5am. Brian saved the day not once but twice on two separate trail emergencies in the canyons each time going above and beyond. Coming up from Swinging Bridge, a horse slipped over the side and landed on a ledge underneath. Brian stayed and helped get the horse back up on the trail (horse was scraped up, but fine). He caught up to me leaving Deadwood and started down El Dorado Canyon. Then on the cliffiest section, we came upon a rider who had been thrown from her horse and was 20 ft down the embankment trying to climb up. There was literally no room to do anything, so we had to go around the corner to a wider spot. Brian pulled aside, tied his mule to a tree and ran back to help her back onto the trail. He put her on his mule and hiked the rest of the way down the canyon and all the way up the other side to Michigan Bluff (her horse was fine and was ponied up by another good samaritan). We were already pushing cut-off when we left him and at that point, I figured he would be overtime and out; sacrificing a completion to help a fellow rider in need Thankfully, ride management gave him an extra 1/2 hour grace period on all the subsequent cut-offs. As we were making our way into Lower Quarry, Brian came rolling past us like a freight train. We were surprised he made up all that time and he said quite simply, “I don’t mess around.” Brian and his mule Hondo finished right around 5am looking great. I can’t think of anybody more deserving of a Tevis buckle this year. To finish is to win!