By Britney Grover
Sanoma Blakeley may only be 22 years old, but when it comes to endurance racing, she’s already a seasoned professional. A horse trainer from Terrebonne, Oregon, Sanoma has completed 91 endurance races with 31 different horses, winning 28 and 
receiving the “Best Condition” award for her horses 17 times. Three of those races—and one of those wins—were in the Western States Trail Ride, commonly known as the Tevis Cup Ride.
“Tevis is the oldest, hardest and most famous 100-mile horse race in the world,” Sanoma shared. “The trail leads riders across the Sierra-Nevada Mountains in California, over 19,000′ of elevation gain, winds through three steep canyons, crosses the American River, all while requiring riders to complete in under 24 hours. Only about 50% of the riders that start finish Tevis. Because of the challenge of the Tevis Cup, my family has been enamored with the race since we first heard of it.”
Sanoma first completed Tevis in 2013, when she was 12—the minimum age for entering. Though she completed the race in 20 hours 40 minutes, it left her with much to overcome, as she witnessed a fatal horse accident during the ride. Over the years she persevered, finally winning the coveted Tevis Cup in 2019 with RA Ares Bey, known as Goober, in 14 hours 12 minutes, becoming the youngest female rider ever to win at just 18 years old. The experience was so momentous that Sanoma went on to write her memoir, “Chasing Dreams: The True Story of the Youngest Female Tevis Cup Champion,” published this July.
How did you get into horses?
My parents both share a love for horses that they’ve had since childhood. When they moved to Oregon, my dad gifted my mom a horse. As you know, horses are like potato chips—you can’t have just one. So my dad got a horse to ride with my mom; she happened to be an Arabian. A good family friend had successfully competed in endurance and introduced my family to the sport. I’ve been sitting on horses pretty much since I was born. I can very vaguely remember my mom teaching me to ride, but I can’t recall my first ride. It seems like riding came to me about like walking. One memorable ride was when I was about 3, I broke my arm falling off a horse. My dad was leading me on his mare and she kicked at another horse and I fell off.
How old were you when you did your first endurance ride?
I did my first 25-mile endurance race when I was 7. When I was 8, I completed my first 50-mile race. I completed my first Tevis when I was 12—the minimum age requirement for Tevis.
Why do you love endurance riding?
I love spending hours in nature riding horses. I love the challenges that the trail presents, and also of bringing out the best in each individual horse. I love the satisfaction of seeing a horse succeed in the sport and bringing up new ones. I love the bond that you create with the horses. I like that it isn’t a mainstream sport, so there isn’t as much drama and politics.
Have you had any special horses?
My first horse, Midnite, was such a special mare. She took great care of me and taught me so much about horses and riding. Goober is also a really special horse. We got him for free off of Craigslist as a coming-2-year-old. He has personality for days. Goober and I have a really special bond; we are almost like siblings.
Tell us about Goober!
Goober is still competing. He is 14 now, but he loves his job too much to retire just yet. He is pretty spoiled and gets away with everything. Our joke about him is “Goober does what Goober wants.” He likes giving little kids rides, and is a good lesson horse, but he also loves racing—the faster, the better! He is pretty happy with his life, he enjoys racing his friends in the pasture and he gets away with anything.
What was it like winning the Tevis Cup?
Winning Tevis was a dream I’ve had since my parents did their first Tevis when I was 6. Unfortunately, my prior Tevis experiences weren’t the best. When I was 12, I witnessed a fatal horse accident. I got pulled two more times between, and I wasn’t very experienced with the last 30 miles of the Tevis trail. Goober had some lameness issues we were dealing with early in 2019, so winning Tevis was this huge dream and goal, but I wasn’t sure how achievable it would be.
It took quite a while to process winning. I knew Goober and I were capable, but there is so much that can go wrong over 100 miles that I didn’t want to count on anything.
The events of that race in 2019 were so special: racing against three-time winner Jeremy Reynolds for a sprint finish, and being only 18. I didn’t have anything to lose, but I had everything to gain in that race.
Sometimes I still can’t believe that Goober and I won Tevis. Goober is the one that gave me the confidence to race so quickly on the technical Tevis trail in the dark. It was an amazing experience feeling so in-tune with Goober. He knew we were racing and he wanted the win almost as badly as I did. There were times I wondered if winning Tevis would only ever be a dream, so when we actually won and I realized that it was achievable, it made all the years of work and training worth it. It was definitely one of the top most exciting moments of my life!
What are some of your life goals?
One of my goals is to compete in more international races. I would love to ride in the Fauresmith in South Africa, the Tom Quilty Cup in Australia and race the Wavis Bay Endurance Ride in Namibia. I am also captivated by the longer endurance races, like the Gaucho Derby and the Mongol Derby.
I would love to win the Tevis Cup or Haggin Cup with my up-and-coming 8-year-old gelding SS Calypsos Cardamom. He’s an amazing horse, and I’m so proud of how far he has come. I’ve been competing with him since he was 6 and he just finished his first Tevis Cup this year in fourth place. He is my new heart horse, and besides training him for our goal of getting a Cup at Tevis, he loves hanging out, camping, playing in puddles, eating snacks and racing.
I also have the long-term goal of living abroad and participating in full time Bible education.
Why did you decide to write a book? What was the process like?
It started as a magazine article, and then I realized I had so much information to include. I wrote out an outline, and writing my book became my “COVID project.” It took me about a year to finish my first draft, another year to edit it and a third year to publish it. It was very tedious and more of an endurance challenge than I would ever have imagined. I received a lot of rejections from publishers and had about 20 drafts by the time the editing process was all said and done. It was not easy in the least, but it was a fun and educational journey that I’m very proud to have stuck with. Holding my published book made it all worth the effort and countless hours behind my keyboard.
What has been the biggest surprise about writing the book?
The biggest surprise was how difficult it is to find a reliable editor and an agent/ publisher. I initially thought writing the book would be the most challenging part, but it turns out that is actually the easiest. Querying agents and publishers and going through countless rounds of edits are exhausting and demoralizing. The happiest surprise was having my publisher think it was worthy of having a hard cover. The amount of support and positive feedback has also been a very pleasant surprise. There is always the hope that your creation will be appreciated and understood, but also the fear of sharing it with the world, so having received a lot of congratulatory messages and an outstanding amount of positive feedback has made it all worth it.
What’s something people don’t know about you?
I’m a pretty open book. I’m terrified of steep trails and drop-offs when riding. I lived in Europe for a little while, and spent some 
time in India doing volunteer work. I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I hate wearing shoes, and go almost everywhere barefoot—including riding bareback. I love food! I also love running, but mainly just so I can stay in riding shape and eat all the corndogs and tacos I want without having to worry about my weight!
What has been the biggest surprise about your life?
Publishing a book is on the top of my list of life surprises! I’ve always loved writing, but having experienced something that is worth writing a book about by the time I was 18 and having a published book at 22 is something I didn’t expect. Life is full of surprises, and living it with horses, you never know what’s going to come of it, so just hold on and enjoy the journey.
For more information, visit blakeleystables.com or blakeleyendurancestables on Facebook
Photo by Tevis Webcast Volunteer
Photo by Jala Neufeld
