The Tevis Cup is arguably the most difficult endurance ride in the world. The 100-mile ride is completed in one day over extreme mountainous terrain, ending in Auburn, California. Upon completing the challenging ride, one horse and rider team is awarded the Haggin Cup. This honorable trophy is awarded to the rider whose horse is in the “most superior physical condition”. At the 2023 Tevis Cup, Haley Moquin and her horse “Im Hot N Bothered” aka PJ won the distinguished Haggin Cup sporting the EasyShoe Versa Grip! Haley shares why she chooses the Versa Grip and how they’ve helped her horses.
“In 2021, I rode a mare named Danika at Tevis. She is a very light mover and not hard on her shoes at all. I have never been interested in using straight steel and pads at Tevis as I heard they can be pretty slippery in some areas so I wanted to find a composite shoe. In 2021, I used another brand of composite shoes on Danika. I ended up getting pulled at the 68 mile mark, Foresthill, Danika had already worn all the way down to the steel on all 4 feet. It was mind blowing as this horse moves like a ballerina. There was no way those shoes would have made it an extra 32 miles. Danika had also gotten extremely sore when going downhill.
When I decided to go towards Tevis 2022, I began researching other composite shoe options. My Tevis mount for 2022, PJ, is a very big mover and is not the lightest on his feet. After doing some research, I decided to go ahead and try the Versa Grips. I rode PJ in a 50 in them at a local ride and he felt amazing. Tevis 2022 was a success and I could have reset those Versa Grips after Tevis. The wear was perfect and not too much. I came in 12th.
Of course after my success in 2022, I was going to use the Versa Grip again at Tevis 2023. This year I was planning on going faster if PJ was feeling good that day. Anytime he had Versa Grips on, he does feel amazing. PJ is flat footed and can be tender footed as well. Typically after a steel set is out on him, he short strides for a couple of days. Anytime he is in the Versa Grip, I never had this issue. Recently due to an experiment with aluminum shoes, PJ was off left front and needed his coffin joint injected. This caused me to be insanely paranoid as Tevis was only 6 weeks away. Tevis having a lot of downhill, I was worried that his coffin joint would become sore and we would be pulled.
At the 2023 Tevis Cup, PJ never took a bad step and he never became sore downhill. We finished in 6th place overall. He looked absolutely beautiful and perfect when moving when we showed for the Haggin Cup. My horses always move the very best in the Versa Grips. It has the perfect amount of support and it wonderful for shock absorption.
A year ago I got my decade team on my first horse, Bo. Bo is very arthritic and once a year he typically has to have his coffin joints injected. Ever since the first time I used the Versa Grip on Bo, I have never had to have his coffin joint injections. They are wonderful for the older horses.
I will forever use the Versa Grips no matter what the terrain is. Flat, rocky, mountains. They are my go-to shoe. I have yet to find a horse that dislikes them.”
