Under the Tevis Moon — Friends with Nice Horses
by Denise Hearst
Under the Tevis moon on July 12, two Arabian race horse breeders and friends, Lynn Ashby and Deb Mihalof, checked the Tevis Ride progress all night long. As dawn broke they discovered that Deb was the breeder of the mare who won the Haggin Cup for Best Condition: A Real Diva (Dahess x Dreamm Diva by Lynn’s stallion Dreams of Valor). Deb’s late husband Alan bred the mare who finished the Tevis in second place, Treasured Moments (DA Adios x Hidden Treasure), owned by Jeremy Reynolds, who hopes to make the world team for 2026, with Treasured Moments.
Above and below, Heather and Jeremy Reynolds take their victory passes for first and second, with Supersonic Zell (SW Zell x Just In Time), owned by Heather Reynolds, and Treasured Moments (DA Adios x Hidden Treasure) owned by Jeremy.
The Tevis winner was the gorgeous iridescent chestnut gelding, Supersonic Zell (SW Zell x Just In Time), owned by Heather Reynolds. They beat the next competitor by one hour and 45 minutes. While Heather and Jeremy crossed the finish together, they agreed to let Sonic have the win since he broke trail all day, with Treasured Moments tucked in behind him for second place. Jeremy plans to keep going with her as long as she’s happy, and willing. “You should have seen that mare in the last 20 miles of Tevis – she is a freak show,” says Heather, “It was ‘more, more, more,’ asking for more speed. It’s fascinating to see how easy it is for her “
Looking at Sonic today, no one would believe that he was a neglected, sickly weanling barely surviving in a stall at a racetrack sale barn. Today Sonic has two Tevis completions plus the win at Tevis this year.
“A friend of mine rescued him at a racetrack that she visits often to buy horses,” says Heather. “When she got to the track to see the other six horses that she had purchased, she noticed this weanling looking really poor. She asked the guy there, ‘what’s going on with that weanling, he looks sickly.’” The guy said “He’s a runt that will never develop into anything.” My friend said, “He looks like he’s in really poor health.” After some horse trading, the little foal was loaded along with the other six horses in a six-stall trailer heading for Tennessee Blouin’s place in La Veta, Colorado. She got him healthy and strong and figured she could move him on as a nice junior horse.
“But he never stopped growing,” says Heather. “He is now 15.3. Tenny sent him to me for training, secretly hoping that I would fall in love with him and buy him. Eventually that DID happen.”
Sonic’s name joins the prestigious list ofTevis winners who came before.
“The Reynolds have had some really great horses, of course many of them trace to Deb Mihaloff‘s Cre Run breeding, and some from my program,” says Lynn Ashby. “I owned Hidden Treasure and some years later I gave her to Deb’s husband Alan. We had partnered up on some other horses together when she was done with her racing career, and we started breeding her. Her sire, DA Adios, was my favorite guy, so we bred her to him to get Treasured Moments.”
"It shows your loving care for your horse."
A Real Diva (Dahess x Dreamm Diva) was a star this year when she won the Haggin Cup with her owner John Perry, who is a cousin of Lynn Ashby’s. “John came to visit once and said he really wanted to get into endurance. So I said ‘Let’s start you with the best. Trust me!’ Diva was opinionated, but John did all the work with her. She’d drop you, but she was nice about it – she’d kick you before you hit the ground. In the end it was always about common stuff like, ‘I’m not going, not gonna do it.’
A moment of affection from Diva to John as Diva was judged the winner of the Haggin Cup.
“She just wants to be admired,” says Lynn. “But she and John get along. All the work they did paid off. He was so proud of her Top Ten finish and the Haggin Cup win.
“John got into the sport like a dog on a bone,” continues Lynn. “He wanted to learn how to do everything himself, including shoeing his own horses.”
Unlocking the Talent of the Mare
When Diva finished her second year of flat racing, with nine starts, one win, and a third place, John bought her and brought her home. “I rode her a few times, and then eventually I just started putting miles on her.
"John got into the sport like a dog on a bone. He wanted to learn how to do everything himself, including shoe his own horses."
“I had to ride her more often,” says John. “I took her on a lot of solo rides, just the two of us. That seemed to help her more than riding with other horses. If I laid her off just to give her a little more recovery time after long rides, she was fresh and wanted to go faster than I wanted her to go. Then she would start bucking because I was holding her back. There was always a signature move: three bucks and a hard left turn… because I was holding her back. There’s not much to keep you in the endurance saddle, so I often ended up sitting on the ground with the reins in my hand, looking up at her.”
“John knows to just leave her alone,” says Lynn. “It can be frustrating because you have to work with her mentally. There is no point getting angry because she can beat you at that game. But she is so devoted to John.
"There’s not much to keep you in the endurance saddle, so I often ended up sitting on the ground with the reins in my hand, looking up at her."
“All John wanted was a Top Ten,” says Lynn. “He had a really good season with Diva. She won a couple of best conditions getting ready for the Tevis this year. And he knew that she shows well in-hand.”
John’s Tevis Strategy
“My crew was awesome, everything was perfect, except I lost a shoe coming into Forest Hill. I am a farrier and I use EasyCare glue-on shoes. That was the only little hiccup, except for Diva missing turns and going wide and having a drop-off beside us!
John and Diva heading out to Forrest Hill.
“The ride was going the way I had planned it,’ says John. “I wanted to come into Robinson Flat in the 15th-20th position, and to be there at 10:00 a.m. I arrived at 10:03.
“I wanted to be at Forest Hill, the 68-mile mark, at 5:00 p.m., but I got in at 5:30, but we were now in the Top Ten.
“I was just riding my ride, Diva was eating and drinking, and her recoveries were great.
“I’ve had nine starts and seven completions in the Tevis, but this was Diva’s first attempt.
"There was always a signature move: three bucks and a hard left turn…"
“I’ve never been in the Top Ten before, and it is hard to maintain your plan. I’ve always ridden just to finish the ride, with my horse in the best condition possible. That is really hard because once you’re in the Top Ten, it feels like you’re being hunted. Everyone behind you wants to be there. The last 18 miles was a horse race. And then at Francisco,s, 15 miles from the finish, everyone was trying to pass.”
The Allure of the Haggin Cup
“This year with Diva I wanted to give her a shot to win the Haggin Cup. I dreamt about it a couple of months before. I jogged alongside her for the finish line in ninth place... I knew she was tired and that she had given me everything she had. I didn’t want to get on her one more time and pull my 180 pounds up on her back. For a photo? That’s why I will never aspire to win the Tevis. I would rather be Best Condition. It shows your loving care for your horse.
Diva receives a standing ovation after being named the Haggin Cup winner.
“I’ve had nine starts, and seven completions in the Tevis, but this was Diva’s first attempt.
“The crowd gave her a standing ovation in that arena.” says John. “Her heart rate is phenomenal,” adds Lynn. “She has a resting heart rate below the 50s. She’ll be going at a canter at 80 bpm and then by the time she’s walking she’s down to 50.
John Perry with his mare, A Real Diva (Dahess x Dreamm Diva), trotting out for the Haggin Cup for best condition.
"The last 18 miles was a horse race. And then at Francisco’s, 15 miles from the finish, everyone was trying to pass.
“Some day I would love to have embryos from Diva,” says John. “She’s pretty special. What I asked of her during the two days at Tevis was more than I have ever asked of her. And she gave me everything she had.
“Sometimes I think about buying a farm in Idaho where we could have space and green pastures for youngsters to run and grow up strong. That's a good dream."
