Approaching the fork in the trail

On the surface, Tevis Cup Board of Governors member JayaMae Gregory and her family have had the summer that most people can only fantasize about. The four-time Tevis Cup rider and her family have spent the summer on a 12-week cross-country road trip in an RV. The activities were endless. Hiking in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks, catching a Yankees game in New York, spelunking in the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, humpback whale watching in Washington, soaking in the breathtaking views of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and the Royal Gorge in Colorado Springs. Gregory even got to show her kids her childhood home in Willington, Connecticut. But perhaps one of the most significant things Gregory did was in St. Louis, where she got tattooed with an image of a pine tree, a reminder of what was once the Gregory family home in Paradise, California. Just like more than 1,000 other families from Butte County, the Gregorys were displaced from their home after last November's Camp Fire, which ravaged nearly 240 square miles, destroyed over 18,000 structures and claimed 85 lives. "Our entire world turned upside down," Gregory said. "We realized one day, 'Oh my god, we just lost everything.'" Gregory was awakened by her teenage son, Jakob, the morning of Nov. 8. He warned her that the fire was growing and they needed to evacuate immediately. Gregory rushed to hitch her horse trailer to her truck to try and save seven horses. There was only room, however, for five. Two that were evacuated were student-owned horses named SoBe and Jag that were boarding at Lightfoot Horse Farm, Gregory's self-owned base for horsemanship and riding lessons. They had to make a difficult decision to leave behind their own ZaZa and Dippi, both of which were later reunited with the Gregorys. Dippi, unfortunately would not survive her burns. Gregory was ultimately able to save four of her horses, ZaZa, CeCe, Sham and a 19-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter mare named Foxfire's Little Britches, better known to the family as "Asali". Gregory said that Asali is the only horse of her breed to finish the Tevis Cup ride twice. The four horses are currently split between two foster homes. The months after the devastation left the Gregorys with no home, no job – Jaya had been a registered nurse at Feather River Hospital for 10 years before it burned down – no business and a separated family. While she and her husband Gary stayed with a friend in Magalia, Jakob and their other son, Declan, stayed with friends in nearby Durham to finish out the school year. "As a family, we spent about 50 days apart since the fire," Jaya said. "The kids were at three different schools in one semester. It was the first year our family spent Thanksgiving and Christmas apart, completely scattered. It was kind of a nightmare." With the help of the endurance community, the Gregorys have survived the best they can, Jaya, Gary, Jakob, Declan and their 20-month-old son Asher. In the early part of spring, the Gregorys were gifted an RV by a "gentleman from Livermore" who Jaya said wished to remain anonymous. With no place to go, the Gregorys decided that they needed an escape. So, after the teenagers finished the school year, the 12-week cross-country trip ensued. "It's something we had jokingly talked about in the past but just never had the means to do it," Jaya said. "Then it was like, 'Wow, we have this opportunity that we would otherwise never have. Let's do this.' So, we decided to spend 12 weeks together as a family and see parts of the country we'd never be able to see if not for (the fire)." Jaya's voice lit up describing her family's trip, which will culminate after Week 12 at the 64th Tevis Cup on Aug. 17, where she will once again venture with Asali on the 100-mile Western States Trail Ride. Jaya knows it will be a bittersweet moment. "The bond I share with (Asali) – she was my first horse, and she hasn't been in my backyard since November," Jaya said. "I've had someone conditioning her, but I haven't ridden her. It's going to be really emotional for me to be alone with my horse for the first time since the fire. A lot of reflection." As far as plans for after Tevis, the symbolic fork in the road for the Gregorys, one plan is to at least have Jakob move in with some friends in Chico in order to finish his senior year at Paradise High School, something Jaya said was important for her oldest son. But beyond that? "That's the famous question. We have no clue. Tevis is kind of the last hurrah and then it's back to real life," Jaya said, allowing herself to laugh about the situation. "I can tell you I'm scared for Tevis to end because then we have to figure everything out. We're going to see our home for the first time without anything there. They've cleared everything out, so it's like there's no evidence anyone ever existed on that property. I'm sure it's gonna be pretty emotional for a lot of reasons when I cross the finish line."