Mule ticket: Father and daughter Shane and Peyton Lesher tackle Tevis Cup on Lotto Ticket and Harvey

The Tevis Cup has always been the ultimate goal for Shane Lesher. The 100-mile endurance ride, scheduled for Saturday, July 12, serves as the ultimate challenge for both rider and equine, and a successful ride is a testament to the hard work, heart and commitment of everyone involved. But Lesher didn't want to do the ride on horseback, he wanted to up the ante like his mentor had done. Lesher chooses to complete his Tevis rides on a mule named Lotto Ticket, and the duo has successfully completed the journey from Robie Park to the Gold Country Fairgrounds four times. He was inspired to ride a mule by Frank Smith, who famously completed numerous Tevis rides on a mule named Buckaroo. Smith introduced Lesher to the idea of riding mules for more than work and showed him the world of endurance riding. It didn't take long for Lesher to decide he wanted to have his own go at Tevis with a mule, which is a cross breed between a donkey and a horse. "I didn't really ride mules until I met Frank. I'd always been around mules, but never as riding. They were always a pack animal, a tool that way," said Lesher. "Once he showed me some of their capabilities, and I listened to a lot of his stories and his experiences specific to Tevis and how competitive he was. To hear something so cool and for it to be so outside the norm, it was really attractive to me." Lesher, who is one of the co-owners of Auburn's Echo Valley Ranch that serves as a hub for endurance riders, first rode the Tevis Cup in 2018, completing a personal challenge. "I'd never really rode endurance prior to that, but my goal when I started endurance was the Tevis Cup," said Lesher. "I wanted to go 100 miles. I wanted to do it in the Sierras." Ticket has accompanied Lesher on all of his rides and was originally bred to be a racing mule. She comes from a line of famous mules, all claiming the name Ticket, and is the latest to make headlines for her impressive athleticism and endurance. "I don't think that racing was her cup of tea. I think what she's doing now is what she was meant to do. She truly does love it. I believe that," says Lesher. "I'm pretty much the only one that rides her and I'm not the smallest guy in the world, but she doesn't seem to complain too much. We go out there in full western. I ride her the same in Tevis as I would going out on a Sunday ride with my family. It's just the same, same boots, same saddle, same bridle, same everything." Throughout all of Lesher's successful rides, 2022 stands out to him. That was the year Lesher crossed the finish line alongside his daughter Peyton, who rode a mule as well. At the time, she was 13 and approached her dad about wanting to ride Tevis with him. "That feeling that I felt when she finished far exceeds all my finishes combined," Lesher said. "She approached me about riding. Tevis is not something that you tell somebody they're gonna do or even ask somebody to do. It takes a lot of willpower and a lot of upfront commitment." Peyton, a junior at Golden Sierra High School in Garden Valley, is having another go at Tevis this year alongside her father. The youngster is seeking her second Tevis finish while her father is seeking his fifth. "I'm excited for it. I want to see how my mule does and just see how good our bond is," said Peyton. "I know what to expect now, so I'm a little less nervous, more excited this time." The Leshers live on a ranch in Garden Valley and use mules and horses in their work. Peyton had an opportunity to ride a horse at Tevis, but she chose to ride alongside her father on a mule. She will ride Harvey, who has never ridden 100 miles before. "He's a sweet boy. He can rope some cows good, too," says Peyton. "He has a few 50-milers on him, but this will be his first 100." "We weren't quite sure if Harvey was going to be capable just yet with not having 100 miles on him before," Shane Lesher said. "We've been training and we've got some support from some great people at Crater Hill in Newcastle. They've supported us in our training and our nutrition and different things to keep us prepared." Lesher said what makes Harvey special is he's an ordinary mule going against horses born and bred for endurance. "We use our mules for gathering cows, doctoring cows. With Harvey, you can rope off of him, you can take down a thousand-pound steer. These mules have a lot of depth outside of this and they're not just mules that we go out and point down the trail. They're part of our lifestyle," said Lesher. "When we go out and we condition them, we're chasing cows and doctoring cows. I think that that's maybe a little bit untraditional to an animal that would be in Tevis, which are pretty elite animals." While it is Harvey's first Tevis, Ticket is going for history as she chases her fifth finish, which would qualify her for the Robie Cup, a trophy given to all equines that complete the ride five times. There are 105 riders in this year's Tevis Cup.