Events - Event View

Tonto Twist  

Limited to 50 Riders Each Day

AERC Sanctioned 50 & 25 Mile Ride

Intro Ride Saturday & Sunday 

Entry Opens January 2, 2026

Ride management & volunteers are committed, rain or shine!  

9th Annual Tonto Twist 50 - Saturday, January 17, 2026

                      4th Annual Tonto Twist  25 - Sunday, January 18, 2026 

Ride Manager: Lancette Koerner, 480-650-3124  Email:TontoTwist50@gmail.com

Assistant Manager: Ellen Hickey

Control Judges: Mark Anderson DVM, Bradley Scott Houser DVM, 

Thank you for your interest and support of the Tonto Twist Endurance rides.  We will have a 50 mile ride and an Intro ride on Saturday. The 25 mile ride and an Intro ride will take place on Sunday. The proceeds from the rides will be donated to the Arizona Endurance Riders Club ( AZERC.org ) & the AJ Mounted Rangers,  (ajmountedrangers.org ) both are Non-Profit 501 (c)(3) organizations.  If you would like to further assist us in donating to these great organizations by sponsoring a ride award please contact Lancette Koerner. Available award sponsorships are: First Place, 1st Junior, Top 10, Mid-Pack, Rider Sponsor & Turtle awards.  

Base Camp Location and address: Apache Junction Rodeo Grounds @ 1590 E Lost Dutchman Blvd Apache Junction, AZ 85119

Base camp will open at 8am Friday January 16th, 2026. However, if long distance travel requires a Thursday arrival please contact Lancette for special arrangements. Due to our lease and insurance agreements, overnight camping with horses is for registered riders and official ride volunteers only. 

The rodeo park is large and easily accessible. The entrance gate will be marked with ribbons and a sign. We are permitted to camp on the East side of the grounds.  Do not park on the south side of the stadium.  Water is available in camp but it may be more convenient for you to bring your own. There are flush toilets on site but no showers or RV hook-ups. To ensure future use of this site it is imperative that the rodeo ground rules are followed.  Glass bottles are prohibited. Dogs must be on leash or contained at all times. All manure, hay, shavings and trash must be deposited at the designated locations.

About the Trails: The routes of the Tonto Twist will take you through the beautiful Goldfield Mountains, Tonto National Forest, Usery Park and A.J. City Equestrian park trails. We are fortunate to have this amazing area to ride in and are excited to share it with you. The trails are multi-use. You are likely to encounter hikers, bikers, campers with dogs, off road vehicles, other equestrians, wildlife etc. You will travel on a variety of footings, some rocky stretches, some hard packed forest roads & stretches of deep sand. The 50 mile course is moderate to difficult, the 25 mile course is easy to moderate. Please bring a fit horse. Hoof protection is highly recommended. There are several horse step overs and paved road crossings. The A.J. Mounted Rangers will be at the road crossings to assist you. Due to the continued closure of a critical section of BLM land, the 50 mile routes are the same as 2025. We are planning two long loops. The Bulldog loop (1) has about 2000 feet of elevation gain and is approximately 26 miles. There will be a 1 hour hold at base camp. We will provide some hay and horse water at strategic spots along the trail but please be prepared to manage your horse and yourself for a long 1st loop. The Mountain View/Cottonwood Springs Loop (2) was new for 2025. It has about 1500 feet of elevation gain and is approximately 21 miles. 

There will be two loops for the 25.  The Usery Park Loop (1) which is about 18 miles long followed by a 30 minute hold at base camp.The Prospector Park loop (2) is about  5 miles. 

Trail Navigation:

Conventional: The trail will be lightly marked with ribbon on clothespins, some signs and field chalk. Unfortunately, ribbons have been taken down in the past by trail users who dislike them on “Their trails” therefore We strongly urge you to use Ride With GPS for navigation. For the 50 mile ride, loop 1 = pink ribbon, loop 2 = orange & white striped ribbon. For the 25 mile ride on Sunday, loop 1 = pink, loop 2 = orange & white striped. The Intro riders loop will be the same as the 25 mile ride loop 2 which is orange & white striped.  Traveling ribbons could be on either side of the trail but turn ribbons will be on the side of the turn, followed by a couple confidence ribbons. 

Ride With GPS (Smartphone App):. The free version of the app and the event link is all you need to navigate the routes with Ride With GPS. The routes will have voice cues. Using this tool is your best choice for navigation. Sadly, trail sabotage happens every year making ribbons unreliable. Ride With GPS can provide you with navigational confidence for a more enjoyable ride. Please familiarize yourself with Ride With GPS before the ride by recording your conditioning rides at home. The Tonto Twist routes are on public land, and open for pre-riding. The Ride With GPS Event link for the Tonto Twist and instructions will be sent in the electronic rider packet after registration.

Ride Entry: The sanctioned rides are limited to 50 riders each day.  Please have your entry in by 5 pm Monday, January 12th to be entered into the ride. (we do not take onsite registrations). You may sign up online and submit payment via check or electronically via PayPal using Lancette@gmail, be sure to choose Friends & Family. Please do not use any other email addresses you may have for me. Entries received after the ride limit has been reached will be put on a wait list. Riders will be notified of their position on the list. Checks will be deposited the week of the ride. 

Refund/Cancellation Policy:  Ride entry cancellations received on or before 5 pm Monday, January 12th, 2026 and horses pulled at check-in will receive a refund less a $25 administration fee. No refunds for cancellations after 5 pm January 12th, 2026. 

Vet In & Rider Check-in All distances: Pick up of the vet card will serve as rider check in. Vetting is from 2:00 to 5:00 on Friday and Saturday as the vets have time in between Saturday’s riders. Please be patient. Saturday & Sunday morning vetting is available on a limited basis. Please contact Lancette for a morning vet-in arrangement. 

Ride Packet:  The ride packet will be sent via email. It will include PDF maps and cue sheets for you to print. It will also include information about using the Ride With GPS App to navigate the course.  If you are unable to receive email or print ride maps, please contact Lancette by 5 pm Wednesday January 14th so a printed packet can be prepared for you to pick up.

Ride Meeting: Friday at 5:15 for Saturday riders and Saturday at 5:15 for Sunday riders.  All riders, please attend your ride meeting. The ride veterinarians will discuss ride parameters and other important ride updates will be shared. 

Friday Potluck:  We will have our traditional potluck on Friday night immediately following the ride meeting.  Ride management will provide paper goods, utensils, & water. To help avoid duplicate dishes, we will start a potluck post on the Zonie Facebook Page.  Electrical outlets are available for crock pots. Please bring serving utensils for your dish. The Tonto Twist potluck has always been EXTRAORDINARY, with a wide variety of delicious dishes and plenty of food for all! Let’s do it again!

Saturday & Sunday Lunch: Ride management will provide a sandwich, chips, a sweet and a drink to riders on ride days. There is a nominal charge for crew member lunches.  Lunch will be available for pick up at the concession stand. 

Saturday Dinner: We will have the awards and volunteer appreciation dinner at base camp. Dinner will start at 6:30pm, with the awards presentation at 7:00. We encourage you to attend to help celebrate a great day on the trail with amazing horses, good friends and to show your appreciation to our dedicated volunteers. Once again, we will be serving Indian fry bread tacos. A meal that can be enjoyed by meat lovers as well as vegetarians (no lard beans). The cost is $12.00 per person. Official ride volunteers will receive a meal ticket as a token of gratitude for making rides possible! 

Ride Photographer: Linda Sherrill of Justus Photography will photograph the rides.  Each rider will receive a high resolution digital image as their participation/completion award. It will be emailed after the ride. The photos will be available for purchase on her website www.lindasherrill.com . We are grateful for Linda’s talent and willingness to come from New Mexico to shoot the ride.  Please support her efforts so she can continue to shoot Arizona rides.

Awards 

25 & 50 Mile Ride Awards: Participation, 1st Place, Best Condition, Top 10. We will do our best to also give awards for 1st Junior, Mid-Pack, Turtle, First 50 & Rider Sponsor.

Intro RIde: Participation

Junior Best Condition Award for 50 & 25-Sponsored by Maribel Paulson and kind folks all over the country.

About the Introductory (Intro) Ride: The Intro ride is a great way to learn how an Endurance ride works. Intro riders are required to have a pre-ride and post-ride exam by the control judge (Vet). In addition, the Intro rider can choose to ride the 5.4 mile loop, come in for a vet check and 30 minute hold, then go out again and repeat the loop for a total of 10.8 miles. All riders must check in with ride management 15 minutes before the start of the ride and be on the trail within 30 minutes of the start time. All riders will check in with the In-Timer and Vet when they have completed the ride. 

AZERC 50 & 25 Mile Team Challenge: A Team Captain (over 1000 AERC Miles) & up to 2 Partners (under 1000 AERC miles) ride together. To learn more go to AZERC.org & sign up before the ride.  AZERC Teams will be recognized and one outstanding team will be chosen by the vet based on the condition and presentation of the horses.

New to Endurance Q & A presented by Bruce Weary 

Friday, January 16, 2026 at 3 pm meet at the concession area.

Tentative Schedule of Events 

Friday January 16th, 2026

8:00 am Base Camp Opens

2:00 to 5:00 Rider Check-in/Horse Vet In  

3:00 New to Endurance Q & A - by Bruce Weary 

5:15 pm Ride Meeting (All 50 mile riders are expected to attend)

5:30 pm Potluck                     

Saturday January 17th, 2026

7:00 am 50 Mile Ride Start (Must be on trail by 7:30) 

8:00 am Intro Ride Start (Must be on trail by 8:30)

2:00 to 5:00   Rider Check-in/Horse Vet In (betweeen 50 mile completions) 

6:30 pm 50 mile Awards & Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

7:00 pm  Awards Presentation

Sunday January 18th, 2026

8:30 am 25 Mile Ride Start (Must be on trail by 9)

9:00 am Intro Ride Start (must be on trail by 9:30)

3:30 pm 25 Mile Awards Presentation 

Monday January 20th, 2025

Clean up and vacate Rodeo grounds by 12 Noon. 

Rules and Regulations: The ride will be conducted in accordance with AERC rules.  Go to www.aerc.org for the details. It is your responsibility to know the rules. 

To enter the ride click the link below:

https://form.jotform.com/253636830560155