Lost Light Films Brings Endurance Riding to the Big Screen with Chasing Dreams, Based on Tevis Cup Champion Sanoma Blakeley's Memoir

PR.com

Producers Jackie Ryan-Krichevsky and Alysha Haran develop the true story of Sanoma Blakeley, the youngest woman to win the 100-mile Tevis Cup, as their microbudget road-trip feature Ashes and Ink heads toward the festival circuit

Los Angeles, CA, October 22, 2026 --(PR.com)-- Lost Light Films, the independent production company of producers Jackie Ryan-Krichevsky and Alysha Haran, has optioned Chasing Dreams: The True Story of the Youngest Female Tevis Cup Champion, the 2023 memoir by endurance rider Sanoma Blakeley (Santa Monica Press). The feature adaptation is now in development.

In 2019, at 18, Blakeley won the Tevis Cup aboard RA Ares Bey, a horse known as Goober, finishing in 14 hours and 12 minutes. She became the youngest woman ever to win the ride. Blakeley had first completed Tevis in 2013 at age 12, the minimum age to enter. She grew up near Bend, Oregon, where her family runs Blakeley Endurance Stables.

The Tevis Cup, formally the Western States Trail Ride, is the oldest modern endurance ride. Since Wendell Robie first rode it in 1955, riders have crossed the Sierra Nevada from the Lake Tahoe area to Auburn, California: one rider, one horse, 100 miles, in a single day. Veterinarians check every horse roughly every ten miles, and any horse not fit to continue is pulled. About 11,500 riders have entered since 1955; just over 6,000 have finished.

"This incredible story immediately resonated with us when we first read it, and is the perfect story to highlight the sport of Endurance Riding” said Ryan-Krichevsky. Alysha Haran, an award-winning winning writer-director along with her producing work, will pen the script and direct the film.

Ashes and Ink nears completion

Chasing Dreams follows Lost Light Films' microbudget feature Ashes and Ink, directed by Haran and written by Haran. The film follows a grieving MFA student on a cross-country road trip. It stars Laura Piccoli, Barrett Doss, Lindsey Shaw and Laura Leighton. Ashes and Ink is completing post-production and will begin its festival run in the coming months.

“Working on Ashes and Ink taught us how to produce emotional content on a nimble footprint, and now we are excited to carry that aspect into a bigger true-story feature." said Haran.

About Lost Light Films

Lost Light Films is an independent production company founded by producers Jackie Ryan-Krichevsky and Alysha Haran. Ryan-Krichevsky is co-chair of the Producers Guild of America's Physical Production Committee. Alysha Haran is also Chief Operating Office of the Chula Vista Entertainment Company.

About Sanoma Blakeley

Sanoma Blakeley is an endurance rider, horse trainer and author based near Bend, Oregon. She began competing in endurance races at age seven and won the 2019 Tevis Cup at 18. Her writing has appeared in Endurance News, Tevis Forum and Arabian Horse Life Magazine.

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https://www.pr.com/press-release/982330