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Does anyone here ride in competitive trail or endurances rides? I have a 5 year old mare that I'm planning on ride in a few competitive rides this year. I rode her mother in several rides a few years back. I'm also planning on competing with my appaloosa filly ( in a few years when she's old enough)
I would like very much to get into endurance riding but they do not have a chapter near enough to me for me to be able to participate. i do compete in Hunter-Paces which is like competitive trail riding. We have a GREAT time in that event. Are you familair with it?
No I'm not familiar with hunter paces. What are they Like?
Dunappy,
They are such fun!!
There are three divisions - Hilltop (easy), Novice (medium) and Open (advanced). In the morning the hunt "master" goes out and runs the trail. He does it as IF he was chasing a fox with hounds. He is supposed to only ride at speeds safe for the horse and you are supposed to monitor the ground and ride appropriately. For instance, if there is a very gravelly trail, you might walk your horse there, if you were in an open field you would gallop or canter there...etc. You have tons of jumps in the woods (made of trees and other natural settings) and if you choose not to do the jumps then there is a "go-around" but it is a little out of the way and will cost you some extra time to use them.
Once he comes in, the people running it mark his time. Then they add to it, something like 30 minutes for novice and maybe 50 more for hill-toppers.
Without knowing what the "perfect" time is, you must go out with your partner and finish the pace (usually around 8-12 miles) as close to "perfect" time as you can. Trail conditions, weather conditions, the condition of your horse all matter.
Halfway through there is a checkpoint where you are offered a small cup of Sherry, cider or water and your horse is briefly checked to make sure you are not pushing too hard.
You then continue on.
It is SUCH GREAT FUN!!
When everyone comes in, they calculate times and the top six teams get ribbons.
:)
Kerry
I do competitive trail riding in Ohio, but they also have it in all the other states around ohio too, I am not sure what region it is. The website is www.oaats.org. Is is so much fun.
There is a Competivie Trailriding Conferance(name of a group) that gives good training tips and also lists rides all over the nation. That is how I got into it. I saw the sport highlighted in Practical Horseman and it gave the website. I would definitely recommend doing an online search(sorry, don't know the addy but it'll be easy to find) if you are interested. It's a nice group of people and there are a LOT of competitions.
~Roane
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