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TO FINISH IS TO WIN!

I've had several people ask me, "Why endurance?" as my sport of choice.  I can only say that it is because I love to ride long and fast and endurance offers me the opportunity to be on my horse daily for conditioning.  When on the rides, my horse and I are pitted against mother nature so the adrenaline flows, bringing a thrill that hasn't wavered in 6 years of competing.  What a thrill it is to complete a ride for the first time and know that the dirt, sweat, bug bites, and sore muscles are all worth it because regardless where we placed. we WON!  Always remember, the national endurance program, American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) motto: "To finish is to win."

What kind of horse do I need?  A WILLING ONE!  Any breed can compete in Competitive Trail and Endurance successfully if the horse is conditioned, is sound and has the desire to go down the trail willingly and boldly.  I chose Appaloosas because they are the love of my life.  When I first started in this sport, I was told to be a serious contender I would need an Arabian.  It became my #1 goal to prove the skeptics wrong.  New Promise Farms now has a successful string of running Appaloosas that are awesome on the trail and can come home to teach beginners how to sit a post.  The laid back, never say die attitude of our horses has brought us to more completions than anything else.  And in riding my breed of choice, the conditioning and training are fun and rewarding, never a chore and never boring!

How do I get started?  GOOD QUESTION!  Two years ago I started mentoring new enthusuasts to the sport of Endurance and Competitive Trail riding. I also try to sponsor at least one junior each year.  I start my "students" with Competitive Trail Rides and have them join the Northeast Region Competitive Trail Ride Association,  ECTRA at www.ectra.org for the season they are running so they gain the informative benefit of the newsletters as well as maintaining their cumulative mileage.  CTR's are a great learning ground as each horse starts exactly the same and the horse that completes with the highest score is the winner.  The riders do not race a clock, in fact coming in too soon will cost you points.  The goal at a CTR is to have a safe and sound ride with your horse in good form.  Pulse and respiration recoveries, soreness, injuries, and lameness will all cost you points. The ride vets and lay judges, as well as seasoned veterans all  teach a new rider how to pay attention to the horse and to ride the terrain in a safe manner.  After the first year, we graduate to Limited Distance ride with AERC.  If my "student" and horse compete well in the first part of the season on LD rides, we'll try a 50 at the end of the season.  There is no thrill like doing your first 50 mile ride and completing.  Not to mention the excellent sleep you get after riding for 12 hours!  A 25 mile ride can go quickly, less than two hours ride time for some horse and rider teams.  Doing a 50 mile ride requires more planning, more attention to your horse and yourself, and probably more tylenol.

Where can I find a mentor?  TRY THE INTERNET?  Start with www.aerc.org under the Mentor section.  You can probably find one in your home town that you never knew about.  We endurance people are like stable flies; we're everywhere!  Also, ask around at your local feed mills and tack shops, these guys know who is buying them out of electrolytes and liniment every month.

What do you do to condition a horse?  RIDE RIDE RIDE!  I have a program that works for me, and lots of riders have programs that work for them that are different.  Basically, you're looking at a CTR moving you along the trail at an average of 6.25 miles per hour.  This is a lot of trotting.  So, in conditioning a horse to work for hours at a trot, you have to train at home.  Your mentor will set up a schedule of work-outs for you and your horse based on his/her own ideal conditioning program.  Be prepared to ride a minimum of five days a week when starting your horse on a conditioning program.  Once your horse is fit, keeping him/her that way is easy.  Two or three times a week for an hour or so with a short 2-3 hour run on the weekend.  Now, keeping yourself in shape is another story all together.  Keep donuts and chocolate to a minimum and on one ride per week, jog alongside your horse a minimum of three miles.  WHY?  There will come a day that you will need to walk your horse out of the trail for miles and conditioning yourself to do the foot work through hard terrain is just as important as training your horse.

What do you feed an endurance horse?  FOOD!  I hate to answer this question because every stable owner, horse owner and backyard horseman has their own ideal feeding schedule.  I believe in lots of good quality hay, pasture and little grain.  When riding on a trail, your horse has to learn to eat and drink while you're riding to keep his energy up.  If he is accustomed to the long burning calories of pasture or hay, he is more likely to get the energy burst from a couple mouthfuls of lush grass along the trail.  At the vet checks, we give them a pound of grain with their electrolytes and all the hay they want to munch while waiting to be released to go on.  Some riders soak their hay or make a mash of the grain.  It's all personal preference and what the horse is accustomed to eating at home.

What's all this about electrolytes?  GATORADE FOR HORSES!  A competing horse loses essential minerals while working through sweating.  The electrolytes help to keep the balance of salts and minerals in their blood.  It also keeps them drinking water, which is absolutely critical; not only during the ride, but in aiding in the recoveries after the ride.  A well hydrated horse will have less muscle soreness and tension the next day than a horse that is not well hydrated.  We strive to make sure we stop at every watering hole, water trough, and mud puddle while we ride and allow our horses the opportunity to drink as much as they desire.  The infusion of electrolytes during the course of the ride ensures the horse will drink as well as replace those critical lost minerals.  Be consumer aware when purchasing electrolytes.  Some are better than others.  We avoid those that have sugars added.

What kind of gear do I need?  OLD, COMFORTABLE, AND RUGGED!  Okay, maybe not the old, but definitely the comfortable and the rugged, not just for you, but for your horse.  A horse wearing a saddle that is too big or too small is not going to run for you very long, and after ride #3, you may find yourself looking at the sky instead of your horse's ears!  There is no reason you cannot do the first 25 mile ride or two in the gear you already have.  A CTR does not require you to carry a lot of "stuff" as the ride volunteers are taking good care of you and your horse along the trail.  If you get hooked on the sport, then start looking seriously for saddles with the advice of a seasoned veteran or your mentor.  As for riding clothes....Man, if it's cool and allows the air to get through, I'm all for it.  You will see riders in everything from the finest color coordinated top of the line endurance clothing, down to torn T-shirts and stretch jeans wearing muck boots.  Yep, the clothes don't make the rider, the horse makes the rider.  Most importantly, remember that safety helmets are a must to enter and ride in a ECTRA and AERC sanctioned event so choose one that fits you well, is in your "style" and then decorate it to your heart's content.  Also, be sure to purchase a vest with reflective tape and have reflective accessories on your horse for rides that will start or complete in the twilight or dark.  You should see me at night!  I light up like a Christmas Tree.

What's a vet check?  A LESSON IN PATIENCE!  All rides are monitored by qualified veterinarians.  At a CTR, there will also be a Lay Judge looking at your horse.  Before the horse is even released to begin the ride, it is vetted for soundness.  As you go along the ride, vets watch you trot by and at the madatory stops called "holds" there are volunteers to check pulse and respiration recovery times, as well as dehydration, capillary refill and soundness is determined by the vet during a hand trot.  At any time, for any reason, a vet or lay judge can pull your horse from the ride.  In this sport, it is all about healthy horses and riders.  If a horse is stressed, it should not be competing.  If a rider is passing out from dehydration, that rider will not be able to monitor the horse wisely. 

Where are the rides?  EVERYWHERE!  Your regional Competitive Trail Ride Association (in the northeast where I live, it is ECTRA) will have a website listing upcoming rides.  AERC's website has all the national endurance rides listed by region.  Most rides are posted 6 months or more before their date so you will have plenty of time to plan your schedule.  The ride season is December 1 thru November 30.  I recommend to every person that expresses an interest in this sport to contact a ride manager at a ride near them and volunteer.  A rider can NEVER appreciate the sport to it's fullest until they have worked on the ground with ride management.  Believe me, you will get just as tired, just as dirty and have just as much fun working the ground side.  And you have the added benefit of being treated like royalty.  Rides depend on volunteers and ride management will feed you until you bloat, praise you until your hat no longer fits and give you all you could imagine in terms of education for this sport.  You will see every horse and rider and their individual care routines at the hold, you will have opportunity to talk to the vets during lulls in the holds, and be able to question the seasoned riders about his/her preferences on tack, riding clothes, and tips or tricks they use to complete a ride successfully.