ENDURANCE RIDING

On almost every weekend, you can participate in an endurance ride sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference. Endurance riding is a recreation sports enjoyed by many throughout the world. In the 2012 ride year, there were 875 rides put on throughout the United States, with 18,439 riders participating, and riding a total of 657,600 miles. These rides consisted of distances between 25 to 100 miles, and may have had as few as 4 riders, or as many as 250. Often there are introductory (“fun”) rides of 15 miles or less at these rides.

These rides are open to all breeds, including mules. For a horse to compete in a 25-mile ride, the horse must be 48 months of age, in a 50-mile ride, the horse must be 60 months of age, and in a 100-mile ride, the horse must be 72 months. The rider has 6 hours to complete a 25-mile ride, 12 hours to complete a 50-mile ride, and 24 hours to complete a 100-mile ride. The performance of the horse cannot be enhanced nor can pain be masked by the use of chemotherapeutic agents during the course of the ride.

Endurance riding is one of a very few sports in which the animals are examined prior to the start of a ride for fitness to begin, multiple times during the course of the event for fitness to continue, and at the conclusion of the ride for mechanical and metabolic stability. Horses failing to meet these standards are removed from competition. Horses, during a 100 mile endurance ride, receive more veterinary attention in a day than most other horses get in a year (and sometimes their life).

While the majority of the participants ride an Arabian or an Arabian-cross, all breeds of horses can compete in endurance rides (Thoroughbreds, Mustangs, etc.).

While within one breed, seven out of ten horses may be adequate for the job, within another breed only one out of fifteen may have the desired characteristics and ability.

No matter what the breed, it is essential that the horse be conditioned and prepared with trail work to participate in the ride.

This sport requires no special equipment or clothing. Riders often use western, English or endurance saddles. The riders wear Levis, riding pants, running tights, and even shorts. Footwear will include western boots, English boots or tennis shoes. There is no minimum age requirement, although junior riders (under 16) must ride with a sponsor (21 years of age) at all times. Although helmets are recommended, they are only mandatory for junior riders. The base camps for the rides are typically situated in parks, campgrounds, or open fields. Sometimes there are motels nearby, but typically the riders’ camp near their horses. Riders will use motor homes, campers, vans, tents, or may even sleep in the back of their truck or horse trailer. Some will tie their horses to the trailer, and others will use portable corrals made out of PVC piping, metal or hot wire. Some base camps are at facilities that have horse corrals.

Endurance News, the monthly publication of the American Endurance Ride Conference, which is sent to all its members, lists all the upcoming endurance rides. Those interested in a particular ride, will request a ride entry from that ride manager. The cost of the entry fee will vary, but can range from $65 to $300, depending on the length of the ride and what the ride management provides. For the entry fee, the rider will be given the opportunity to participate in the ride, will receive a completion award, and will be provided dinner at the awards banquet. Depending on the ride, the completion award may be a certificate, a t-shirt or it could be a custom belt buckle; the awards banquet may be potluck where the riders each bring a dish to share or it could be a barbecue steak dinner. Many of the rides do not make money, and the entry fees just cover the costs of putting on the ride. Normally, the only people paid are the veterinarians; all others are volunteers. The entry fees are used to pay the veterinarians, the use of the base camp, insurance, permits, state drug testing fees, sanctioning fees, completion awards, the banquet, mailing, advertising, trail markings, etc.

The day before the ride, the participants will present their horses to the veterinarian for pre-ride vet inspection. The horse’s resting heart rate and respirations will be noted. The veterinarian will check the horse’s back for soreness, his legs for wounds, swelling or tenderness, will listen for gut sounds, will check the horse’s hydration level, blood circulation, and will then ask the rider to trot the horse out to determine soundness. All this information is written on the rider’s vet card, which he will carry with him throughout the ride. If the horse passes this inspection, a number is written on the horse’s hip with a grease marker.

Later in the day, there will be a ride meeting so the ride manager can give the participants pertinent information regarding start time, trail, markings, etc. The head veterinarian will also discuss aspects of the ride that may affect the performance and health of the horse, such as expected temperature, humidity, altitude, etc. The veterinarian will also inform the participants what the criteria and hold times will be for the vet checks along the trail (criteria is the pre-established heart rate and respiration count that the horse must reach at each vet check before the hold time can begin.). If the horse does not reach criteria within 30 minutes of arrival, the horse is automatically removed from the competition. (The hold time is the mandatory length of time that the horse must remain at each vet check after it reaches criteria.) During the hold time, the horse is given the opportunity to eat, drink, and is then again presented to the veterinarian for fitness and soundness inspection.

On the day of the ride, all of the horses will gather at the start area. At the prescribed time, the ride will start. All the horses start at the same time. As in a marathon, the riders will position themselves in the pack according to their individual goals. Some of the riders will move out quickly and try to put distance between themselves and the majority of the pack. Some riders with new horses will wait until the majority of the horses have left before starting down the trail. The trail is usually marked with surveyors ribbon, chalk, and signs. The riders will follow the marked trail until they come to the first vet check. When the rider arrives at the vet check, his arrival time is noted. When the horse has reached criteria, the rider will request a monitor to check the horse’s pulse and respiration. The time the horse reaches criteria is then noted, and then at that time, the rider may present his horse to the veterinarian for inspection. Everything that was checked at the pre-ride inspection is again checked, and the horse is again trotted out for soundness. All this information is recorded on the rider’s vet card. If the horse passes this veterinarian inspection, the rider is permitted to leave the vet check at the end of his mandatory hold time and continue on the course. If the horse does not pass this inspection, he is removed from the competition.

Ideally, during a 50-mile ride, there would be a vet check at approximately 12 miles (with a 15 or 20 minute hold), at 25 miles (with an hour hold), and at 38 miles (with a 10 or 15 minute hold). Of course, the location and distances between vet checks is necessarily determined by the terrain and accessibility by the veterinarians. The minimum requirement is one vet check during the course of the ride.

After the ride, the horses must be presented to the veterinarian for inspection one hour after completing the course. The horse must have reached the established finishing criteria and be sound at the trot in order to receive a completion. In addition to a completion award, there are frequently awards for the first horse, the top ten horses, the best conditioned horse of those top ten horses, and also awards to weight division winners. These awards are usually horse-related products (halters, buckets, blankets, ride t-shirt, etc.).

Since often these rides are located on private property or in areas that are not open, or readily accessible to the public, the participants are given the opportunity to ride in areas from which they would normally be excluded. Some of the rides use part of the Pacific Crest Trail, the old Pony Express trails, the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and even through Death Valley. Also many of the participants travel from different areas of the country to participate in these rides, so there are many opportunities to meet and spend time along the trail with riders from other areas of the country.

While the goal for some is to complete the course in a time faster than any of the other riders, the motto of the American Endurance Ride Conference is “To Finish is to Win,” and the majority of the participants enter these rides for the sole purpose of completing the ride with a healthy and sound horse. This sport allows the rider to work with his horse as a team, to accept the challenge of completing the course in the required time, and to ride and pace his horse as necessary to complete the ride with a sound and metabolically healthy horse. Since so much time is spent with the horse on the trail while conditioning and preparing for an endurance ride, a very strong bond is formed between the horse and rider, and both learn to rely on each other while meeting the test of a challenging trail.

—Terry Woolley Howe

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