Re: Re: Re: Hold Times In Endurance Rides

["Ed & Wendy Hauser" <sisufarm@mmmpcc.org>]

Another factor to consider in relation to how many hours should be allowed
on the trail is: How long is the ride?  Shorter distances can safely be
covered by the same horse at faster times.  If you doubt this consider both
limits:  How long would it take you to safely cover 1 mile?  How long would
it take you to safely cover 500 miles?  I'll bet 1 mile would be a lot
faster than 14 minutes, and 500 miles slower than 5 days.

On the other hand it could be logically argued that the time to complete
should be computed by considering a minimum speed for an endurance ride and
then adding the holds onto that speed.  For example if 5.5 mph was
considered the minimum trail speed (I just picked UMECRA CTR minimum speed
on a hard course on a hard day) a 100 mile ride with 3 hours of holds: 3 +
18.18 hours=  21 hours 11 minutes.

It would change endurance riding, but would be a manageable system.

By the way the values I picked are just for example.  I don't advocate that
any particular ride should be run at any particular speed.

Ed.

Ed and Wendy Hauser
1140 37th St.
Hudson, WI 54016
sisufarm@mmmpcc.org