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Re: [RC] [RC] CTR Rules - Deanna German


alice wrote:

But is NATRC thriving or just CTR in general? I ask b/c i know people in the
midwest who have no interest in NATRC, but love CTR.


I swear that one of these days I'm gonna look up NATRC rules and compare
them to ours. I've heard that they are fussy to the extreme and slow, but
that's heresay. I'm in Ohio and the CTRs here and in a couple of surrounding
states are generally run under OAATS rules, which vary little from AHA
rules. So read AHA rules if you want to get an idea what we do.

UMECRA is another organization that is strong in surrounding states. I've
observed a couple of UMECRA run rides and look forward to trying one!

We get a lot of people who flip-flop between the two sports or use CTR to
start the horse. In some ways, CTR is harder than endurance. You have to do
EVERYTHING yourself, no one can lift a finger for you. They can "be a tree"
while you duck into the porta-loo, but that's it! I'd rather do an endurance
ride than a two-day 50 mile CTR.

Pacing is very important in CTR since you must come in within a time window
or lose points. I notice that a lot of people don't really have much of an
idea about how fast or slow they are going. Completion time seems to be the
source of much gritching in these parts. There are endurance riders who
regularly top 10 who seem to think that CTR must be done at a snail's pace.
We, and AHA, have a speed limit of 7 mph. That's a back of the pack pace for
most endurance and LD rides. Very rarely does a CTR in these parts even come
close to a 7 mph pace.

I do both sports. I complete LD's and endurance and I try to compete at CTR.
I can use the LD's and endurance helps increase my horse's fitness level so
she does better at CTR. And they are fun! My decision of which to do is
based on where the trail is and where I can see my friends or make new ones.



If you have a horse that's used to doing 40+ miles in a w/e under NATRC rules,
how hard would it be for the horse and rider to complete a 50.


How long does it take you to do the 40? You have 12 hours, including the
hold times, to do the 50. Can you do it at the pace you're doing the 40? Do
you know how fast you're going?



Or, is it better to start with a 25? A couple of us are thinking about the
Frigid Digit in Decatur and one thinks she'll just do the 50. The rest of us
think we just want to do a 25. what are the pitfalls for either?


It all depends. If your horse is completing 40 miles over similar terrain
and footing doing at least a 5 mph pace, you can do the 50 by the skin of
your teeth (assuming 2 hours of total hold time). If you're already going
faster, piece of cake! It's just 10 more miles. Another 20%.

Reading between the lines, it sounds to me like you're not ready for a 50
even if your horse is. If you do the 25, you might decide it wasn't enough,
but there's always next year, right? Consider turning some back-to-back LD's
into a two-day 50 to reassure yourself you and your horse can do it. I
consider the length of the haul too.

For me personally, if my horse is capable of 50, I sure as heck ain't gonna
haul more than 2 or 3 hours to only ride 25 once I get there!

Good luck!

Deanna in Ohio


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