I am considering going into endurance and competitive trail riding with =
my guy! Is there someone out there in Washington State that is involved? =
I live in Port Orchard, WA. Also, what is the difference between the =
two? Thanks, and Happy Trails.
Hi Lynne,
Hopefully you got my previous e-mail with CTR info. Just to answer your question here regarding the difference between CTR and endurance. Basically CTR is a timed, judged trail competition, where you have a window of time to complete the ride. You will be judged before the ride and after the ride on your horses condition. Depending on the sanctioning organization you may be judged along the trail as to how you and your horse work as a team, your horsemanship skills, his trail ability and manners. You will also have several pulse and respiration checks along the trail. In endurance the P&R checks are there mostly to protect the horse, but in CTR we use the P&R more to help determine who is in the best condition. The pace can vary between sanctioning organizations. Usually it's a middle of the pack pace if you were in an endurance ride. Except for the novice NATRC division, you usually have a longer maximum time to complete an endurance ride than a CTR. Other differences are that you can generally only advance on the trail while mounted. Usually you cannot use boots or wraps to protect your horses legs. Some orgs allow this and only deduct points or make you ride outside the competition. Reasons for this is that what you're doing in CTR is trying to see who is the best mount for a long distance ride, all things being as equal as possible.
In endurance it's a race. First one to cross the finish line with a horse that is fit to continue, WINS! A lot less rules. Most of the rules are regarding vetting and Pulse & Respiration criteria. The vet stops are there mostly to protect the horses from us hotshot humans! Horsemanship and pacing is still a big issue, cause it determines whether or not you are able to continue in the ride or be pulled. There is a maximum time to complete the ride, but no minimum. No judging out on the trail at all, although mostly you see excellent horsemanship and sportsmanship, occasionally there are a couple of jerks, at least in the beginning of the ride. Seems like they usually don't go very far without being pulled IMO.
IMO both are Fun, Fun, Fun!!! I truly believe that CTR is important for both the new distance riders and especially the new distance horses. I am really glad that Nick & I had the opportunity to do a complete season of CTR before trying endurance. Most people recommend at least 2 seasons of CTR. Hardest thing for me is that I tend to get very caught up in the "herd instinct" also and get overly excited and end up maybe riding faster than I had wanted, especially in beginning. (Or maybe at the end in order to beat the clock,!!) Hope you find some local riders in your area. Later, Kathy & Nick
--- Begin Message ---
In a message dated 2/2/04 8:30:18 AM Pacific Standard Time, ridecamp-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
I am considering going into endurance and competitive trail riding with =
my guy! Is there someone out there in Washington State that is involved? =
I live in Port Orchard, WA. Also, what is the difference between the =
two? Thanks, and Happy Trails.
Hi Lynne,
Hopefully you got my previous e-mail with CTR info. Just to answer your question here regarding the difference between CTR and endurance. Basically CTR is a timed, judged trail competition, where you have a window of time to complete the ride. You will be judged before the ride and after the ride on your horses condition. Depending on the sanctioning organization you may be judged along the trail as to how you and your horse work as a team, your horsemanship skills, his trail ability and manners. You will also have several pulse and respiration checks along the trail. In endurance the P&R checks are there mostly to protect the horse, but in CTR we use the P&R more to help determine who is in the best condition. The pace can vary between sanctioning organizations. Usually it's a middle of the pack pace if you were in an endurance ride. Except for the novice NATRC division, you usually have a longer maximum time to complete an endurance ride than a CTR. Other differences are that you can generally only advance on the trail while mounted. Usually you cannot use boots or wraps to protect your horses legs. Some orgs allow this and only deduct points or make you ride outside the competition. Reasons for this is that what you're doing in CTR is trying to see who is the best mount for a long distance ride, all things being as equal as possible.
In endurance it's a race. First one to cross the finish line with a horse that is fit to continue, WINS! A lot less rules. Most of the rules are regarding vetting and Pulse & Respiration criteria. The vet stops are there mostly to protect the horses from us hotshot humans! Horsemanship and pacing is still a big issue, cause it determines whether or not you are able to continue in the ride or be pulled. There is a maximum time to complete the ride, but no minimum. No judging out on the trail at all, although mostly you see excellent horsemanship and sportsmanship, occasionally there are a couple of jerks, at least in the beginning of the ride. Seems like they usually don't go very far without being pulled IMO.
IMO both are Fun, Fun, Fun!!! I truly believe that CTR is important for both the new distance riders and especially the new distance horses. I am really glad that Nick & I had the opportunity to do a complete season of CTR before trying endurance. Most people recommend at least 2 seasons of CTR. Hardest thing for me is that I tend to get very caught up in the "herd instinct" also and get overly excited and end up maybe riding faster than I had wanted, especially in beginning. (Or maybe at the end in order to beat the clock,!!) Hope you find some local riders in your area. Later, Kathy & Nick
