[RC] CTRs vs. AERC long, and slight rant - Tx Trigger
For those who don't think that some of the top
endurance riders don't use Competitive Trail Rides to start and get new or young
horses going, did not listen at last years convention. I believe it was John
Crandall that said he has used it to start horses. (I missed the talk myself,
and hope I am not misquoting) And as most know, John won Tevis, Old Dominion,
and the National Championship 100 miler. There are many different CTR
organizations. NATRC is just one of them. It is also the only one that has
separate judging and awards for horsemanship. All organizations judge and score
the horses, but NATRC also has a judge that will judge the riders care of horse,
equitation in relationship to trail riding (balanced, not jerking mouth etc.) ,
safety and even trail courtesy. Someone mentioned that a friend lost points for
mud splashed on the horses legs at the end of a ride. That would have came off
of the horsemanship card, NOT the horses score. And, the reason is actually very
reasonable(at least to me). The vet is going to run their hands over the legs of
all the horses. It would be nice for riders to have the legs clean for the vet
to handle, and also so they can see if the horse has any new cuts or scrapes. I
try to always have my horses legs clean at endurance rides if at all possible,
out of respect for the vet. Someone else asked about the different colored
ribbons tied on the horses. Yellow means it is a stallion. If you saw other
colors, some times they will use green meaning the horse is new and "green", and
often they have a color for first time riders, and also one for those riders who
are willing to answer questions of new riders. Kind of an informal mentor thing,
without actually assigning a rider to another, they look for each other on the
trail. Lets see, oh, water on the trail is usually where ever management can get
it. Just like endurance rides. It is often at the P&R stops, but more
often placed for the horses to drink as they leave. Now the interesting part is,
at NATRC rides, a horses pulse must be down to 48 after being there 10 min., and
the respiration (yes, it IS judged) must be down to 36 to not lose any points.
As some saw from the photos, we have all breeds competing. And these riders have
learned how to cool and drop the pulse and respiration with out dumping a ton of
water on the horses. Some folks do unsaddle, to let the horse cool easier.
Some do carry a little hand fan, to create a bit of a "breeze". Most teach
the horse to stand quiet, usually drop its head lower. This is why they are so
quiet at the P&R stops. I appreciate learning how to get my horse to relax,
and lower its P&R without the need for a ton of water etc. Never know when I
might end up with a problem on the trail with a horse, and not have any water
etc. and need my horse to stand quiet and relax, while waiting for
assistance. It would be interesting to see how some horses and riders who
have only done endurance would do with that task. That does not mean I don't use
water and other methods when available, or when I do endurance, but I have
learned different methods at the NATRC rides. Neither is wrong, just
different.
And last, yes, it is a regional thing as to breeds
of horses competing, and how many cross over between the sport. I think we have
many more cross over riders between NATRC and AERC out in CA, and also still
more Arabians doing NATRC, where in our region (TX / OK / LA) we have a lot of
gaited horses, and heavy muscle breeds like paints and QH's. Up in the NE they
do not have NATRC, so they do ECTRA, which is paced faster than
NATRC.
I do feel both involve conditioning the endurance
of the horse over trails. The ride this past weekend had the Open division paced
at an average of 5.4mph. (that is your average time, including when you stop to
take a break, stop at water etc. but the P&R stops are not added into that
time) The riders did 30 miles Saturday, and 28 on Sunday. By no means was
it just walking.
Because I do both sports, I get frustrated when
some seem to compare and make pit them once against the other, and say one is
"better" or what ever than the other. Both are using trails on horses
conditioned to go distance. We should support the other organizations, as we
only have so many trails, and we are losing them daily. Instead of poo-pooing
the other, how about volunteering the next time the other organization has a
ride near you, to help them keep their ride going? Heck, you might even have
fun, and gosh, maybe even learn something from the other group.
Jonni in TX who has won at NATRC rides, and top
tenned at AERC rides on the same horse
