Endurance Rides & Training rides (LD)

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From: Garry Byrne 
Email: garry@lisp.com.au

Hi All, 
This is my 1st post to RideCamp.  I'm from Mudgee, New South Wales Australia and relatively new at the sport of Endurance Riding.  We don't seem to have the problem here in Australia that is being debated on RideCamp re Limited Distance and Endurance. In Australia, if you,for WHATEVER your reason,don't ride in an 80km ride(50 miles),you ride in the Training Ride. Training Rides are usually around 40km (25 miles) and these rides are for Novice Horses (horses that have not yet attained Endurance status) and Novice Riders. (Riders that have not yet attained Endurance Status) Some riders choose only to ride in Training Rides but I have never heard any of these riders ask for Endurance Rider status.  All Novice Riders have to start out in Training Rides and complete two 40km rides successfully before moving onto Endurance Rides 80km +.  Then you have to successfully complete three 80km rides before you become an Endurance Rider.  A Novice Horse has to successfully complete three 80km rides before they become an Endurance Horse and can then be ridden in 120km + rides. I'm not aware as to how your Limited Distance Rides evolved but in Australia Training Rides are for TRAINING and to introduce riders and horses into the sport of Endurance Riding.(80km + rides)  
If,like me, you start as a Novice Rider on a Novice Horse, there is a certain amount of pride when you achieve Endurance Rider and Endurance Horse status.  On the other hand, if I had achieved this after my 1st 40km Training Ride, it would hold very little meaning for me. If we are honest we all know that you can virtually grab any old hack, give it 4 weeks training and nurse it through a 40km Training Ride and attain a successful completion. 
Well,that's my 2 bob's worth. I'll try to find more time to become involved in RideCamp, it's really a great forum for the Sport of Endurance Riding and I will see if I can get a similar thing going here in Australia. Here is the web site for the Australian Endurance Riders Association. Nothing flash but it's getting better all the time. http://www.aera.asn.au
Have fun,train hard,use common sense and you can't go too far wrong.
Garry
From Down Under