This is your first endurance ride and you are probably experiencing a mixture of excitement, nerves and whatever you had to eat before riding.
You might be unsure of what to expect, what speeds you think of riding and how these “Vet gate systems” work.
Your first ride will probably be a 40km ride, in which you do not have to worry about terms like “slip times”. Regarding speed of your ride, the rules state that you need to ride at speed lower than 16 kilometers per hour. If you do not own a GPS to track your speed, you can check your approximate speed by making sure that you take more or less 19-22 mins to complete every 5kms. There are markers every 5 kms and water points close to every 5 kms. If you realise that you are going a bit fast, it will be good to rest your horse at a water point.
The route will range from very flat and easy going to steep, rocky and technical, depending on the ride you attend. Make sure that you are informed about the state of the ride before you enter.
Please refer to Etiquette to keep in mind for important information.
Please note that you need to be mounted when you cross the finish line.
You have 20 mins to present your horse to the vet, by that time, your horse’s pulse should be below 64 beats per minute. Your horse will be inspected for metabolic health, dehydration, capillary refill time and soundness. If all is well with your horse, I would like to congratulate you on completing your first endurance ride.