The Complete Guide to Endurance Riding and Competition

Donna Snyder-Smith

Description

First Star to the Right and Straight on Till Morning.... At the 90-mile vet check she sat in the middle of the road crying, claiming extreme illness and trying to avoid her nightmarish fears her horse would die of founder or colic, or anything. The last ten miles of trail stretched forever in her mind, black like licorice taffy. After a large measure of TLC from her patient and understanding crew, she and the gelding were out of the check and on the trail again. The entire universe shrank to center on the pair in the moonlight. Time stopped and the world faded into nothingness. They were running in a small, ever-changing pocket of existence, the rhythm of his hooves, the heartbeat of that universe. Ribbons and trail appeared before them and lost substance as they moved past. For the rider, clinging to the saddle, there was no thought, no pain, no emotion, only the instinctive drive to chase past each ribbon as it appeared. Suddenly her horse jumped sideways, eyes and ears frozen forward. Awakened from her trance, she oriented herself on his suspected woods troll, a familiar embankment that meant they were a half-mile from home. Easing him past the scary object, she sent the gelding on, clinging to his neck. As his soft lope swept them across the finish line, she wanted to laugh out loud or cry, but was unable to summon the strength for either. A few small tears trickled down her cheek, the only sign of the enormous pride she felt inside. Becky Huffman Endurance rider, wife, mother of two, and student of author Donna Snyder-Smith
The Howell Equestrian Library
Foreword.

Introduction.

1. The Sport of Endurance Riding.

2. Be a Good Partner--Be a Balanced Rider.

3. Gymnastic Development of the Endurance Horse.

4. Conditioning and Feeding.

5. Saddles, Bridles and Helpful Gadgets.

6. Crewing the Endurance Event.

7. It's Ride Time.

Appendices.

I. The People You Meet.

II. Fun Rides and Special Events.

III. Passporting Your Horse for International Competitions.

IV. Recommended Resources List.

Index.

Sujets

• Animal Sports
• Sports
• Equestrian
• Recreation
• Sport équestre
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres
• Sports équestres

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 05 mai 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470366844
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO
ENDURANCE RIDING AND COMPETITION
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO
ENDURANCE RIDING AND COMPETITION
DONNA SNYDER-SMITH
This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subject matters covered. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering professional services in the book. If the reader requires personal assistance or advice, a competent professional should be consulted.
The author and publisher specifically disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.
Howell Book House Hungry Minds 909 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022
For general information on Hungry Minds products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993 or fax [phone].
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Copyright 1998 by Donna Snyder-Smith
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Snyder-Smith, Donna.
The complete guide to endurance riding and competition / Donna Snyder-Smith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87605-284-7 Endurance riding (Horsemanship) 2. Endurance riding
(Horsemanship)-Competitions. 1.Title SF296.E5S59 1998
798.2 4-dc21 97-46179
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
Book Design: George McKeon Cover Design: Kevin Hanek
This book is dedicated with gratitude to all the horses who have borne my ignorance while they educated me, to my mustangs who so graciously accept the mantle of their captivity to share the secrets of their wild hearts, and to the students who have allowed me to play a role in their pursuit of their dreams.
C ONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

1. The Sport of Endurance Riding

2. Be a Good Partner-Be a Balanced Rider

3. Gymnastic Development of the Endurance Horse

4. Conditioning and Feeding

5. Saddles, Bridles and Helpful Gadgets

6. Crewing the Endurance Event

7. It s Ride Time

Appendices

I. The People You Meet

II. Fun Rides and Special Events

III. Passporting Your Horse for International Competitions

IV. Recommended Resources List

Index
F OREWORD
Even though I have won a World Championship and am considered by some to be a leader in the sport of endurance riding, I still look upon myself as a student of both the sport and, more importantly, the horse. For more than two decades I have worked with, conditioned and successfully competed a variety of equine athletes. Each horse, through its individual set of unique challenges, has played a part in my education and ultimate success
A horse named Fire was the catalyst that brought me to Donna Snyder-Smith. Her teaching has guided me to a whole new dimension in equine education, changing my views, my riding, and my training techniques. I have known horsemen as knowledgeable as Donna, but none with her ability to offer information in a way that is so easy to understand, accept and implement. Her ability to communicate is truly a gift.
Now, in this book, Donna shares her experiences and knowledge with everyone. While her perspectives and way of expressing ideas are refreshingly unique, readers who have participated in other equine disciplines will clearly hear the classical principles of horsemanship, like a well-known refrain, within its pages. I trust it will be an enlightening source of information, opening new dimensions of education for each reader.
V ALERIE K ANAVY Individual Endurance Gold Medalist World Equestrian Games 1994 Individual Silver Medalist World Endurance Championships 1996
I NTRODUCTION
It is a race over a marked course against time, gravity, the elements, your own mind and even the forces of aging. This is the sport called endurance riding. One would think it a sport for the young, since riding 25 to 100 miles in a single day is its principle feature, but it is not. Most participants are over thirty. Many are in their fifties and sixties and just getting into the sport. Some compete well past retirement age, like the Grande Dame of Endurance Riding Julie Suhr, and her husband, Bob, whose combined lifetime mileage (37,000 miles), if ridden in a straight line, would have led them more than one and a half times around the world by now.
World-class events like the 100 Mile One Day Tevis Cup Ride and the Old Dominion Ride challenge horse-and-rider teams with extreme topographical and climatic conditions, and rank with famous sporting events such as the Ironman Triathlon and the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in their tests of endurance and spirit. For the novice, local rides offer a great excuse to camp out for a night, ride new trails, and meet interesting people with the same passion.
Endurance riders travel from dawn to dusk in the company of a creature who offers strength without brutality, companionship without criticism, and beauty without vanity. Some view the sport and what it asks of them with fear and wonder. For these participants, to finish is to win, no matter where or how often they cross the start and finish lines. For some, the interest in the trail is pragmatic, they must best it to win and winning is the goal. Still others are drawn by history, stories of outlaws fleeing from the hangman s noose, of Indians vanishing like smoke into the wilderness, of cowboy, cavalry scout and mountain man surviving by their wits. The adventure is their prize and arriving at the finish line is an anticlimax.
Since its birth as a sport on this continent in the mid-1950s, endurance riding has continued to thrive and grow, increasing in numbers of both rides and riders, and expanding into other countries with an internationally contested World Championship venue. The sport offers a level playing field between the sexes-testing courage, cunning, stamina, skill and intelligence. Understandably, it attracts the individualist.
T HE S PORT OF E NDURANCE R IDING
Most riders start the sport with a horse they already own. Most horses, if they are fit (currently doing a discipline that requires them to be worked two hours a day at least four days a week, with perhaps a three- to four-hour trail ride once a week), conformationally well balanced (or at least not significantly different from good conformational standards), conditioned correctly and ridden within their limits during the event, will be able to complete a 50-mile ride over a moderate course on an average day without undue risk of injury or permanent deterioration. This is true of most performance breeds.
E VALUATING AND S ELECTING THE E NDURANCE P ROSPECT
The breed that has the best track record in endurance riding is the Arabian. There may be a number of reasons for this, but most certainly one of the strongest is that when you put a horse to work continuously for up to twenty-four hours, you inevitably cause its core temperature to rise. The Arabian s ability to cool itself efficiently (lots oflarge blood vessels close to the surface, which is covered with very thin skin) comes through its genetic inheritance. The breed was, after all, developed and refined in the desert, and asked to endure extreme heat and hardship throughout all but its most recent history.

R.O. Grand Sultan (Rio),14.3-hand bay Arabian gelding. His record: 9000 + miles,two Tevis wins, two Race of Champions wins and three World Championships. Photo of Rio taken at age 19 winning the Best Condition Award at the 1996 World Championships.

KJ Destination, 15-hand,13-year-old gray Arabian gelding. He won Best Condition in the Race of Champions two years in a row, finished Top Ten in the North American Championships, and was on the Gold Medal Team at the World Championships in 1996.

Mustang Hawk,15.2-hand, seven-year-old bay Mustang gelding, 800+ miles. Consistent Top Ten finisher in his second year of 50-mile races.

Mustang Drummer Boy, 15-hand, nine-year-old chestnut Mustang gelding, 650 miles. He has finished 100 percent of his starts.
The Thoroughbred, a direct descendant of the Arabian, is also efficient at cooling its body. However, its greater size, generally longer and less dense bone (compared to its Arabian ancestors) and the size and nature of the hoof (which comes as part of the package on most Thoroughbred horses of race-specific breeding), have limited the breed s success in the endurance field.
The Appaloosa, as it was once bred, tough, rangy, with good feet and (often) a stubborn temperament, has proven its merit in endurance but in numbers too small (compared to the Arabian breed) to cause it to be sought out as a breed for the sport. If you are an Appaloosa fan, go for it; just select or evaluate your prospect carefully. If your Appaloosa is a Quarter Horse with spots, its chances of doing well in endurance riding, especially if you hope to compete at speeds beyond the just to finish range, are limited.
Quarter Horses, with only a few exceptions, have not found the sport to their liking. Their typically chunky muscling acts as an armor plate through which heat has a great deal of difficulty escaping. Many of today s Quarter Horse lines have a strong infusion of Thoroughbred blood and have inherited the Thoroughbred hoof, which is better suited to groomed tracks or show ring surfaces than to miles and miles of punishing trails over rocks, gravel, sand and mud. Tennessee Walkers and other gaited horses such as Saddlebreds, Paso Finos and Icelandics are not in evidence in great numbers at finish lines. That is not to say that the individual horse of any one of these breeds might not be properly prepared and able to complete rides yea