Tell me about endurance....

[lil_legs]

I want to know everything.

Out on a hack yesterday I met a lady who was surprised at how I had come to get to the tracks and so i told her this was my shorter ride and everywhere she was telling me around the area I have already ridden to and around, which amused her. She asked what the furthest distance we had managed was so I told her last year we almost completed 40 miles.

She said she had a number of a woman who was looking for ppeople to put together an endurance team and we might be very handy for her.

I haven't rung her yet, I want to know more, and want to know whether its viable that me and Jasper could compete in this sphere beings as so far everything else hes been ok at but he doesn't really enjoy so much and as all he loves to do is go on huge long rides this seems a sensible option.

So tell me everything please.

[eeek]

I don't know much about it (Clippi is the person to ask) but I think it would be perfect for you and Jasper!

It is SO MUCH FUN training for a race - and I'm sure endurance racing is no different. You and I go hacking regularly anyway, so why not make it a bit more fun and work towards something? I warn you that it may take over your life though!

I've always thought Megan would be good at endurance. Vinny won his only ever (sort of) endurance race which was a measly 10km but great fun as the pace was fast and he loved it.

[fairyfeet]

You'll need to put a lot of hours into proper training to increase his workload and his fitness. Its not only doing the distance its doing the distance under a certain time and with the horse showing no signs of exhaustion at the end.
Will you have the time Emma, its a big commitment.
It won't be a hack of a couple of hours, it'll be proper training, increasing pace and distance until you are easily managing the distance and pace.
3/4/5 hours per day towars the end

[TedMonkey]

I'm very jealous! Would love to do some long distance/endurance riding with Ted. Have put ad for shared transport in Anglian Long Distance riding, but not getting my hopes up.
Have fun!

[clippi]

Ok. I hope you are sitting comfortably. You are? Good, then I'll begin.

First of all the main thing is endurance is not a long hack.

However fairy feet is wrong with the amount of work she is saying you will need to put in. Even those who are competing 100mile race rides do not do 4 hours training a day.
Yes you need the commitment, but as you can only start at 20mile rides then your horses only need to be moderatly fit. The key is the consitent speed.

When you are doing your first competing you will expect to trot the whole way with the occasional walk if the ground is not suitable for trot. The slowest you can go is 6mph which works out at 20 miles in just over 3 hours.

Even when I was competing at 50miles, I would do 2 long rides at the weekend, by long I'm meaning upto 15 miles. Then during the week we would have one day rest and the rest we would lunge or do some schooling or go for short hacks (5 miles ish) but at speed.

The only time I walk on a hack is the first and last mile.

The key to checking your horses fitness is knowing their heart rate. At rest that will be around 30-40 bpm. After completing an event you have 30mins to present to the vet at which point the HR needs to be under 62 bpm. This for endurance rides upto 50miles . Not race rides they use a different procedure.
If you are competing over 30 miles you will be vetted halfway round with a 30min rest. I'll go in to the vetting of those rides in a different post

At all rides you are vetted at the start. HR is checked (under 62), hydration etc then trotted up to check soundness - you will be spun before you start if you fail this. You then have 30 mins to tack up and start. When you finish you have 30 mins to present to the vet to go through the same vetting procedure. You can represent once if you are still within the time if your HR is too high . If you present after 30 mins you will be disqualified. your placings are worked out on a formula based on speed and HR. so the fastest with the lowest HR would get the highest placing.
In england their are 2 groups EGB and SE, where you are they are more rides with EGB. I am a member of both
Hope that covers the basics. If you want more info or if you think I've missed something. let me know and I'll add to this thread :)

[lil_legs]

Thankyou for that Clippi, I am going to plot how far most of the rides I do now are and work out from there what I need to do distance wise.

Getting times down should be fairly easy, I am pretty sure that the rides I normally do are around 15 miles and we aren't exactly going flat out and we can manage them in a 2-3 hours. Although I could be way off on distance and am just double checking them myself as my friend usually plots them for me.

FF's comment made me think that I was punching way above my weight there, as no I couldn't manage that much training, but it sounds promising after what you have said.

Lot's to look into I think, and better have a chat with the man and see if he minds, think I might have to pick my timing on that one lol!!

[eeek]

As Clippi says, race training is different from hacking BUT it needn't take any more time out of your day than a normal hack, I think. You're covering the distance already - it's just a case of structuring your rides.

I have simplified my methods this season. No more customised spreadsheets (which I never stuck to anyway) for us. But I have a system in my head now. I have a couple of 4-mile routes which I do for the first fortnight, then introduce 5- and 6-milers for the second fortnight, gradually increasing the speed as I go. In the second month I allow myself to go on longer rides (8 - 10 miles+) or faster rides. In the third month we start fast work on a track. In the fourth month we finetune (or race).

These rides don't take any longer than a hack, but they are a bit more structured, that's all.

Regularity is the most important thing - ideally you need to be out there 5/6 days/week.

[Gix]

Regularity is the most important thing - ideally you need to be out there 5/6 days/week.

^^^This! You will have a fitter horse if you ride for an hour a day for example than if you ride for 4 hours once a week.
Mom did endurance, little and often was her strategy, with a long one thrown in now and then.

[TedMonkey]

That makes me feel more confident about getting Ted fit! I ride him for about an hour a day five days a week, but hoping to up the amount/intensity as we both get fitter.

[lil_legs]

Thankyou guys. I have spoken to the man, he says he doesn't mind but he won't take me. So it all rests on if this woman is interested in me joining and has a space for me and Jasper in her box now.

If not I best get saving and do my trailer test.