Endurance Magazine Winter 23

Gala Awards Dinner All the action from this year’s event

Fitness first Has your horse reached the fitness plateau?

Being a ride organiser We find out what’s involved Winter 23

Official members' publication for Endurance GB

Whats been happening? we take a look The findings have reinforced the view that physical observation alone is not a wholly accurate predictor of ID, which will be particularly useful to vets when identifying ponies for ID screening, helping to ensure that early indicators of increased laminitis risk aren’t missed.

Nicola Menzies-Gow, Professor in Equine Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College and coauthor of the study, said: “Laminitis is a painful and potentially devastating condition affecting horses, ponies and donkeys worldwide. Our studies focus on trying to identify those individual animals that are at a high risk of developing the condition so that preventative strategies can be implemented before the disease occurs.” To read the full paper and findings, visit beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Pass with care The British Horse Society (BHS) is offering advice to dog walkers and equestrians on how to pass horses safely after the number of equine incidents logged involving dogs rose by 111% over two years, from 2020 to 2022. The guidance is intended to help dog walkers and the general public continue to enjoy the outdoors, alongside horses, safely and considerately.

Since 2010 there have been 2,818 dog-related incidents reported to the BHS via the Horse i app, which regrettably includes 29 horse fatalities, three human fatalities, 708 horse injuries, alongside 739 human injuries. In recent years, the BHS has seen a steep increase in dogrelated incidents with ridden horses, along with

horses kept in fields and with carriage driven horses.

Horses can be easily frightened by an over enthusiastic dog and are unable to distinguish between whether a dog is playing with them or attacking them, especially if the dogs are off the lead and don’t have good recall. This can result in potentially fatal injuries to the horse, rider, dog and anyone in the vicinity.

To reduce risk, it’s vitally important that dog owners and horse riders appreciate and respect each other out walking and hacking. The BHS strives to support this collaborative approach by releasing educational advice for dog owners and horse owners.

Des Payne, Safety Team Leader at the BHS, said: “We’re seeing a worrying increase in dog related incidents, with almost 3,000 reported to us since 2010. We ask all dog owners to act responsibly around horses and if in doubt, ensure your dog is on a lead. We encourage horse riders to follow some simple steps too, including wearing hi vis to enable other route users to see you and to always walk to pass dogs.

“We ask all horse riders, and the wider public, who have experienced or witnessed an incident to log it via the BHS’s Horse i app. This allows

us to better understand the rate of equinerelated incidents and, ultimately, ensure horses remain safe, as well as those around them.”

Kay Scott-Jarvis, Founder and Head Coach at Rockstar Equine in Staffordshire, has experienced first-hand how critical it is that dog owners and horse riders support one another: “Towards the end of a recent trail ride, my team were approached by three dogs at speed and no owner in sight. One dog unfortunately got hold of the hind leg of one of our ponies. In turn, a child became unseated and fell from the pony onto hard stone and gravel.

As a dog owner and a horse owner myself, it’s so important that we work together, because everyone involved in these incidents are impacted in some way. It is vital we support each other and share responsibility. That way we all get to enjoy our beautiful British countryside in harmony.”

Shutterstock/Lauren Rick

Shutterstock/Creative Travel Photography

Prevention is better than cure A new study by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has shown that screening of equines for insulin dysregulation (ID) could be useful for picking up animals at risk of developing laminitis even when no physical indications are seen. The association between ID and laminitis is well

established, and vets agree that early detection of ID is likely to be useful in preventing the condition. However, the study by the RVC, in association with the Waltham Equine Studies Group and Spillers, shows the link between ID and laminitis is more complex than originally thought. As a result, it’s suggested that the oral sugar tests (OSTs) used to diagnose ID could be more widely applied to pick up cases of ID in the equine population before laminitis develops.

Researchers from the RVC performed OSTs on 367 non-laminitic ponies each spring and autumn over a period of four years. The OSTs measured the concentration of insulin in the blood before and 60 minutes after the ponies were given sugar syrup and the results indicated that ID may occur in ponies across a wide range of body conditions, ages and levels of exercise.

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The BHS has lots of valuable information to help dog walkers, as well as the horses and riders they meet on their walks. Learn more here: bhs.org.uk/dogs To download the BHS’s Horse i app, please visit: bhs.org.uk/incidents

welcome section | endurancegb.co.uk

In this

Volume 20 - Issue 4

Issue Endurance GB Office Administration Endurance GB Office, Abbey Park, Stareton, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2RP t: 02475 313353 e: enquiries@endurancegb.co.uk Publisher

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Production Editor Nicky Moffatt e: editor@endurancegb.co.uk Advertising Sales Manager Matrix Print Consultants Ltd Emma Barrett t: 01536 527 297 e: e.barrett@matrixprint.com Deadlines Copy Dates to Editor for future issues of Endurance: Spring 24 copy deadline is 31 January The views and opinions of the writers are not necessarily those of the editor, Matrix Print Consultants Ltd or Endurance GB. Endurance magazine is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reproduced wholly or in part without the permission of Endurance GB and/or Matrix Print Consultants Ltd.

Cover Photo Laura Graham & Warrens Hill Farrah at Foxdales ride (courtesy of Indie Pics)

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Reports

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Obituary

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AGM and Gala Awards Dinner

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Sponsor focus

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Northumberland and Tyneside

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Scottish Endurance Riding Club news

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Vet’s viewpoint

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News

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Regulars

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The fitness plateau

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Photo competition

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Breed focus - the Connemara

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Para endurance

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Meet young rider Niamh Richardson

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The whip ban

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RoR news

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Travelling horses abroad

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Keeping weight and condition on the endurance horse

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Being a Ride Organiser - interview with Bella Fricker

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Train for the terrain

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Ride the Wight

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When is endurance endurance?

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First Aid kit essentials

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Liz Hinings - reflections on a long volunteer career

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A warm welcome Nicky Moffatt | Editor of Endurance Magazine

W

elcome to the Winter issue of your magazine, and I hope you’re still buzzing from the excitement of this year’s Gala Dinner. You can read our full report of the 2023 event on page 6.

Esther Groen discusses the ‘fitness plateau’ in this issue, offering advice on what to do when your horse reaches a certain level of fitness but isn’t getting any fitter. Does this matter? Turn to page 12 to find out.

I had no idea there were quite so many Connemaras excelling in endurance and was, once again, overwhelmed with the response to our social media post asking you to write in and tell us about your special ponies. I’ve done my best to include your stories and if you did email me, see page 16 to find out if your beloved Connie has made it onto our breed focus pages.

On page 24 Harry Ingram offers an insight into his experiences of travelling horses abroad, which I’m sure, as I did, you’ll find fascinating. It seems there’s so much to think about to ensure our equines stay safe and well cared for during overseas transit. After all, their welfare should always be our priority.

Now we’re in our winter routines don’t forget about the Winter League, sponsored by Red Gorilla, which is your opportunity to get points and prizes while getting out and about this winter. You will have had an email about it with the details but if you’ve lost them, please email Julie Jones – jum1@aber.ac.uk and she will send

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from the editor

them to you again. Good luck everyone.

And talking of winter routines, on page 44 vet Ralph Maalouf has written a comprehensive guide to dealing with winter health conditions.

Let’s hope we soon see signs of spring weather arriving and the end of the cold, wet and mud!

As Liz Hinings steps down from her main volunteering duties, we take a closer look at her endurance journey over the years. No doubt, we’re all grateful for her hard work and dedication to Endurance GB over the years.

Without people like Liz, these events simply wouldn’t be able to run. Turn to page 42 to read Liz’s story.

I hope you enjoy your magazine and here’s looking ahead to a safe and successful 2024 season.

Happy riding until next time!

Nicky

welcome | endurancegb.co.uk

Endurance GB Board of Directors

Future focus

Chair, Office & Sponsorship Director PHIL NUNNERLEY T: 07860 323968 / 01761 221561 E: philnunnerley@endurancegb.co.uk Vice-Chair, Finance & Insurance Director CHRIS WRAY T: 07856 500519 / 01600 860938 E: chriswray@endurancegb.co.uk H&S & Safeguarding Director AMANDA WOOLCOMBE T: 07771 362105 E: amandawoolcombe@endurancegb.co.uk Welfare & Disciplinary Director JOHN COLDICOTT T: 07932 140069 E: johncoldicott@endurancegb.co.uk

Phil Nunnerley | Chair of Endurance GB

Dear Members, The 2023 season begins to draw to a close, but not before we have had the opportunity to celebrate the many successes of the past year at the Annual Awards Dinner. That does, by tradition, immediately follow the Annual General Meeting. It was pleasing to see a good attendance and there was a healthy debate around both Board and Member Proposals for rule changes. The outcome of voting has been shared on our website.

International, Young Riders & Para Endurance PHIL NUNNERLEY T: 07860 323968 / 01761 221561 E: philnunnerley@endurancegb.co.uk

The year 2023 has offered a full review of Endurance rules by FEI member bodies.

There are a number of welcome changes, in part recognising that the cost of participating in FEI events was becoming prohibitive for many, particularly from countries with small memberships.

Sustainability Director, SERC lead & Company Secretary ALISON SEGGIE T: 07860 323968 / 01761 221561 E: alisonseggie@endurancegb.co.uk

Holding subscriptions and ride entry fees flat for three years, while inflation continued to drive up costs, requires a significant uplift in both for 2024. Our biggest challenge in 2024 is reversing the trend of falling memberships while at the same time our supporter base continues to rise steeply. It is a responsibility we ALL must share.

PR & Comms Director HEATHER GILES T: 07587 098079 E: heathergiles@endurancegb.co.uk

The welfare of our horses is paramount, and we have to emphasise this publicly if we are to be allowed to retain our social licence to involve horses in our sport.

The current COP 28 conference also reminds us that we will have to respond ourselves to how our sport impacts on our environment.

Operations Director SHELLEY BATES T: 07760 264619 E: shelleybates@endurancegb.co.uk

Some challenges for 2024! In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy Christmas with your families.

Marketing, Groups & Volunteers Director JIM PHILLIPS T: 07525 179540 E: jimphillips@endurancegb.co.uk Development, IT & Coaching Director LARISSA WHILEY T: 07962 301796 E: larissawhiley@endurancegb.co.uk

Phil

Directors of Endurance GB are volunteers, so please be patient and considerate with any queries. Most Directors work full time elsewhere and are not always available during working hours. No calls before 9am or after 9pm please.

future focus

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Looking ahead to 2024 6

AGM round-up

reports | endurancegb.co.uk

All Photos courtesy of David Saunders unless otherwise noted.

AGM round-up

refers to the general public’s perception of horses in sport. We all, collectively and individually, have a part to play in ensuring the public image of endurance in the UK remains a positive one.

In 2022 new guidelines were issued around concussion in sport and Endurance GB has issued our own protocol which stands down for three weeks any rider who has had a fall and shows the symptoms of concussion.

The BEF’s programme of random anti-doping tests continued through 2023 and 20 tests were undertaken in endurance and, thankfully, all were negative. Let’s work together to keep it that way!

A total of 10 Board proposals and four member proposals were circulated to members prior to the AGM and 144 members took the opportunity to use Mi-Voice to vote online, with others voting in person at the AGM. These rule changes cover a

range of topics, from mini-membership to antidoping, and are a democratic process designed to ensure that our sport moves with the times. Board proposal five to ban the use whips entirely in CERs was carried overwhelmingly and will help keep Endurance GB at the forefront of equine welfare.

All these changes will be reflected in the 2024 Member Handbook, which goes out with the Winter issue of the magazine, and of course on the website.

Chris Wray’s finance report reinforced the point that membership recruitment must remain a priority for the sport to survive. Membership subscriptions and ride entry fees have been raised for 2024 with a charging structure for rides, which will reflect a higher fee for longer rides that are more expensive to run.

Phil Nunnerley comments: “Our AGM is an

Photo courtesy of Farlap Photography

Development, Coaching & IT Director Larissa Whiley on Golden Nugget

Photo courtesy of Indie Pics

E

ndurance GB’s 23rd Annual General Meeting was held at the Delta Marriott Hotel, near Warwick, on Saturday 25 November 2023. Chair, Phil Nunnerley, welcomed 76 members to the hybrid meeting which took place minus the technical issues that plagued the 2022 meeting. A special thanks to John Hudson for making it happen!

In his Chair’s report Phil Nunnerley explained the British Equestrian (BEF) structure and where Endurance GB sits within it with a myriad of committees that board members sit on such as welfare and ethics, coaching, and equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI). The BEF has recently commissioned consultants to see how we might all become more environmentally sustainable, and many sports have already published strategies.

Social Licence is increasingly to the fore, and this

Marketing, Groups & Volunteering Director - Jim Phillips on Dearnebank Mido

AGM round-up

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AGM round-up

Chair Phil Nunnerley presents Laura Graham with the Manar Trophy presented to the Overall Champion of 2023. important opportunity for members to express their views and the Board and I welcome the positive and constructive debate across a range of issues that were discussed.”

Sadly, we have, once again, had to say goodbye to several endurance stalwarts who are no longer by our sides. Phil Nunnerley mentioned Ray Harman, Jane McGuinness, Les Spark, Cath Kennedy, Eric Jones, Piers Geddes and Liz Finney and they will be sorely missed.

On a brighter note, we welcome two new Board members in Jim Phillips, currently Chair of Cotswold Group, and Larissa Whiley, currently Chair of Leics & Rutland. Larissa has previous experience of being on the Endurance GB board and will be responsible for IT, Coaching and Development and says: “I’m very much looking forward to working for the members as part of the Board. I hope that my experience and skills will prove to be useful in strengthening the board to navigate our much-loved organisation through these difficult times.”

Jim will take on Groups, Marketing and Volunteering, commenting: “I look forward to working with groups with a key focus on looking at what we can do to increase membership and raise awareness of endurance in the wider equestrian community.”

Last but not least, we should offer our thanks to all the volunteers – be they ride organisers, technical stewards, gate stewards, group committees and the myriad of volunteers who do what they do to enable us to enjoy our sport.

Without them we would have no sport. Included

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AGM round-up

are the members of the Board who work tirelessly, often at very unsocial hours, to ensure that our society continues to function without a hitch.

Endurance GB Gala Dinner Awards Another successful Endurance GB Annual Awards Ceremony took place on 25 November at the Delta Hotel by Marriot in Warwick, which saw riders and supporters sit down for an evening of great entertainment, food and drink, followed by plenty of dancing well into the early hours. Here’s what just a handful of our worthy winners had to say.

Our National Champion This year’s National Champion and winner of the Manar trophy was Laura Graham, who also picked up the Cotswold, Ferishal, Mesaoud and Senior Grand Prix Trophies, as well as taking the Senior Championship. We caught up with our National Champion to find out more.

Tell us more about Warrens Hill Farrah.

“Farrah is a 16-year-old pure-bred Arab mare, who was bred by Lesley Dunn of Warrens Hill Arabians. She’s by the late Warrens Hill Destiny out of Faranza and comes from a long line of successful endurance horses. At only 14.1hh (with shoes) she’s small but mighty. We purchased her as an unbacked four-year-old. It’s fair to say she is a quirky mare, but then the best ones always are.”

How would you describe the season you've had?

“I’ve really enjoyed the different challenges this year. At the beginning of the year Farrah’s FEI 3* qualification had lapsed. My aim was to complete an FEI 2* early in the season to requalify her for the 160km 3*. She did this in epic style at Haywood Oaks, completing the entire distance on her own. With the loss of the Rushford rides and the opportunity to compete in a 3* I decided to change my goal to focus on the Supreme Championship.

“I’ve really enjoyed the variety of challenges from FEI 2* to single day and multi day CERs and graded rides. Farrah has aced them all. One of the highlights has to be the 80km CER at Kings Forest against a very competitive field including current and former team GB riders. We felt like we were flying as she cantered effortlessly round the last loop for the win. Farrah loves her job and there was no way she was going to let anyone beat her.

She was definitely keeping an eye out to see if anyone was catching her and it was lovely to really let her go. I've been cautious with the speeds in the past as we’ve focused on qualifications over wins.

“We usually only do three to four competitions each year. With the aim to do more, I planned the season carefully to ensure there was as much time as possible between competitions and plenty of rest time. Training between competitions was also kept to the minimum necessary. She was also fully checked over by our vets at least four times throughout the season alongside regular visits

reports | endurancegb.co.uk

from our physiotherapist to make sure she was 100%, and each time she passed with flying colours. I also ensured I provided the same level of focus on my performance with expert nutritional guidance and fitness training from RiderCise.

“Farrah is truly a horse of a lifetime. She’s the ultimate endurance horse with recovery rates and paces to die for. She has been utterly phenomenal this year winning eight and coming second in nine successful competitions.”

How did it feel to become National Champion?

“I was so elated to become the National Champion and so proud of Farrah and all my team who support me. It’s a real family affair with mum lungeing during the week when I can’t ride. It has been a hard slog. Working 60 plus hours a week, plus on call, it’s always hard to fit in the training but when you want something you make it happen. From digging our way out of several inches of snow to get to the first ride of the season and sacrificing every weekend training Farrah and my other horses, it has felt more challenging than ever this year, but also more rewarding when it all came together.”

What are your plans for the 2024 season?

“I’m hoping to aim for an early two-day 160km at Pembrey. After this, plans may include the patter of tiny hooves on the cards for Farrah. I’ll be focusing more on my 12-year-old homebreds, Lark and Elvis, and doing some groundwork with my three-year-old Beztroska.”

Overall High Point Champion Laura Graham on Warrens Hill Farrah at Hayward Oaks.

Phil Nunnerley, presenting Isabelle Rowland with the Peter Ball Trophy.

Isabelle Rowland In their first year competing in endurance, Isabelle Rowland was the worthy winner of the Snowflake, Peter Ball and Collee trophies, as well as taking the Saddlers Award Junior Rider title and the Junior Championship. She says: “I met Ruby Bint Sabur when I was on a riding holiday with Iggy and Shadow at Bridget and Nikki Brown’s in August 2022, while she was there on sales livery.

“We hadn’t gone looking to buy a new horse, but I soon bonded with Ruby in the field and she just had to come home. She’s a hot, 11-year-old, pure-bred Arab by Cas Sabur out of Sinata, who was backed at 10 years old after being a companion all her previous life.

“Ruby takes all my bravery to ride and we did have some lameness and confidence issues midseason but luckily we managed to work through it to get back out at the end of the season.

“I found the awards ceremony very nerve wracking but after the first award, I felt brave enough to collect the others without my mum. I’m incredibly proud of Ruby and Shadow and they work very hard for me with all their endurance and pony club stuff. I’m not sure what I want to do next season yet.”

AGM round-up

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John Black Taking home the 800km, 3,200km Distance Awards and Jeffmaur Trophy was John Black who competes two horses – CA Jalmeer (Jam, aged 15 ) and his brother CA Jal Wizard (Merlin, aged 9). John says: “Both horses are typical Arabs with big personalities. They had great seasons with Jam completing 735km barefoot with 100% completion. Merlin had a quieter season to give him time to calm down a bit (we hope!) but still had fun doing seven rides. To finish in the top five and to win the best male rider and horse combination rounded off an excellent season and I’d like to thank my brilliant crew Shaun and Tamzin and all the people who helped us on the way, including our farrier Georgie Swires.”

Phil Nunnerley, presents John Black with the Jeffmaur Trophy for the High Point male rider.

Phil Nunnerley presents Justine Smiley-Jones with the Boston Bay Cup for the top Wetherby's registered TB.

Phil Nunnerley & Robert Blane present Scarlett Chapplie with the Pink Floyd Memorial Trophy as winner of the Pony Club Endurance Open League.

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AGM round-up

Julia Harman Julia Harman was absolutely thrilled that her horse Cardinal Panache (Casper) won the Broadstone Chirade Trophy for 2023, making it seven years running that he’s won this trophy. She tells us: “Casper turned 28 years young this year and began his endurance career aged seven, at Primrose in 2002, achieving a grade 1. He completed 10 rides that year and came third in the Novice National Trophy and winning the Southeast Novice Trophy.

“He’s completed distances of up to 170km in multi-day rides and numerous 80km competitive races and graded rides. He won the two-day 65/65 at the wonderful North Norfolk ride three years running, has been placed Nationally several times and has won many South East trophies over the years.

“Celebrating his 22nd consecutive season of competition he has completed 227 rides, with a pass rate of 90.75%. In total, he’s now completed successfully over 10,000km, gaining him second place in the all-time distance league table.

“Casper is a pure-bred Arab, being 100% old English. His sire Manichee was owned by Thay Stephenson. Manichee himself successfully complete over 5000km of competition and his dam, Ashmary, was also an endurance horse in her own right but with a more conservative career. He was bred specifically for endurance but sadly his breeders’ circumstances changed and as a four-year-old he was for sale. I was retiring my previous endurance horse, Danny Boy, so I went to see him and fell for his beautiful head, sweet nature and amazing floating trot, for which he often still gets comments from ride vets.

“I’m so very lucky to have competed a horse for so long at a sport he clearly loves. We have explored so many beautiful parts of the country together and I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has ever organised or helped at all those rides over the years.”

reports | endurancegb.co.uk

Scarlett Chapple Scarlett Chapple concludes: “I’d hoped to get Tansy my Arab X Quantock 14hh pony to 10 endurance rides this season. We made it to eight, so it was a wonderful surprise at Endurance Awards night to hear we’d won the Pony Club Open League Trophy. Tansy has never been the easiest to ride as she does love a good bronc however, from the start of her endurance career in 2019, she’s seemed to love the rides (as long as we don’t put too much cold water on her).

“Tansy’s a big fan of hot weather and sunny rides. My original goal this season had been to build up and complete an 80km ride on her, however we managed to complete four. I can’t wait for the 2024 season to start so we can get back out and see what distances we can clock up. Livvy Miller and I both have new horses to bring on for next season, so I’m hoping we can compete together again. The party (awards night) was really fun with a great atmosphere, food and company. I really hope that next season more young riders join in endurance. And please can I say a huge thank you to my mum and dad for running me around at the weekends to all the rides up and down the country! I know I’m a very lucky 15-year-old.”

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Justine Smiley Justine Smiley was absolutely delighted to win the Boston Bay Cup on Sharky, telling us: “I’m very grateful to Weatherbys for its ongoing support of Endurance GB. It’s a super way of recognising Thoroughbreds who are an extremely versatile breed and are capable of taking on many challenges, including endurance.

It’s a new sport for both of us this year, so this is a wonderful acknowledgement of what can be achieved in a first season and this recognition means a huge amount!

“Sharky’s a 16-year-old Irish Thoroughbred and has never trained or raced but came to us as a five-year-old through a friend who has a real eye for a genuine horse. He’s always been a great all-rounder and was originally purchased for my daughters to ride, so has tried his hoof at many things from Pony Club to team chasing. He’s loved his first season in endurance and has a fantastic pace that eats up the countryside.

We’re currently planning our 2024 schedule to take in some more epic challenges around the UK.”

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David Saunders Photography

Training

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ast time, I told you about using your heartrate (HR) monitor when training. I hope you found that helpful and have started to use your heart monitor more. Not only to see when the heart rate drops low enough to vet, but also during training or other work to see how your horse responds to the intensity of the work you are asking him to do.

In this article I will discuss ‘the fitness plateau’, which is when your horse has reached a level of fitness he’s happy competing in, but is not getting fitter. Most of the time it’s no problem at all to be at this plateau. If we’re happy competing at the distances and speeds we are and not looking to step up much, we’re in a sort of cruising mode and all is well. The only thing we need to

Happy horses at a ride

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training

be careful of is if we’ve been slowly doing less and the fitness of the horses is dropping a little, especially when we’ve had a gap in rides.

There are some risks if we want to step up while cruising in this plateau. Because the horse is in a comfortable zone, but not gaining actual fitness, we might feel he’s ready for more but, in truth, we need to shake up the body a bit before we can go up a level. It’s a little like being stuck in a rut – we need to get the juices flowing with some good training sessions to have cleared all the cobwebs and be ready for a bit more effort.

So, when you are thinking of stepping up, either in distance, speed, or toughness of terrain, you will first need to increase your training effort accordingly, to lift the fitness levels and get that plateau higher.

Remember If you’re asking the same of your horse every time, he’s conditioned to that question. If you want more, you have to condition the correct response – the cardiovascular system and muscles need to be up for the task. Often, we think we are training (which is essentially asking our horse to do a little more either in time or intensity than he has done before), but we are in fact plateau-ing.

Being aware of how much you’re doing when ticking over or on your rides is crucial.

It’s a little different for each horse so don’t just copy what others do. Logging your work, and have a good ride plan supported by some targeted training sessions when there are longer gaps between rides, should sort this 'plateau effect'..

Interesting findings Another type of fitness plateau is seen in our more ‘talented’ equines and we can notice this only when they are asked to do more intensive and longer work. I’m talking about the horses who find the work super easy, have very low heartrates and quick recoveries. And because of that we actually do not train them, although we are getting them fitter. They find the work so easy that they are in a way ‘undertrained’ because the questions we ask them have never been big enough to challenge them. Compare it to the very intelligent child in school. They find the work that is plenty for other children way too easy, they might not pay attention or seem

features | endurancegb.co.uk

Watt at the gallops

uninterested and therefore present as an okay or average student. In reality, these prodigies need to be truly challenged to show what they are capable of.

In spring 2023, I did a fitness test on several advanced horses of the Austrian endurance team and for the purposes of this feature we’ll focus on three of them. They are all in the beginning of their season, so not super fit yet, but all working around a 40km or more training level. All of them did a baseline (normal HR in walk, trot and canter, with their preferred speeds of work), a steady 5km of cantering (reasonably short as they were also doing a 40km ride the next day) and an incremental speed test straight after to see how they would progress when the intensity increases. While conducting these tests, I had my assumptions, of course, and all I saw at the time were the recoveries, not what the heartrates were doing during work. When I was looking at all the recorded data, I saw some very interesting

things and I’ll share the results of three of the horses with you. To interpret the graph, the steeper the line, the harder they find the effort.

To my surprise, the horse with the lowest heart rates in work, and the best recovery, was a big bay warmblood (Anglo Arab cross). Usually bigger horses, and horses with less Arab blood, will get higher heart rates in work, and slower recovery, because they struggle a bit more with thermoregulation. To be fair, the weather conditions were favourable, he was in decent fitness, and he looks to have a very big heart and lung size, helping him to get plenty of oxygen to the muscles. It would be interesting to see how this horse copes with warmer days and a longer, steady canter session.

A big Shagya Arab gelding looked like a beautiful endurance type, easy moving and looked to have very good thermoregulation with his thin skin and narrow body shape. He was, however, very excitable, and perhaps the least fit of the three on the day of testing. You can see the high heart rates for this horse, but note he’s travelling faster as well. The recovery is slow, the high HRs in work and recovery are partially due to excitement. This shows in the incremental test which proves to me that just a baseline and canter test are not enough to show what a horse is capable of. The HR line in the incremental speed test is not that steep at all and while he stayed high in recovery, it was lower than after the steady cantering.

The biggest surprise to me was the Arab stallion, bred for endurance and he had the most experience with a maximum distance of 100km last year. He had super recoveries, so I’d expected him to be low in the incremental speed test, but he wasn’t! His line was the steepest of the three, and he was clearly struggling with higher speeds. This horse was in the fitness

Fitness test results of three advanced endurance horses

plateau that talented horses can have. They cope very well with lower and moderate intensity work but will struggle when they go beyond that, as they have rarely had to tap into those extra resources before. The endurance ride the next day clearly showed this. This horse went well for the first 20kms at a moderate speed, with a super-fast recovery in the vet gate. The rider increased the pace a lot for the second 20 km, and the horse was struggling with that as this was above his fitness level.

This is why fitness tests give us such an interesting and sometimes surprising insight into what is going on with the horse. Using a heart rate monitor correctly for tests like this allows us to fine tune our training and ride strategy to avoid metabolic problems, fatigue or tying up.

Get in touch Feel free to contact Groen Equestrian to do such tests on your horse. I am aiming to do a study next year with several types of horses in several stages of their endurance careers and at two-monthly intervals. Let me know if you’re interested to participate.

training

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Competition

Discover freedom with

our photo competition

W

e invited you to send in your images with the chance of winning a gorgeous rosette for your efforts. Here are some more photos we've received for this issue of your wonderful horses and ponies.

How to enter Email your favourite photo to editor@endurancegb.co.uk. Make sure to include your name, the name of the horse(s) and rider(s), the ride and photographer.

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competition

Submitted by Julie Jones Owner and rider: Julie Jones Horse: TM Valentino Ride: Elan Valley 2023 Photographer: David Saunders

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Submitted by Alesha Murison

Rider: Alesha Murison Horse: Duntarvie Raindance Ride: Kirkton Manor, August 2023 Photographer: Kris Clay

Submitted by Kerry Holding

Owner and rider: Kerry Holding Horse: Captain Spirit (Phillip) Ride: Foremark Photographer: IndiePics

Submitted by Zara Golding

Owners and riders: Zara, Claire and Richard Golding Horses: Angelina Ginny, Baarbarella (Missy) and Amirah D’Or Ride: Three Rivers 2023 Photographer: AGC Photography Submitted by James Hussey

Owner and rider: James Hussey Horse: Iggle Piggle Ride: Pembrey Endurance GB Championships Photographer: Gemma Louise Thomas

Submitted by Erika Davidson

Owner and rider: Erika Davidson Horse: Tyra from Stonehaven Ride: Kirkton Manor, August 2023 Photographer: TopGearPhotos

Submitted by David Tidmarsh

Owner and rider: David Tidmarsh Horse: Maisie Ride: National Championships/Red Dragon 2019, Scottish team Photographer: David Saunders

Submitted by Julie Brown

Owner and rider: Julie Brown Horse: Cwmhafod Dylan (Welsh Section D) Ride: Stanage Pole 2023 and Hartington Hack 2023 Photographer: Chris Barrett of CJBarrettPhotography

Submitted by Pippa Ogier

Owner and rider: Pippa Ogier Horse: Grange Girl (Ruby) and Mahony Ride: Barbury Castle and Foremark Photographer: Sam Hunt and Indiepics

Submitted by Carole Allen

Owner and rider: Carole Allen Horse: Llain Nidal Ride: Cannock Chase Photographer: IndiePics

Submitted by Daisy Thurbin

Owner and rider: Daisy Thurbin Horse: Little Miss Daisy (Indi) Ride: Polesden Lacey, June 2023 (Southeast Endurance GB) Photographer: LRG Photography

competition

15

the Connemara

Amanda Carson and Wilma Bonny The day after my last horse died, I had a hip replacement. What was worse than surgery though, was I needed a horse replacement and I wanted a horse I’d still be riding when I was 80! My little Connemara is perfect for me and in 2023 we started endurance. Wilma Bonny (Kelpie), is a six-year-old, 14.1hh dapple grey mare. She was

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breed focus

Ella Weavers and Tom My daughter Ella and her Green Book (Connemara Society Passport) Connie Tom started endurance in 2019 and that year came

Ellis Noble Tyger (Rambo Fox) is my 10-year-old Connie. I’ve owned him since he was nine months old and bought him for £500! We completed our first 22km Novice graded endurance ride at Cannock Chase this September, gaining a grade 2. We’re also training at Elementary level dressage with hopes to compete affiliated in the New Year.

KrisClay.com

Chris MacMillan and Coolagoree Glen Thunder Coolagoree Glen Thunder, aka Stinky, is a pure Connemara, bred in Ireland but I bought him from Bellingham when he was five. Stinky’s now 17 and has done almost 5,800km at SERC events, plus about another 800km at Borders 50 and Cairngorm 100 rides. He’s represented Scotland nine times in the Home International team, the first being 2013 as the novice horse/ novice rider combination. Stinky won the Golden Horseshoe ride in 2015, his first 100-miler, and has successfully completed 100 miles at Cairngorm 100 (2017 = first past the post) Seacliff (2018, first), Red Dragon (2019, fourth), Cropton (2021, first), Scottish Champs at Longnewton (2022, first). He’s also done 120km in one day at the Cairngorm 75 (2021 and 2023) and at Sheep Park (2023) and has completed 18 x 80km rides, winning the Borders 50 ride in 2022. He’s still going strong and while he’s still keen we’ll continue to enjoy covering the miles.

brought over from Ireland by my friend Fluff in 2020 as a lockdown project for Fluff and her kids isolated on a farm in Scotland. Her early education saw kids climbing all over her and all the activities on a farm so when I saw her, she was a well-rounded four-year-old. I had a second hip replacement in Feb 2022 and was back in the saddle at the end of May. Our first endurance ride was July 2022 at Grassgill with Cumbria EGB – 29km in two hours 40 minutes, then a ride with Lancashire EGB 26km which involved crossing the M6 six times in the pouring rain! In all, we managed 157km in pleasure rides as a five-year-old and took part in agricultural shows and riding club events. At the end of 2022, we won the Cumbria Riding Club points trophy, Novice dressage cup, Peter Gurney trophy for the timed ride and Best Mare cup. In 2023 I registered Wilma Bonny as Novice but then disaster struck. I had tummy ache which turned out to be a femoral hernia requiring emergency surgery and bowel resection. We missed a few rides over the summer but managed to get another Grade 1 at Drumlanrig. We did Red Dragon and the Dragon’s Claw – two days of 26km Foundation Novice rides – and came sixth. Kelpie’s good natured, easy to manage and lives outside with access to a stable. I don’t think we’ll do the 160km rides but I’m setting my sights on the Golden Horseshoe, Red Dragon and riding her into my 80s.

Lianna Bourne and Monster Moonlight Mystery (Monster) is my Connemara.

He’s quirky, with the heart of a lion! I bought him as a nervous four-year-old and have brought him through from pleasure rides to completing a 120km this year. Also being selected to compete for Scotland at Red Dragon this year, he powered round the 66km, loving every step! In the last eight years he’s completed 3500km! Due to his quirks, it’s taken me years to work out a good crewing routine for him. He can have high heart rates and needs to be managed appropriately. I give him as much food as he wants (he gets ‘hangry’ which increases his heart rate) and he loves a good scratch, which usually involves rolling mid trot up. We loved our season this year and maybe we’ll aim for Ireland next year!

West End Photography

You came up trumps to tell us more about the special Connemara in your life and how well they’ve taken to endurance riding.

Photo courtesy of KrisClay.com

Breed focus

IndiePics

third in 32km Pony Club Champs, finishing at Open. In 2021 they were selected for the InterRegionals at Cirencester (two-day 80km winning team) and Home Internationals for England and did an 80km two-day again. In 2022 they became Advanced on completion of 80km at Kings Forest in April. We've been having a quiet 2023 (A-levels) but plan to be back in 2024.

Chris MacMillan

Farlap Photography

Breed focus

Sabrina Stell and Lochan Lad Nine years ago, after the loss of my ‘heart horse’, I visited some friends who imported from Ireland. I found Lochan Lad, a young, just turned five Connemara gelding (Earl of Newbridge x Rush Pool). He took me to new heights (literally)

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Marjorie Grant Legends Star (Lexi) is a 14-year-old, 14.2hh Irishbred Connemara mare, who I bought in 2015 as a newly broken six-year-old. When I tried Lexi, she couldn’t canter with a rider, but something told me I’d found my next 80km distance horse, having sadly lost my previous 120km Highland pony, Trailtrow Eriskay. Lexi’s by Lonsdale Legend, out of Knockillaree Bay. She’s a sensitive, clever mare but slowly and surely her confidence has grown, and she looks after me as a paraendurance rider. Lexi’s first pleasure ride was SERC Tentsmuir in 2016. As a Novice in 2017, she represented Scotland in the Home International team at EGB Lindum 40km. She’s now graded to SERC Gold Thistle Final and EGB Advanced, plus represented Scotland at the Home International at EGB Cropton 2021, 80km and SERC Longnewton 2022, 80km. In 2021, Lexi completed her first 80km at Cumbria Challenge and in 2023, 80km at the Cairngorm ride. She also competes at Elementary dressage and TREC. She’s been a regular participant in the BCPS Performance Awards, regularly winning the endurance section, plus best mare, dressage, best home produced and TREC.

Tracey Chilvers and Drifter I purchased Drifter five years ago from a dealer in Ireland. Five years later he’s now 10 and we have so much fun, from going to adult pony camp, doing clinics, pole grid work and cross-country.

He’s now an Advanced endurance horse and we’ve competed in teams, last year with the Heart of England this year with Iceni. We completed two-day rides, Golden Horseshoe twice and last year he won National Native, Iceni Group Native and Anglian Distance Trophy Native.

David Saunders

Vicky Drury and Magic Mouse Magic Mouse aka Irishtown Yerman is by Milford Siskin, out of Irishtown Pride. When he was about five, he was difficult because he’d been started too young. Mouse was placed with a kind man who turned him away for a few months, then tried working him but he didn’t settle, so he sent him to his friend, Pat Bird, who hacked him out gently, then tried jumping and showing. However, he was still not settling, so she decided aged seven to try him at endurance. He’d truly found his forte and he went through the grades to became Advanced. When Pat decided to find another home for him and advertised on the EGB

True To You Photography

website, I got there too late as he’d been sold but the new owner didn’t get along with him, and I was contacted! I took him on loan for a year and competed him in EGB rides, finishing the season with an 80km. When he became mine, we moved to France and finished completing 1,694km in the EGB rides. The following year we competed in French rides, winning the Challenge d'Aquitaine trophy for most points, which he won for about 10 years.

He competed 3,030km for French endurance.

Also, he won his own trophy (the Irishtown Yerman) for the British Connemara Pony Society endurance section. He continued competing until he was 24. I lost him sadly to a colic attack in December 2021 but after much searching, I found another Connemara who reminds me so much of Mouse and I’ve started endurance with him. He has much to live up to!

Madeline Loten and Ocean Spinway Moon I’ve owned a 12-yearold, 14.2hh Connemara mare called Ocean Spinway Moon for seven years.

When I got her, she was quite green. My aim was to introduce her to endurance and since her first ride in 2018, she’s completed 15 rides, ridden a total of 435km and been awarded five Grade 1s. Ocean’s biggest achievements this year were when she competed at Breamore Downs, gaining a Grade 1 and was second in the performance formula with a speed of 12.2kph. In July she competed at Cirencester where she also gained a Grade 1, over 65km, and came fourth in the Ermine Trophy at 12.4kph while playing her part for the winning Wessex team.

Alison House and Colwills Freya Colwills Freya is a six-year-old Class 1 pure Connemara who was bred in Cornwall. She moved to the Isle of Wight where she was lightly backed then moved to the edge of the New Forest. In December last year, she came to live in Somerset, settling in quickly. We did our first pleasure ride in April at Breamore Downs, then Cerne Coronation ride, followed by Golden Horseshoe. I entered 34km Novice class at Piddle and went on to do 40-plus kilometres at Tresham and Three Rivers, then the two-day Novice Dragon’s Egg class 44/34km at Red Dragon. We did the last 10km with no other horse in sight and were one of only two to finish both days. We ended the season at Hardy’s and did the last loop alone. I’m hoping next season to up the fitness so we can improve her heart rate and eventually our speed.

Peter Orr

KrisClay.com

with unaffiliated jumping. His quirks, his attitude, his ‘it’s all about me’ approach to life made me fall for him. Loki taught me how versatile Connemaras are, how intelligent, loving and brave they can be. He wants to be out there, seeing, doing and living life to the full.

Jacqui Moon I’ve been involved with Connemaras for over 50 years and have seen the number competing in endurance rise. Hungry Hall Rose Snow (Snowball - Even Change) competed in endurance in 1970/1980s and qualified for the Golden Horseshoe ride. Her three offspring were all ridden by Catriona Moon. Wotan Sir Belvedere (Hinton Bushlaw - Hungry Hall Rose Snow) was Young Rider National Endurance Champion 1998. Wotan Roseate Tern (Hobbans Barn Owl - Hungry Hall Rose Snow) represented Great Britain in two Young Rider European Championships, winning various 80km rides. She also won the trophy for the most points in endurance (race) rides at the Endurance National awards.

Wotan Rose Caili (Garryhack Tooreen Hungry Hall Rose Snow) represented Great Britain in two Young Rider World Championships. She also came second in the Dutch National Championships 160km. Jenny Jackson rode two part-bred Connemaras, Burning Best (Hello Sonny TB - Leam Copperwave) 1999 European Championships in Spain/Portugal and 2000 World Championships in France, both times being the highest placed British rider, and Hollie Moger (not sure of the breeding but fairly certain she was a part-bred).

breed focus

17

Para Endurance news

Junior/YR/Para Camp 2023

O

n a scorching day in August 2022, we held a Young Rider training day, kindly hosted by Olwen Law, in the beautiful Shropshire countryside. The subject of a future camp venue (the first since Covid) was up for discussion and to our great delight, Olwen offered to host camp in 2023 at her home.

So, a year later in very different weather, and with the Para endurance riders joining us, a residential camp was held over four days. Not only were Olwen and her family providing the amazing facilities and surroundings, they were also feeding us all! James, Olwen’s husband, and her daughter Lizzie cooked the most delicious meals which were very much enjoyed by the riders, carers and parents. Horses were corralled and people camped in an orchard at the back of the house.

The facilities include an enormous beautifully surfaced outdoor school, and an additional grass arena was set up. There are also fenced riding

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para endurance news

“Oh my goodness it was brilliant, the parents had as much fun as the kids! Friendships made and lots learnt!”

tracks around the farm, providing a safe environment to practise sloshing skills on the run and to get the horses going out together in different combinations. The icing on the cake for the attendees was the warm outdoor swimming pool enjoyed each evening, despite the variable weather.

The camp consisted of tuition under the expertise of several different coaches. BHSI instructor Margaret Linington-Payne taught every day, giving instruction including flatwork, polework and even some quadrille training. Clare Gangadeen from RiderCise coached riders on the ground, giving them exercises to help strengthen them as riders, and then, once the riders were mounted, got them thinking about the subtlety of their aids through Working Equitation challenges, which finally ended in a competition. It was wonderful to see how the horses and riders developed their skills and confidence as a result of this. Sally Toye, whose experience includes riding the Tevis several times

features | endurancegb.co.uk

“The talks were very interesting for both riders and their escorts, and the food was gorgeous. We really couldn’t fault it and we’re really looking forward to next year’s.

Thankyou.” as well as successfully competing in the Mongol Derby, coached the riders in sponge and slosh training. Then, heroically, she and her horse Bobby took a couple of riders at a time out on the riding tracks, coaching them as they rode together, discussing the paces, going in front and then behind, developing the combinations’ partnerships, which was so useful for all involved.

This all took several hours, and Sally and Bobby must have done quite a few miles that day!

On the ground, Jim and Nikki Parsler coached trot-ups and heart rate training, encouraging riders to experiment with various gadgets to check the heart rate and to find the pulse just with their hands. We were also joined by several experts in their field for brief sessions. Ian Taft, a local newly-qualified Master Saddler, gave a fascinating insight into saddle fitting, using very different shaped volunteer ponies. Laura Shakeshaft, a qualified Masterson Technique practitioner, gave a demo of some of the skills and had the participants experiment for themselves on some of the ponies. People were very surprised by the lightness of the touch involved and yet how effective it is and the subtle responses of the horses. Karen Beaumont from Allen & Page gave a lunchtime talk about nutrition and spoke in detail about the careful milling process of the organic feeds of the company. She had also brought a weighbridge with her, and every horse had its turn with personalised advice given to the owner.

The evenings were educational as well as offering time for socialisation and fun. Sally Toye gave a talk about her experiences riding the Tevis.

With the route shown in front of us all, and Sally’s details of the various challenges on the way, it was absolutely fascinating, and hopefully inspirational to all the riders. This was followed by the showing of ‘All the Wild Horses’, a film about the Mongol Derby, so the attendees certainly had their fill of virtual experiences of two iconic long-distance rides!

Riders and their steeds developed massively over the four days, both in confidence and in

“So many positives. Let’s start with the fabulous hosts and facilities. I can’t thank them enough. Same for the organisers – a massive amount of work and it was super.”

“The amazing para, Susi, being present was an inspiration and Steph learning alongside her on borrowed horses. A huge thank you to Sarah and to Olwen for lending her horses for lessons – totally unexpected.” riding ability. New friendships were made and have continued through the rest of the season, which is heartening to see. Riders came away with new determination to conquer new goals suggesting exciting times ahead.

There are so many 'thank yous' to say for making this camp such a success, but the biggest one of all is to Olwen, her husband James and daughters Katie and Lizzie who worked so very

hard to ensure everyone was looked after, happy and beautifully fed, enabling us to enjoy and make the most of their fantastic surroundings – thank you!

One final mention must be made of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers, without whom we would not have been able to fund and heavily subsidise this camp, so thank you also.

para endurance news

19

Young riders

At Kings Forest 2023 having nearly no brakes going up the hill

Me and Lumpy finishing at the Pony Club Championships at Well Vale 2023

We talk to young rider Niamh Richardson who tells us why she’s so hooked on endurance riding and reveals her plans for the future.

M

y name is Niamh Richardson and I am a 15-year-old young endurance rider. I have been doing endurance riding since 2021, but my first competitive season was in 2022.

My main endurance pony is the wonderful Redwings Milky Way, who is mainly known as Lumpy. Lumpy is a 20-year-old Welsh Redwings’ rescue pony. He had been doing endurance in his

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young riders running foot

Photo courtesy of IndiePics

future

Where did Lumpy's and my journey start?

Our journey started in 2020 and throughout the Covid lockdown, we did everything – jumping, long hacks and a little dressage. Over the winter of 2020, my mum and I looked at endurance properly. We watched a seminar, and we were hooked! Our first ride was booked at the start of 2021, which was only a 13km pleasure ride at Avon Valley that we did at a very slow pace of 6.8kph. We had so much fun!

Fast forward to the end of 2021, and we did our first-ever Graded ride. We completed it and got a Grade 2. We began 2022 keen to do more endurance, riding distances ranging from 20km to completing our first 40km and riding for the winning Heart ‘n’ Cromwell team at Cirencester. Lumpy and I finished 2022 at the Pony Club Endurance Championships, where we won our class and won multiple awards.

What a year 2023 has been for Lumpy and me – we have achieved so much. From riding on our own to rides with vet-gates, being upgraded to Open, and going to all different parts of the country for endurance. Some of my favourite highlights from this year include: • •

“What a year 2023 has been for me and Lumpy – we have achieved so much” past home for years. However, occasionally I steal my mum’s pony, Liam, who is slowly being brought into endurance.

• • •

First ride on my own Coming in second at the Pony Club Endurance Championships Young Rider endurance camp Battling Cirencester in the pouring rain Team events with friends.

Future plans I have so many plans with both ponies. I'm planning to bring Liam into endurance and, hopefully, compete with him at a higher level. For Lumpy, I think just staying at a smaller distance of 20-40km, I would love to do the Red Dragon ride and the Pembrey Beach ride. I hope to be upgraded to Open with Lumpy and complete 60km at Lion’s Tail.

features section | endurancegb.co.uk

Photo courtesy of David Saunders

A bright

Louise Rich & Oakleaze Czelection and Janice Cockley-Adams & HS Echo

E whips in Competitive Endurance Rides

Photo courtesy of David Saunders

Endurance GB bans the use of

ndurance GB held its AGM at the Delta hotel in Warwick on Saturday 25 November.

Key elements of the AGM are Board and Members’ proposals to make change to the rules that govern the sport. These rule changes are voted on by the membership and ensure the sport remains agile and in touch with the environment in which it operates.

With the current focus on the equestrian world’s ‘social licence to operate’, the Board of Endurance GB and members voted overwhelmingly to ban the use of whips (or the use of any other item as a whip) at the top end of sport in competitive endurance rides.

Endurance riding in the UK remains committed to being at the forefront of equine welfare and bio-security.

C Remembering

Cath Kennedy

by Pat Guerin

ath Kennedy, who has died aged 80, had a lifelong involvement with horses and a consummate knowledge of how to train and care for them. She enrolled as one of the first mounted female police cadets in Manchester in 1960 but gave up pursuing a career in the force to marry James, a sergeant in the mounted division.

She hunted, jumped and showed horses, qualified as a BHSAI and taught evening classes to spread her knowledge of stable management.

She also was the proud holder of an HGV 1 licence.

In 1977 she advertised for experienced riders to exercise the horses in her care as she had damaged her knee in a hunting accident and was temporarily unable to ride. She had recently discovered Long Distance Riding as a means of keeping her horses fit and working during the summer months and she needed riders to carry on with this newfound and very enjoyable sport.

Lesley Harrison, Liz Finney and I were those who initially answered the advertisement and the rest, as they say, is history.

We all experienced multiple successes with Cath’s horses in the late 1970s and into the 1980s but the greatest triumph was Liz with Showgirl who rode for the British Team at Stockholm in 1990. Cath’s daughter Andrea also

completed many successful rides on Showgirl.

Cath gave 100% commitment to endurance and expected all her riders to do likewise which, because of her enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge, they all did. She was a member of the Board of the BHS Long Distance Riding Group for a short while and locally she served as Secretary of Wilmslow Riding Club for many years.

In retirement she bred Welsh ponies, showed Shire horses and ran a cattery.

She encouraged a great number of people to try endurance riding and I personally will be forever grateful to her for introducing me to our wonderful sport.

Cath will be well remembered for her contribution to endurance riding in its development from the BHS Long Distance Riding Group through to BERA, and her influence continues into present day Endurance GB.

running obituary foot

21

Photo courtesy of David Saunders Photography

RoR

RoR news

R

etraining of Racehorses and Endurance GB have been working in partnership again this year to develop more opportunities to recognise riders with former racehorses who have ventured into endurance. Our community of riders who enjoy endurance on a former racehorse has grown this year and we’ve been delighted with the uptake of the Endurance 7 series which is sponsored by the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Trust and rewards completed distances from 50km to 1000km. Over 20 riders have claimed very special goodies and two riders – Virginia Rider and Leanne Hall – have both exceeded 500km this season. Well done to everyone who has taken part. The distance records are cumulative so please keep getting those record cards signed for pleasure as well as competitive rides, and it’s not too late to start a card over the winter or into next year. See the RoR website Endurance Series page for details about how to claim your rewards.

As the competitive endurance season for 2023 ends, so does the racing flat season and the winter jumpers are ready to go. If you’re considering a former racehorse for endurance or any other equestrian discipline they can easily turn a hoof to, where do you start?

Anna Collins, Co-ordinator of the Endurance GB

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retraining of racehorses

RoR Endurance Series, has been talking to some specialists for advice. She begins: “I’m often asked, or see Facebook posts about where to find a former racer. It saddens me when people believe the myth that they’re a ‘cheap’ option because as we know, no horse is cheap to care for. I’m also concerned when people have misperceptions about Thoroughbreds in racing and the way they’re trained. Yes, they are imprinted with certain behaviours and routines early in life in the training yard, but they’re not traits that can’t be overcome with the right support and understanding.

“Retraining of Racehorses offers support and advice through webinars, their helpline and a wide community of experts. They also run a website called ‘Source a Horse’ which is designed to facilitate the sale, purchase or loaning of former racehorses, either directly from the trainer's yard or for horses who have been out of training for a period of time. Whatever their level of retraining, this is the first place to source a former racehorse.”

David Catlow, Managing Director of Retraining of Racehorses explained: “RoR’s mission is to safeguard the wellbeing of all former racehorses for life. By helping them transition to second careers, providing retraining support for new owners and creating bespoke competitions, RoR

has not only raised awareness of their versatility but also helped thousands of former racehorses develop successful lifetime partnerships. A former racehorse’s innate athleticism and fitness makes them well suited to progressing from leisure riding to competing at endurance events.

Every year we recognise the Endurance GB RoR Elite winner at our prestigious awards event.

“All racehorses require retraining after racing, so if you’re looking to find one, we recommend you register with RoR and, through our Regional Development Officers, seek valuable advice and support that will help you on your journey.

Finding the right horse is best done through an RoR recognised retrainer, or our Source-a-Horse website.

“Whether competing for prizes or not, we need the support of all RoR owners with another important part of our mission, to keep track of former racehorses for life. Please register your horse with RoR. It’s free of charge, only takes a few minutes and joins you up to an RoR community with a whole host of advice, support and new opportunities.”

Both Anna and David are part of a working group which also includes experts from across the racing sector and is investigating a framework to assess trainers and re-trainers and rehomers across the life journey of a Thoroughbred racehorse.

Pip Kirkby, Project Lead (Welfare), Horse Welfare Board said: “It’s important not only that prospective owners of former racehorses have confidence in the facility and people they source their horse from, but also that breeders, owners and trainers are considering the whole life of the horse and ensuring every step along their journey meets certain standards of care, consideration and understanding. We’re working to develop an assessment framework through consultation which will meet the needs of everyone but, most of all, the Thoroughbreds who give so much to racing and beyond.”

One such rehoming and retraining centre is New Beginnings in York which, since 2010, has been providing a safe and secure environment for former racehorses, where they can adjust and be re-trained for their second career.

Pam Atkinson, Director of New Beginnings commented: “There are around 14,000 racehorses in training in Great Britain with approximately four to five thousand leaving the sport each year. Many go into breeding, but others head to a second career. We bring in horses straight from racing or more often from private post-racing homes where, for whatever reason, the owner can no longer look after them. At New Beginnings we also assist RoR through their ‘Vulnerable Horse Scheme’ to provide care, compassion and stability for the most vulnerable former racehorses who need extra help and understanding, or where there have been issues with a lack of resource to

features | endurancegb.co.uk

A former racehorse learning to stand still while a rider mounts is a new skill as jockeys get legged up from the ground while the horse is moving. support them.

“My fascination with Thoroughbreds started later in life when I got my first former racehorse.

He taught me so much, mainly that they will give you their heart and soul if they trust you and you show them compassion and respect. Since then, I’ve dedicated my life to working with Thoroughbreds to improve their lives and positively promote the true versatility of these wonderful horses. Thoroughbreds are among the most versatile of all equines – intelligent, willing to learn, athletic and forward thinking. In our opinion, the horse of choice for any equestrian discipline. As we don’t sell our horses but look for long-term loan homes, it’s important for New Beginnings to match each person to the right horse.”

Anna added: “I’ve been on yard visits to both Donald McCain and Fergal O’Brien’s training yards recently where all the horses are immaculately cared for, loved by their works riders and get turnout every day after morning training. My questions about what happens to the horses next reveal that both trainers are very responsible and active in thinking about the afterlife of their horses. With the owners, they’ll agree what the horse might be suitable for next (or not, in some sad but inevitable cases) and both have channels for horses to be retrained or rehomed.

“If you’re considering a former racehorse for endurance, go to a responsible rehoming/ retraining centre or use RoR Source a Horse.

This will be much easier once the aftercare project has been completed and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”

Elite Endurance recognition This year’s winner of the RoR Elite Endurance Award and Red Dragon Bronze Award winner was Amanda Hamley and More Salutes or ‘Morse’ as he’s affectionately known. Morse is an eight-year-old, Irish-bred former flat racer who competed 12 times on a combination of grass and all-weather tracks, including Kempton and Lingfield

New Beginnings also undertakes activity to raise awareness of this versatile breed and there are events across the year for the public to meet some of the horses.

Two former racehorses are ready to be riding horses.

Red Dragon news Special Retraining of Racehorses awards were again sponsored by the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Trust at the British Horse Feeds Red Dragon for winners based on performance formula results in the following categories: •

• •

Gold Award: Winning RoR combination of the Dragon’s Egg two-day class Silver Award: Winning RoR combination of the 44km Sunday class Bronze Award: Winning RoR combination of the 34km Sunday class.

Unfortunately, this year, some competitors hadn’t renewed their RoR competition membership and were not eligible for prizes. So, here’s a reminder of the rules.

To be eligible for Endurance GB (and indeed any discipline) RoR awards, horses must be registered to compete with Retraining of Racehorses for just £15 per year and can have raced or trained anywhere in the world. This is a registration which must be renewed every 12 months.

To be eligible for the RoR Elite Endurance Award, which comes with prize money and a fabulous awards ceremony at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket, horses must be registered to compete with RoR and have raced in Great

Britain under Jockey Club rules.

Simply go to the RoR website to register your horse and click on competition membership at the top of the page.

Thoroughbred Census The Thoroughbred Census was launched earlier this year by British Racing’s Horse Welfare Board in collaboration with Hartpury University to help improve the databank on former racehorses and the lives they go on to lead, and to promote ‘responsible ownership practices’. Updating Weatherbys of changes in ownership or when the horse is deceased is a requirement and there’s been a significant campaign to ensure owners know about this.

Helena Flynn, the Horse Welfare Board programme director said: “The initial uptake of the Thoroughbred Census from owners across the country has been really positive, but the job is far from complete. Whether a horse has been retired to a field or is a Retraining of Racehorses champion, we want to know about them.”

Weatherbys’ General Stud Book General Manager Sharon O’Regan concluded that: “Ensuring all Thoroughbreds go on to live happy and healthy lives after retiring from racing is a cause important to all of us within the sport.

Since the start of the campaign, we’ve already seen an uplift in people updating their passports which is fantastic.”

retraining of racehorses

23

Interview Fontainebleau 2023

Crossing

the water Harry Ingram enlightens us on the procedure for travelling horses abroad.

Can you explain what you need to do paperwork-wise before you travel a horse abroad?

Whether you were 'leave' or 'remain', one thing Brexit certainly hasn’t aided is the movement of horses overseas. I recall Henry Bullen of Peden Horse Transport saying it was easier to get a horse just about anywhere in the world other than from the UK to the EU immediately after we exited. Things have improved a little, but are still woefully bureaucratic!

Planning an overseas trip is daunting. That said, if you use a professional agency and speak to those who have made the trip before, or better still go with someone who has done it before, then it is most certainly achievable. The allure of competing in mainland Europe with truly international classes, a friendly, relaxed but

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interview

professional atmosphere and copious amounts of red wine should be enough to tempt anyone looking for a step up.

Before you leave, the horse has to have health papers prepared and a blood test for Coggins (a test for Equine Infectious Anaemia in horses) done by a government lab.

The health papers are far more extensive than they used to be and not all vets can prepare them. Assuming it’s a temporary export, you’ll need a document called an ‘ATA Carnet’ to avoid the need to pay VAT and duty on the export/ import. The Carnet lasts a year and you pay a security fee against the value of the goods you are exporting – everything from the buckets, HR monitor, saddle and horse must be declared. It’s expensive too – about £500 plus the security fee (but clearly cheaper than the tax you would be liable for otherwise).

The Carnet needs physically stamping at the border before you leave, when you get to France, when you leave France and finally when you get back to Dover. This adds time on both sides of the journey.

You also need some other bits: a Goods Movement Reference, Export Declaration, an exporter number (EORI) and a Country Parish Holding number! I’m definitely out of my depth at this point, so defer to the experts. We have used John Parker International for our trips abroad but there are other agencies who do this daily and make light work of the regulation and red tape.

What veterinary checks are carried out?

In addition to the health papers before you leave, once you arrive in the EU you must go to the EU vet (SIVEP). They check any animal products entering the EU, dead or alive. Sadly, the living ones don’t seem to be put to the front of the queue over the dead ones, so expect a wait.

We’ve been lucky each time with a circa 1h 30minute wait to be seen but there are horror stories about having to wait much longer.

When the vet does appear, they scan the microchip, check it has four legs and looks like a horse, then complete some more bits of paper

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horses for the ferry apart from biting the bullet and doing it for the first time.

How do you keep the horses hydrated and fed during transit?

Truth be told, I rarely find the horses drink while in transit and it’s always alarming. We keep giving electrolytes and once you stop for the night and the horse relaxes, they usually make up for it.

Soaked hay in transit is also a good way to keep a little hydration and the gut moving. If we are ever concerned, we will always have a contingency plan to give IV fluids at the overnight stop although so far, we haven’t needed to.

(CHEDA) and you can finally get on your way. A tip from a fellow competitor – avoid ‘Le déjeuner’!

Oh, and you know the health paper you travelled out on and spent ££££s on? It only gets you one way! The most faffy thing is getting a local French ministry vet (often not one of the many panel vets at the event) to see your horse and do the return papers. These have to be physically taken to the French ministry – picture a county council building from the 1980s. For this part you will also need an EU/ French agent to assist you, ideally one who’s bilingual. At the bigger shows with lots of British competitors the agent will do the running around but because the events we have been to are relatively small, I have taken the papers in person to the ministry myself. This can be a half day job so adds to the time you need to be onsite.

How do you prepare a horse for something like this if they’ve never travelled that distance/length of time before?

The distance isn’t so bad, but the additional checks and paperwork make it so much longer.

We have done it twice and each time the horse has been on the lorry between 10-11 hours. It’s a long time and means a full day just to get a few hours south of Calais.

The horses are exercised quite hard the day before travel, feed is limited and plenty of electrolytes are given.

How do you cross the water and how do the horses cope with this?

You can go via the tunnel but the cost for this is now around £1,000 each way, so we go on the ferry. Horses are usually loaded first, so they are first off. There’s no real way to prepare

Do you have regular breaks?

With all the checks you spend more time having a break than being on the road, although you can’t get the horse off the lorry for most of it.

It’s a balancing act between getting to your destination promptly versus a leg stretch en route in a delightful French service station. My preference is always to get there but it depends on the journey and the delay at the port.

Do you stop overnight?

Generally, 10-11 hours seems enough for one day so we will always stop and then go again if need be.

What are the biggest risks involved in travelling horses long distance?

Nowadays the risks seem to be not having your paperwork in check, getting massively delayed at the port or worse still, turned away. In reality, the risks of travelling a horse are the same as they’ve always been – dehydration, stress, colic and muscle tie ups.

What are your biggest top tips for anyone who might need to do this in the future?

Use a professional shipper and speak to those who have been and done it before.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Getting to the start line feels like a small victory in itself. For now, the restrictions are here to stay and we wait with bated breath to see what the application of the UK’s own phytosanitary checks on imports will mean and whether FEI horses will be entitled to the same ‘high health status’ they have enjoyed previously.

The checks are illogical and certainly don’t mitigate any risk whatsoever – it is bureaucracy gone mad – and there is a price to pay, up to 10 times what it used to cost to take a horse abroad. That said, nothing compares to riding abroad and the sense of achievement when you come away with a good result. If we want to be respected on the international scene then, at least for the short term, we are going to have to suck it up!

interview

25

Equine nutrition

on the endurance horse The winter months inevitably bring a greater need to provide our horses with additional supplementary feed to maintain condition.

Joanna Palmer, nutritionist at Allen & Page, offers advice for maintaining ideal bodyweight and condition.

E

very endurance horse, whether at rest, training or competing, needs a high-quality diet to provide the correct balance of all the essential nutrients required for health and performance.

Successfully feeding any equine athlete involves carefully balancing their energy requirements to fuel their workload and maintain an ideal body condition with sustaining an even temperament

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equine nutrition

and good behaviour, all while supporting good digestive health.

Meeting energy needs Providing your horse with just the right amount of energy (calories) is key to maintaining an ideal weight and condition. However, every horse’s energy needs are different, and it’s important to feed according to each individual’s requirements.

Many different factors including age, temperament, workload and how well they maintain their body condition, as well as environmental factors including the time of year and the quality and availability of grazing and forage, will affect how much energy your horse requires from their bucket feed. It's vital you can easily adapt the diet to reflect these variables and

meet changing dietary needs. The type and quantity of feed your horse requires heading into winter, when declining grazing quality and cold weather conditions make weight loss more likely, may be very different to what he’s needed through autumn so far, particularly if you have good grazing and your horse has been enjoying an end of season holiday.

For horses at risk of losing weight and condition as the temperatures drop, initially simply feeding a little more of their normal lowenergy feed is usually enough to supply the extra calories they require. As the winter season progresses, it may be necessary for many horses to step up to a higher-energy feed to prevent unwanted weight loss this winter and to fuel an increasing workload ahead of the competition

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Photo courtesy of Indie Pics

Keeping weight and condition

season. Specialist feeds such as Muscle & Focus and Soothe & Gain have higher energy levels, appropriate for helping to build and maintain condition.

The importance of slow-release energy It’s important to remember that calories and energy are the same thing (a calorie is a unit of energy) and it’s not possible to feed your horse a high-calorie diet to promote weight gain or prevent weight loss without feeding a highenergy feed. Some owners, whose horses are naturally more forward going, or who may be full of energy due to being stabled for longer periods at this time of year, will be concerned that feeding a higher-energy conditioning feed will lead to an increase in over-exuberant behaviour.

Remember, not all conditioning feeds are the same, it is the ingredients within the feed that are important and can make all the difference when it comes to giving your horse the right sort of energy to prevent weight loss and maintain condition, without making him sharp or fizzy.

Horses obtain energy from three main dietary sources, namely fibre, glucose (from starch) and oil, but there are differences in the type of energy these ingredients provide. Feed energy can be divided into two different types: fastrelease and slow-release, which refers to how quickly the energy in the feed is metabolised by the horse. Fast-release energy is required for short, sharp bursts of intense exercise, while slow-release energy is vital for stamina and sustaining exercise over a prolonged period.

Slow-release energy is also the most desirable for promoting weight gain. Fibre and oil ingredients, such as unmolassed sugar beet pulp and linseed, are excellent sources of slow-release energy, whereas starch (from cereals) and sugar are digested rapidly to provide fast-release energy.

A diet that’s high in fast-release energy can lead to excitable behaviour. On the other hand, a diet that’s too low in energy may mean the horse doesn’t have sufficient reserves to sustain

A balanced diet Like any athlete, hard-working endurance horses have an increased need for dietary protein to build and repair muscles and maintain that all important topline. Allen & Page horse feeds are all soya free and instead contain other highquality, protein rich ingredients including beans, linseed and peas to provide the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) horses require to develop and maintain muscle mass and definition, when combined with correct training and appropriate exercise.

Fully balanced conditioning feeds contain all the vital nutrients, including quality protein and essential vitamins and minerals, giving you a convenient way of feeding your horse from one feed bag without having to rely on multiple feeds and supplements to provide a balanced diet. The inclusion of prebiotics and probiotics in the feeds is also ideal for promoting good digestive health, helping to ensure each horse gets the maximum available nutrition from their feed. To ensure your horse is getting a balanced diet it’s important to feed according to the manufacturer’s recommended feeding amounts

Photo courtesy of Barry Gough Photography

exercise or maintain an ideal body weight.

Choosing a feed that matches your horse’s energy needs to his temperament and level of work will help maintain focused performance. An excitable horse with lots of natural energy would be better suited to a feed that provides slowrelease energy rather than instant energy to promote weight gain/maintenance as well as maintain concentration and control in their ridden work. Feeds based principally on fibre and oil ingredients, such as Muscle & Focus and Soothe & Gain, are more appropriate than traditional cereal-based feeds as they are easy for horses to digest and less likely to cause unwanted exuberant behaviour.

In addition, it’s important to consider all aspects of your horse’s health when addressing their nutritional needs. For instance, horses with Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) often lose weight easily and need a high-energy feed to maintain an ideal body condition, but also require it to be lower in starch and sugar than typical conditioning feeds. Soothe & Gain carries the BETA Feed Approval Mark for horses and ponies prone to EGUS and as such, meets their strict nutritional requirements. For horses or ponies prone to laminitis, or those in need of a highcalorie feed with starch and sugar levels below 10% combined, Allen & Page’s new feed, Care & Gain is a welcome addition to the feed room.

Care & Gain, Muscle & Focus and Soothe & Gain are free from whole cereal grains and molasses, and instead contain ingredients such as molasses-free sugar beet as a source of highlydigestive fibre and linseed as a source of high quality oil, which are perfect for promoting weight gain without causing excitable behaviour.

that take into account your horse’s size and workload. It is therefore essential to regularly weigh and condition score your horse throughout the year, allowing you to adjust feeding amounts accordingly and help prevent large fluctuations in bodyweight and condition.

Support healthy digestion Fibre from forages such as grass, hay and haylage is vital for good digestive health and is an excellent source of slow-release energy to fuel work and help maintain body condition.

Whatever your horse’s level of work, grass and supplementary forage should always form most of the diet. Unless your horse is overweight, providing constant access to hay or haylage when stabled and out in the field when grazing is poor is the best way to ensure your horse’s fibre needs are met. A high-fibre diet also aids hydration as it acts as a reservoir, trapping water in the digestive system. Insufficient fibre in the diet not only leads to loss of body condition, but it can also increase the risk of serious digestive issues, as well as boredom-related stable vices, all of which can affect a horse’s health and performance.

Paying close attention to body condition and energy levels as we head into winter will help you recognise if your horse’s diet is meeting his nutritional requirements or needs to be altered.

Making appropriate feed choices and adopting a correct feeding routine will then help ensure your horse receives the best possible diet to keep him looking and feeling well and capable of performing at his best as the new endurance season approaches.

Get in touch For more information on feeding your endurance horse visit: www.allenandpage. co.uk or call the award-winning nutrition helpline on 01362 822902.

equine nutrition

27

Interview

The ride of your life International endurance rider and trainer Bella Fricker describes what’s involved in organising an endurance ride from start to finish

There’s so much to think about when it comes to organising a ride. Where do you start?

Start with the route. The hardest thing can be making circular loops and getting the distances to align without too much road work or too many gates. Once you have a rough idea of where the ride will go, then finding a venue not too far off the route should hopefully be not too much of a challenge.

The venue needs to have fairly good access and I think it’s best if you can have a separate entrance/exit for horses and vehicles.

Obviously, a flat area for the vetting is ideal and the more space the better really.

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Bella Fricker

You need to plan toilets, vets, farrier, first aid provision, catering and the volunteers.

Choosing venues with existing facilities can be a great way to save money if you can negotiate well!

I really recommend finding someone to help you make up an organising committee.

Personally, I take responsibility for the venue, route and personnel and then I have a secretary to manage ride paperwork and a volunteers steward to organise the many volunteers needed!

Some things, such as the weather, are out of your control so how do you do your best to ensure you have these things under the best control you can?

Yes, it’s a bit of a nightmare. I guess choosing a good time of year for your ride is key. I run

Concrete Cows in October, for example, as I know we have hard standing for parking so we don’t have to worry about vehicles getting stuck. However, we did fall foul to lots of markers being washed away in the persistent rain. If you can mark with tape, then that’s a good option but you have to bear in mind these are easily tampered with by marker vandals!

And you have to de-mark again too, whereas the chalk spray will wash away on its own.

Is it difficult to find enough volunteers? How do you get the word out that you need help and how would you sell the idea to anyone thinking of helping at a ride?

Actually, I’ve never had an issue finding volunteers. We always start early and by using RAYNET for the checkpoints, we predominantly only need volunteers at the venue or for the odd gate/road crossing. We promote on Facebook heavily along with the general promotion of the ride. In previous years we have also used email marketing to the group. In our group, members must have helped out with at least one ride to be eligible for trophies so this does help too.

For anyone organising a ride, ensuring you look after your volunteers well sets you up best for them wanting to come back. We give our volunteers unlimited food tokens to keep them well caffeinated and fuelled. Everyone is respectful of the budget and we’ve not had anyone abuse this system so far. For on-course volunteers, packed lunches or warm food/drink drop-offs also helps them feel appreciated.

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ride’ as a ’10-mile fun ride’ makes a really big difference. Marketing is my career though, so perhaps I do have an advantage here.

What are the good and not so good parts of the job?

The good is definitely at the end of the day when everyone’s gone home and it’s all worked out just fine. The not so good is the worry that riders will get lost and if there’s an accident on course that needs to be dealt with. Another not so good part for me is the accounting part. I am a ‘words person’ and having to run the numbers is arduous for me every year, even though we always make a very healthy profit (owing in large part to a high percentage of higher distance riders and plenty of non-members bolstering funds with their temporary day membership).

What advice would you offer to anyone else thinking of becoming a ride organiser?

Start with a pleasure ride. You still need to manage a route, landowners and a venue inclusive of first aid cover, toilets and maybe even catering. You also need to notify the authorities and have a risk assessment in place. So, you can practise all of this without the competitive element and no vetting to worry about. It’s good to test the route and see which areas could be improved. Pleasure rides are also great earners for your local group so I’m sure your committee will be grateful.

How is horse welfare catered for?

What are the considerations for this?

It’s my greatest fear to have a serious accident at one of my rides so I do everything I can to be prepared for this. Firstly, I ensure that all my riders have downloaded What 3 Words so that in the event of an accident we can locate them swiftly.

All riders are issued with emergency wrist bands to wear themselves and to put on their tack for their horse too. In addition, I have begun using the chalk markers on horses’ bums so that we can quickly and easily identify a horse on course.

As well as this, I do try to source experienced vets and I always ensure they bring fluids with them in case of any metabolic conditions. Having a clear action plan in terms of the nearest equine hospital is also helpful as well as spare transport to get a horse there. I tend to take my own horse trailer so in an emergency we could get a horse where it needed to be.

What’s involved with notifying the various authorities?

You need to notify all landowners affected and I have a template letter that I send now along with the route and the indemnity cover. I also notify the council, the Highways Agency and the emergency services. These days it’s really easy as everything is done online.

How do you then get enough riders to take part?

I’ve also never struggled for entries at any of my rides. A good 35% of my entries are typically made up of non-members. I promote heavily in the local Facebook groups, which works really well. It’s all about the proposition so I really tailor the imagery and wording to suit a non-member. Simple things like advertising the ‘16km pleasure

When a ride runs like clockwork do you get a huge buzz knowing you organised it?

Ride organising is an awful lot of work. It does take over your life slightly and personally I have to book a fair bit of annual leave to get things sorted. So yes, it’s a big feeling of relief and this weird desire to do it all again. I have no idea why!

What’s your actual role on the day of the ride?

On the day I don’t usually have anything to do. My secretary manages checking in, the TS briefs the vets and the volunteers steward ensures all the volunteers are happy in their roles. I like to be free to ‘firefight’ issues and available to get out on course if I was needed. Generally, I get to have a good chat with riders and volunteers!

Anything else you’d like to add in?

I would say give it a go. It’s a very rewarding undertaking and a great way to get new members involved in the sport if you can give them a great day out.

Bella Fricker

29

Training

Train for the terrain In this issue we talk to riders who carry out their endurance training through forest trails and on the beach.

Sarah Newall In the search for better training, we came across Slaley Forest in the Tyne Valley, Northumberland.

The forest offers miles of secluded routes and, within the forest, traditional forest tracks with wide verges enable some good, long canters snaking through pine trees. Rides can be extended by linking up with some stunning routes across Blanchland Moor to enjoy some real Northumbrian scenes of purple heather and cackling grouse. Slaley certainly isn’t a flat forest either. We can make use of the many hills to prepare for all types of rides, especially as there are some tough Scottish rides right on the doorstep. Owned by Forestry England, it has fantastic public access with routes ideal for horses. However, despite having excellent access, it remains a secret escape. The sense of safety, away from the ever-busier roads, enables us to ride as a family, creating young riders of the future!

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training

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Photo courtesy of John Austin

Discover the countryside

Julie Rana Exercising horses on the beach is more than just a bucket list wish. It gives both horse and rider a change of scenery instead of boring lanes or riding in circles. The long expanse of the beach can be used for interval training. Riders can learn how to pace themselves and learn how fast their horse goes over a set distance, in any pace. As well as fittening work, the shallows help with slow, strengthening work. The increase in resistance and depth of water can encourage horses to use themselves more and stretch over their back, hence helping to strengthen muscles.

The damp sand and small pools help with water training, especially young horses, or horses like my own who are wary and like to see what they’re stepping into. The temperature and salt in the water help soothe injuries and heal skin complaints. My mare has old abscess scars and arthritis due to previous neglect. As well as fittening and health benefits, this type of riding helps horses relax, as they learn that the trailer doesn't just mean a ride day. There’s no pressure, the rider is more relaxed and, in my case, if she doesn't load, I can lead her home.

John Black and Tamzin Furtado We regularly head to Talacre Beach and Delamere forest to train our horses Jam and Merlin. Training on different ground helps to get them fit and build different areas of their bodies.

On the beach we can keep cantering or galloping for ages and work on their heart fitness, but in the forest we would go steadier for a longer period. Either way, the most important thing is to make sure the horses are having fun and enjoying a change of scenery, to keep them interested and loving their job. There’s nothing like galloping along the beach with your horse, whatever the weather. We go in the rain, sun, snow, anything really – we always enjoy it just the same.

Vicky Barnes Harley is a 12-year-old, 14.1hh New Forest pony.

I’ve owned him for 10 years and we joined Endurance GB in 2017. Although I now know natives can be very successful in endurance, I didn’t think we’d have much chance of progressing beyond pleasure rides. Little did I know that over the years, we’d end up

competing up to 40km, coming home with several Grade 1s and a Bronze Award at Golden Horseshoe! We are lucky to be based in the beautiful New Forest, with direct hacking onto the moors. The New Forest is a unique landscape where farm stock wander freely as part of the ancient tradition of commoning. This brings challenges to training as we ride alongside and through animals – but this was beneficial preparation for the Golden Horseshoe! The environment offers other challenges, too, such as bogs, but a good New Forest pony will always know if the ground is safe. Trust is an important part of endurance riding, I think. Another challenge is the gates. We have lots on the forest to keep the stock in designated areas. Some are well-maintained, and others are not, so riding on the forest means you quickly get a handle on them. Hill training is problematic. I am lucky to be based on the hillier northern moors, but much of the forest is relatively flat – especially in comparison to the endurance rides – and this means it's difficult to prepare. We trot as much undulating ground as possible, and through all sorts of ground. We might not be riding up significant elevations, but Harley’s still working those muscles (and when faced with a big hill during endurance rides, he engages the turbo and beasts up it!). With its varied terrain and large car parks for trailers, I would recommend anyone to ride in the forest as part of their training. Most of the pubs have corrals too, for a G&T after your ride!

training

31

Ride the Wight 2024

by Karen Whittington

F

ollowing on from a successful ride in 2022, Mid-South group are looking to hold the ride again in 2024, on the weekend of 14-16 June. In 2022 we had a fabulous ride from Kingates Equestrian in Niton. However, for riders to see more of the Island and explore other bridleways, we are going to move over to the West Wight area as this encompasses new routes that have not been ridden in past years.

The venue is flexible and can accommodate competitors arriving a few days earlier or extending your stay for an extra couple of days to experience visiting a few of the other attractions the island has to offer, along with the

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ride the wight

option to try our beautiful beaches for a beach ride with your horses. The venue has good facilities offering stables, corralling and camping, catering, water and toilets on site. There are several smaller yards in the area offering stable accommodation: there are also holiday lets, bed and breakfast places and hotels for those not wishing to camp. The ride is also a great opportunity for those considering going abroad to experience travelling your horses on a ferry.

Horses deal very well with the ferry and crew on all of the ferries are really helpful in looking out for our special equine friends while they’re on board.

For the 2024 routes we will be introducing some new bridleways, forest tracks and byways over varied terrain and there are no repeat trails on the first 40km. The routes also offer an opportunity to explore the island’s vast network of bridleways and the amazing views from the top of the downs. There is minimal roadwork on all routes and the ride will be supported by Raynet at our check points.

We have produced a draft route of approximately 40km in a circular route and shorter routes of approximately 33km, 25km and 16km, which can also make up the longer distances.

Both ferry companies offer an equestrian discount to riders travelling across to the ride, however, we are currently in further discussions with them to see if we can arrange an even better discount for riders considering attending the ride. Those of you with horseboxes may wish to look at routes coming via Southampton and

Lymington as Portsmouth City Council have now introduced a clean air zone charge of £50 and this is affecting anyone with HGV-type vehicles travelling though the city.

If you have any questions, please contact me as ride organiser. I am based on the island and will be able to answer your questions. Tel: 07854 609107, email karenandrobert2008@hotmail. co.uk

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Photo courtesy of Shutterstock/Melanie Hobson

Ride the Wight

Feature

endurance?

Veteran ‘grassroots’ rider Julie Jones gives her perspective on when endurance riding is and isn’t endurance

‘W

hen is endurance endurance?’ may be a silly question, but endurance is potentially different for all of us – and all our definitions are correct.

There are those who are climbing up the ladder from grassroots to CER and FEI rides who may not care about getting a good grade in a GER or getting trophy points. There are those at lower levels who care very much. Some think that it can’t be endurance if you do less than 64km – and others who consider it an achievement to finish a 32km safe and sound.

Like all sports, there is a large cohort of those who will never get to the top – and actually don’t want to. In our sport many of us started in our mid-50s – so hardly spring chickens – and have a lot of responsibilities as well as declining health, so to complete a 40km can be a positive and 64km a miracle it often seems at the time!. We might not have the horsepower to get us to the top either, but to get round on our beloved mount (whatever breed or type) and get a better grade than we thought is as much of an achievement as winning a race ride.

All sports and pastimes need people at all levels. Those who are striving for the top need the

endurancegb.co.uk | features

Christine Hull & Pewit Sparkler at Thoresby ride

support that the grassroots give. Whether it is just through the revenues generated to keep the sport going, or to get the events on in the first place, all of us are important (particularly the ride organisers and volunteers in our case). Similarly, the grassroots need the aspirational elites to get people joining the sport and keeping it in the spotlight. And in our case to give much appreciated advice – one of the things I love so much about endurance is the way we all help each other.

One of the great things (from my perspective) is that I can be going round a 40k track and meet up with FEI riders who are also doing the ride as preparation for a long race ride. They may not care what grade they get at the end, but I do. It is a way of competing against myself to see if we have improved since the last outing. And if we get

Photo courtesy of David Saunders

Photo courtesy of Indie Pics

When is endurance

a place in the Performance Formula then 'whoohoo', that’s great. More rosettes for the tack room ceiling and points towards mileage and trophies. We are all competitive in our own way and we all matter to our sport.

It is great to see people move from a PR to Novice Foundation – their achievement in completing a shorter graded ride is just as big as someone doing a longer distance. We don’t know what anyone has had to sacrifice to get to the ride – whatever the level. The endurance might be in a different place than out on the track itself. Health, finance, family issues and so on – who knows?

So, let’s celebrate every single one of us in Endurance GB, whatever our goals are. We all want to see the top riders win major championships and applaud those moving up the ladder – they’re aspirational to us all. But those of us going round the shorter tracks are ensuring that the rides go on so that the elite get their chance to get out there too. After all, there are very few rides that don’t have the shorter distances, and these are the classes that fill up first, bringing in the revenues that keep Endurance GB going.

Good luck to all of those who aspire to get to the top or are already up there – we are all rooting for you. And for those (like me) who almost fall off at the end of 40km (or less), hugging our horse and celebrating our grade – jolly well done! And a massive thank you to ride organisers and other volunteers because without you none of us would have a sport.

feature

33

Sponsor focus

Red Gorilla Official bucket provider for the England Endurance Squad and title sponsor of Endurance GB Winter League, Red Gorilla is excited to be celebrating its 25-year anniversary of flexible Tubtrugs

I

n 1981 Faulks & Cox Ltd (now Red Gorilla) first brought the recycled tyrerubber buckets into the equine industry and changed the way we feed forever. The founder of the company was riding his horse across Spain and saw the shallow recycled rubber buckets being used by fruit pickers. Realising that these were perfect for feeding horses, as well as

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sponsor focus

being indestructible, cheap and sustainable, he imported them from the Spanish producer and the company was born.

The current MD (Dean Cox) was a family friend and at 16 joined the company in the mid1980s, developing ideas and pursuing them, based on the ‘S1’ recycled tyre-rubber buckets.

A further product was the catalyst for developing the much lighter, flexible Tubtrugs in 1998 that are used for a broad range of uses today. Based on even more sustainable materials and injection moulded, they began as a product for gardeners and construction workers before moving into the equestrian industry. They truly can be used for everything and anything (we use

them for our washing – a different colour for each person in the household!).

This year sees the 25th anniversary of these, now universal trugs. They are much lighter and easier to work with than the S1, and in a range of colours (they began in yellow for the construction industry). Tubtrugs are now known as Gorilla Tubs and there’s hardly a yard in the UK that would not have or recognise these handy buckets. What is probably not so well known is that the company has been making these, and other related products, for over 40 years but have only re-branded to Red Gorilla in 2018. The name comes from Gorilla showing the toughness of the products and the red colour of

regulars | endurancegb.co.uk

up their yards while doing even the most mundane jobs!

Red Gorilla are keen to be involved with the equestrian industry and as well as sponsoring a dressage rider (Lewis Carrier) and the British Dressage Combined Training Championships, they are also the official bucket provider for the England Endurance Squad and are the title sponsor of Endurance GB Winter League.

As a company dedicated to horse welfare and making lives better for horses and humans alike, they have had an on-going sponsorship arrangement with Riding for the Disabled for the past five years, which has been renewed again this year. As an organisation that also has links to RDA and committed to horse welfare, Endurance GB are very pleased to have Red Gorilla as the title sponsor of our Winter League and are looking forward to working with the company going forward.

Photo courtesy of Jon Stroud Media/Red Gorilla

Photo courtesy of Jon Stroud Media/Red Gorilla

the logo. The smiley face on the Gorilla softening the tough ‘attitude’.

As an environmentally friendly and sustainable company, a new (Gorilla Plas) range is made from 100% recyclable materials and is a new form of the traditional rubber products that is far more eco-friendly than the originals – and in a range of colours. Using a new polymer substance, developed by Red Gorilla, it is stronger and lighter than rubber and much easier to clean. It is also extremely sustainable, being made from a material that can be recycled many times over.

Going forward, this innovative company is committed to supplying environmentally friendly, value for money products that are used for a wide range of jobs in a range of industries. They are constantly working on new product designs, developing ideas – and of course expanding the range of colours to allow customers to brighten

Red Gorilla Winter League The Red Gorilla Winter League started in November and you should all have received an email with information about it – including the sheet to collect points. If you haven’t seen it there’s still plenty of time to take part. Just email Julie Jones at jum1@aber.ac.uk and she will send you the relevant information. There are opportunities for you to collect points from a variety of disciplines (including from our own calendar over winter) to keep you and your horse raring to go ready for the new season ahead. There are lovely rosettes and prizes from our sponsor, so lots to go for.

Good luck! Results will be published in the Summer 2024 magazine.

sponsor focus

35

SERC

riding news Compiled by Nancy Murdoch

36

scottish endurance riding club

regulars | endurancegb.co.uk

Photo courtesy of Craig Muir Photography

Scottish Endurance

Photo courtesy of Craig Muir Photography

S

cotland sent a squad of 15 horses and riders with crew and officials to this year’s Home International which was held at Builth Wells as part of the British Horse Feeds Red Dragon Festival of Endurance ride. This is a tried-and-tested event with an excellent venue, having permanent stables inside a covered barn and on-site toilets and showers. As always, we got lots of support from John Hudson with team entries and advice on routes and ground conditions. The information available on the Red Dragon website was fantastic, all our questions answered and maps available early on.

The Scottish contingent set off early on the Wednesday morning (I do mean early – some left home at 2.30am) to try to avoid as much of the forecast Storm Agnes as possible. Some of our people who live up north did the journey over two days (our thanks to the English and Welsh for recommendations on overnight stopping points). The storm was just the starting point for the weekend weather, beginning with the storm on Wednesday and finishing on Sunday with very heavy rain.

The Scottish squad set up camp near the east side toilet block and quickly put up flags to mark it as ‘our’ spot. All officials (our Chef Fiona Henderson, our assistant Chef Jenny Baird, team vet Beth Shaw and team physio Laura Hamilton)

and all bar two riders/horses arrived on the Wednesday and set up corrals on the large grass area beside our camp. Right from the start the members of the squad, riders and crew worked together to get stables ready and helped each other with setting up corrals and general unloading. We were supplied with shavings, sponsored by Bedmax, for all the stables for which we were very grateful. Some of our horses have dust allergies and the riders were happy that minimum straw was used in the barn. All horses had to be stabled overnight and we quickly established a routine where all were brought in together. The horses settled well in the strange stables with their corralling companions in sight.

The remaining two horses and riders arrived on Thursday morning and quickly settled in. The team vet and physio, Beth and Laura, checked all the horses and found only minor areas of concern which Laura addressed with her ‘magic hands’. Crews went out to recce the route but some didn’t manage to due to a bad accident on the road approaching CP1 so that had to be postponed until the Friday morning. This was all interspersed with exercising the horses, many of whom had been used to 24/7 turnout.

We like to share a Thursday evening meal together as a team bonding experience so Alli Roebuck went shopping and provided us with a delicious cold buffet where everyone could relax,

chat and ask questions. We had some people in our squad who had been to Red Dragon before and their experience was invaluable.

Friday was mostly dry so route recce was completed and horses made ready for the vetting. All horses passed the vetting (at which our beautiful new headcollars were much admired – thanks to Penny Hudson of Dee’s Designs) and then posed for a team photo before being turned out in their corrals. Riders and crew then took part in the parade, ably led by Rebecca Crump and the handsome Owen (aka Chamfron

By Dand) and Glyn McCrickard in his full Highland dress carrying the flag. All the members of the squad looked very smart in team tops and won the approval of the judges as Scotland won the Team Turnout trophy.

Saturday started with the 80km CER riders in a mass start at 7.30am. It was an impressive class of 22 horses so very exciting to watch. Our twoday 160km riders set off at 8am with only seven of them, all team horses (Ireland only had one horse in this class). The other horses set off in staggered starts soon after. Sadly, some horses tied up on the first big hill and had to get veterinary treatment on a drip. One of these was part of our team but she recovered well and was looking quite bright and happy the next morning.

We were delighted when all the other Scottish horses were ‘round and sound’ with good

scottish endurance riding club

37

SERC

heartrates at the end of day one.

Sunday was a day of very heavy persistent rain which made the going challenging. There was lots of potential for slips and pulled muscles, so it was a major achievement when all our day two horses came home sound. Two of our riders, one of whom was in the team, made the sensible decision to take their time on the slippery hills so were just a bit too slow, but we applaud them for putting their horses’ welfare first and completing without injury. All our other horses were ‘round and sound’ and in time.

Out of the seven starts on the two-day 160km only three horses completed. They were Linda Cowperthwaite, an English rider who won the class, and our own two, Ashley Close and Denise Murrow, who were second and third respectively (though only a second in it). Full honours go to them for such an achievement under treacherous riding conditions. So, Scotland had 10 horses completing in time and passing the vet out of a team of 12 and was victorious in the Home International.

Results: Scotland won the Home International, Wales won the Celtic Challenge (same number of horses home but we lost a 55km horse and they lost a 44km horse so they got it on distance).

From our squad, Katy Parvin won the HI twoday 80km junior and the CC junior; Kiana Erxleben won the Hi and the CC novice; Gill Main won the highest placed Arab in the 80km ER; Ashley Close won the best handling and presentation award for the two-day 160km; Beth McCrickard won the 40km junior, and the Scottish Margaret Montgomerie Memorial award went to Chris MacMillan for her support and encouragement of her teammates over the whole weekend.

The weekend was rounded off with a lovely supper and disco in the ride office after the prize

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scottish endurance riding club

giving. Where they found the energy no one knows, but all members of the teams from four nations had a great party.

Thank you once again to everyone who had a part in the organisation and running of the Red Dragon ride. We had a fantastic weekend and are already looking forward to the next time the Welsh host the Home International in four years from now.

Ashley Close says: “What an honour for my horse THF Maya and me to be selected to ride the two-day 160km for Scotland in the Home International in Builth Wells. It was a tough, challenging route but what a fabulous landscape to ride in.

“My ride partner Denise Murrow and her horse Copshawholm Opal were just the best to ride with. We’d ridden together most of the season with the aim of attempting a two-day 160km before the year was out and preferably in the Welsh hills!

“We had a plan to do our very best for our horses, the team and ourselves by taking the ride steady and riding to the conditions. Speaking of conditions, day one was amazing with hill after hill, moorland, tracks through farmyards where ‘Ed and Sheila’ [two animated mannequins] were spotted staring from a dilapidated barn window, quite creepy!

“Day two, however, was quite different with the terrain having had a good drenching through the night, making it slippery and deep going in places. We rode in a constant drizzle followed by bursts of torrential rain and patchy mist obscuring the route. But we kept our spirits up and when one of us was beginning to flag the other lifted. This was true of our horses too.

When Maya felt in need of a lead Opal led and vice versa – they were true partners.

“But, where would we be without our

absolutely amazing crew, Colin Sykes and Allison Roebuck on day one and additional crew on day two to join Colin and Allison were Tilly Hepburn -Wright and Lucy Simpson. The Scottish team vet Beth and physio Laura were outstanding as were all the Scottish team riders, crews and Chef d’Equipe Fiona Henderson, assistant Chef Jenny Baird and admin Nancy Murdoch who ‘kept us right’! The whole experience was a real feeling of team spirit and camaraderie and one I'll never forget. Thank you to John and Jane Hudson and all who made the Red Dragon such a memorable experience.”

A few words from Ashley’s crew, Colin Sykes: “It all started to become real when Ashley and Denise were selected to ride the two-day 160km at Red Dragon. Alli Roebuck was clearly going to be crew for Denise and I had already volunteered to crew Ashley. A pre ride dinner was called for in Kelso, to try to lay out a plan: who was doing what, when and how, as well as how much tablet and other sweet goodies Alli needed to make!

“Rather than use a car for the crewing we hired a van, a rather nice VW Caddy with a sliding side door which was handy to shove everything in – sloshes, rugs, food for both horses, oh and tablet (note for the non-Scots – tablet is a sweet made from milk, butter and sugar and Alli is famous in SERC for her tablet).

“Day 1 crewing was a lively affair, Alli handling all the cards required for vet gates for Denise as was I for Ashley. The infamous farm shed at Paincastle was once again the remote vet gate, which on day one was all good for Ashley and Denise. Crew drove back to the venue, fuelled by more tablet, and when our riders came in other Scottish riders came to help as well, which was great and demonstrated a real team effort to get through successfully, which they both did.

“It was an early night for everyone after day

regulars | endurancegb.co.uk

Photo courtesy of Craig Muir Photography Photo courtesy of Craig Muir Photography

one, with the van packed ready for day two, including more tablet! Day two, both riders trotted up great, ready for the start. I was helped to crew by Tilly Hepburn-Wright and she was brilliant. Alli was meanwhile helped by Lucy Simpson (Chris MacMilllan gave her the day off!).

Weather was drizzle at this stage.. The vet gate at Paincastle again had both riders presenting in around six minutes on both occasions, all good.

Praise has to go to Laura and Beth - physio and vet, who were there when needed to help in any way they could.

“By the time the riders were on the final stage to the finish it was very wet, ‘dreich’ would sum it up better. There was a healthy crowd of wellwishers at the finish line to see Ashley and Denise cross the line, and a few tears of relief and joy as well!

“On the final vetting, both passed with good heart rates and excellent trot ups – well done both. As for the crew, we packed the van with far more than we set off with, apart from tablet – it was gone! Roll on Ireland!”

A final summary of the weekend from Flic Dyson who crewed her daughter Katie Smith in the two-day 120km “The terrain was tough and the conditions demanding, but despite that the weekend was made so memorable for the camaraderie from the whole team who pulled together to get the horses and riders through the gruelling weather to the finish line and through the vetting. The officials, stewards and numerous volunteers were a wonderful team, and the vets were fantastic giving really sound advice on how to get the horses through to the next day and keeping a close eye on those who had succumbed to the tough going. What an enjoyable experience to be allowed entry into the endurance bubble for a while.”

training scottish endurance riding club

39

First aid kit

First aid kit

maintenance

In this issue Robinson Animal Healthcare explain the importance of maintaining your first aid kit.

M

aintaining your first aid kit is essential to be able to act quickly in the event of an emergency.

This means making sure your kit is always stocked up and ensuring it’s stored in an appropriate way.

Being prepared is key to making life easier, especially in winter when there never seem to be enough hours in the day. If your horse suffers an injury and you reach into your first aid kit, only to find that you used your last tube of wound gel months ago, it will only add to the stress as you jump into the car to race to the nearest tack shop.

Your first aid kit should be clearly labelled

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first aid kit

Replace any items that are past their use-by-date and those that have been used or opened making it easily identifiable to everyone on the yard and be stored in an accessible place and returned to its designated spot after every use.

Ideally, the kit should be stored somewhere clean and dry and during winter you’ll need to ensure the kit is kept at room temperature to prevent any liquid products from freezing.

Consideration should also be given to the type of container that you choose to store your first aid products in, as it should be durable enough to help keep rodents out.

Twice a year try to stock check your first aid kit and replace any items that have been used or opened, that may have been contaminated.

Checking the use-by dates on products is vital.

Products such as Animalintex® that contain an active ingredient and wound dressings such as Skintact® that are presented sterile have a limited lifespan.

Animalintex® is the only VMD licensed multilayered absorbent poultice available in the UK and it contains the active ingredient boric acid which acts as an antiseptic, minimising infection and reinfection and promotes faster healing.

It’s important to regularly check and dispose of any products that have reached their use-by date, regardless of whether they have been used or not.

The active ingredients in products such as Animalintex® could be less effective if used beyond their expiry date.

While the product inside sterile packaging could still be perfectly usable, the sterile barrier within the package may have deteriorated, potentially increasing the risk of infection from contamination.

As well as essential first aid products, make sure that you keep emergency contact numbers within your kit. Although you might keep the number of your vet and farrier in your phone contacts list, it might be someone else that needs to make the call in your absence.

If you regularly compete or travel away from home with your horse, you’ll need to ensure you make the same checks on your travelling first aid kit. Horses are unpredictable, meaning accidents and injuries can happen anywhere, and travelling and the excitement of a show day can increase the risk.

Having basic first aid essentials in your lorry is a must because if your horse suffers an injury it’s important that all cuts and wounds are treated as soon as possible to prevent infection from taking hold.

First aid kit maintenance is simple if you endeavour to replace all products as soon as they are used.

Get in touch Robinson Animal Healthcare has a wide range of products for all your first aid requirements. For more information contact Robinson Animal Healthcare on 01909 735000 or visit www. robinsonanimalhealthcare.com

features | endurancegb.co.uk

Ride report

Northumberland and Tyneside

ride report

by Julie Rana

W

ell that's a wrap! Another Druridge done and dusted – our group’s last ride of the season.

The weather gods played nicely, presenting a bright blue sky with a gentle breeze. Although it was a totally different matter the night before, resulting in the route being marked at 7am that morning, but even then, it was warm.

A total of 30 horses entered and sadly there

was one no-show. There was a lovely wide selection of equines, ranging from beautifully marked coloured cobs and native ponies to huge Thoroughbreds and even a Shire! There were quite a few first time riders, too, and it was nice to see some endurance buddies.

I've used various routes over the years, but decided to revert back to the original route – the bridleway around the country park, old lane alongside wildlife ponds and onto the beach. The

20km riders headed down the beach to Cresswell before turning and heading north to Hauxley.

Our 12km riders enjoyed the beach heading north and quite a few enjoyed the opportunity to play in the sea.

There were lots of lovely smiles from riders as they came into the finish. Libby Iveson won our booby prize and her smile was just infectious.

Bibs back in, rosettes handed out and mileage cards signed. What a totally laid back ride it was!

ride report

41

Feature

A big thank you from a non-riding

Endurance GB member

42

Liz Hinings

features | endurancegb.co.uk

Liz Hinings reflects on her many years being involved in endurance and shares some of her stories along the way. We thank you Liz for all your hard work.

I

n 1977-78 I first became involved with endurance (long distance riding, as it was known then), when my late husband was posted to the Directorate of Infantry in Warminster, Wiltshire. He was in the army and we’d relocated there from Chester. I rode at the Infantry Saddle Club – on their horses as I didn’t have my own – and so did our two daughters Bridget and Jenny (now in their 50s!), pictured (left) on Saddle Club ponies Bronco and Prince in 1978.

I took the entries for the Saddle Club shows so, when the person responsible for taking entries for the Golden Horseshoe (GHS) Qualifier based at the Saddle Club and with a route up over Salisbury Plain moved away, she asked if I would be willing to take over, and I did! I also did a pleasure ride there one year, in March/April and it snowed! That’s the only ‘endurance’ ride I have ever ridden.

Fast forward to 1982. After a few years, the MoD decided they could no longer host the

Valerie Cooper

‘long distance’ rides at Warminster because military training must take priority. Local riders Valerie Cooper and Sue Varnals had been regular entries for the GHS qualifiers there and they asked me if I’d be willing to co-organise a ride with them if they found a venue.

Thinking they probably wouldn’t find a suitable alternative venue, I agreed. However, their searches came up with Salisbury Racecourse. Thus began in 1982/83 almost a quarter of a century of the Wiltshire Droves and Three Rivers Rides. There were 115 stables at the racecourse and there were some years when we had to open a waiting list for stabling.

They were good days and I thoroughly enjoyed my involvement, recce-ing new routes (with my Border Terrier, Pebble - pictured after a long trek!) for our two rides at Salisbury and even branching out into stewarding both technical and as a vet steward, taking entries for various rides, gate steward, a rather reluctant tack inspector (do you remember them?) and as a timekeeper at rides in many different parts of the country, not just in Wessex, which is my local group. I was Chair of the Wessex Group for a time, both jointly with Val Cooper and then also on my own.

The year 2023 was my final season volunteering as a technical steward or

2004 Hewett Challenge Cup winner Nikki Malcolm and crew.

Sue Varnals Me timekeeping at Red Dragon

timekeeper for Endurance GB. Having reached my 80th birthday, I was hoping to finally bow out at Bonham in September (but the ride was sadly cancelled). Bonham was the venue of the former Witham Vale Ride for which I was entries secretary for some years. However, I will continue for the time being with the checking and approving (or otherwise) of vaccination certificates for members and their horses.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my years with the endurance community – you have seen me through some difficult times, and I have made some lasting friendships, visited some great venues, learnt a lot, and enjoyed the company of so many different people in all walks of life. I should like to say a big thank you to you all!

Liz Hinings

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Vet’s viewpoint

health conditions

W

inter poses several challenges for horse owners, one of the most significant being the presence of mud. The muddy conditions resulting from rain and snow can lead to a host of skin and hoof issues in horses due to prolonged exposure to the mud.

The purpose of this article is to explore and delve into the several skin and hoof problems that horses may encounter and offer insights into their prevention and management. By understanding these issues, causes, symptoms, prevention, and management, both horse owners and veterinarians can ensure the wellbeing of horses during these colder and wetter months.

The most common skin issues seen during the winter months are:

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vet’s viewpoint

Our Expert Ralph Maalouf DVM MRCVS CVA MBA is an equine vet at New Era Vets on Jersey. He qualified at the University of Budapest and has experience of working in equine practices in the south of France and United Arab Emirates, as well as ambulatory practices in the UK. He has a special interest in equine emergencies and orthopaedics.

Mud fever: Also known as equine pastern dermatitis, mud fever occurs when prolonged exposure to wet and muddy conditions softens the skin on the lower limbs, particularly the pasterns and fetlocks. This creates an ideal environment for bacteria, most commonly Dermatophilus congolensis, also the cause of rain scald, and fungi such as Trichophyton species, to penetrate the skin, eventually leading to infection, inflammation, and the formation of crusty scabs. If left untreated, it can lead to more complicated and serious medical issues. Pastern dermatitis is most commonly seen at the back of the heels and pasterns and may extend to the fetlock and up the lower limb.

Photo courtesy of Groomee/Shutterstock

Equine vet Ralph Maalouf helps horse owners deal with the problems that mud can pose for our four-legged friends.

Photo courtesy of Laerta.com/Shutterstock

Winter

regulars | endurancegb.co.uk

Swelling and heat in the affected area Crusty scabs and discharge Lameness or discomfort Itchiness and stamping of feet Hair loss and skin cracking.

Prevention management: • Maintain clean and dry bedding • Provide shelter and dry areas for horses to stand and rest • Regularly groom and clean affected areas • Clip affected or high-risk areas, especially in horses with feathered feet • Apply medicated creams or ointments as recommended by a veterinarian.

Symptoms: • • • •

Foul odour originating from the hoof Black, tarry, necrotic discharge from the frog Sensitivity around the frog area Lameness.

Photo courtesy of Piaffe Photography/Shutterstock

Prevention and management:

Rainscald: Also known as rain rot or streptothricosis, rainscald is, like mud fever, caused by the bacterium Dermatophilus congolensis. However, it is easier to treat and results in a better outcome when compared to mud fever.

Symptoms: • • • •

Raised scabs and matted hair Skin sensitivity and discomfort Itching and hair loss Mild to moderate lameness.

Prevention and management: • • • •

Keep horses dry and provide shelter Groom regularly to remove scabs and infected hair Shave affected, or high-risk areas Apply topical creams and antibiotics as recommended by your vet.

Thrush: Thrush is a bacterial or fungal infection of the frog, most commonly Fusobacterium necrophorum. Wet and muddy conditions, in combination with poor hoof hygiene and quality, can create an environment conductive to thrush.

• • •

• •

Maintain clean and dry living conditions Regularly pick out and clean hooves Regular trimming of hooves and frog to maintain a good hoof conformation and frog health Apply thrush treatment and consult farrier and veterinarian for severe cases Avoid treatments that seal the sole or prevent air contact.

Courtesy of Daniele RUSSO/Shutterstock

• • • • •

Courtesy of muroPhotographer/Shutterstock

Symptoms:

White line disease: Also known as seedy toe, white line disease is a fungal infection that affects the inner layers of the hoof wall, particularly the white line. Mud can soften the hoof, making it easier for fungi to penetrate as the inner two layers, stratum medium and stratum internum, of the hoof wall start to separate. It is when the stratum medium is compromised that the fungi can invade the hoof wall and further breakdown the soft tissue.

Symptoms: • • •

Separation or cracking of the hoof wall Hollow sound when the hoof wall is tapped over affected area Lameness.

Canker: Canker is a rare and challenging hoof condition. It is a chronic and progressive bacterial infection that primarily occurs in the frog, sole and bars of the horse’s hoof. It can be devastating if left untreated, and it requires prompt and thorough veterinary care which can take weeks of intensive care. The cause of canker is multifactorial including poor hygiene, prolonged exposure to wet and muddy conditions, and potentially genetic predisposition.

Prevention and management:

Symptoms:

Conclusion Skin and hoof issues in horses caused by moisture and mud in the winter season are common but they are all manageable, if not preventable, with proper care and attention.

Through good stable and pasture management, regular grooming, and hoof care, horse owners and caretakers should be able to prevent these conditions from occurring. Early detection and timely intervention are key to minimising the impact of these conditions.

It is very important that horse owners and caretakers remain vigilant during the winter season, taking pro-active steps to protect their horses from these problems. Consulting with veterinarians and farriers for guidance on proper treatment and prevention strategies is important in ensuring the health and comforts of their horses.

• • • •

Strong and foul odour Thick and white discharge Proliferative, abnormal, spongy tissue growth within the frog and sole Lameness.

Prevention and management: • • •

•

Maintain clean and dry living conditions Regularly pick out and clean hooves Debridement of tissue by veterinarian or farrier and may need to be repeated multiple times Apply topical creams and antibiotics as recommended by a veterinarian. And in some cases, systemic medications, antibiotics and or antifungal frugs, may also be required.

• • •

Maintain proper hoof hygiene and regular trimming Keep hooves dry and clean Consult farrier or veterinarian for treatment options which could involve either remedial shoeing or the removal of the hoof wall and exposure of the sensitive lamellae which would then require topical treatment.

vet’s viewpoint

45

Office update

An update

from the office

S

o, we are nearly at the end of the season, and nearly at the end of my time here at Endurance GB. Before that, it’s business as usual and there are a few reminders for you to note for the new year.

The AGM and Gala Dinner Thank you to everyone who came to the AGM and Gala Dinner. It was a pleasure to organise, and lovely to meet our members in person and put 'faces to names'. I hope whoever takes over running the event next year enjoys organising it as much as I did. For anyone who didn’t attend and won a rosette or claimed a distance award, you should have received these by now as they were posted out the Tuesday after the AGM. Mastercards Don’t forget, if your horse’s first year is coming to an end, and you have a green mastercard, you will

46

office update

need to order your new one. You can do this through the Endurance GB shop under member services. You will not be able to use a green mastercard for a second season, so get in before the new season starts. You can also order a new yellow mastercard in the same way. Note the yellow mastercard is what you use until it is full.

You do not need to replace it at the end of the year. We recommend ordering a new one when you have five ride spaces left to allow for delivery time. You do not need to send the old one to the office.

you will receive a certificate and an upgrade medal.

We will also upload your certificates to your accounts on the website. If you have any outstanding upgrade certificates or medals, please do get in touch.

Upgrades If you wish to upgrade yourself or your horse, you can do this through the Endurance GB shop. Once we receive your upgrade request, we will upgrade you on the system. Then if you are being upgraded, we will issue you an upgrade certificate through the post, and if you upgrade your horse,

Thank you Finally, I just wanted to take this time to thank all our members for the past nearly six years. I have thoroughly enjoyed working for Endurance GB, with both the members, the various Board Directors and the BEF. If has really been a pleasure, and I hope to see some of you again in the future!

SERC results For those riders who take part in SERC rides in 2024, can you please send to the office your results within two weeks of your ride. This will then allow your results to be added to the EGB results database as quickly as possible.

regulars | endurancegb.co.uk

The licensed veterinary poultice from Robinson Animal Healthcare

The only poultice that may legally be used to treat wounds Ask for at your local stockist, call us on 01909 735000 or visit www.robinsonhealthcare.com

• Licensed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate Follow us on Facebook & Instagram for a chance to enter our monthly competition

training

47

High quality forage feeds for strength and stamina without the fizz. www.emeraldgreenfeeds.co.uk

Kathryn Featherstone and her horse Streamstown Sarah ‘Enya’.

IndiePics Photography

’Kathryn and Enya - Open Pony Championship Winner Well Vale Ride 2023. Enya had a long drink of EGF Grass Pellets and water at each check point during the 52km ride’.