Getting Into Endurance Riding!

Competitive trail (Actha) is not the same as CTR,, CTR bills itself as an endurance sport, that judges you on all kinds of stuff. Including lots of arbitrary things. Too much room for personal bias and good ole boy scoring.

ACTHA, type events I know lots of people that enjoy. Is a short, 6 milish route with various obstacles. You are basically judged on how you navigate the obstacles. Not really any time limit or race.

I have always compared CTR/endurance to hunters/jumpers--both have similar elements (distance riding vs jumping over fences), but the way one is done does not often resemble the other.

I personally have only ridden in 1 CTR, a 2-day 50. It was an absolutely miserable experience as I was riding a friend's seasoned, competitive endurance horse and he and I both thought the relatively-slow required pace was silly. However, I think it would be a fantastic place for a greenie - horse or rider - to learn about the basics of distance riding. If you aren't interested in winning, the sometimes-odd things you can be judged on don't matter. Just do it for the learning experience.

I know several people who love CTRs and don't care for the "loonies" in endurance riding. Each sport has its own appeal.


I would love to try an ATCHA event, just out of curiosity, but the closest one is something like 3 hours away.

I did mention that it's not for everybody, It's just a good way for somebody new to distance riding and horse camping to learn the in's and outs.

I have not done a CTR in 12 years. So maybe the rules have changed, But they never judged on how you parked the trailer. They did judge on if your horse was safe in how you tied him to the trailer. And they do require that all competitors treat their horses the same, If there are enough corrals. Then you can use a corral. If some body has to tie to the side of the trailer, Then everybody has to tie to the side of the trailer. It's not fair in their judging for one horse to be able to freely move around in a corral while the 2nd horse remains tied to a trailer.

They focus more on horsemanship skills and not on speed. So it is a good place for a greenie to learn to care for their horse. Once you are past that learning curve, Move on to the sport you like.

Well, I have done some harder trail riding in North Dakota here in the badlands. And have gone on some really long rides in the past (ranging from 20-40ish miles). I have always ridden distance, just not with my current horse. I have never competed in an actual endurance event, all the long distance riding I have ever done has been because I enjoy it.

I have been riding since I was a child, and consider myself a rather experienced rider at the horsemanship level. Granted I am not good at showing, but I can stick my seat and have a good relationship with my horse. I was raised on the back of my grandpas arabians, from age 2-12 that's what I rode. So I guess what im trying to say is that im not a greeny :)

The people I usually ride with though go slow and my horse is a fox trotter so we like to usually fox trot or her extended trot which is kind of insanely quick. The other riders don't like this because their QH have to lope to keep up lol! So I am thinking that endurance should be right up my alley since I enjoy harder trail riding, and long distance rides on my own :) am I correct?

You will have a blast, look for AERC events. You just go, any speed you want. Your horse has to pulse down at the vet checks which they worry about. If your horse is in shape he will pules down just fine. For someone like you I think you would feel severely micro managed at a CTR ride.

Yay! It's so much fun! I'm hoping to take my pony on a few. Make sure your take fits her and doesn't rub at all. Halter bridle combos are great. Get a group of friends to train with you!
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