thinking about entering a CTR

I saw a notice at my barn about a ctr in my area in October, I think a friend of a friend is organizing it. By October my horse will have spent 2 weeks with the trainer and will have been on countless trails and such with me (possibly some alone with the trainer but most I go on with other people.

I took down the organizers email but before I contact her I wanted some more info from anyone that's taken part in one of these events. What could I expect? Is it more about speed or accuracy? Would I be able to go along the trail with another horse, my friend might want to take her horse, or would I be expected to be able to ride alone?

I've heard they're fun events and my horse has been doing good, he tackled 2 downed trees on Sunday and didn't even flinch when he had to climb through the branches of one. He's getting better and doing so much better o trail, he even leads for half of the trail too, he's the calmest going in the direction of home so he gets to lead.

A lot depends on your area and who is hosting the event.

Around here, CTRs seem to be pretty different that other areas, as we have no 'obstacles' and the housing/camping criteria are pretty relaxed. You most definitely can ride with someone else, though can ride alone if you prefer. You are given a window of time in which you are supposed to cover the distance (coming in too soon or too long loses you points), and most seem to have a 6-7mph overall pace.

While some of the lay judging criteria are a bit dog-n-pony showish to me, I think CTRs are excellent tools to help someone new to the sport understand what distance riding is all about and how to develop their young/green horse properly. If you have one in your area, you should def go!

Thanks for the info. On the flyer it says '6 miles, 6 obstacles', so I guess i'll have to contact the organizer to see what types of obstacles I might encounter and maybe practice them.

If my friend wants to go it'd be better I think, we've been using her horse to keep mine slower when everyone else canter (mine's canter is godawful so we trot), plus her's has been there done that so it might be good to have a more experienced horse with us just in case.

I'll talk to her, i'd love to go and at least try it, I don't much care about points, i'd just like the experience.

Are you sure the event is a CTR (competitive trail ride) and not a CTC (competitive trail challenge)?

From that description it sounds like an ACTHA event, which is not what I was describing at all. For info on the CTC, you can check out the ACTHA website.

Hmm, i'm not too sure, maybe i'm confused. I had no idea there were 2 different things. I'll have to look at the flyer again. Thanks for the website though, i'll check it out.

I'll have to look more into CTR's then and see if there's one in the area too, maybe I can go to both.

There are several competitive organization that sponsor and put on Competitive Trail Rides. You can check their websites and see if one of them is close to you. They are a great way to learn how to trail ride with your horse. Lots of existing members will mentor you and help you learn the ropes.

Check out www.natrc.org

Thanks for the link painted horse, i'm on the site right now and it looks like something i'm interested in trying. Now to convince my barn buddy to try it with me :)