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| What is Endurance? |
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Endurance is an athletic event that combines
the skills of one horse and one rider competing
over a distance of 50-100 miles within a specified
amount of time, In the USA, 12 hours (50 miles)
and 24 hours (100 miles). On the International circuit
a 100 mile race must be completed in 12 hours. Winning
times vary according to terrain, weather and the
elements. In the USA, typically a 50 mile ride is
won in 4 ½- 8 hrs, and a 100 miler is won
from 9 - 18hrs. The terrain is varied according
to location. Wilderness, mountains, desert, single
track, water crossings or any combination are likely
to make-up the course.
Within the time period allotted to complete the race, are mandatory vet
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| Carl at Robinson Flats vet check, Tevis Cup |
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checks or pit stops where the horses are required to pass through veterinary criteria before they are allowed to continue. At that time, the rider and their crew attend to the needs of the horses.
Most vet checks allow you to have a support crew, but because of space restrictions, some do not. A competition will have a preset number of vet checks dependent on the accessibility of terrain for vehicles. Typically the vet checks are between 15- 60 minutes and there may be 1- 6 checks on any given ride.
Upon arrival to a vet check, the horse needs to pulse down (heart rate) to meet criteria (beats per minute). This recovery must be met within a specified amount of time. In order to facilitate the horse meeting criteria, the rider must control the pacing through-out the event and to monitor his or her horse for fatigue and how it is coping with the stress and the elements.
The welfare of the horse is the primary concern of the riders, veterinarians and crew. The veterinarians monitor and give the horses a thorough examine documenting their findings on a card that the rider carries with them. No other horse event monitors the horses as closely as in an Endurance event. Through hours, miles and years of training, the team effort between horse and rider becomes successful.The Horse may fail to meet the criteria of the Veterinarians and be pulled from the competition. Two common reasons are Lameness and Metabolic issues. A rider can elect to pull themselves if they have concern for their horse. The welfare of the horse is of utmost concern for everyone involved. Horses may be tested for illegal use of Drugs anytime through the event. All Top Ten finishers may be subject to a mandatory drug test at competitions.
The Best Condition award is a coveted honor given to one of the Top Ten horses that finishes a 50 or 100 mile competition. The horses are judged by the veterinarian committee according to a preset formula that includes: vital statistics of the horse at the finish, time of completion, weight of the rider, results of the CRI ( cardiac recovery index) to name a few of the parameters. Often times, it is not the horse that finishes first, that wins this award. |
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Vet check with Charisse and Dyll in Ribiers, France g |
| Endurance Statistics |
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In 2006 there were 6,585 members in the American
Endurance Ride Conference aka AERC (France has
over 12,000)
Women make up 52% of the membership
90 % of members are over 35 years old
36 % earn over $100,000.
1 in 6 earn over $150,000.
42 % of members focus on 50 mile distances only
9 % ride 100 miles
9 % have a moderate interest to compete Internationally
1-2 % actually compete Internationally
5 % Ride to Win
International FEI Championships of CEI***
and CEI**** events are held in distances of 100
miles (160km) and occasionally longer.
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