ENDURANCE RACING 
Tracey Parker has been an endurance rider for fifteen years and also, pre-Covid arranged both international and local competitions in Southern Spain where she lives.

Contrary to what many might believe the focus of endurance racing now a days is the health of the horse. This means, for example, that there are different age limits depending on the length of the race to ensure that younger horses are not entering competitions that will overstretch them. A vet inspects each horse to ensure they are fit enough before they even start an event. 

The courses are marked out by ribbons or similar. At an international level, a map or GPS coordinates are given to the riders. This will show the obstacles on the course, like water or steep terrain, and the “holds”, which are compulsory stops for further vet checks. At each hold, the horses are examined again by vets. They look at hydration levels, soundness, any saddle sores, pulses, and respiration rates. Horses can be pulled from the race if they are deemed unfit to continue.

The recovery rate of the horse at each hold is crucial to the performance. Usually, this means having a resting heart rate of 64 beats per minutes within a set time period. This can be from three or four minutes and up to twenty for the end of the race. A horse can only win if it is still fit enough to continue.

Helping the competitors

At each hold, the rider and horse might have a crew waiting for them. They will help rehydrate horse and rider, cool them both down with water, and check they’re both doing well. Tracey Parker has been an endurance rider for fifteen years and also, pre-Covid, arranged both international and local competitions where she lives in Southern Spain.

“Often the crew is made up of the rider’s family. This adds to the caring atmosphere at many races,” she explains.

With the races being focused on health and finishing, rather than beating your competitors, there is often a supportive attitude between riders. 

“If someone is struggling, or getting a bit lost, it´s common for riders to help one another. At the holds, pieces of tack may be shared and swapped between teams as well, especially if they don’t have a crew,” Tracey emphasizes.

Who can ride endurance?

Riders can be as young as ten years old and there is no upper age limit. Certain
rides have minimum weight limits for the riders. Any rider,
saddle and pads that weighs
under 75kg will have extra weights added. Weigh-ins can happen at any point during the race as well as at the start and end.

Any breed of horse can participate with the correct training and management. In Spain, where Tracey lives, she says, “The most common breeds used for endurance are Arabs or Anglo-Arab crosses. Arabs were bred for distance so they can be great horses for this type of event. Often, cobs or Spanish PRE horses simply can’t get their heart rates down low enough.”

In the UK, there is a grading system from one to three so cobs, Irish sport horses, and similar, can still race. They are likely to finish in a different results section from the other breeds. This equitable system encourages the health of the horses as the primary feature and the personal best as results focus.

There are no big prizes in endurance racing. Most people do it for the love of it. To qualify internationally, you can get sponsorship and some race to make it into the Top Ten in the World. 

Most recently, Spain won although the sport isn’t particularly big in the country. The World Equestrian Games have been won by Spain as individuals and teams many times.

“I think it’s overlooked because
businesses prefer to put money behind spectator sports, which endurance isn’t really. Also, as it’s not an Olympic event, it can lack the attention other equestrian sports garner,” Tracey wonders.


There are high numbers of bitless and barefoot horses in endurance circles. Depending on the distance and the terrain, barefoot horses may use boots to protect their hooves. In Southern Spain where the ground is like rough sandpaper, boots are often essential or you’re just going to get too much wear on the hoof.

The tack is often plastic because the leather isn’t as easily cleaned up. This means people can have some wild and wacky colours. Whips, spurs and fixed Martingales are prohibited.

There are a few rules in some compe-
titions, required collared tops for example, but often the riders can focus on comfort. Junior riders are required to wear a helmet. 

Tracey recommends training in a heavier saddle than one you compete in. High level competitors might use a carbon fibre saddle for the event but they’re not flexible so not ideal for training or daily use. Other people will use a lightweight dressage saddle or even an Australian stock saddle.

By Louisa Wood  //  Photo: FEI, private.

Endurance riding is a test of stamina, discipline, fitness and patience and has traditionally been known as the ultimate challenge in equestrian sports. The rider must know his mount well enough to bring them through a gruelling day of riding over long distances and with terrain that will test the hardest of hearts - all while keeping the horse’s heath and condition paramount. Endurance rider Tracey Parker takes you through this supreme test of horsemanship.

To finish is to win
About Tracey Parker
If someone is struggling, or getting a bit lost, it is common for riders to help one another

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Gold Medalist Team from Spain at a water creek at the FEI Endurance European Championship 2019. Photo: FEI/Martin Dokoupil.

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Vet check at Longines FEI Endurance World Championship 2021. Photo: FEI.

EQUIPMENT FOR ENDURANCE RACING

Riding long distances has been important for as long as horses have been domesticated. The earliest records of it being an organised activity are from the early 1900s. This was when armies, predominately Russian and Polish, were training for World War I. They would ride for 300 miles over 5 days with each horses carrying at least 200 lbs.

This calvary test developed into a sport in the US in the 1950s when Wendell Robie and a group of others rode the Western States Trail over a week. Eventually bringing the time down to a maximum 24 hours. This is what became the Tevis Cup and is still, to this day, the toughest 100-mile ride in the world. 

Competitive endurance racing is
riding horses on courses of mixed terrain for long distances between 50 to 100 miles within time limits. There are also longer multi-day rides. The sport’s motto is “To finish is to win”. The sport focuses on the health of the horse
throughout every race. It´s a compe-
tition of personal bests rather than a race against other riders and horses. 

Endurance has been an FEI discipline since 1982 and is now the fastest growing FEI discipline. Since 2004, the number of nations participating in Endurance has risen by 50% (from 37 to 53) and there has been a 300% increase in FEI events to over 900 per year.

The regulations imposed by the FEI for Endurance are amongst the most stringent in world sport. The joy and excitement in the riders and their eager horses throughout the day show the partnerships between equine and human athletes.

THE SHORT OF A LONG HISTORY

Jaume Punti Dachs of Spain at a hold during the FEI Endurance European Championship 2019. Photo: FEI/Martin Dokoupil.

The golden rule is that you wouldn’t ask your horse to ride even 1km if you couldn’t walk that far yourself

Training an endurance horse

“Most endurance horses will live in paddocks, not stables. I like to start riding my horses only once they’re five years old. Before that, we will do a lot of groundwork together in order to develop our relationship,” Tracey explains.

“Ideally, in my opinion, you would
initially train with a group of youngsters all at the same time to run together at trot with no rider. This helps them get used to being in a crowd for group starts, which can feel claustrophobic with all the jostling. In that highly charged atmosphere, it can be overwhelming, and you end up with unhappy, and dangerous, horses.”

According to Tracey another way to start them off is to use an experienced horse to lead a youngster. The veteran shows the youngster how to stay calm and react to the new situations, stimuli, etc.

In much the same way a human would train for a marathon race, training horses for endurance racing must start slow and gentle. Tracey suggests you simply “Walk, walk, walk. You’ll be riding your horse five days a week and increasing the distance a small amount each time. The first month, just walk. The second month, you might alternate walking and trotting. The third month, you might increase the ratio of trotting to walking. There’s no quick route to physical conditioning.”

The correct diet is also crucial for correct conditioning. Forage for fibre will help grow the horses’ muscles. Using electrolytes often in their diet and increasing this before a race will also support their
hydration – a key point for both horse and rider throughout the events. 

Getting the right technique

It’s a good idea to make sure that you and your horse are practising on a variety of different terrain. Although you must be in the saddle at the start and end of the race,
there are no rules about staying in the
saddle throughout. Tracey reminisces about one competition on the Costa de la Luz where the route took the participants down sand dunes.

“Rather than stay in the saddle, I decided it was safer for him to navigate the dunes without my extra weight on him. That way, if there were any obstacles under the sand, like hidden tree roots, he could just easily protect himself from them. I just let go and rolled all the way down. It was so much fun, even if I did end up with sand in my knickers, and much safer for him.”

Riders must be fit themselves to be able to take part in endurance racing. 

“The golden rule is that you wouldn’t ask your horse to ride even 1km if you couldn’t walk that far. With the terrain, sometimes you just must get off, so you really need to be fit enough to keep going even when you’re not on the horse,” Tracey explains.

“Also, for most of the time, you’ll be stood up when you’re riding. We don’t tend to rise for the trot, so you really need to be biomechanically in tune with one another with an independent seat and centred riding.”

Important recuperating

As an international sport, most
riders and horses will have to travel to the race sites. This means that the horses are stood in their horse boxes, often for long distances, before the race even begins. 

To keep the horses well, most people will travel to an event several days beforehand and camp a few nights before the start date. This gives the horse chance to rest and be in fine fettle prior to participating. 

The reverse happens after the race, so the horses can rest before travelling back home once again. Once home, the horse should be given one day of rest for every 16km ridden in the race. You may even increase this depending on how far you’ve travelled to get to the event.

You often end up seeing the same people at different events, so it becomes like a mini festival atmosphere. A lot of people are there just for the pleasure of joining in, which adds to the relaxed fun feel. Despite the race itself being a pretty though deal.


EQUIPMENT FOR ENDURANCE RACING

If someone is struggling, or getting a bit lost, it is common for riders to help one another

Vet check at Longines FEI Endurance World Championship 2021. Photo: FEI.

Contrary to what many might believe the focus of endurance racing now a days is the health of the horse. This means, for example, that there are different age limits depending on the length of the race to ensure that younger horses are not entering competitions that will overstretch them. A vet inspects each horse to ensure they are fit enough before they even start an event. 

The courses are marked out by ribbons or similar. At an international level, a map or GPS coordinates are given to the riders. This will show the obstacles on the course, like water or steep terrain, and the “holds”, which are compulsory stops for further vet checks. At each hold, the horses are examined again by vets. They look at hydration levels, soundness, any saddle sores, pulses, and respiration rates. Horses can be pulled from the race if they are deemed unfit to continue.

The recovery rate of the horse at each hold is crucial to the performance. Usually, this means having a resting heart rate of 64 beats per minutes within a set time period. This can be from three or four minutes and up to twenty for the end of the race. A horse can only win if it is still fit enough to continue.

Helping the competitors

At each hold, the rider and horse might have a crew waiting for them. They will help rehydrate horse and rider, cool them both down with water, and check they’re both doing well. Tracey Parker has been an endurance rider for fifteen years and also, pre-Covid, arranged both international and local competitions where she lives in Southern Spain.

“Often the crew is made up of the rider’s family. This adds to the caring atmosphere at many races,” she explains.

With the races being focused on health and finishing, rather than beating your competitors, there is often a supportive attitude between riders. 

“If someone is struggling, or getting a bit lost, it´s common for riders to help one another. At the holds, pieces of tack may be shared and swapped between teams as well, especially if they don’t have a crew,” Tracey emphasizes.

Who can ride endurance?

Riders can be as young as ten years old and there is no upper age limit. Certain
rides have minimum weight limits for the riders. Any rider,
saddle and pads that weighs
under 75kg will have extra weights added. Weigh-ins can happen at any point during the race as well as at the start and end.

Any breed of horse can participate with the correct training and management. In Spain, where Tracey lives, she says, “The most common breeds used for endurance are Arabs or Anglo-Arab crosses. Arabs were bred for distance so they can be great horses for this type of event. Often, cobs or Spanish PRE horses simply can’t get their heart rates down low enough.”

In the UK, there is a grading system from one to three so cobs, Irish sport horses, and similar, can still race. They are likely to finish in a different results section from the other breeds. This equitable system encourages the health of the horses as the primary feature and the personal best as results focus.

There are no big prizes in endurance racing. Most people do it for the love of it. To qualify internationally, you can get sponsorship and some race to make it into the Top Ten in the World. 

Most recently, Spain won although the sport isn’t particularly big in the country. The World Equestrian Games have been won by Spain as individuals and teams many times.

“I think it’s overlooked because
businesses prefer to put money behind spectator sports, which endurance isn’t really. Also, as it’s not an Olympic event, it can lack the attention other equestrian sports garner,” Tracey wonders.


Endurance riding is a test of stamina, discipline, fitness and patience and has traditionally been known as the ultimate challenge in equestrian sports. The rider must know his mount well enough to bring them through a gruelling day of riding over long distances and with terrain that will test the hardest of hearts - all while keeping the horse’s heath and condition paramount. Endurance rider Tracey Parker takes you through this supreme test of horsemanship.

By Louisa Wood  //  Photo: FEI, private.

To finish is to win
ENDURANCE RACING 

There are high numbers of bitless and barefoot horses in endurance circles. Depending on the distance and the terrain, barefoot horses may use boots to protect their hooves. In Southern Spain where the ground is like rough sandpaper, boots are often essential or you’re just going to get too much wear on the hoof.

The tack is often plastic because the leather isn’t as easily cleaned up. This means people can have some wild and wacky colours. Whips, spurs and fixed Martingales are prohibited.

There are a few rules in some compe-
titions, required collared tops for example, but often the riders can focus on comfort. Junior riders are required to wear a helmet. 

Tracey recommends training in a heavier saddle than one you compete in. High level competitors might use a carbon fibre saddle for the event but they’re not flexible so not ideal for training or daily use. Other people will use a lightweight dressage saddle or even an Australian stock saddle.

Training an endurance horse

“Most endurance horses will live in paddocks, not stables. I like to start riding my horses only once they’re five years old. Before that, we will do a lot of groundwork together in order to develop our relationship,” Tracey explains.

“Ideally, in my opinion, you would
initially train with a group of youngsters all at the same time to run together at trot with no rider. This helps them get used to being in a crowd for group starts, which can feel claustrophobic with all the jostling. In that highly charged atmosphere, it can be overwhelming, and you end up with unhappy, and dangerous, horses.”

According to Tracey another way to start them off is to use an experienced horse to lead a youngster. The veteran shows the youngster how to stay calm and react to the new situations, stimuli, etc.

In much the same way a human would train for a marathon race, training horses for endurance racing must start slow and gentle. Tracey suggests you simply “Walk, walk, walk. You’ll be riding your horse five days a week and increasing the distance a small amount each time. The first month, just walk. The second month, you might alternate walking and trotting. The third month, you might increase the ratio of trotting to walking. There’s no quick route to physical conditioning.”

The correct diet is also crucial for correct conditioning. Forage for fibre will help grow the horses’ muscles. Using electrolytes often in their diet and increasing this before a race will also support their
hydration – a key point for both horse and rider throughout the events. 

Getting the right technique

It’s a good idea to make sure that you and your horse are practising on a variety of different terrain. Although you must be in the saddle at the start and end of the race,
there are no rules about staying in the
saddle throughout. Tracey reminisces about one competition on the Costa de la Luz where the route took the participants down sand dunes.

“Rather than stay in the saddle, I decided it was safer for him to navigate the dunes without my extra weight on him. That way, if there were any obstacles under the sand, like hidden tree roots, he could just easily protect himself from them. I just let go and rolled all the way down. It was so much fun, even if I did end up with sand in my knickers, and much safer for him.”

Riders must be fit themselves to be able to take part in endurance racing. 

“The golden rule is that you wouldn’t ask your horse to ride even 1km if you couldn’t walk that far. With the terrain, sometimes you just must get off, so you really need to be fit enough to keep going even when you’re not on the horse,” Tracey explains.

“Also, for most of the time, you’ll be stood up when you’re riding. We don’t tend to rise for the trot, so you really need to be biomechanically in tune with one another with an independent seat and centred riding.”

Important recuperating

As an international sport, most
riders and horses will have to travel to the race sites. This means that the horses are stood in their horse boxes, often for long distances, before the race even begins. 

To keep the horses well, most people will travel to an event several days beforehand and camp a few nights before the start date. This gives the horse chance to rest and be in fine fettle prior to participating. 

The reverse happens after the race, so the horses can rest before travelling back home once again. Once home, the horse should be given one day of rest for every 16km ridden in the race. You may even increase this depending on how far you’ve travelled to get to the event.

You often end up seeing the same people at different events, so it becomes like a mini festival atmosphere. A lot of people are there just for the pleasure of joining in, which adds to the relaxed fun feel. Despite the race itself being a pretty though deal.


annonce

annonce

annonce

Gold Medalist Team from Spain at a water creek at the FEI Endurance European Championship 2019. Photo: FEI/Martin Dokoupil.

Riding long distances has been important for as long as horses have been domesticated. The earliest records of it being an organised activity are from the early 1900s. This was when armies, predominately Russian and Polish, were training for World War I. They would ride for 300 miles over 5 days with each horses carrying at least 200 lbs.

This calvary test developed into a sport in the US in the 1950s when Wendell Robie and a group of others rode the Western States Trail over a week. Eventually bringing the time down to a maximum 24 hours. This is what became the Tevis Cup and is still, to this day, the toughest 100-mile ride in the world. 

Competitive endurance racing is
riding horses on courses of mixed terrain for long distances between 50 to 100 miles within time limits. There are also longer multi-day rides. The sport’s motto is “To finish is to win”. The sport focuses on the health of the horse
throughout every race. It´s a compe-
tition of personal bests rather than a race against other riders and horses. 

Endurance has been an FEI discipline since 1982 and is now the fastest growing FEI discipline. Since 2004, the number of nations participating in Endurance has risen by 50% (from 37 to 53) and there has been a 300% increase in FEI events to over 900 per year.

The regulations imposed by the FEI for Endurance are amongst the most stringent in world sport. The joy and excitement in the riders and their eager horses throughout the day show the partnerships between equine and human athletes.

THE SHORT OF A LONG HISTORY

Jaume Punti Dachs of Spain at a hold during the FEI Endurance European Championship 2019. Photo: FEI/Martin Dokoupil.

The golden rule is that you wouldn’t ask your horse to ride even 1km if you couldn’t walk that far yourself

About Tracey Parker
Tracey Parker has been an endurance rider for fifteen years and also, pre-Covid arranged both international and local competitions in Southern Spain where she lives.

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