Reprinted from Endurance News, September 2011, Ride Managers’ Column, monthly publication of the American Endurance Ride Conference, www.aerc.org, 866-271-2372
One of the remarkable things about endurance rides as they are sanctioned under AERC is that there are a fairly limited number of rules that we must follow in order to conduct a ride.
This means that there are tremendous regional differences in the way rides are managed and even more differences when we look at individual ride to individual ride.
Ride managers have a significant amount of latitude on how they mark trail, how long their loops are (if there are loops), how camp is set up, and what “frills” or special luxuries they include as part of the entry fee.
This, in many ways, is the magic of our sport, and one of the things that makes it exciting to go to a new ride that you’ve never tried before!
With these differences come challenges, however.
Ride managers have some duty to communicate to the riders about what to expect at their ride.
Should riders bring their own drinking and horse water, because none is available in camp?
Should riders bring their own toilet paper because there are no potties?
Will all the holds be away from camp, and if so, will ride management take crewing items out to the holds for the riders?
Is there an “ambulance trailer” that can bring a lame or ill horse back to camp from an away location? Is there a charge for this service?
Will riders be fed? Will there be a farrier on-site? What type of restraints (e.g. portable paddocks, picket lines, hobbles) are allowed or disallowed in the ride camp?
Now, I know that describing every detail about a ride cannot possibly be written without a ride flier or entry that reads something like War And Peace (except longer), but if there’s something exceptional about your ride, or something unusual about what you do, or do not offer, it is wise to get this information out to your potential competitors in advance of the ride.
Conversely, riders should never assume. [There’s an old expression about what happens when you “assume” that involves parsing of the word in to its component sub-words, but if you’re not familiar with it, I won’t expound on that here in our family publication.]
If you have questions about a ride you’re thinking of attending, ask!
Sometimes the best source of information is the ride manager, but as likely as not, it’s the riders who have attended and ridden the ride. Ask around. What is the ride like? Is it an easy ride to do without a crew, or rather daunting without help? How does it compare to such-and-such ride with regard to footing and terrain? Is the ride camp level or on the side of a near-cliff? Such queries are often heard not only in actual ride camps, but also within the virtual endurance communities of the AERC Members’ Forum and Ridecamp. Run a search, and you’ll see what I mean.
If you show up at a ride without doing a little homework, you can end up surprised, and not always in a pleasant way!
The beauty of our rides is in their ability to share their different trails, from different camps, in different ways, with different prizes (or almost no prizes) and different atmospheres.
Embrace these differences, but don’t be caught flat-footed without asking the critical questions.
Enjoy the season, try a new ride, and never assume!