It's like Dakar for horses!

"So you're a horse rider. What do you do? Dressage? Showjumping? Wait, I've got it. Cross country! That's it, isn't it?"

"Um, actually I'm an endurance rider."

"I'm sorry, you do what?"

"I'm an endurance rider. I do endurance riding."

"Yes, but what is it?"

Ah, where to begin? What is endurance riding? It's not just long distance riding, although that is one of the defining characteristics. But there's so much more to endurance than riding really really far. That'd be a bit like saying dressage was just prancing round in circles, or showjumping was just leaping over poles, or cross country was just galloping over fences. It's a lot more difficult than that. I found this on the Dakar Rally website which I think sums up endurance riding perfectly.

"More than just a simple question of racing and speed, the Dakar requires rough terrain navigational skills and consistency. In the rally-raid discipline, endurance is the watchword, with the slightest flaw proving costly. This mix of physical toughness and technical performance has attracted, for almost thirty years, champions from different horizons, all keen to measure themselves against each other and tame this event like no other."

There are some people out there who think endurance riding is just glorified trail riding. I can tell you now it's nothing like trail riding. You might be riding along a trail, but you're not plodding along at a leisurely pace, you're motoring along at an average of 14kms/hr (which is a lot faster than it sounds)! It's not five minutes of cantering and then stop for a break, it's go go go! Canter the flats, trot up the hills, walk down the hills. You and your horse need to be quite fit to do endurance, otherwise you'll end up keeling over halfway through the ride.

Even if you and your horse are fit, that doesn't mean you can sit back and relax. Each ride presents it own set of challenges and they're all difficult in their own way. I've heard people talk about how such and such ride is supposed to be an "easy" ride. There is no such thing. An easy 80km ride is nothing but a cruel myth, I'd just like to make that clear. If you go into it thinking it'll be a breeze you're in for a rude awakening. Endurance rides come in three catergories - hard, very hard, and almost impossible. The people who tell you a particular ride is "easy" are usually the ones who've been doing "almost impossible" rides for the last ten years.

So, what are the challenges a rider might face on a typical endurance ride? Hot/Humid weather - heat exhaustion and dehydration in both horse and rider is a very real risk. Cold/Wet weather - keeping both horse and rider warm is essential. Steep terrain - those big climbs can be a killer if you're not prepared for it. Undulating terrain - those constant ups and downs can be hard on a horse's legs and back. Hard ground - concussion can cause your horse to vet out lame. Slippery ground - risk of tendon injuries or strains. Most rides will have at least one of these challenges. I'm yet to ride on a nice, sandy track with even footing, no hills and perfect weather conditions!

It's more than just a long distance race, it requires skill & consistency and the slightest mistake can prove costly. It's a true test of both horse and rider, pushing them to the limits of their performance in challenging conditions. So when people ask me what endurance riding is, I tell them it's like Dakar for horses.

Like this, but on a horse...