Here are the official Endurance GB Crewing rules https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/RULES/02+Riding+Rules#Crews. The FEI, I am led to believe, have recently changed the maximum number of crew from 5 to 4 but please do check the current rules yourself.
This is meant as an introduction to crew car kit for beginners but you don’t have to have crew to start out in endurance. You can carry water bottles and a sponge with you and use the natural water sources as often as possible. But I would highly recommend having a crew to make your experience in endurance riding as enjoyable and safe for your horse as possible.
It’s a really good way of including the whole family, not to be sexist but, a lot of father and son combos can be seen with a map and a 4×4 driving around the countryside after the Mum. Equally I thoroughly enjoyed learning to map read and navigate when I was a kid to crew my Mum all over the UK. Crewing has opened opportunities for my brother that he would never have had otherwise.
He has learnt to map read, work as a team, lead a team, work out complex logistics, tactics, speed averages, deal with stressed athletes in high octane situations, traveld all over Europe to places you would never think of holidaying, made new friends and gained so many experiences that have helped him throughout his life, it’s on his CV and he has been asked on numerous occasions about the skills he acquired as a crew member for Team GBR during job interviews.
My hardest days of Endurance have been as crew member, the rider may be in the spotlight and the horse the shining star but it’s the crew who get them through, care for them, tutor them and support them, a good crew can get an average horse and rider through most things and are worth their weight in gold.
It’s my opinion I have been lucky enough to have one of the best crews going in the UK, but of course I would say that, their my family.
Beth Endurance 