I wanted to show a tiny bit of what goes into organising our wonderful rides and all the working cogs that make them a success. Unfortunately, we didn’t get as much footage of all the different aspects as I would have liked but we still have a little teeny tiny sneak peak into all the elements that go into a great Endurance ride.
First of all a major well done to first time ride organisers Anna & Lauren, a few hurdles, hiccups, laughs and I’m sure a few tears along the way but you pulled off a truly awesome weekend. Thank you to all the wonderful sponsors and volunteers who made the ride so lovely and made sure it was able to run smoothly on the day.
So what goes into organising an Endurance event? Well firstly our venues are a little different from other equestrian disciplines. We don’t have set equestrian facilities/venues like eventing does. We basically need a big field, preferably with good access, water and plenty of room. Because we don’t use ready made facilities you then need to think about toilet facilities, food, temporary stabling and corralling, shelter for the vets and a secretaries tent. This venue then needs to have access to a great course. Planning, mapping and marking a route is no mean feat, especially with multiple loops for the longer distances.
There is plenty of admin to do before the event. Taking in entries, planning vet and start times, making the route map and crew points, organising all the different aspects of the ride day.
Once you have a venue and route you then need to man the event. You need raynet for checkpoints and comms, a first aider/paramedic, stewards out on course, a timekeeper for the start/finish, a timekeeper for the vetting area, vets and vet writers, a vet sheet runner to take the results to the secretaries tent, which is manned by several people, from health & safety to technical stewards, making sure everything is running smoothly and keeping everything organised whilst getting the results out.
Anna & Lauren did a great job of obtaining sponsors for the ride, so once everyone was home safe and sound after the ride it was time for the prize giving and some excellent chilli from the food truck. It was so nice to see such great prizes throughout every class and we truly appreciate the support of every single sponsor, receiving a prize, no matter what it is, is always a lovely icing on the cake.
Beth Endurance 