I have had to train Tissy very differently for this race than any other we have ever entered. For a start it’s a sprint not an endurance event, at just under 36km. Secondly, Tissy is 25, so she takes longer to recover from training sessions and fuelling her is more difficult. She doesn’t keep weight on easily anymore and it’s a balance between training, nutrition and keeping her healthy.
I have been training her to what I deemed top 10 standard according to the past stats I had collated, which was quite a wide spread of 12-15kph average speed across the course, add in that the clock is still ticking for the vet gate, which meant that I predicted that to be a podium finisher you’d have to ride at 15-18kph depending on conditions. The course is hilly and technical, but terrain I’d grown up with so I knew exactly what to expect and what strategy to use for this type of route. Couple all this with the fact I have a formula one pit team for crew and we know Tissy inside out after 21 years together, I felt that my preparation and decision making on the day would be sound.
But saying all this I was also going into the race knowing that I wasn’t going to ask anything of Tissy, if she wanted to trot the whole thing or walk the whole thing then I would let her, I may have trained her to be a contender but ultimately it would be up to her on the day. If she felt like going for it great, if she felt like having a pootle great. I could have come first or 60th and I would have felt the same, proud of everything Tissy has achieved and happy to take her home healthy and safe. I was going to compete but I wasn’t set on winning.
I knew that she would be fast by most people’s standards, she is just a natural athlete, but I didn’t know that her drive and love of the race was still as fierce as it was. But more on that in the next blog.
Training has consisted of 3x sessions a week. One longer, hillier, more technical ride of around 20km, one fast hilly 10km interval session and one lunge session in the pessoa building her topline and getting that bum underneath her. I must say a big thank you to Jocelyn and Squidge who we trained with over Cannock chase for our longer sessions, and who was a fount of Man V Horse knowledge for me to learn from. In total Tissy was training for 12 weeks, a total of 33 training sessions, we did a 32km pleasure ride at 12kph three weeks out then gave her the week before the race completely off other than hand walking and mooching around the field 24/7. The tapering, nutrition and recovery pre-race is so important and often overlooked.
Logistically I found the concept of Man V Horse difficult as it was such a different lay out and set up to what us Endurance riders are used to but also so similar. The trailer park was a mile from the vetting and tack up area, the vet gate was out on course with no access to water, the finish was a different venue to the start and car park and the crews would have to carry all the kit between all these places. The vet gate has no stop clock so the ride time is still ticking and you don’t have a hold time so it’s just straight back out on course when you’re ready. It kind of all plays into the fun of it all though, working out the best logistics and strategy.
I divided my crew kit into 3 sections, start, middle and finish so that they had a fresh set for every stage and didn’t need to worry about re-filling or conserving anything. We discussed our plan the night before and everyone had their own jobs. I like everyone to say out loud what they are doing and if it is complete (just like you would in an emergency situation if you are medically trained). So I would say saddle off and Dad would know I was ready for him to take it and repeat ‘saddle off’ back so that everyone knows he has heard, understood and carried out the action, while Mum is saying ‘boots off’ so we all know that it’s being done, etc. This may sound super anal, but it works and it makes for a super sleek and efficient crew. I also think it’s nicer for the horse if people are just doing their jobs around them rather than flapping and getting in each other’s way.
We were as prepared as we could be, ready to take on the challenge in whatever way Tissy felt happy to do. All we needed to do was get there and start.
Beth Endurance 