Équirando 2022
- Thread starter Keith_Beef
- Start date
Nicnac
Well-Known Member
Are you doing the whole week? Chapeau!
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Yes, the whole Sunday to Sunday.
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Day two.
Visit too the chateau see Rambures then having for 10km, break to rest the horses, feed and water them, then for us to eat and rest for a bit. Then another 14km.
A couple of hairy moments: dismount to walk through a very narrow and low tunnel in the forest, then mount up again using a fallen tree... Then crossing the motorway using a B road bridge...
Visit too the chateau see Rambures then having for 10km, break to rest the horses, feed and water them, then for us to eat and rest for a bit. Then another 14km.
A couple of hairy moments: dismount to walk through a very narrow and low tunnel in the forest, then mount up again using a fallen tree... Then crossing the motorway using a B road bridge...
Attachments
Bradsmum
Well-Known Member
Question is ..... Are you enjoying it?
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Oh yes, enormously.
This is my third. On the first, I started with one horse who did the first couple of days then switched to the horse I have this year, who I also had last year and I've ridden a few more times over the past two years for shorter excursions of two hours, half day or full day.
We slept last night at the Château de Behen; we had rooms in the main house and the horses are in stables around the back.
Last edited:
Bradsmum
Well-Known Member
Wow that looks posh. I'd not heard of Equirando before and it sounds like quite a commitment but fun to be part of. Good luck for the rest of the quest.
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Day three.
Grey and cool morning, visit from a young journalist doing her work placement at the end of the first year of her BA before we set of for the morning.
Picnic in a small village with a couple of scary moments for the horses while they were tied to high lines: tractors pulling empty trailers banging and rattling down the hill on the way to the fields full of big round bails of straw. Trees and bushes hid them from the horses' view, and they were scared by the noise. When the same tractors came back up with the trailers loaded, the horses could see them and were less scared.
We got them tacked up again and set of down the hill when a Manitou with a front grabber, pulling a trailer, came bombing down behind us after we'd gone round a corner... When the driver saw us, he slowed right down and the horses were calm, so we waved him to go past. He went wide but hadn't even drawn level when my horse and a couple of others started to dance, so the driver stopped and we advanced to a spot where the driveway to a house gave us enough space to get off the road.
My phone ran out of juice this afternoon about 2.7km before we arrived at the vente d'équitation d'Amboise.
Grey and cool morning, visit from a young journalist doing her work placement at the end of the first year of her BA before we set of for the morning.
Picnic in a small village with a couple of scary moments for the horses while they were tied to high lines: tractors pulling empty trailers banging and rattling down the hill on the way to the fields full of big round bails of straw. Trees and bushes hid them from the horses' view, and they were scared by the noise. When the same tractors came back up with the trailers loaded, the horses could see them and were less scared.
We got them tacked up again and set of down the hill when a Manitou with a front grabber, pulling a trailer, came bombing down behind us after we'd gone round a corner... When the driver saw us, he slowed right down and the horses were calm, so we waved him to go past. He went wide but hadn't even drawn level when my horse and a couple of others started to dance, so the driver stopped and we advanced to a spot where the driveway to a house gave us enough space to get off the road.
My phone ran out of juice this afternoon about 2.7km before we arrived at the vente d'équitation d'Amboise.
Attachments
Palindrome
Well-Known Member
It sounds fab. I wanted to do it this year as I only live about 2 hours away but alas no transport yet. Is there any chance of some pictures?
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
There will be some pictures later, when we've shared between group members. I'm not taking very many (didn't bring a camera, only phone).
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
PurBee
Well-Known Member
Stunning scenery, architecture - all on horseback - how fabulous!
Hope the heatwave has waned over there and the treks are breezy for you all ?
Are there many in the group that do this each year?
I’ve always wanted to go on a long trek on horseback, camping….but a chateau tour would do! ??
I’m eyeing up a gobi desert trek which i hope to enjoy before im too old from farm life! ?
Hope the heatwave has waned over there and the treks are breezy for you all ?
Are there many in the group that do this each year?
I’ve always wanted to go on a long trek on horseback, camping….but a chateau tour would do! ??
I’m eyeing up a gobi desert trek which i hope to enjoy before im too old from farm life! ?
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Day five. Morning 2h30m and 12.8km.
Afternoon 2h43m and 14.7km.
We arrived at a riding centre and stud along with a loaf of other groups, I don't know exact numbers but at a guess something like sixty people and horses. A vet checked the vaccination record of each horse and stick a big sticker on its rump. Followed by a meal of sliced cold roast pork and salads and a disco.
A lot of people camped there overnight, but we had a big lift conversion in the barn of a farm a couple of km away.
Afternoon 2h43m and 14.7km.
We arrived at a riding centre and stud along with a loaf of other groups, I don't know exact numbers but at a guess something like sixty people and horses. A vet checked the vaccination record of each horse and stick a big sticker on its rump. Followed by a meal of sliced cold roast pork and salads and a disco.
A lot of people camped there overnight, but we had a big lift conversion in the barn of a farm a couple of km away.
Attachments
Last edited:
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Days six and seven were at the meeting point at an enormous stud.
Day six, we had a parade through the village of Rue. Many groups were in costume, we were vikings and I didn't take my phone so there's no equilab record for it.
Day seven, we boxed the horses to a riding centre near to Fort Mahon Plage. There was talk of taking the horses for a swim, so again I didn't take my phone. We rode through the dunes (lots of up and down on very soft sand, some trotting and a little bit of cantering up slopes) then had to ride further through soft sand above the high tide line to get to the harder, wet sand and to big puddles. The wind was quite strong and constant. More trotting and a bit of cantering, but the horses were a bit nervous about the water and we only took them in the shallow puddles, not into the breakers. A bit more cantering and trotting back through the dunes but mostly walking.
Back to the vehicles for Champagne and salads, and now we're on the motorway for home.
A really good week; some things could have gone better, the last two days didn't have as much entertainment as last year, but there were more traders.
On Thursday, I noticed that he soles of my ankle boots were beginning to come away at the toe, and on Saturday among the traders I saw a stand named BlueMane offering on the spot tack repairs, and the very kind woman running it glued the soles for me.
Day six, we had a parade through the village of Rue. Many groups were in costume, we were vikings and I didn't take my phone so there's no equilab record for it.
Day seven, we boxed the horses to a riding centre near to Fort Mahon Plage. There was talk of taking the horses for a swim, so again I didn't take my phone. We rode through the dunes (lots of up and down on very soft sand, some trotting and a little bit of cantering up slopes) then had to ride further through soft sand above the high tide line to get to the harder, wet sand and to big puddles. The wind was quite strong and constant. More trotting and a bit of cantering, but the horses were a bit nervous about the water and we only took them in the shallow puddles, not into the breakers. A bit more cantering and trotting back through the dunes but mostly walking.
Back to the vehicles for Champagne and salads, and now we're on the motorway for home.
A really good week; some things could have gone better, the last two days didn't have as much entertainment as last year, but there were more traders.
On Thursday, I noticed that he soles of my ankle boots were beginning to come away at the toe, and on Saturday among the traders I saw a stand named BlueMane offering on the spot tack repairs, and the very kind woman running it glued the soles for me.
