Endurance Cirencester Park 29/30/31st July

monkeybum13 said:
Don't stress!

Because I'm only doing the NCR section I'm not fussing over times, I know where I should be and when, roughly but not the the exact nano second ;)

Have a great time everyone, do get lots of pictures!


I'll be on the 16.3 bay mare who will probably be pratting around with excitement and bouncing so she looks about 17.2! Do come and say hi if you spot us :)
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What number will you be? I'm 96 if you spot us come and say Hi too!
I just don't understand why the average speed will be calculated on 16km when we will be doing 18.8km...this is what doesn't make sense to me! means we have to go faster to be in time!
So basically the total time for the ride as to be between 2hours (8km/hour) and 1hour20 (12km/hour) for the 16km?(18.8!)
 
Randonneuse said:
Doesn't make sense!!! I agree with you ThePony!
MaisieMooAndCometToo, are you sure???
How are we meant to calculate the speed we need to do then?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh stressed now!

It's written 18.8km on the paper we received though!
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Yes, I am sure (unless they've stated otherwise of course)! Plays havoc with my timings- the 50km is 51.somethingorother xD I don't really get the point to be honest, may as well call it 18 or 19km!! I wouldn't worry for a NCR though :)
 
Joining in this thread a bit late - but I hope you all had enjoyable and successful rides at Cirencester today. Please let us all know how you got on.

I'm off there on Sunday, just doing a 30km CR (for my horse, that's a short ride, but we're taking a couple of steps backwards to sort out a few minor issues we've been having).

Wil any of you be there Sunday (Esther, I know you will)?
 
I had great fun doing the 30km NCR today! :)

It was a beautiful ride with lots of opportunities to have a good canter which is a big plus for me. I was cheeky however and did pop a few jumps on the way round.

They mucked up the signs for the crewing points so we didn't see our crew but everyone at the manned water points were lovely and very friendly.

All the horses were so chilled out at the venue, I'd never seen such a relaxed trailer park.

Everyone was very friendly and lovely. Unfortunately we had to help someone out as they needed medical attention when they dismounted but I led her horse through the vetting for her and her friend was very grateful, there was a great sense of community.

I had a lovely massage in Esther's tent, I might do another ride just to have a massage at the end! :p

ETA: Oh and we were inside the time (just, we were rather fast!) so have a lovely big purple rosette :)
 
Bilto was a starrrrrrrrr I couldn't believe it! (I was worried he would play up as he had never seen so many horses at the same time in his life and never done any kind of competition/pleasure rides etc..)
We did the 19km in 1hour41, coud have done better but I though I would be too early to cross the finish line (1hour35) so I walked the last mile :-)
I got a rosette I got a rosette, our first ever ahah!
Anyway we had a great time :-) The 3 miles to hack Bilto where I keep him afterward seemed to be slow as we only walked!!!

Didn't see any of you today!
 
monkeybum13 said:
I had great fun doing the 30km NCR today! :)

It was a beautiful ride with lots of opportunities to have a good canter which is a big plus for me. I was cheeky however and did pop a few jumps on the way round.

They mucked up the signs for the crewing points so we didn't see our crew but everyone at the manned water points were lovely and very friendly.

All the horses were so chilled out at the venue, I'd never seen such a relaxed trailer park.

Everyone was very friendly and lovely. Unfortunately we had to help someone out as they needed medical attention when they dismounted but I led her horse through the vetting for her and her friend was very grateful, there was a great sense of community.

I had a lovely massage in Esther's tent, I might do another ride just to have a massage at the end! :p

ETA: Oh and we were inside the time (just, we were rather fast!) so have a lovely big purple rosette :)
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Oh was that the lady who was led on the floor in the trailer parking area? In front of a blue lorry and a purple lorry with a horse trailer sandwhiched in the middle? We were stood there talking and I was holding blue box owner's horse whilst she went to help the lady. And you didn't happen to start out behind 3 50kers did you? We had someone doing the yellow route behind us for a very short time saying it was her first time!!!
 
Sounds like everyone had an ace time!

We really enjoyed our 16km NCR. It was my intention to take it really steadily and aim to come in just before the longest time so that our first ride in company would be nice and chilled and I wouldn't ask too much of my mare. Well, best intentions and all that! Madam decided that my choice of speed sucked and trotting was clearly not on immedietly after we started and so we started the ride with a bit of a bronc! We bucked for a while while I pulled her in a circle trying to get control and not eat dirt, then we carried on! She really wasn't settling and was pulling my arms out despite flying along at a spanking trot so as soon as we came up behind the rider infront I rather yelled at her and asked if we might join her. Bloomin' legend that she was said that would be fine and in the end we did the whole ride together. I am so grateful to her as being with another horse did settle madam (a bit!) and although she rather lost her manners it didn't continue as badly as it started!! We spent most of the time in a cracking trot and had a couple of short canters too - when I could be sure of pulling up! It was brilliant to be able to chat to someone on the way round to settle my nerves too and find out more about endurance! Had an ace time and can really see why it's so addictive! We did the ride on 1hr 37min. Not exactly as planned, but none the worse for it! Madam finished just as fresh as she started so I think I over worried about pushing her!!

Shall now trawl the EGB website to see if we can go at another! Can anyone recommend a good short ride near ciren that is smaller/mega chilled? Don't fancy the broncing start again, so a calmer outing might be good for us both!
 
MaisieMooandCometToo said:
Oh was that the lady who was led on the floor in the trailer parking area? In front of a blue lorry and a purple lorry with a horse trailer sandwhiched in the middle? We were stood there talking and I was holding blue box owner's horse whilst she went to help the lady. And you didn't happen to start out behind 3 50kers did you? We had someone doing the yellow route behind us for a very short time saying it was her first time!!!
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She was in the trailer parking area but can't remember the lorries, her horse was a pretty little bay with white marking on her face.

Nope, I did the green route, you'd know if it was me, my horse was very bouncy at the start!
 
monkeybum13 said:
She was in the trailer parking area but can't remember the lorries, her horse was a pretty little bay with white marking on her face.

Nope, I did the green route, you'd know if it was me, my horse was very bouncy at the start!
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Oops, yellow was the 16km :o Can't say I payed much attention to the horse to be honest, I hope it was the same person though because otherwise that's two incidents!
 
MaisieMooandCometToo said:
Oops, yellow was the 16km :o Can't say I payed much attention to the horse to be honest, I hope it was the same person though because otherwise that's two incidents!
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It probably was. She was a typical horsey person, far too concerned about looking after the horse and getting it to the vetting rather than concentrating on herself! I think we are guilty for that.
 
monkeybum13 said:
It probably was. She was a typical horsey person, far too concerned about looking after the horse and getting it to the vetting rather than concentrating on herself! I think we are guilty for that.
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I ended up on my trailer tamp throwing up after Berkshire Downs because I pushed for 13kph in the blistering heat:o I hope her horse had a good vet result though.
 
MaisieMooandCometToo said:
Oh was that the lady who was led on the floor in the trailer parking area? In front of a blue lorry and a purple lorry with a horse trailer sandwhiched in the middle? We were stood there talking and I was holding blue box owner's horse whilst she went to help the lady. And you didn't happen to start out behind 3 50kers did you? We had someone doing the yellow route behind us for a very short time saying it was her first time!!!
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Was me doing the yellow route behind you ahah! Thanks for your help yesterday :-)
 
Absolutely chuffed to hear you had a great day out. Most events are that chilled, so never worry to much. You will find the times harder to get at other tracks, it is a general one to cover fast tracks like Ciren & Windsor, down to the tough moor rides like Golden Horseshoe & Phoenix. All rides have their own features, so by speaking to people who have done them (on here or when EGB member on their forum), you can find out what they are like & whether they will suit you/your horse.

There is another big 2 day ride at Barbury Castle (Wiltshire) in mid-august. Here is the link to the ride info page on the EGB website:
http://www.endurancegb.co.uk/html/ScheduleDetails.asp?Ride_Year=2011&Ride_Auto_Id=426

Not as fast as Ciren, loads of grass, some tracks & a little roadwork (very quiet lanes), much hillier (though no really big hills) than Ciren (which is a flat track), some gorgeous views over the Downs. The venue is the 3-day event xc course nestled in a valley, corralling / camping at the venue if you need it. It will be busier than Ciren on the friday, but plenty of space so you can find quiet if you need it.

If you did the 30NCR, why not try the 32CR on the 'try before you buy' scheme? If you did the 16NCR, try the 20 or 32NCR or the 32CR on the TBYB. That way you can try a competative ride to see if you enjoy the extra dynamic, without having to pay to affiliate you & your horse. If you want a relaxing day out, do the NCR (are 3 distances, 16, 20 & 32). That's the beauty of endurance, you can choose what level you wish to go to. If you don't want to do a longer distance or higher speed, you don't have to.

Any questions, contact either Esther, Sam or myself. We may not be the best in the country, but we've done a lot of miles between us & can offer you help to get you started. As you've experienced 'us lot' are very friendly, happy to help & support. It's that kind of sport. You hit the nail on the head, we have a real sense on community, we are a bunch of people lucky to have found a wonderful sport & always happy to meet new faces to share the fun with.
 
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Glad you had a great time yesterday.

Just had a thought - if any of you (Randonneuse in particular, as you live so locally) would like to know a little bit more about CRs (competitive rides), pop along to Cirencester again tomorrow and look out for me - no 145, grey Arab with black mane. I'll be vetting at about 10.40 and riding at 11.00. I anticipate being out on course for about 2 1/4 hours (doing 30km). So you're welcome to come over and ask questions to your heart's content - particularly afterwards, when I'll be in much less of a rush. Like Pip said above (I'm Sam), we might not be the best in the country, but we've covered a fair few miles...

In fact, if memory serves me well, Pip was ride organiser of the very first EGB ride I ever did (Bramshill, Pip) a few years ago now - and I owe a hell of a lot to the welcome I was given, and to the helpfulness of everyone at that first ride when I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to do. That encouragement and support - from people who were, at the time, complete strangers - gave me a whole load of motivation to do another ride (and another, and another...). I can honestly say that I was hooked from ride 1.
 
monkeybum13 said:
She trotted up very sweetly and looking as fit as a flea. Her heart rate was amazingly low so was all good :)


I think you may have been parked near to us, did you have a welshie?
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Yes little section D ;)

Randonneuse said:
Was me doing the yellow route behind you ahah! Thanks for your help yesterday :-)
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Oh really? Well hey there :) You caught us on our second loop so luckily we could direct you not to follow us- the yellow arrows were rather difficult to see :D
 
Guilty as charged! My real name is Caroline. Remember the river crossings? Here is the now Bramshill organiser, Brian, crossing it in the first year. His horse was a little reluctant so he did the rest of the ride with wet feet!

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How it should be done!

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MaisieMooandCometToo said:
Yes little section D ;)



Oh really? Well hey there :) You caught us on our second loop so luckily we could direct you not to follow us- the yellow arrows were rather difficult to see :D
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Hey!!!
Yellow route was marked with orange tape most of the time so I got confused at some point! But got there in the end ahah!
:-)

I would love to do another ride but don't have any transport unfortunately :-( (little hint for people who would like to give us a lift anywhere!-would help toward costs for transport!-)

Faro unfortunately I won't be able to come tomorrow, my friend and I are moving (about 2hours hacking! Only walking as want to give Bilto a quiet hack after yesterday performance!!!) her 2 horses and Bilto to a new place near Minchinhampton. (we have found a little yard to rent just for us! 8 acres+3 stables+tackroom, although Bilto lives out 24/7)
 
Randonneuse said:
Hey!!!
Yellow route was marked with orange tape most of the time so I got confused at some point! But got there in the end ahah!
:-)

I would love to do another ride but don't have any transport unfortunately :-( (little hint for people who would like to give us a lift anywhere!-would help toward costs for transport!-)

Faro unfortunately I won't be able to come tomorrow, my friend and I are moving (about 2hours hacking! Only walking as want to give Bilto a quiet hack after yesterday performance!!!) her 2 horses and Bilto to a new place near Minchinhampton. (we have found a little yard to rent just for us! 8 acres+3 stables+tackroom, although Bilto lives out 24/7)
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Last year they had coloured tape marking each route but I remember sometimes a colour would be missing and it inspired panic (in me anyways ;)) Orange is the usual marker which was fine as they had coloured arrows at all points of divergence. The pink route was easy to follow, checking out the black today!
 
Only the divergence points are marked with coloured arrows, usually the route in between, no matter what 'colour' the loop, is marked with day glo orange tape (sometimes pink is used if available). On routes where there is little to attach to then coloured spray chalk is used on the floor. My mistake, I should have made my explanation clearer. Once you've done a few rides your horse will start to look out for the orange tapes & know to follow them, often my girl spots them before I do. More than once she has suddenly taken a side track unexpectedly having spotted a tape that I had missed! Clever beasties endurance horses, they maintain focus for hours, have a monumental work ethic, love their sport yet totally switch off for the vet checks.

Remember you are also given a map, it's not there for show. Ciren is about the best marked route you can hope to find. Other courses, which run over public land, are more affected by 'marker vandals', who think it fun to remove the tapes, & even sometimes put them down wrong tracks. This is why you need to be aware of approx where you are on the map, so if in doubt you can get back on track. That is part of the technical aspects of endurance. If you can get a map of areas you ride, at least os, landranger better, start to connect what you are riding down to what is shown on the map, so you are used to reading one. It can also make it very useful for training, so you can work out exactly how far you have ridden & at what speed (unless you happen to have a personal gps which are very popular in endurance - not like sat nav, wont stop you getting lost but tells you exact speed/distance travelled).

Have no worries re transport. Contact your local EGB group & you can also ask them to post on the national forum for you, asking to share transport to a ride. Many people have double trailers & only take one horse. All you would need to do would be follow in a car that contains all your stuff, as there is usually lack of boot space because of the large amounts of water transported, not to mention equipment & extra bodies to crew the rider. No-one will mind you asking.
 
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Thanks all of you for your help and advice :-)
Will remember about the colour pip6!
I did use the map all the time, this is why I only got confused once :-D
I bought a OS of the area few weeks ago which I'll start using tomorrow after work as we moved yard today...hacking is probably not as good as Ciren park unfortunately as I really enjoyed being there since May last year but we'll see...can always go back to old place is hacking where my friend and I are now! (apparently it's not too bad as there is Minchinhampton common but ...!)

pip6 do you know how to find my local EGB group please? (I'll have a look on EGB website...would make sense before I ask you really!)
It would be great if I find someone to share the transport with :-)
 
Hello all,

really glad everyone had a good time, i did the 16k (we had a garmin on tracking it and it came out at about 17.7k) - got round in about 11.71kph i think. my first time around Ciren, and wow, it was absolutely amazing.

I'm really lucky to be able to ride my friends andalusian who has been there and done it endurance wise, she is a dream ride, although was a little strong for a couple of the canters! We were accompanying my friend on her 5 year old andalusian who is a little less well behaved - if anyone saw a dark grey with long flowing mane running backwards that was us!!

We were having a burger when we heard the calls for the medic - hope everthing was ok!

We're crewing at Barbury castle for cromwell and iceni interregional team that weekend - i cant wait, just the setting alone makes it amazing! recommend a visit for anyone who can get there even just to spectate!
 
So glad you all had a good time - it is seriously addictive. Good to meet you, Monkeybum.

We had a fab weekend. Our friend and fellow Yorkshire lass Jeni Gilbert won the 160km in a day national class. Her pony, Flurrie, who is an overheight connie, is just incredible. He's been national novice champion, nationl supreme champion, and this is his second 160km win. Just goes to show how tough these natives are. And Jeni's tough too - she had a crashing fall near the start and rode virtually the whole route in a lot of pain. Her crew bribed her from crewpoint to crewpoint with jelly babies.

Some pics from the last loop/finish:

Flurrie being briefed before setting out on the last loop. He'd done 90 odd miles by this point:
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Flurrie and Jeni setting out on the last loop:
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At the finish - that's not shade on Jeni's left arm, it's bruising from her fall. Her whole left side was pretty multi coloured the next day. I have no idea how she kept riding. Those jelly babies must be pretty motivating.
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Final vetting:
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All hail the Flurrie.
 
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