Le Trec thingymejig - would it be good for me to try?

Bowen4Horses

Bowen4Horses

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Hi all

as some of you may know, i'm a bit (very) nervous after losing my confidence. and i'm looking for things to do to motivate me into riding again.

i think it would be good to do something vaguely competitive...
raff is mainly bred to jump. i'm not brave enough to become a SJer/XCer (yet...) and raff isn't ever going to enjoy dressage. and he's not put together well enough to show...

so... how about this trec thingy?

i looked on BHS website last night and saw you can do it in pairs? i could try to persuade my friend to do it too...
is there a REALLY beginner level? do i need to be brave for it?

does anyone know?

xx
 
Yes there is a beginner class. I did it years ago on Beacon. No you don't need to be brave so long as you are happy to walk, trot, canter in open fields and go around obstacles then you will be fine. There is usually a small jump or two but you don't have to do them, you can go around. Obviously you won't get a place if you do, but its a good laugh anyway
 
Well I'm a newbie to TREC too, so went along (on foot) to have a look at one of the "taster" days they had in the area recently.

A lot of it looked to be stuff you'd get out hacking, altho' my boy definately wouldn't EVER go on to the seasaw ramp (no way), but I think you can pick the obstacles you do so you don't have to jump unless you want to, having said that the jump was basically something a flea could've jumped over.

Yes you can do it in pairs and I think thats the way to get started. They also had a section where you had to copy down the map and then follow it, so that would definately be easier in pairs. I would have been OK coz I know the area well, but even so I'd still go with someone else if I was in a new area.

Why not give the local organiser a ring and say you're new? they may pair you up with someone. I met one of the organisers (she was working out a route for the orienteering section) and she was really friendly and invited me to the day they were doing; unfortunately I couldn't make that particular date, but still might be tempted!

I think its basically a new version of the old Handy Pony competition. What fun that was .... probably Elf and Safety wouldn't ever allow us to do it now, stuff them.
 
As you have seen I did my first Trec yesterday. I was such fun, so relaxed and just have-a-go.
Me and my horse are very unfit and if I'm honest I have only ridden her 3 times since the beginning of November (and that was only 3 one hour long hacks), yet we did ok at Trec and didn't make complete fools of ourselves.
Our competition was part of the BHS Kelly Marks 'Perfect Partners' Winter Series, so it was all indoor (in the lovely lovely new olympic sized arena at Bishop Burton College) with just the middle and second stage, no orienteering (POR stage).
There is a website for our area (Yorks/Lincs) here:
http://www.white-horse-trec.co.uk/
and I have been on the Trec UK forum which has been really really helpful, here: http://www.trec-uk.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26.
Let us know how you get on.
 
chickeninabun said:
As you have seen I did my first Trec yesterday. I was such fun, so relaxed and just have-a-go.
Me and my horse are very unfit and if I'm honest I have only ridden her 3 times since the beginning of November (and that was only 3 one hour long hacks), yet we did ok at Trec and didn't make complete fools of ourselves.
Our competition was part of the BHS Kelly Marks 'Perfect Partners' Winter Series, so it was all indoor (in the lovely lovely new olympic sized arena at Bishop Burton College) with just the middle and second stage, no orienteering (POR stage).
There is a website for our area (Yorks/Lincs) here:
http://www.white-horse-trec.co.uk/
and I have been on the Trec UK forum which has been really really helpful, here: http://www.trec-uk.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26.
Let us know how you get on.
Click to expand...

thank you for all that! it looks fab, i'm going to join the white horse place i think. might see you at an event... :D
 
I'd like to try TREC with Belle in the future. At work we offer a riding holiday with TREC so it might be fun for me to try it out and see what it's really like... I'm not so good with the maps/orienteering/anything to do with directions :P I think all the obstacles and everything would be really fun though!! Have to do a lot more with Belle before we could attempt it... and we don't have transport... but I can hope for the future. :D
 
will second chickeninabun!

have just done my second indoor trec (a great way to start but not many left as it's the winter series) on my temperamental girlie and had lots of fun. i plan to have ago at a full outdoor trec this year. you can have a go and just do it for fun, but like most horse sports it starts at a nice low entry level and you can take it to a very much higher competitive level too.
have to admit to being naturally rather competitive and don't like to look a complete numpty, so like to be prepared, so although entered the Starter and Newcomers classes i did try to do a fair bit of training in the school at home and we had a successful time as a result. several had done very little though and had a great time too.

level 1 seems very newbie friendly and the great thing is that you can leave out obstacles if your horse is brill at everything but will not go near a bridge or over a jump (or you don't go over jumps!!!)! No more being eliminated on the ODE just coz your horse doesn't do ditches on a Saturday before mid day!!


i've heard a few slightly 'patronising' comments (probably not meant as such) from people on the 'handy pony' front.. but how many sports horses would be able to canter/gallop over a jump then stop seconds later and be left alone in a circle , NOT tied up for 10 seconds while the rider walks off!! Apart from mine obviously! Def found it easier to train my dog to stay! So to do it at a high level, like all things, would need, I think, some serious training!!


Everyone was incredibly friendly and i'm definately hooked. a fab way to have fun with your horse and to stretch yourself too. right i need to go and practise my rein back (over 4m, rather than the couple of strides we were used to from dressage). Don't want another 0 score!!

go to trec UK forum and have a look. you'll see plenty of my numpty questions there!
 
I think that they are a great way to learn a lot about what you are capable of doing. There is a bit of jumping, the orienteering, the control of paces...
To be honest, I haven't been in an arena in 5 or 6 years, since I had to sell my lorry. I am doing my first indoor Trec competition this weekend and I am really looking forward to it! No pressure - just for fun, but I am already thinking about other competitions later in the year...
Give it a go! If you don't try it, you'll never know!
 
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