Neds First Pleasure Ride - Nervous

Shantara

Shantara

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So, I'm hoping to go to the Milton Keynes pleasure ride on the 14th April. Safe to say I'm weeing myself a little.
I shall be riding to a friends field and staying there over night, then riding to the event in the morning.

I'm not sure how far to go, as there's a choice of 2, 10, 20 or 30km. I was thinking about the 20km as we trotted/cantered 7 miles today and he barely broke a sweat. I'm mainly worried about heart rate though, he's a naturally stress horse and to get a rosette, his heart rate needs to be 60-somethingbpm after the ride.
Also wondering about vetting, will they have one on site? They said they need to be vetted before and after if doing 20 or 30km.

Is anyone else going? And tell me it'll all be ok D:
 
You will be fine. My mares heart beat was 30 when we started and 32 when we came back and we did 20km in 1hr39 then had to walk in circles for 10 minutes so we wouldn't be DQd for being too fast! If its the same rules as where we were a vet or competent person watched them trot up and did heart rate before and then you have 30 mins on your return to present to them again. I reckon mine would have had a lower heart rate but the assistant woman kept stroking her and she doesn't like being stroked (she actually stuck her nose in my arm to get away from her which is the only display of affection I've had since I bought her in Oct last year!)
 
It will all be OK. Seriously you will have a great time!!

And its unusual for horses doing pleasure rides not to pass the heart rate, which is taken before and after the ride. Anyway, the only actual effect since it is a non competitive endurance ride to be disqualified would be no ride rosette (which would be a shame but not the end of the world as its not a placing competition rosette).

I was worried about my ponio as she was overweight but she was 43 before and 44 after, which really surprised me.

Just look forward to it as a turbo hack :-DDD
 
You'll have great fun. 20km is about 12 miles - the perfect ride. Make sure he's fit enough, and you'll both have a great time.

He'll be vetted on site. Trot up and heart rate.
 
SarahThomas said:
Remember to get photos and put them on the STAGBI page :)

And best of luck, I have every faith that he'll be totally awesome!
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Will do :D my boyfriend and brother are both photographers, so hopefully they'll both be taking lots of snaps :)


lachlanandmarcus - Ah cool ^^ that's put me more at ease! Thanks :D
 
If this an endurance ride, then heart rates only taken for affiliated classes, not pleasure rides. For PR vet only asks for trot up before & after ride to check (wear bridle only, no saddle or boots). Hope you have a good ride!
 
How very exciting I am jealous! I am hoping to do fun rides soon but maybe at the end of summer when we've been out more, I bet Ned is super recogniseable in red things :-)
 
Sorry for brief reply.

Check if this is an endurance ride. If so, there will be up to 3 types of classes on offer (of various distances), most of which only members can enter.

Pleasure ride classes are open to all, & go up to 32km. You will be asked to attend a 'vetting', which will only be a trot up before & after the ride. The heart rate will not be taken, & will have no bearing on you getting a rosie or not.

Next step is graded rides. You are allowed to try 2 of these in one season before having to pay to affiliate under the try before you buy scheme. This vetting will be much more extensive, & will include heart rates. It is a much more technical class, where the aim is to get your horse round at a suitable speed in the best condition (as the less they take out of themselves the lower their finishing heart rate as a very rough guide). They allow you & your horse to up the distance (up to 80km), learn how to do vet gates (65km+ classes) & really understand the sport.

Beyond that, once both you & your horse are advanced level, if you wish you can start to race (80 to 160km).

Enjoy doing the PR, & if the bug bites the pair of you there are plenty of challenges waiting over stunning countryside. I recommend you contact your local group. They can help with advice, training & company. If you want to stick at PR, that's the beauty of the sport. You compete at the level you enjoy. No-one will hassle you to go further. You want to stick at 20km that's fine. If you have any questions, let me know. Happy to help anyone get started!

Most people will be very colourful, we love our coloured tack.....you'll fit in very well!
 
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pip6 said:
Sorry for brief reply.

Check if this is an endurance ride. If so, there will be up to 3 types of classes on offer (of various distances), most of which only members can enter.

Pleasure ride classes are open to all, & go up to 32km. You will be asked to attend a 'vetting', which will only be a trot up before & after the ride. The heart rate will not be taken, & will have no bearing on you getting a rosie or not.

Next step is graded rides. You are allowed to try 2 of these in one season before having to pay to affiliate under the try before you buy scheme. This vetting will be much more extensive, & will include heart rates. It is a much more technical class, where the aim is to get your horse round at a suitable speed in the best condition (as the less they take out of themselves the lower their finishing heart rate as a very rough guide). They allow you & your horse to up the distance (up to 80km), learn how to do vet gates (65km+ classes) & really understand the sport.

Beyond that, once both you & your horse are advanced level, if you wish you can start to race (80 to 160km).

Enjoy doing the PR, & if the bug bites the pair of you there are plenty of challenges waiting over stunning countryside. I recommend you contact your local group. They can help with advice, training & company. If you want to stick at PR, that's the beauty of the sport. You compete at the level you enjoy. No-one will hassle you to go further. You want to stick at 20km that's fine. If you have any questions, let me know. Happy to help anyone get started!

Most people will be very colourful, we love our coloured tack.....you'll fit in very well!
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Thanks so much for the detailed reply :D
http://www.facebook.com/events/440830885995973/ This is a link to the event.

I will be wearing my red and black stuff, so I'm sure we'll fit in :D hehe, I'm actually really excited about seeing other colourful tack!

If the ride over goes well (about 6 miles!) then I bet I will want to do it again and again! I thought I might be able to travel him over, but the trailer got a flat! Bum!
I have always dreamed of doing endurance, even just low level, but not long ago I couldn't even get Ned out of the yard by himself, let alone on a hack as long as that!
Thanks again, will let you know how it goes :D
 
My old horse used to be convinced that he knew best. Would throw a tantrum at any event we went to.

Did one pleasure ride.... he even managed to throw a tantrum on that. He was convinced he knew which way he was going, even though he had never been to that part of the world before. Bl00dy creature!
 
wench said:
My old horse used to be convinced that he knew best. Would throw a tantrum at any event we went to.

Did one pleasure ride.... he even managed to throw a tantrum on that. He was convinced he knew which way he was going, even though he had never been to that part of the world before. Bl00dy creature!
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Haha, oh dear! Ned can sometimes be like that! Usually it just takes an "Ah!" and a nudge on, but once we had quite an argument which ended up with us both standing on one of those little white roundabouts, with him in a strop and me getting red in the face XD
Thankfully it didn't last long and it was a quiet day, but I just hope it won't happen on the ride! haha!
 
Please post on how it goes & photo! Remember to smile for the photgrapher:D

You'd be surprised how often horses who are sour, spoiled, nap etc find their way to endurance & become reformed characters. Horses love it (riders enjoy it too, excellent advice re thongs).
 
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You'll be fine, Nah, and it looks like they're specifically aiming it at newbies so you'll be well looked after.

I'm so chuffed you're going to be able to go to one - I know how much you've wanted to :)
 
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