Please can someone tell me about le Trec

NiceChristmasBaubles

NiceChristmasBaubles

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As title really. Trying to make the most of what I have available to me at the moment, and wondered whether it is worth giving it a go. Basically I have my son's 13'3" part arab as my old girl at 34 is a bit old for jumping in the lorry and going off to do dressage. I just love a day out with any of my lot, and thought it may be fun. Will also be looking to do a bit of RC dressage and showing, but never done le trec before, so would like some information about it.

Many thanks. :)
 
LaurenM said:
Bump.

I've tried googling it but can't find much information :( Looks fun.
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cougar said:
Same here. Have just been chatting to a friend about this and then googled. But nothing found in my area.(suffolk):(
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Thanks for the replies. It seems quite hard to find out information about. Looks like a grown up version of handy pony! But not insulting it, as I think it looks like something that is fun to work on and would improve the bond between horse and rider. Would love to hear from anyone that does it as I would really like to give it a go.
 
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It's great! More like a fun day out than a competition. :)

3 parts:

1. orienteering. You copy a map route from a master map and then ride it! It's not about going as fast as you can; you are given a set speed in kph to start, which changes at checkpoints. I have never bothered with trying to guess average speeds; if it is a stony track I will walk, if it is a lovely field I will canter. At the lowest level (level 1) the orienteering is only 12km. You need to wear reflective gear and carry some kit (listed on https://www.bhs.org.uk/Riding/BHS_TREC/How_to_get_Started/BHS_TREC_Rulebook.aspx ). You can also do pairs classes which is a great idea for a first timer.

2. control of paces
A corridor is laid out with markers. Basically you canter up it as slowly as you can and walk back as quickly as you can. Lose marks if you break pace.

3. obstacle course - like a giant handy pony class! Lots of opening gates, squeezing under 'branches', bending between poles, some small jumps (2'3 at level 1), loading in a trailer, backing up in a narrow channel, s-bend of poles, getting off and on, horse standing immobile with you a distance away, through water.... A real mix of obstacles with some fun/spooky ones. If you don't like an obstacle, you don't do it and move on to the next one. You score up to 10 marks for each obstacle. Search youtube for videos of obstacles sections.

Points are added together for the 3 sections.

There is also a series (Kelly Marks) which has the obstacles section (or similar obstacles) in a school over the winter which is a good place to start.

You don't need to have any specific type of horse and everyone I have met has been really welcoming. Give it a go!
 
Google BHS TREC and you'll find lots of info. There is also a lot of clips on Youtube.

My daughter has recently started doing it and I would recommend you go to some practice sessions first - a lot of places have taster days where you can have a go at some of the obstacle course. Having said that, when my daughter did her first competition she found it quite different and having made a small mistake on the obstacle course, she was given 0 points for the whole section! You also need to be able to read a map. Most points however, are gained by being able to canter your horse a set distance as slow as you can and being able to walk it as quick as you can (without breaking gait) - harder than it sounds!
 
asmp said:
Google BHS TREC and you'll find lots of info. There is also a lot of clips on Youtube.

My daughter has recently started doing it and I would recommend you go to some practice sessions first - a lot of places have taster days where you can have a go at some of the obstacle course. Having said that, when my daughter did her first competition she found it quite different and having made a small mistake on the obstacle course, she was given 0 points for the whole section! You also need to be able to read a map. Most points however, are gained by being able to canter your horse a set distance as slow as you can and being able to walk it as quick as you can (without breaking gait) - harder than it sounds!
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Thanks, will google. It sounds like my girl guide orienteering training will come in useful. Just have to remember which way up to hold a compass - it's been a few years!
 
cm2581 said:
Is not called le trec now - just TREC! There isn't too much over the winter - although there are some Kelly Marks Winter Series short format comps. Full comps will start in the spring again.

https://www.bhs.org.uk/Riding/BHS_TREC.aspx

http://trec-uk.com/

these are good places to start!!

And its great fun!!!
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oooops - thanks for putting me right! Goes to show how out of touch I am with these things. Hopefully it's something I can do on my son's pony. Being part Arab I though he may be ok at the orienteering bit, and as he's pretty non spooky, it may be a better new career for him than dressage! :) Will look at your links as well - thanks!
 
I did several a yr or two ago. Winter TREC involves firstly control of paces, cantering as slow as possible down a marked corridor without breaking into trot then walking as fast as possible. Points are awarded.
Second stage is the obstacle stage which is very much like handy pony with marks awarded for each obstacle e.g. going over a wooden bridge, going under poles, bending, picking things up, jumping over scary things, dismounted in a circle leaving horse and standing out of circle for ten seconds then re-mounting on wrong side etc. I never bought the rule book though so to be honest I didn't understand some of the rules! We did ok though considering.
 
The trec-uk forum is a really good place to find out more about trec and where near you something may be going on.

it is like any horse sport - you can do it at a fairly low level, but can also do it at a high level!

i did my first indoor in february and loved it - it really suited my very sharp mare.
we did our first full 3 phase outdoor event in the May, which was a whole different ball game from the indoor version! the orienteering has a considerable influence on the final score, as you can come out of it with a negative score! you start with 240 and have penalty points deducted.
the obstacle section can earn up to 160 points and the control of paces 60.

I am pretty competitive and plan to do it as well as we can - but it is also great fun (when not terrifying) and the trec people i have met are a very friendly bunch.
 
This is a great fun sport but there's not a huge amount of events on and around - you'll need transport. It's the indoor TREC season now. I've had a go at both - you can get the rule book from the BHS website which will explain the range of obstacles and the scoring systems for paces and style per obstacle and across the 3 parts of the event. What's lovely about it is the sociability and the fact that you can by-pass elements that you and your horse are not ready for without being eliminated. And you can compete as pairs, or as an individual. I've done one two indoor TRECs and two full TRECs, really enjoyed all of them and met some very nice people in the process :-)
 
Ok Chaps - thanks for all your help. I've been getting really excited about this as I thought it was something I could do and (sadly?) loved doing orienteering when I was younger. :) So have spent some time looking at the websites. Guess what - I can't find anything round our area (West Berkshire), so now feeling pretty deflated. I have transport, but really don't want to be driving half way across the country for things (and not sure hubbie would be terrible impressed if I upped and went for days on end 'trecing' round the countryside). There doesn't seem to be anything really within a couple of hours. :(
 
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Annoying isn't it? Some BHS counties have tried to do training days and organised competitions and then found that they didn't get very well supported, so have stopped doing them. A couple of years ago there were some Winter Trec competitions not too far away and guess what, I had something booked up on both the dates and couldn't go. And now they are not being run any more.

As for the summer Trec competitions, most of them involve a stay away. Some of the level 1s can be completed in a day, but the rest tend to be held over 2 days, so again this means that for some people they just cannot get away frequently. On the other hand, this "away for the weekend" is just what attracts the serious competitors. If you read the Trec Forum you will find that some of the competitors travel the length and breadth of the country to compete.

I wish there were a lot more Winter Trec competitions, but maybe run in the summer. The training is great fun, and adds a different dimension to schooling! If you are good at orienteering then that is more than half the battle. I have been in 2 Trecs and was completly flumoxed when starting off. I think this is what puts a lot of people off, so some places they are running training competitions to try and get people started.

It is fun and very educational for the horses and makes them a better mount. I remember a talk from an early competitor who said some of the first horses were complete lunatics and then after the owners trained them over the season they became very good and well mannered animals.

I hope you manage to find some Trec competitions. Why not ask your local BHS committee to put on some training and a competition?
 
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