Will he be fit enough for sponsored ride?

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CobsGalore

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I am planning on doing a 10 mile sponsored ride 5 weeks from today, at the moment we are hacking out at weekends, doing about 5 miles Saturday and another 5 on Sunday, and he gets lunged/long reined once or twice in the week (this will change to schooling/hacking once evenings are lighter).

My problem is, that I am going away for a week between now and then.

Our hacks at the moment mainly consist of walking/trotting with the occasional canter.

What should I be looking to increase his hacking to before the ride? Am I going to be able to get him fit enough??

Also, this is my first sponsored ride (and his!!) - What should I expect? He better well behave himself!! :rolleyes:
 
I think he will be fine for the ride tbh based on that, ESP if you start riding in the week. The week off will do no harm either. The excitement of the occasion will give him plenty of extra zoom and if he does tire a bit in the second five miles he will be happy to slow down then and go steadily the rest of the way. If you can trot as an average in your weekend hacks(ie any periods of walk balanced by similar distance in canter) then the horse will be more than fit enough.

The important thing to be aware of is that although the start times are staggered, it's not by much so there will be people ahead and behind within sight and some will pass you or you will need to pass them and they will sometimes be trotting not walking. Occasionally they may be hurtling since they either have no brakes. Or don't care! If this worries you then you might want to invest in a slightly stronger bit than you normally use, just to give you confidence more than anything, get them used to it once or twice on a hack first.

Are you going with someone else, it's much more fun ESP if they want to go at the same speed as you. If not it is worth contacting the organisers as they might be able to pair you up or give you a start time near the end so the mad teenagers have all gone through.
Jumps if there are any will normally be optional, and mostly low eg a log on the ground.

Thank the stewards as you pass them and shout out your number. Some rides require body protectors so check the rules. Stewards sometimes check girths just before the start - if your horse doesn't take kindly to a stranger suddenly pulling up their girth then be prepared to tell them so firmly ( I rode a very girth shy cob belonging to a friend and almost ended up in a ditch before we'd even started the ride due to this!)

These rides are great fun, generally in lovely countryside and it is lovely with the stewarding to be able to concentrate on the fun of riding and not on navigating and looking out for hazards all the time like on normal hacks. Enjoy it, I bet you will have a fab time and be booking more the minute you are home. And your horse will LOVE it!!!
 
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Is it Halton? Apparently the fences are rather large (it will be my first year on this course)!! But you can walk trot most of the ride so dont feel under pressure to canter round it. you could treat it like a long hack with lots of walk and trot work and all the fences are optional anyway. If you take it easy and the horse is already in work then I would do it provided he had reasonable fitness.
 
Thank you for all the info :) I am really looking forward to it, and I am sure he will be fine once he settles down (as long as he doesn't put into place his 'handstands' I see him practicing in the field on a regular basis!!!) I am doing it with a friend so will be with someone who has done the ride before as well.

Why should you shout out your number to the stewards as you pass? Do they keep a record of people who may be lost/in trouble?

We're not doing as much trot as I would like to on hacks at the moment, mainly due to the ground, but if I can get in a few schooling sessions during the week that should help.
 
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travelmad said:
Is it Halton? Apparently the fences are rather large (it will be my first year on this course)!! But you can walk trot most of the ride so dont feel under pressure to canter round it. you could treat it like a long hack with lots of walk and trot work and all the fences are optional anyway. If you take it easy and the horse is already in work then I would do it provided he had reasonable fitness.
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No, we're saving Halton for next year when he is a little older and has had a bit more xc/jumping practice - I've heard the fences are rather large too!! :eek::eek:
 
CobsGalore said:
No, we're saving Halton for next year when he is a little older and has had a bit more xc/jumping practice - I've heard the fences are rather large too!! :eek::eek:
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Yes Halton isn't the ideal starter one :-) ESP the plane you jump :-))) waddesdon was my fave and the jumps are def optional there, also liked the bluebell ride.

The stewards are definitely as part of their role crossing everyone off so that they know if someone is still out on the course and might have come to grief, that's a key part of their role. Hence the numbers. Normally they will see your bib number and write it down but if you are in a bunch of riders coming though it is helpful if you can call out your number.
 
Did it a few years ago. Found a gear on my cob I didn't know he had!

There are some hills, so you might want to do a bit of hill work if you can, and a deep stream to cross (can cut the latter out but my daughter's novice pony loved it and has been good with water since).

There were also a nice lot of little tempting jumps.

Hope you have a great time.
 
Yes I think he is going to find an extra gear too, he's usually pretty laid back but can get a little strong with excited!

We already do a bit of hill work, so will make sure we add more hills in :) thank you!
 
Here is the link for the waddesdon ride, it's on 12 May 2013' rotary club organise it. It's at waddesdon manor the rothschilds fairy tale place near Aylesbury.

It's a bit longer than most at 11 miles and cos a lot is in the estate there's some nice curving uphill stretches to give the horses a nice but safe pipe opener as the uphill gradually brings them back to you brakes wise :-))) also fab photo opportunity with the manor on the hill in the background.

http://www.horseeventsuk.com/horse-events-equestrian-event.php?url_eventid=7375
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
Here is the link for the waddesdon ride, it's on 12 May 2013' rotary club organise it. It's at waddesdon manor the rothschilds fairy tale place near Aylesbury.

It's a bit longer than most at 11 miles and cos a lot is in the estate there's some nice curving uphill stretches to give the horses a nice but safe pipe opener as the uphill gradually brings them back to you brakes wise :-))) also fab photo opportunity with the manor on the hill in the background.

http://www.horseeventsuk.com/horse-events-equestrian-event.php?url_eventid=7375
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Thank you :)
 
If you go on Google waddesdon sponsored ride 2012 someone has put up a 5 min video from her helmet cam of highlights of the ride(obviously mostly fast bits included but the ride has lots of gentle bits in between so don't panic!) hope you have a nice time :-))
 
Im doing West Wycombe this year have done it many times. You will be fine, jumps are small even the bigger ones and are all easily avoidable. Its a really nice ride you will love it :) the water is great fun prepare to get wet!!

Halton is nice too the jumps are not that bad and the Plane is more of a rider scarer and they are lots of not too testing jumps, but it is very much a ride for jumpers I think.

Waddesdon I liked but I didnt like the jumps as they wasnt really any order and had a big then small jump bit of a weird set up but lovely grounds to ride in.

Frensham is a lovely ride I have done it lots and always enjoy deff one of my favs :)
 
We took my pony on one this time last year, he wasn't very fit at the time but after getting himself very worked up he was fuelled by adrenalin and managed to gallop flat out up EVERY hill we came across including the hill where the lorries were parked. He doesn't know his limits and when we got home it was fair to say he was rather tired! But another horse in the group hadn't been in work for very long and managed very well (the rest of the group followed us up the hill in trot or a steady canter as we waited awkwardly at the top:D)

I'm sure you will have a lovely time! We had lots of fun! Make sure if you are wearing a wristband with your number on it you either wear it where you can see it or make sure you know what the number is (pony was trying to take off every time a steward was trying to find out, it was a nightmare!!)
 
I've owned my current horse since the end of October and he came to me completely unfit. We've obviously had a lot of weather to contend with since I bought him, however, on an average of 4 hacks per week he was plenty fit enough to do 14 miles in the forest at the weekend.

If you are adding more hill work to your hacks I would trot up all of them, this really does help increase the stamina.

On the day of the sponsored ride, try to walk at least the first mile, then introduce trot and keep your canters for after half way. That way you will hopefully not over do it!

Mainly, have fun, it's lovely but rather addictive!

I would check the rules of the ride as some places limit the length of the whip you can take.
 
Thanks Juliette, some really good advice there.

I got our times through today, going to be starting at 1.30pm - do you think it will be quieter at this time? I hope there won't be too many people cantering past us!
 
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