Your help needed - Sponsored rides :)

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lilaclomax

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I am in the very first stages of trying to organise a sponsored ride for charity for next year.

Firstly is there anyone here that has organised a ride or similar event... please could I pick your brains?

And for everyone else, what do you look for in a sponsored ride - not including the weather - ie length of ride, optional jumps, refreshments, awards, the ride itself etc...

This will be for a well known local charity and will tie in with other sporting events next year, local landowners have given provisional permission to ride along tracks that join up bridleways... these may not be needed as the riding is endless from the starting point, but one includes a toilet/drink stop!
 
I do several of these rides every year. Ideally I look for the following:

1. Varying lengths on ride available - for example a 5 mile and 10 mile loop - which can be joined together to make 15 miles if you wish
2. Well marked
3. Off road as much as possible and on tracks that aren't usually open as much as possible.
4. Stewards at road crossings
5. Catering is a bonus, especially if it is WI style with lots of cake
6. A Rosette!
7. Sensible parking - nothing worse than parking on a field that is soggy and worrying ofr the whole ride that you are going to come back to a lorry up to it's axles in mud!! Also awful if entrance is so small you can only just fit through it with a lorry, again ruins the ride as you worry about the journey home.
8. I'd recommend you borrow hi viz numbered vests from a local riding club, insist everyone has their own insurance and signs to confirm they have it.


My friend is membership secretary of ADR she is currently organising her first ride, I am sure she would offer some advice to you after she has run it if you need it.

If you don't usually participate in anything like this I would recommend you go to one and then you will see what you like and what you think you could do better.
 
I agree with the above, especially about the shortcut as I sometimes accompany my daughters for a while to see that their ponies are ok and then head back for coffee and cakes! Also near us, there are quite a few XC courses, parts of which are often incorporated into the ride. I have been on a couple that had a clear round jumping arena as well, for a small extra charge. Sometimes riders like to be warned if the ride involves crossing water as their horses may not like it. We went on one recently where there was a mini river crossing (about a foot or more deep and couple of yards wide); had I not already taken the shortcut home I would have had to wade through!
 
i organise The Great Chart Happy Hack, my brains might not be great at the mo, but you are welcome to pick them!!!
 
benson21 said:
i organise The Great Chart Happy Hack, my brains might not be great at the mo, but you are welcome to pick them!!!
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Ooooo are you. I'm doing it this year with a couple of friends. See you next weekend. I'll be the one on the very distinctive horse - all white (and I mean white, not grey!) with just brown markings on his face. Can't get him confused with another... Shout HI if you see me!
 
biccie1 said:
Ooooo are you. I'm doing it this year with a couple of friends. See you next weekend. I'll be the one on the very distinctive horse - all white (and I mean white, not grey!) with just brown markings on his face. Can't get him confused with another... Shout HI if you see me!
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Me too, I shall look out for you, he/she does sound distinctive.

We're going to start late as this is my friend's first outing with her new boy.

Look out for me, I'm on a 14.3 strawberry roan arab cross mare and my friend is on a 15.2 steel grey connemara - give us a shout :)
 
Well I do hope you all come and say hello to me! i shall be the one running around like a headless chicken behind the BBQ!!!!!
 
I do apologise to you Op, my hack seems to have taken over your thread!!! BUt if you need some help with what to do with yr ride, please feel free to pm me. x
 
juliette said:
I do several of these rides every year. Ideally I look for the following:

1. Varying lengths on ride available - for example a 5 mile and 10 mile loop - which can be joined together to make 15 miles if you wish
2. Well marked
3. Off road as much as possible and on tracks that aren't usually open as much as possible.
4. Stewards at road crossings
5. Catering is a bonus, especially if it is WI style with lots of cake
6. A Rosette!
7. Sensible parking - nothing worse than parking on a field that is soggy and worrying ofr the whole ride that you are going to come back to a lorry up to it's axles in mud!! Also awful if entrance is so small you can only just fit through it with a lorry, again ruins the ride as you worry about the journey home.
8. I'd recommend you borrow hi viz numbered vests from a local riding club, insist everyone has their own insurance and signs to confirm they have it.

I agree with these points. Try to make some of it land that you wouldn't usually get to ride on.
Good luck
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muddy boots said:
juliette said:
I do several of these rides every year. Ideally I look for the following:

1. Varying lengths on ride available - for example a 5 mile and 10 mile loop - which can be joined together to make 15 miles if you wish
2. Well marked
3. Off road as much as possible and on tracks that aren't usually open as much as possible.
4. Stewards at road crossings
5. Catering is a bonus, especially if it is WI style with lots of cake
6. A Rosette!
7. Sensible parking - nothing worse than parking on a field that is soggy and worrying ofr the whole ride that you are going to come back to a lorry up to it's axles in mud!! Also awful if entrance is so small you can only just fit through it with a lorry, again ruins the ride as you worry about the journey home.
8. I'd recommend you borrow hi viz numbered vests from a local riding club, insist everyone has their own insurance and signs to confirm they have it.

I agree with these points. Try to make some of it land that you wouldn't usually get to ride on.
Good luck
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I have to agree with Muddy Boots and Juliette, those are all things that I look for in a ride, and I've done a few :)

9) An official photographer is always welcome, not sure if they give you a donation to be there.

10) Toilet facilities are always welcome.

11) A few stretches for a good old canter.

Good luck :D
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The thing that is appriciated most at my ride is a water stop for the horses and riders. A large water bucket, plus water bottles and a dustbin for empties to go in. We always have a mounting block nest to it so people can get off and back on if they want. We are the only ones in our area that supply this, and riders are always really pleased of it.
 
benson21 said:
The thing that is appriciated most at my ride is a water stop for the horses and riders. A large water bucket, plus water bottles and a dustbin for empties to go in. We always have a mounting block nest to it so people can get off and back on if they want. We are the only ones in our area that supply this, and riders are always really pleased of it.
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Now you've said that, I do remember it from last year. As it was the first ride I had ever done I didn't know it wasn't the norm, but I did think 'what a cracking idea' - so big thank you for that :)

Do you buy the water bottles in or get them donated?
 
Jumps spread out across the ride are great, even just a few showjumps in a line are great to break it up a bit, and then a xc course is excellent.

Not too long, anything longer than 12 miles gets a bit tedious for the average rider I feel. A shortcut or short loop is helpful.

Good refreshments, homemade cakes or a catering van. Photographs are always nice to buy too. A decent rosette is always welcome!!

Just an added extra, maps can be helpful so you can see where the route goes/where any jumps are and can help if you have any followers who want to come and take photos?
 
I do lots of these, and thoroughly enjoy most of them :)

I look for rides with lots of cross country jumps! (That is the main reason I do them!) Ideally a good variety of types and sizes.

I like quite long rides, at least 8 miles or else not really worth doing, 12-15 miles are my favourites though I know a lot of people don't like to go as far or fast as me so prehaps a shorter option would be good too?

Nice countryside, ideally getting to ride somewhere you wouldn't normally as makes it more worthwhile.

A photographer is always appreciated especially when next to a picturesque jump :)

A rosette or something (even if just an apple for the horse) at the end is always nice, nice when you have a half way refreshment point on route as well particularly on longer rides.

Not really bothered about catering as I tend to take my own but I'm sure lots of people do like them. Toilets are always appreciated though and plenty of parking space I suppose.

Hope this helps :)
 
I like to see optional jumps, different length of ride, mostly off rode. regular stewards, a cup of water on route is appreciated:) staggered start times ( when i had a youngster setting off last with no loonies behind (you always get em) was very nice. Also make sure riders have 3rd party liability (our local long distance group insist on it). Not really bothered about a rosette. A reasonable entry fee (appreciate running costs, but they can go OTT). BBQ can be an optional extra...:)
 
I love doing fun rides! We like doing 12-15 miles its a nice distance for the fit happy hacking ponies! Like it when there is a photographer there, every ride I've been on and there has been a photographer I can garentee I'll buy the photo. BBQ or food is always a bonus as the person towing can grab something to eat while they are waiting for us to come back :) And the rossette - that is a vita element of every fun ride!!
 
HollyB66 said:
Now you've said that, I do remember it from last year. As it was the first ride I had ever done I didn't know it wasn't the norm, but I did think 'what a cracking idea' - so big thank you for that :)

Do you buy the water bottles in or get them donated?
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Unfortunately we have to buy them! So we trek around the town a couple of weeks before looking for the cheapest!!!!

Another thing with jumps, we only have 1 set, with 6 jumps in, 2 lines of 3. One lot are things like barrels, tyres, bales, and then we have a line of small x poles for the more nervous, or tinies so they still get a chance of a jumping photo. People like to be able to collect their pics on the day, not have to order them, so we have photographer about a mile into ride so they are ready when riders return.
 
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