November Limited Distance Ride

[SonnysMom]

I have never done a limited distance or endurance ride. I have recently lost a lot of weight (70+ pounds) so set a goal of riding in the April 2016 Foxcatcher 25 mile LD ride in Maryland.

However I just found out there is one in NJ on 11/7/2015. Currently I trail ride both days most weekends. Most rides are only around 8 miles. I tend to ride with a friend that has a gaited horse and we are not too compatible on speed so it is a lot of walking. The last couple of weekends we have been trotting/gaiting more.
2 weekends ago we did 11.7 miles at Blue Marsh. Once again a fair amount of walking due to terrain. There are a number of steep hills on this trail. It took us 3.5 hours and we weren’t pushing it.

I ride some during the week but we lost the big fields we used to be able to ride around. I would need to trailer out to be able to do much other than ring work. The BO is working on a trail that leads up to the cell phone tower on the “mountain” - really a large hill. However it is really rocky back there so not suitable for trotting. It is a fairly steep hill so has some fitness benefit.

My horse is more than pasture fit and is comfortably fit enough for a good 10 mile ride. Do you think it is reasonable to get him fit enough in just under 2 months for a 30 mile ride? It sounds like the terrain at the NJ one is flatter than the area I would be training in.
Riding during the week on the trails will be tough. I work an hour from my barn so can’t get there until 5:30 pm. We are quickly losing light. I have an indoor for days I don’t trailer out.

I am camping with friend’s in Fairhill the weekend of Sept 18-20th so it can be a dry run on the tent camping. I have not tent camped in 30 years.
Would I do better to wait until one of the spring 2016 rides and go volunteer at the one in NJ?
I would have some of the same issues in the spring getting him fit during the week. However due to my work schedule I could take some half days in March during the week to trailer out when it is light. However if we have a winter like the last 2 years then I will be stuck in the indoor pretty much the whole winter so may lose fitness. If the winter is milder then I can foxhunt on weekends to help with the fitness.

My horse is a roughly 14 year old arab cross. He is a pinto so we know he is crossed with something.

Closing for the Nov 7th ride is Oct 27. I guess I could assess his fitness in mid-October and make my decision then. Or just bag it and go back to shooting for one of the spring NJ ones or the MD one.

One other thing is the Nov 7th is 30 miles, the April Foxcatchers is 25 miles.

What would you do?

[tabula_rashah]

The Mustang and the Foxcatcher are very different. The Mustang is flat but it’s a lot of sand and can be very tiring for horses not used to working in deep footing- it also can tend to be a fast ride for a lot of people so make sure your horse is used to people whizzing by.
The Foxcatcher is a beautiful ride but deceptively tough with all the constantly rolling terrain. It’s a ride that tends to wind horses up with the open field start and a huge turnout.
What are your horse’s recoveries like after the 10 miles? If he’s doing well with that I don’t see a big problem with the 30 in November. If it were me, I’d choose the Mustang over the Foxcatcher as my first ride.

[SonnysMom]

Thanks for the reply. He is fit enough to do 10 miles fairly easily but it isn’t trotting the whole time. The indoor I ride in regularly has deeper footing. Not the same thing I realize as a whole trail of sand.
Foxcatcher terrain is closer to what I would be training on. Valley Forge/Marsh Creek/Lake Ontelanee are all pretty hilly.

He would be wound up with a big group and a big open field. I foxhunt and he is a tough one. I could start him in his foxhunting combo bit and switch to something lighter at the vet check.

I could wait until the NJ late March ride. They have a LD and a CTR on different weekends (or they did this year and prior years).

I guess I have until late October to figure out if I am organized enough and both of us are fit enough.

[tabula_rashah]

There’s also a CTR the weekend of the Oct 17-18 in NJ that’s on similar terrain as the Mustang (they are also offering CDR’s of 10 and 15 miles) called the Jersey Devil. I’m aiming for that with one of my students and then possibly the Mustang.

[SonnysMom]

I would love to do the October one but I am out of town From Mon to Friday the week before. If I do the November one I was going to send Finnegan to my trainers farm for that week. She has done conditioning for me for a week when I was foxhunting. Her father used to ride endurance and she was an advanced eventer so she understands conditioning.

[Lieselotte]

Sounds like your horse has a good base but it’s time to push him a bit more now: A lot less walking and a lot more trotting. You could get him there in time if he is a healthy horse and you ride regularly and consistently increase what you ask of him. A week with a trainer won’t really make too much of a difference so save the money and skip a day of work mid-week instead to sneak in an extra ride

Also, unlike in a NATRC ride, in an AERC ride you can let the group go and leave a bit later on your own, usually within 15 minutes of the start time.

[SonnysMom]

Lieselotte the week I was going to send him to my trainer I was going to be traveling for work so would be out of state. No sneaking down from MA to SE PA mid week. I just found out my trainer will also be out of state. I have somebody else that can at least hop on him that week to keep him moving.

This weekend we are camping at Fair Hill so I should be able to ramp him up. A few years ago I foxhunted and he was pretty darn fit. He gets fit pretty easily.

[AmarachAcres]

You are in the same exact stage I am, minus the weight loss. That is FANTASTIC. I have 40+ pounds to go.

I also ride with a woman who has a gaited horse and we ride on weekends, just hit 9 miles a ride.

Hope you have a blast. Keep at it.