Endurance riding in very wet weather is something nobody looks forward to but stuff happens… all looked reasonable when Sally took Mia off to Wales for a 2 day 130k in Camarthenshire on 20/21st May 2016. In retrospect and ever the optimist, Sally said “and 130k in those conditions is something very special”. It was to be their preamble to the Cairngorm 100 Ride in Scotland (where they came 2nd last year). To put the weather in perspective, it was so horrid that the event photographer took this header picture from inside her car, and ALL other 130k competitors dropped out. Here are a few tips by Sally Toye on how to make Endurance riding in very wet weather go swimmingly.
I had planned trotting through the swollen stream and Mia just shot into canter and I had given her a loose rein so she could get on with it and I could concentrate on keeping in balance to help her. She certainly knows her own mind and I was a little behind her brain at that moment!
Cairngorm is a one hundred miles in 24 hours horse riding endurance challenge with some basic similarities to the Tevis Cup. In addition there’s a 50 and a 75 mile ride. In 2016, the start was at Glen Clova Hotel with the finish at Nethybridge i.e. riding in opposite direction as in 2015. Safely back from the Cairngorm 100, Sally wrote the following tips:
Sally’s horses thrive on Aloeride aloe vera
Sally Toye was invited by the Endurance GB Wessex Group to talk about Cairngorm 100 (Scotland) and Tevis Cup (United States). She was asked about preparation, comparison between the two rides, and so on. The below is the uncut version for all of whom who are interested and weren’t able to attend the talk on 6th December 2015.
Header picture by Sara Williams.