Is endurance riding the same as racing?
No, very different. Horse racing is a huge industry that deals with racing Thoroughbred horses on racetracks at a gallop. They all set off together and fastest wins, simple. Endurance racing is a bit like rally driving for cars, competitors set of singly over a given distance, anything from 10 to 100 miles, they are timed individually and encounter many varieties in terrain. Arabs are the most successful breed used for this, but any breed of horse can take part. It’s up to the rider at what speed they are going, depends on the horse, fitness and ground. Google ‘endurance riding’ and you will find some good sites.
Well, yes and no. Endurance rides do declare a winner, the horse that finishes the ride in the shortest time and is able to pass the vet check. That rider does get a trophy. However, most rides offer another trophy, just as coveted (or even more so): the trophy to the Best Conditioned horse, as determined by the vets who do the exams. Unlike a “pure” race where between the opening of the gates and the passing of the finish line, a “sanctioned” endurance race is monitored closely by a team of vets and observers who can, at their sole discretion, pull a horse out of the ride if, in their opinion, that horse is showing signs of distress. They can also pull a horse if, in their opinion, the rider is proceeding along the course in a manner that is heedless of the health and safety of his horse, or which puts other riders and horses in peril. IOW, if you entered an endurance race and were pushing your horse too hard to go too fast over stretches of the ride where it made better sense to go m
Speaking as someone who has met and gotten to know one of the current World Champions in the sport of endurance, I can tell you that it in NO WAY resembles Thoroughbred racing. Thoroughbred racehorses run on a track, and the distances they run are rarely more than a mile or two ( with some exceptions for steeplechase races such as the Grand National in Britain) at the most, where as the average endurance ride will be 50 to 100 miles in length. Endurance riding is about much more than speed, though- it’s also about conditioning your horse so that he or she can stay fit and sound over many miles and long hours of work. Most endurance horses are well past the standard racing ages of 2 or 3- R O Grand Sultan, Becky Hart’s famous horse, was in his early teens when he and his rider won their gold medals for the United States, and the great majority of them are either Arabians or are part Arab. Most endurance rides will choose a winner, but the most important prize given out is the one for be
