# Competitive Trail Riding **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038 "2012-02-26T05:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/1 "2012-02-26T05:19:39Z")
Has anybody done any CTR? I’m thinking of getting into it and would appreciate any tips or advice before jumping in. Any help the teeming masses can provide would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/2 "2012-02-26T05:34:12Z")
What kind of trail riding? mtb crosscountry? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/3 "2012-02-26T06:22:14Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > What kind of trail riding? mtb crosscountry? I think it’s horseback riding. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/4 "2012-02-26T06:40:45Z")
You might try The Chronicle of the Horse message boards. They have a forum just devoted to Endurance and Trail riding. [Here’s a link.](http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=66) StG ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/5 "2012-02-26T08:10:47Z")
Of course you’ll need a suitable horse for it, bit that doesn’t mean you’ve got to run right out and buy an Arabian, say. A good friend of mine did CTR with a 16-hand Belgian for many years and had a blast. She wasn’t competitive for winning, knew going into it that she wouldn’t be, but had that horse in amazingly great shape, able to handle 20-mile rides in Vermont easily, and had tons of fun. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/6 "2012-02-26T15:14:54Z")
A BELGIAN??? Now THAT I would love to see… A Belgian on that famous Cougar Rock at Tevis? HELL YEAH! [http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=843&q=tevis+cup+cougar+rock&gbv=2&oq=tevis&aq=3&aqi=g9g-s1&aql=&gs\_sm=1&gs\_upl=1543l2838l0l5000l5l5l0l0l0l0l132l620l0.5l5l0](http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=843&q=tevis+cup+cougar+rock&gbv=2&oq=tevis&aq=3&aqi=g9g-s1&aql=&gs_sm=1&gs_upl=1543l2838l0l5000l5l5l0l0l0l0l132l620l0.5l5l0) Ah hem. Sorry, I got a little carried away there… I have never done any competative trail riding but always thought it looked hella fun! Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/7 "2012-02-26T16:00:35Z")
Thanks everyone! ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/8 "2012-02-26T16:42:45Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > A BELGIAN??? Now THAT I would love to see… A Belgian on that famous Cougar Rock at Tevis? HELL YEAH! :eek: 😃 Oh, goodness, yes, that would be a sight to see all right, though I doubt even the best-conditioned Belgian could ever survive the Tevis. No, Jean never asked Travis to do something beyond his capacity, but she had him out in [all sorts of New England conditions](http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1177170141000735275AEYBTR). She’d pull him from competitions if the weather made the footing unsafe, even in midride. That big boy loved his job. I used to go trail riding with them in the local state park, her on the Belgian, [me on my 16 hand sorrel QH](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/1335491405000735275BFehlc) (who unaccountably shrank from bigness to smallness in Travis’s company), and that draft had perfect trail manners. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/9 "2012-02-26T18:13:56Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > :eek: 😃 > > Oh, goodness, yes, that would be a sight to see all right, though I doubt even the best-conditioned Belgian could ever survive the Tevis. > > No, Jean never asked Travis to do something beyond his capacity, but she had him out in [all sorts of New England conditions](http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1177170141000735275AEYBTR). She’d pull him from competitions if the weather made the footing unsafe, even in midride. That big boy loved his job. I used to go trail riding with them in the local state park, her on the Belgian, [me on my 16 hand sorrel QH](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/1335491405000735275BFehlc) (who unaccountably shrank from bigness to smallness in Travis’s company), and that draft had perfect trail manners. What gorgeous animals! Your QH is really lovely. The rescue I volunteer at just got in a big Belgian gelding named Joe, about 400 lbs underweight and hooves so overgrown and cracked he can barely walk. (He was owned by a farrier, by the way… :mad: ) He is SUCH a lov. If I had the means I would adopt him in a heratbeat. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/10 "2012-02-27T01:06:38Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > What gorgeous animals! Your QH is really lovely. > > The rescue I volunteer at just got in a big Belgian gelding named Joe, about 400 lbs underweight and hooves so overgrown and cracked he can barely walk. (He was owned by a farrier, by the way… :mad: ) He is SUCH a lov. If I had the means I would adopt him in a heratbeat. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR… How can people do that to animals? Especially when they damn well know better? Thanks for the compliments on the sorrel boys. They’ve both gone on to greener pastures, alas. My current two geldings are a 20-year-old TB and a 22-year-old Morgan, both pretty much retired from doing anything other than rolling in any available mud and whooping it up with [spring fever](http://pets.webshots.com/album/582403387gXslEw). ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/11 "2012-02-27T03:18:05Z")
Tell me abut it. Here’s my Belgian Buddy Joe, with a 9 month old Miniature Horse filly, Sandy. Sandy was adopted this weekend I am happy to announce! [![](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/PapSett/JoeSandy.jpg) ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/PapSett/JoeSandy.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/12 "2012-02-27T03:29:50Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Tell me abut it. > > Here’s my Belgian Buddy Joe, with a 9 month old Miniature Horse filly, Sandy. Sandy was adopted this weekend I am happy to announce! > > [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/PapSett/JoeSandy.jpg](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/PapSett/JoeSandy.jpg) Awwwwwwwwwwwww… so adorable, both of them. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/13 "2012-02-27T15:43:29Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > [tevis cup cougar rock - Google Search](http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=843&q=tevis+cup+cougar+rock&gbv=2&oq=tevis&aq=3&aqi=g9g-s1&aql=&gs_sm=1&gs_upl=1543l2838l0l5000l5l5l0l0l0l0l132l620l0.5l5l0) WOW :eek: Ooh I don’t think I want to try that on my boyeen, although he might think it fun! [obligatory pic](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/MiscellanyPix/Don/e45ac5ac.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/14 "2012-02-27T17:15:30Z")
> [@Corcaigh](#): > > WOW :eek: > > Ooh I don’t think I want to try that on my boyeen, although he might think it fun! > > [obligatory pic](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/MiscellanyPix/Don/e45ac5ac.jpg) PRETTY boy!! I think the Tevis Cup ride is considered one of the most challenging in the world. No even on my most atheletic day of my life would I consider Cougar Rock! Nuh uh, nosiree bob, no way! ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/15 "2012-02-28T05:01:54Z")
> [@Corcaigh](#): > > WOW :eek: > > Ooh I don’t think I want to try that on my boyeen, although he might think it fun! > > [obligatory pic](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v605/MiscellanyPix/Don/e45ac5ac.jpg) Good-looking boy! And I love the backlighting; that’s a neat photo. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/16 "2012-02-28T15:33:57Z")
Just wanted to second the Chronicle Forums. Sometimes it’s like getting a drink of water from a fire hose, but there’s a wealth of information and some very knowledgable posters, inclusing olympians and other leading lights of the equestrian world, such as Mike Matson, guru of the musical freestyle and Denny Emerson the only rider to win both a gold medal in Eventing AND the Tevis cup buckle. Another thing you might enjoy is “trail” classes at local shows. It’s like an obstacle course where you have cross a wooden bridge, open & shut a gate from horse back, approach scary moving/flapping objects, etc. Here’s an [example course](http://www.showhorsepromotions.com/patterns_redone/TrailClass8.pdf). think it sounds easy? bwahahahaha. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/competitive-trail-riding/614038/17 "2012-02-28T18:17:04Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > PRETTY boy!! > [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Good-looking boy! And I love the backlighting; that’s a neat photo. Thanks 😃 the backlighting was a complete accident, I love it when that happens!