In the vast majority of endurance rides, including non competitive/pleasure rides, you will be expected to complete the course at no slower than a set minimum speed. Many also have a maximum set speed. Failure to complete the ride within these speeds will result in elimination even if you have correctly navigated the course and pass the vet at the end. It is therefore extremely important to be able to plan your ride so that you complete the course on time.
The simplest way to do this is to use your ride map (which will arrive a few days prior to the event) to work out how long it should take you at the appropriate speed to get to certain landmarks around the route. Check points are an obvious choice but can be a bit far apart on some rides and are not often equally spaced so that it is useful to pick a few spots in between for your speed/time checks too.
Ride maps are usually 1:50000 scale (but will be clearly marked if not) so the simplest way to judge the distance between certain points is to lay a piece of string along the route and then measure it against the map scale. You can then work out the time you should take to get there by using the formula time=distance/speed.
Alternatively you can use our handy dandy ready reckoner – click below to open PDF.
We would recommend that you work out the time, three times for each point – once at the minimum ride speed, once at the maximum ride speed and once for a mid range speeed. (For a lot of novice rides and under current PC rules this will be 8kmph minimum, 12 kmph maximum and 10kmph mid-range but always check your ride rules as they can vary a fair bit.) You should plan to arrive back at the mid-range speed or slightly faster as this gives you plenty of time in hand either way should something go wrong.
Times should be witten on your map (we use a post it) and listed as total time from the start to that point – that way you can set your watch to 12.00 when you set off and it makes it very easy to chack your progress as you go round.
It is also good policy to plan your ride so that you start faster and come in at a more relaxed pace. Not only will getting some time in hand at the start give you more to play with if you do have problems later on; but finishing at a slower pace gives the horse the best chance of recovering well for the final vetting. Study your ride map carefully to look for places where you will be able to make up a bit of speed and others where you might have to slow down.
Good planning of your ride before hand will make it more enjoyable for both of you. 
