Maggie discusses the pony's recovery rates after each lap.

Maggie Pattinson of On the Hoof Distance Training and chef d’equipe of the English team, ran a small fitness training clinic at Milton Keynes Equestrian Centre in August which we were lucky enough to attend.

Maggie started the training by explaining about aerobic and anaerobic exercise, aerobic meaning that the blood is fully oxygenated and so the heart and other systems  can work efficiently.  Aerobic meaning that the level of work has increased to a point at which a lack of oxygen means that performance will diminish.  Flat work race horses will often do the entire race in the anaerobic zone, however this means that after a certain distance performance will drop off very rapidly.  So for consistent and sustainable performance such as an endurance ride you need to ensure that the horse is working in the aerobic zone.  However to increase the aerobic threshold you do have to occasionally push into the anaerobic zone.

Regarding initial fittening of the horse or pony Maggie believes there is no short cut to the general graft or 4 to 6 weeks of walk work early in the year. However she did say that you should not underestimate the benefits of hacking out, so any mums who go out with their friend should not feel guilty about having a chin wag, as you are actually helping to build a good level of base fitness!  Conversely whilst very good fun, blasting around the countryside flat out does very little to generate long term fitness.

Archie recovered best when worked in a steady trot

Maggie had brought several heart rate monitors that could be fixed to the horses saddles so as to monitor the level of exertion on the horses system at certain paces.    This was carried out at various combinations of pace depending on the individual horses.  Each horse did a warm up lap starting with a walk section and following with trot for the remainder of the circuit, at the end of the circuit the recovery time to a level of 60bpm was taken. This provided a base line, and also gave a rough indication of each horses fitness.   Then a series of circuits at different paces were done each with a target BPM rate in mind.  The riders were asked to assess which pace to adopt to get the required BPM.

The readings from the heart rate monitors were occasionally quite surprising, for instance whilst a resting pulse rate when untacked could be in the late 30’s or low 40’s even a gentle walk could raise it up by 10bpm, if the horse was a bit spooky or made to go away from their stable mates then it could go up to 80bpm even when still walking.

At higher paces different horses could behave quite differently to what you would expect.  For instance Shine who has wonderful extension and can trot for England actually had a much lower heart rate at canter.  Conversely Archie had a lower pulse rate at trot, but was not significantly slower in that pace.  Another thing that was rather counter intuitive was that in some cases the recovery time back to 60 bpm actually got better the more work they did, an example of this was Shaz who would definitely benefit from a significant level of warm up in advance of the event proper.

It was also obvious the effect that fighting with an onward bound horse can have in increasing the pulse rate, when allowed to have its head the pulse came down and very quickly the pulling match stopped.

One other thing that was quite surprising is how high the pulse rate could get under exertion.  A horse with a resting rate of 40 could easily get up to 180 on an extended canter.

One thing that was common across all of the ponies however was that a consistent pace gave a lower overall pulse rate and better recovery.   During

Recovery was faster when riders kept to a consistent speed even when that speed was fairly fast!

a circuit where the ponies changed up and down pace frequently the pulse was higher and the recovery time longer than when a consistent pace was done even when the consistent lap was quite fast.

What was good is that each of the riders went away with a couple of personalised tips on how their own pony behaves under work, and a good indication of what would work for them.  Also, encouragingly for those riders with older horses, we learned that if the horse has been kept in work for most of its life then it has a good base level of fitness that has built up over the years enabling it to perform on a par with a younger animal.

Report by Rebecca Parsler.

I went to the Interegionals at Barbury Castle on7-9th August 2009.   Me , my Dad and my big sister Tasha had been selected for the Eastern Region team, from Cromwell group. Gilly, the chef d’equipe, took my pony Havannah in her trailer with her horse because we only have space for two in our trailer. We followed up the next day with my sisters and Dads ponies Talisman and Shine.

When we got to the venue, after looking out the windows at all the huge fields and rolling hills, saying how fun it would be the next day, we found where Havannah had been put out in a corral and unloaded Shine and Tally.   As we were bringing them to the gate to the corral area, Havannah saw us and jumped out of her corral and galloped across the field ducking and jumping other peoples corrals as she went,  causing a bit of a spectacle for all the people setting up camp!  We managed to catch her when she met the wooden fence and led her back to the corrals with Talisman and Shine.

After setting up camp we had a team meeting, met all the other members of our regional team and got our bright pink kit, Dad looked lovely. We later on went to eat at a restaurant with very slow service and a lack of bacon for Tasha. We eventually got back very late, but Mum and Dad were soon out again in search of Mum’s left behind handbag. An hour or so later all the drama was over and we got to sleep.

The next day we collected in the ponies and groomed them before heading off to the vet. It took ages to get through the vet as Havannah’s legendary low heart rate had hit its record at 24 bpm and all the vets including the chief vet all came over as they didn’t believe it. Havannah did get jokingly accused of ‘cheating’ because she drops and skips heartbeats all over the place. Once we were finished there we returned to the trailer and finished grooming and tacking up. Me and Natasha put white bows in our ponies manes and sprayed slightly wonky silver stars on their bums, which did get some comments from our team.

Natasha and me showing off our lovely pink team kit! (Photo by Eric Jones)

Setting off along the racecourse with fellow team member Pippi on a borrowed horse all the ponies were energetic and pulling to go.  The first part of the route is on grass track the whole way, which is good to get a decent start, almost the whole ride was on downs and ridge ways with little roadwork. We got back in good time and got vetted, Havannah got a grade 1 and shine a grade 4.  Sadly Talisman was vetted out and our team vet confirmed that he had thrown a splint and prescribed 6 weeks off work. (not such good news for Dad’s plans for the rest of the season)

After we saw the horses relaxing once again in thier corralls we went up to the trade stands for lunch. Mum had spotted a cheap free ‘n easy saddle she wanted but unfortunately it was gone by then. We were sitting above the vetting area eating cakes and watched a pair of riders having a racing finish and also the only 160km rider to finish and joined in the cheering when she crossed the line and passed the vet.

At the prize giving there was more cheering as the Barbury Champion was presented with her rug and rosettes. Our regional team was placed 7th and me and Tasha also got a 3rd place young riders medal. All in all it was a good ride at a great venue and I’d like to go again.

Rebecca Parsler

Whaddon Chase Pony Club is organising a fun and friendly “virtual” treasure hunt to help raise funds for their Endurance teams’ training program.

Everyone is welcome to enter and there will be small prizes for the winners.

Click here to download an entry form.

Championship Team 2009 - Whaddon Chase Pony Club

The inaugural Pony Club National Endurance Championships was held on 20th September 2009 at the College Equestrian Centre near Bedford.  Although this was the first year, 12 branches competed with riders travelling from as far afield as Wales and Yorkshire.  Pony Club Chairman Cherry Michell, Endurance Chairperson Robert Blane and Nicola Slater from sponsors Carr & Day & Martin presented a huge pile of wonderful rosettes and prizes.  All said how delighted they were with both the number and standard of the entries.

A dedicated team of Whaddon Chasers have been working hard all year to qualify for this event, clocking up in excess of 1500km of competitive rides between them (not to mention all the hours of both mounted and unmounted training they put in!).  In the event we are proud to say that their dedication obviously paid off.  All the WCPC riders produced excellent results in very full and hotly contested classes.

Some mention also has to go to the team of dedicated parents and friends who provided essential back up crew in the form of both escort riders and ground support.  The day of the Championships was brilliantly sunny, which is very nice if you are sitting around, but not so good if you need to ride 30-40km in 3 hrs!  Without the positive army of people driving round the Bedfordshire countryside with buckets of water, sponges and bottles of drink it would not have been possible for our team riders to achieve the results they did. So a major thank you to Nesta, Jane S, Peter, Jane A, Jacqui, Kim, Rachel, Maria, Celia, Katrine, Karen and Aaron.  (I think we also managed to prove that Whaddon Chase really know how to organize a killer barbeque!)

Results:

Not surprisingly the Novice classes attracted the most entries in this first year.  However, from a National Committee perspective, what was most pleasing was the sheer quality of those entries.  The standard was unbelievably high and there was almost nothing between the first 10 or so riders in both sections.   We were therefore extremely pleased with the following results…

Junior Novice

Whaddon Whizzers  team 1st –  Katie Spaughton, Hannah Maskell and Bryony Parsler

Whaddon Wonders team 3rd- Eve Knights, Louise Gallavan and Kathryn Naysmith

Katie Spaughton individual 1st

Hannah Maskell individual 5^th

Senior Novice

Team 2^nd – Beth Brown, James and Peter Alexander

James Alexander individual 2nd

The Open class was not as full but the standard was no less high. Once again placings were incredibly tight, especially between the top 5 riders, with no more than 3 or 4 penalty points between them (out of a possible 55).  The eventual winner put in a stunning performance that would not have been out of place on any affiliated National team.  All our Open riders can feel justly proud of themselves for the following results in such a tough competition…

Senior Open

Team 2^nd – Rebecca and Natasha Parsler and Gemma Maskell

Rebecca Parsler individual 2^nd and EGB grade 1

Natasha Parsler individual 5^th and EGB grade 2

For a full list of results please go to

Everyone showed a great team spirit, helping each other out and all seemed to have really enjoyed the day.

For full results and more information please see the main Pony Club website at http://www.pcuk.org/Disciplines/Endurance/Endurance-Championships/

Who are they for?

ANYONE  who cares about how fit their horse/pony is
•  Eventers
•  Show Jumpers
•  Dressage
•  Endurance
•  TREC
•  Riding Club/Pony Club Teams
“On the Hoof Distance Training” are passionate about fitness, they want everyone to enjoy training and have a greater understanding of what fitness is and how it can be achieved for every discipline.

What do we do?:

Using a measured distance we look at what the horses heart is actually doing..
•  Assess fitness
•  Work intervals – technically using heart rate monitors
•  “play around” with the heart rate monitors – to see “exactly” whats what!
Each session covers you and your horse specifically, you don’t have to be a particular level or even aiming at something in particular it can simply be about learning more about how you both “tick”. The aim is to have fun, to improve and understand a little (and sometimes a lot) more about what about what’s going on under you!

Who is running it?

Maggie Pattinson of On the Hoof Distance Training. Maggie’s passion is for fitness in the competition horse. She has a lifetime’s experience with horses and has been lucky enough to compete and work in many different countries in a variety of disciplines – mainly Eventing until she discovered Endurance 16/17+ years ago. Since then she has trained, competed and crewed at International level. She is currently chef d’equipe for the Home International English Team which is how the Parslers have got in contact with her. She runs this type of training regularly at different levels for her local EGB group, the international teams and for some of her local PC branches too.

Whilst this training has obviously been organised with Endurance in mind you don’t need to have an interest in Endurance Riding to attend. Maggie is keen to help everyone at all levels of riding to achieve the correct fitness levels to be able to get the best out of your horse.

What will it cost?

The cost per head will be £20-25 for 3/4 hours training in groups of 2-4 riders.  (As Maggie is travelling from some distance she has set a minimum charge for the day so until numbers are confirmed it is impossible to be definite on cost.) If you are interested in attending please contact Nikki using the contact form below asap to book your place. You will get a pre-training questionnaire sent back which you will need to complete so that Maggie can plan the session specifically for you!

Click here to download the schedule for the MK ride on 30th August.  There are classes from 4km to 37km and a team friendly competition too.  This is your very last chance to qualify for the 2009 PC Championships and we have a qualifier class at all 3 levels.

Please note that late entries cannot be accepted and failing to provide a suitably sized SAE may significantly delay your reciept of ride maps. The secretary is taking the entries off to the Lake District on holiday with her so late entries will quite literally not be seen.  We are also disinclined to tramp all over the place looking for shops to sell us envelopes and stamps because you can’t be bothered to provide them!  Sorry if that seems harsh but even ride secretaries have to holiday sometime.

News

Oakley Endurance has got off to a cracking start!  We have

• 24 members, or 1/3^rd of the branch interested in having a go at an Endurance event
• 12 members who have taken part in an event
• 3 teams
• run our first Endurance event
• started a series of training booklets, Quick Guides to Endurance, and published 3 Guides
• written 2 newsletters
• designed a team kit
• got a website presence…see http://endurancediary.wordpress.com

Welcome…

… to Eleanor Betts who is joining the branch this month and came straight into the Endurance mini team

Well done…

Emily Dunning

Oliver Barrett

Eleanor Betts

who completed the Robin ride at Marston showing fantastic progress.  Well done also to their ‘running mates’ who have had to push up the pace considerably to keep up.   And well done to

Antonia Lawrence

Imogen Lawrence

Thomas Barrett

Olivia Hern

Lucy Northall

Felicity Aldridge-Newman

who passed their Kestrel ride at Marston, all 6 with qualifying speeds and heart rates.  They are now well on their way to qualifying for the National Championship rides in September.

Quotes….

“I did loads more cantering this time and Magic is a great pony on Endurance rides” Tom Barrett

“It was really exciting and I really enjoyed my first endurance ride” Eleanor Betts

Diary Dates

• 20 June Un-mounted training and social – Sloshing / crewing practice
• 24 June 2009 Un-mounted training – Map reading for Endurance
• 28 June Stevington Rides Oakley Hunt (West) Qualifier for 2009
• 17 July Aspley Guise Woods “Fish ‘n Chips” ride and social
• 28 July Training ride venue TBC
• TBC August Un-mounted training – Training schedules
• 30 August Milton Keynes Whaddon Chase/Cromwell rides
• 13 September Lions Tail Pony Club Team Challenge (major EGB ride)
• 20 September Keysoe PC National Championships

Coming up …

September to December

Dates to be finalised

• Un-mounted talk – Introduction to Natural Horsemanship
• Un-mounted training – Clipping for hunting or Endurance
• Stevington ride 2010 qualifier
• Winter fun ride
• Christmas social and Endurance Secret Santa

Training tip of the month

Do not be late for your final vetting!  You have to get to the vetting no later than half an hour of completing the ride.  No-one will remind you to do this.  If you miss your time you will not pass the ride!

Interested in finding out more or having a go?  I am here to help!  avbarrett@yahoo.com

Vicki Barrett – Oakley West Branch Endurance Rep

Ride write up

Marston Vale Forest Centre 13 June, Kestrel and Robin rides

Written by Lucy Northall

My Endurance Ride

On the, 13^th June, I competed in an endurance ride at the Forest Centre, Marston Vale. The ride was sixteen kilometres and our target speed was ten km per hour so our expected time was one hour thirty six minutes.

The weather was very hot so we were all extremely cautious that our ponies were not dehydrated. At first, we started at a very fast trot, then we eased into canter but soon found that this was too fast, so had to slow down. After that, we realised that it was definitely not a race and we had to focus much more on the heart rate of our ponies and not the speed we were going or the fastest time we achieved.

We had crew on horse-cooling duty (sponging the ponies down after each circuit). We also had plenty of supporters and stewards making sure that the ponies and their riders were safe and also to ensure that they got round the circuits okay.

To achieve the sixteen km, the ponies had to be extremely fit and healthy and also willing to contribute as a stubborn pony would find it hard to complete.

My pony and I completed the ride just over the optimal time and a low heart rate.  We were within the qualifying limits for the Pony Club Endurance Championships.

And we had great fun!

Small People and Ponies Endurance Team (“SPPET”) Competition Report

The Oakley Hunt (West) SPPET took part in their first competition on 22 March 2009.

Oliver Barrett, Emily Dunning, Scarlett Lawson, Tom Barrett

Starting from the Events Plaza Milton Keynes and including a Robin class with no minimum age, this was a brilliant opportunity to kick off Endurance for the most junior members of the Club.  Organised by the Whaddon Chase PC the event was the official launch of Pony Club Endurance and over 55 competitors took part in 5 classes.   A high publicity event it and included a free hospitality tent which went down very well with competitors and crew alike – somehow we missed the BBC TV cameras, which could have been because we were too busy eating cake!   And there were other freebies and a smashing Rosette for every class.

The team completed a mostly off road 4km ride (over parts of the 75miles of bridleways in MK) and we were lucky to have a lovely sunny day.  Each member of the team was accompanied by at least one adult on foot.   Average speed was 11.6 kph, below the optimum time of 10 kph but well within the minimum speed of 15kph.  Despite excellent ground conditions the pace of the riders was rather hampered by the relatively low levels of fitness of the runners, especially on the hills – note has been made and separate training runs will be organised for the adults…   A big thanks to ‘Team Emily’ who provided crew support on route.

Restraint was the order of the day, good practice for the longer rides where care has to taken to keep to a constant pace – the team managed to resist the enormous temptation to gallop up the Beacon.   The Robin ride was well within the capabilities of the team, who were eager to go round the course again!!!

For the Robin ride no vet checks were needed.  All ponies appeared sound but some concern was expressed about the state of Magic’s gut – 1 wee and 5 poo stops and ‘blow off’s’ too numerous to mention indicated that the pony’s diet needed review.  Oliver will be looking into nutrition for long distance events and making appropriate changes before the next competition.

Looking forward the Team will be arranging training rides of 3 miles upwards – Oakley West minis with small riders and small ponies (with appropriate pony paces) will be invited to join them.   Tom and Scarlett are over 8 and so can take part in Merlin training rides of 8km and competition Kestrel rides of 16km and over.   For these distances they will need to secure ‘safe’ adult escorts on horseback (Vicki and Caroline are working on this, especially keen as it means no more running).

All in all the Oakley are very hopeful that we have the foundations of a highly successful young Endurance Team for next year.

An important part of the training which the Parsler’s are attending in preparation for the inter-regionals is focussed on the health and fitness of the horse.  The team actually has it’s own nominated vet, equine physio and farrier all of whom looked over Talisman and Havannah at the recent training day.

One very important point made was that if you know your horses’ usual vital statistics – weight, resting heart rate and temperature – then you are able to quickly identify any changes which may indicate a problem.  For example, Havannah has  very low resting heart rate of around 28bpm.  If she had a heart rate of 36bpm at rest then we would become concerned even though this falls well within the parameters which are considered “normal”, as it represents a significant change for her.  All these vital statistics are essential guides to your horses well being and vary from individual to individual so it is important to know what is normal for your horse – not just what the book says.

Below is a link to an interesting article on using heart rate monitors for this purpose ……

http://www.distanceriding.org/php/articles/condition/RandR.pdf

You can also use a stethoscope to take heart rate – sometimes more reliable than electronic gadgetry – but do count over a full minute as you get a more accurate reading.  The other tools you need are a weight band (which can often be acquired free from feed suppliers) and a digital thermometer with vaseline!

Take your readings at a similar time and in similar circumstances each day so that you get a reasonable comparison.

Attached is the schedule and booking form for a training day to be held at Down Barn Farm in Wantage.  This looks like a very imformative days training for experienced competitor and novice alike.  It is open to non-members of EGB and pony clubbers will be made welcome.

cotswold training day 0709

cotswold training day schedule 0709