Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Comments:

- ECTRA judges only the horse's condition, and on the whole

is less "persnickety" than NATRC's structure.

- Though founded at different times (NATRC: 1961; ECTRA: 1970),

there is very little geographical overlap between the two organizations.

ECTRA is overwhelmingly northeastern US, with NATRC being

everywhere else. The only overlap occurs in the mid-Atlantic

states (Pennsylvania and Virginia).

- The Old Dominion 50 & 100 are simultaneously both AERC

and ECTRA sanctioned events, rather like "co-hosted" AERC and

FEI rides.

- If you don't like the persnickety aspects of NATRC, you can elect

to ride "hors de concours." You'll be judged, but you officially

don't care. Moreover, you'll have a little vet oversight to help you

and your horse, leg protection is allowed, and your mileage will

count.

- At its best, I like to think of NATRC as being like its distant

cavalry horse trial origins. The horse is being judged for its suitability

as a cavalry horse traversing the countryside during war. Nobody

wants a cavalry horse that can only make it to the battle if he hasn't

lost his bellboots. The rider is being judged like a cavalry trooper

getting his fitness report. Does the trooper ride and take proper care

of his mount and tack--by the book that experience has writ--to

ensure its continued health, safety, and *serviceability* for war?

- It is only when a ride manager offers a dumbed-down course, or a

rider refuses to move up to the faster, more demanding Open

judging tier (preferring easy blues) that the event degenerates

and you get the kinds of silly things Angie saw: lounging around

outside checkpoints to defeat the purpose of the P&R and time

constraints. The latter is, alas, pretty common in both NATRC and

ECTRA and accounts for the unfortunate reputation of CTR's as a

"Horse show in the woods." It is only so if the rider makes it so.

Personally, I think anything that gets people out on trails with their

horses and involves some kind of goal, discipline, and training

is a Very Good Thing.

Linda Marins

(For a pic of me and my Morgan mare UC Esther riding the

parallel, unjudged (shorter, too!) pleasure ride at the 2001

Green Mountain Horseman's Association 100-mile 3-day

ECTRA event--the 80+ year-old granddaddy of CTR events--