For reasons beyond my control, the following trail description
was left out of the September issue of AERC News AND the
International mailing you just received.
TRAIL DESCRIPTION
THE ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 50 AND 100 MILE RIDES (95 RTCR),
October 13-15, 1995 Rock Springs Ranch will be on the trail to be
used for the 1996 FEI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP-ENDURANCE (96 WC-E),
September 17-22, 1996. The trail's start and finish will be at
the headquarters for the 95 RTCR and 96 WC-E, the Rock Springs
Ranch, 15 miles south of Junction City, Kansas. The headquarters
are in a beautiful setting of natural stone cabins which will
house up to 650 persons, variously sized meeting halls, 600 seat
auditorium, cafeteria, swimming pools and horse barns and
corrals. This should be a near perfect site for riders, crews
and officials for the rides.
Manhattan and Junction City are about 150 miles west of Kansas
City, and the trail will be in the Flint Hills south of these
cities. The trail will be included in an area south of
Interstate 70, east of Highway 77 and west of Highway 177.
Almost all of the trail will be on private range land. The
riders will start in a large open prairie pasture and after about
1/4 mile, the trail will join an old abandoned county road
heading east from the headquarters. The road is wide and has
excellent footing for the horses and riders, and this site will
provide an excellent vantage point for spectators and crews to
see the start and finish. After about 2 miles, the riders will
cross a 2-lane highway (Highway 77) and head across native
pastures east and north east. The trail will go across rolling
"flint hills" covered with native, blue-stem grasses on the upper
slopes and through wooded areas in the canyons. Much of the
trail will be "cross country," some will follow 2 track pasture
trails and very little will be on roadways.
Riders will have an opportunity to feel the excitement of the
open prairie just as did the Native American hunters, the
soldiers of the U.S. Cavalry and pony express riders about a
century earlier. There will be little or no repeat trail, only
short distances (less than 5 miles total) of gravel road, and no
paved roads. Both the 50 and 100 mile trails will be continuous
loops through the Flint Hills. The footing will be good, but the
lime-stone rocks and sheets on the upper edges of the slopes will
require good judgment and pacing in spots. None of the hills
will be more than a 1/2 mile climb, but the hills "just keep
coming," i.e. it is in rolling country. There will be ample
water in stock tanks, earthen dams and at additional sites along
the trail.
We are planning 5 veterinary check points along the trail. There
will be easy access to the veterinary check points for cres and
spectators. However, there will be restriction on access of
crews to sites along the trail.
There will be extra-fun events in association with the 1995 RTCR
and the 1996 WC-E ride. The Awards Ceremonies for the 1995 ride
will be combined with the Black Tie and Blue Jeans Ball, a fund
raising banquet with live entertainment (Wichita Linemen), silent
and live auctions and more! 1995 RTCR entrants are admitted
FREE.
The 1996 World Championship trail will be different from any of
the previous 5. It will be the closest to the "trail" used by
many of the forerunners of equestrian endurance, and it will be
exhilarating and challenging.