Kevin and I did the Dry Valley 30 located in the mountains of Central PA
near State College. I will not go into a mile-by-mile description of the
trail, but I need to touch on a few highlights so that the reader may
fully understand my concerns.
The ride time, as per ECTRA guidelines, was set at 5:10-5:40 which
included a 30 minute mid-point hold. The weather was clear, in the
70's. For the first 25 miles much of the trail was wide grassy jeep tracts,
hard-packed gravel road and some narrow woods trails. There were several
climbs, one to 2080 ft. One climb was a short scramble hill through
dense undergrowth, another included a very long, steep climb up a
pipeline, then down an even longer slope. We were encouraged to get off
the horse if we felt that the situation warranted it. Kevin did so on
the pipeline--and that proved conclusively to the rest of us that staying
ON the horse was a better option since he was slip-sliding down almost as
fast as he was going up. We had another long gradual climb then a
rip-roaring gallop downhill on a grassy path with good footing.
This was challenge enough. The climbs were slow-going, even the ones
with grassy paths. You were either going up or going down on this ride.
We came into mid-point (about 17+ miles) at 3 hours riding time--a good
clip considering.
I have no trouble with the trail up to the last 5 miles. We exited a
dirt road onto a deer track through very dense undergrowth of
knee-to-waist-high rhododenron that covered heavy deadfall and rocks. The
track was barely discernible at best and non-existent in spots--truly
"bush-whacking" territory. You could only walk. The worst section took
us through heavy rock falls/stream bed boulders/large stone, up and down
more fairly steep grades, then alongside Rte. 322 for at least a 1/2 mile
on a non-trail strewn with deadfall, rocks and dense undergrowth.
In that last 5 miles we barely averaged 2 mph--and I felt that was the
best I could do under the circumstances.
Of 28 riders only 4 came in without time penalties, at least 3 of them
had done the trail previously to mark it. I believe 4 riders were
eliminated for time penalties--the rest of us came in within that extra
1/2 hour of "grace period".
There was no way to safely negotitate that course in the time allotted.
There were at least 10 other options for bringing horses back to base
camp, on beautiful wide grassy trails, and even including a couple more
challenging, but fair, climbs. We know this for a fact--we lived there and
trained on the trails for years. To use that last 5 mile section as "trail"
was unacceptable by ECTRA standards, and unacceptable to me personally.
Kevin and I presented our horses under protest. We personally told the
ride manager that we found the trails to be unsafe and unacceptable, that
it was impossible to safely make the time given the trail conditions.
Here is where it became "interesting". The ride manager said she was
sorry we felt that way, but obviously we hadn't been all over the country
as she had, done the rides she had done, that Eastern riders were the
most pampered bunch of riders in the country, that she wanted to present
a challenge to the horse and have a ride that did not have predominantly
high scores, that endurance riders confront these "obstacles" all the
time, and so on.
First of all, this was a competitive trail ride, run under ECTRA rules
and regulations, following ECTRA guidelines for safety for horse and
rider. I consider ECTRA to be one of the best organizations in the
country in promoting safety of horse and rider in this sport, with sane
and sound policies to achieve that goal. This was not an endurance
ride--in fact if it had been, we would have made the time because we
would have had MORE TIME ALLOTTED!
Secondly, the "real scores" (i.e. scores for lameness, metabolics, etc.)
were still very high. Loss of points came from time penalties and the
multitude of bings and dings on legs and bodies from the rocks and
dense undergrowth. So what was the point to this exercise? Why put horse
and rider deliberately at risk just to provide a "challenge" and
"something different"?
Luckily there was only one fall on the mountain where the rider was
dumped onto the rocks--both are OK but beat up. The rider withdrew at
midpoint.
We were not the only riders to complain. Fortunately the ride manager
acknowleged the complaints at the awards ceremony and promised to change
the trail for next year. I truly wonder how many people will come back
after this experience.
Many of you have seen Old Dominion, with its notorious rocks and
tough trails....this trail was worse. I have packed into the Wind River
Range in Wyoming, climbing to 12000'....these climbs were worse.
Do we really need to create such bogus "challenges" for horse and rider?
Do we really need to tolerate unsafe conditions just so we have a ride to
go to? I am not talking about the short stretch of iffy going that is
sometimes necessary to get from point A to point B--this was different
in that it was designed that way, for a full 5 miles.
We need to remember that the riders are wearing gear appropriate for
RIDING, not hiking through forests where you cannot see the ground which
is littered with rocks, loose gravel and deadfall. Getting off was not
an option.
I cringe at the what-if, what if it had rained--those climbs would have
been impossible...period. The hidden rocks would have been
impossible....period.
Is this happening elsewhere? Am I so "pampered" that I am out of line
expecting safe riding conditions? Am I so "pampered" that I am forced to
choose safety for my horse over making an impossible time frame for ride
completion? Am I so "pampered" that I must choose between letting my
horse struggle up a mountain carrying a true HW rider versus me trying to
scramble up rock and loose gravel on foot in sneakers?
I am inviting a dialogue. We are losing riders-our rides are not
filling in the East. Why? Are the conditions we experienced this
weekend being duplicated elsewhere? I sincerely hope not.
As an aside--this ride manager stated that she does not like Old Dominion
trails. This ride manager last year complained loudly and vociferously
that our new woods trail on the Bucks County 50 was unsafe due to holes
on the side of the trail (discovered during her pre-ride of the course).
Kevin and I went out in the pitch black at 9 PM to cordon off the area
and re-route the riders into a field--we had to go on foot for a 1/2 mile
into the area. In the light of day all we found were 3 squirrel
holes...nothing dangerous at all. Much ado about nothing--but we went
way beyond normal expectations to provide a safe and pleasant ride for
everyone because we care about the contestants. I wish as much
consideration had been shown for this ride.
I really don't ask for much--I don't care about the food or the
availability of hot, running water or having porta-potties at
mid-point--these are luxuries. The safety of my horse is not a luxury.
I will be happy to summarize responses and post to the group.
Thank you for your time and understanding.
Diane @ Safe Haven