Cavalry or Solo Riding

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Kevin Baird kbbaird@rev.net
Riding Cavalry (as it is refered to at the Old Dominion) or solo riding is a division offered and recognized by rides like the Old Dominion and the old US ride. I am not sure if there are other rides in the East that officially recognize and award solo riding.

The big deal is we are talking Virginia in June with hot and humid conditions and one of the toughest trails anybody will ever see.  Successfully negotiating the trail under those conditions with outside help is difficult.  No hay or alfalfa for your horse or any of the other stuff.  Just warm tank water at vet checks and what ever grass you can find along the way. A couple of the vet checks have very little grass and no ride supplied hay which means you may need to stop along the trail and gas up your horse for 5 or 10 minutes on your own time.  Therefore often you will end up riding alone since you will not be able to keep up with regular riders.  You truely have to ride your own ride to maintain the horse.


50 miles is not bad but when you extend it to 100 that is another story. I think we can look at the small list of people who have successfully completed in the Cavalry division at the OD to see how popular the option is.  The most I remember seeing is 6 riding cavalry. I can only think of about 15 people who have ever tried it.

I would like to see more of the 100 mile rides recognize true solo riding, but as a ride manager I can say that the ride organizers have enough to worry with, without other special awards to deal with.

I will now return to my lurker status.

Happy Holidays!

Kevin Baird





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