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[RC] LD/50 speed comparison and CTRs - Deanna GermanHaving done all of the above now in four states (not eveything in every state, mind you) and two different AERC regions, having particpated in OAATS CTR and having observed a couple of UMECRA CTRs in two different states, I think I can contribute to this topic. OAATS CTR has a 7 mph speed limit. Rides will be paced right at that speed limit if the terrain is flat, the weather conditions or the footing is conducive (cool dry air, dry firm footing) or if it is the club mandatory ride. >ggg< I'm guessing that about 2 or maybe 3 rides a year out of the 7 CTRs on our schedule are paced that fast or at least close to it. That means that for a 25 mile ride, you will be given at the minimum 4 hours and 5 minutes to complete the course if there is a required 1/2 hour hold. (Ride time at the minimum would be 3:35.) My observation is that the two UMECRA rides I observed seemed to be paced about this fast too over flat terrain, good footing. That speed seems to be a good middle of the pack finish for a hilly, rocky, little bit muddy LD ride (my observation from my ride time of 3:38 for the Spook Run LD I did last fall). Change that to flat, sandy terrain of many MW region rides, and all of a sudden, that's a back of the pack finish if not dead last! I did the first 25 miles of the flat, sandy and accurately measured 50 in June in 2 1/2 hours! I was one of the last 5 into vet checks one and two! The LD the next day was run similarly. Terrain makes a difference. BUT, there IS a real problem with rides not being measured accurately. That 50 I did was measured mostly on a car odometer. The rides that are measured with a vehicle, a wheel or GPS seem mysteriously longer than those whose RM's seem to be guessing. Another thing to note: there's no DQ in CTR for coming in OT as long as it's considered to be a reasonable time. So if the horse isn't fit enough to make that speed window (OAATS usually allows 1/2 hour window, UMECRA is 10 minutes), you CAN be OT. You will take penalty points, but you can still complete. (Because of this, I haven't a clue why people complain about some CTRs being paced "too fast".) Another comment: for anyone who can do the math, knowing the ride time is enough and in fact, the only thing that's relevant to determining speed when making a comparison. Trail speed is the only thing that matters and trail speed is the miles divided by ride time. A person CAN rest their horse longer than the hold time if they wish, but their ride time is still the elapsed time minus the hold time. What people choose to do once their out time has passed is their own business. Heck a person can rest their horse out on trail if they wish. But they are still on ride time. Once that out time has passed, they are on ride time. For those of you who can do the math and who know how fast a ride time of 1 1/2 to 2 hours is in terms of trail speed (and also know how fast that is from the horse's back), tell me it's not a problem when LD horses some of whom are 4 and 5 years old, are travelling that fast from start to finish of an accurately measured 25 miles. Even on flat terrain with good footing. They're running the whole thing. So much for all of this trotting we talk so much about, eh? See, I'm not making the argument that 50 mile riders are riding slower because I crunched a few numbers myself and came to the conclusion that Truman's anaysis supports long before Truman crunched his numbers. I'm saying that there are riders out there riding fast on horses that aren't ready for it at both levels. FWIW, which might be not much. Deanna (Ohio) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= http://www.endurance.net/ads/seabiscuit.html Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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