Are You Ready for a Challenge?

Are you ready to find out how you and your horse work together as a team? Are you willing to explore the depths of your horsemanship skills? Are you ready to share an outdoor, two day adventure with your horse? Are you curious about your horse’s athletic ability over varied terrain, distance and speed? Are you ready to try the most exhilarating, rewarding, challenging and addictive equestrian sport available? If you answered yes to any or all of the above, you are ready to try Competitive Trail Riding! The North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) is the oldest Competitive Trail Ride (CTR) organization. Competitive Trail is open to all riders of all ages, and horses of all breeds and ages. Competitive Trail is not about pedigrees and expensive equipment; instead it focuses on how best a horse & rider team can cover long distances safely and soundly. Welcoming members with the slogan "Come Ride With Us", NATRC focuses on the development of a partnership between horse and rider. NATRC competitions emphasize time, distance and stress, not speed. Since it’s inception in 1961, NATRC has evolved into its own style of fun, safe and challenging trail competitions designed to promote good trail riding, conditioning and training, the best horse care, as well as the breeding and use of horses suitable for the trail. There are three levels of CTR beginning with first time competitors just learning the sport up to the seasoned expert. These levels are Novice, Competitive Pleasure and Open. Both horse and rider are judged; the horse is evaluated by a Veterinarian and the rider is evaluated by a horsemanship judge. Both judges are often fellow competitors. Every ride has a minimum number of mandatory pulse and respiration (P&R) stops where your horse’s recovery heart & respiration rates are checked. Each trail is clearly marked by ribbons and you are given a map to follow with checkpoints each night before the next day’s ride. Safety riders follow up each group of competitors to insure no one is left behind. There is always help and advice available whenever you need it! Another benefit to CTR is the opportunity to ride in areas not available to the public. Many CTR’s are hosted by private landowners. Whether on public or private land, where else can you enjoy a beautiful trail with a safety support system such as one found in CTR? "Our rides are held in beautiful trail settings, "says Dr. Jerry Weil, Vet judge from Great Bend, Kansas. "Though the pace allows time for viewing the scenery, the rides are faster than pleasure rides in order to provide a challenge." To find out more about Competitive Trail, you can do any or all of the following: Visit our website at www.natrc.org; or email Kathy Brown at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Either way you will be put in contact with a NATRC member in your area that can answer your questions and direct you to the next ride or introductory clinic in your area! "COME RIDE WITH US!"

 

< Prev