The Kings Forest national 80km Competitive Endurance Ride hosted a trial of a new award which forms part of the British Endurance Protocol currently being developed by Endurance GB and the British Equestrian Federation. The award is designed to complement the existing competition structure and reward good horsemanship over the course of the competition. At each vetgate and at the finish, presentation times were scored as 20 points minus the presentation time. A 20 point bonus was given for each Cardiac Recovery Index (CRI) result where the second pulse was lower than the first. Scores were also awarded for the other veterinary criteria (gut sounds, gait and dehydration) up to a maximum of 15 points at each vetgate and at the final vetting.
The winners of the trial competition were Christine Ryan and Almaak with 145.40 points, who also won the class. Christine Ryan and Almaak had the shortest presentation times out of all the competitors at each vetgate and at the finish, and they had excellent CRI results including a final pulse of 60/48 in five minutes.
In second place was Saffron Bishop with Ty Shute Golden Savannah with 135.62 points, and in third place was Charlie Chadwick & Sky’s the Limit with 132.68 points.
The results of the trial competition will now be reviewed by the working group. Other elements of the protocol which focus on participation, promotion of clean sport and selecting officials are still being worked on and more information will be released in due course.
Featured image: Louise Rich at the final vetting of the FEI 2* 120km ride at Kings Forest – the winner of the class. Photo by David Saunders.
