Typically the young riders and their horses compete by traveling an average of 25 miles over challenging terrain in a timed event. As they accumulate good scores and better fitness levels they enter endurance races of further distances. Those wishing to qualify for the 2009 U.S. Endurance Riding team must be competing in 100 mile races.
M.R. Riders will use the grant to purchase blankets to protect their horses at winter competitions. Often during overnight competitions the youthful competitors camp with their horses at primitive sites which do not offer shelter for the animals. By covering the resting horses with blankets their muscles will stay warm, enabling them to compete more comfortably and safely.
“The Kentucky Horse Council is pleased to support the efforts of M.R. Riders 4-H Club. Endurance riding provides a great lesson in delayed gratification as the students condition themselves and their horses well in advance of competitions,” remarked KHC Board President, Madelyn Millard.
The Kentucky Horse Council is a non-profit organization dedicated, through education, to the protection, growth and development of the equine industry in Kentucky. The Kentucky Horse Council provides educational programs, grants, scholarships, personal liability insurance, trail riding programs, and an annual statewide equine industry directory.