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On Wednesday 13th August we had a visit from endurances rider Harry Ingram and Michelle France, along with Harry's Arab horse Tash.
Harry learned to ride here at MRS, and he now competes at endurance riding with the Cheshire Group of Endurance GB.
Endurance is now a Pony Club discipline, so Harry and Michelle kindly came along to teach us all about it.
Tash was very friendly and spent most of the day with a swarm of admiring fans around him from the moment he stepped out of his trailer!
The day began with a lecture about endurance and what it involves, then after lunch it was time to give it a go ourselves. For once the
weather was fine, and we were able to make good use of the track. Harry and Tash talked about getting ponies fit for the job, and then showed
us how their 'crew' would work during a competition. Everyone had a go at being a crew member, passing bottles of water to Harry as he cantered
by so that he could pour them over Tash to cool him down without stopping.
Harry and Michelle then talked about what happened after the ride, and how to cool the horse off and bring his heart rate down before presenting him to the vet.
We all had a go at listening to Tash's heart rate with the stethescope, And then it was time to have a go ourselves. We worked our ponies on the track with lots of
trotting and cantering circuits, and then we cooled them off in two groups, with and without water, to see which was the most effective before presenting them to the
'vet'.
We had an excellent day, and everybody learned a lot, including the instructors! Many thanks to Harry, Michelle and Tash for their time, and if you want to find out more you can check out the Cheshire Endurance website.
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