Me and My Horse: My Welsh Home International adventure
The ups and downs of endurance in the Welsh hills...
As some people reading this will know, I have a chestnut mare (in fact, I have two!). The one many will have seen me riding is a bit of a princess (as pointed out by a vet in Wales last weekend)… A beautiful princess, but a princess nonetheless.
I bred her to try low level eventing, but despite having lots of scope, she is rather inconsistent at jumping; she might jump a 90cm fence with ease and then decide to stop at a cross-pole. As well as that, she only has two speeds - too fast and stop. I have been to numerous instructors around the country over the years in a bid to address these issues, but only a few have made a difference - and even then, only temporarily.
Along the way, someone (unfortunately I cannot remember who it was) told me I should try endurance riding. They said that allowing my mare to go forward, out in nature, without the stress or distraction of an arena or a starting box or obstacles in her way, would allow her to ‘be a horse’ and may help her to focus next time she jumped. Of course, I have since realised that most of this applies to the rider too!
So, back in 2019, I joined ILDRA (the Irish Long Distance Riding Association). I had already been to pleasure rides over the years, but I also started to do competitive rides. It turns out my mare is alright at it. It helps that she has boundless energy and likes to go fast.
That year, a good friend told me that, if I ever got the chance, I should go to the Red Dragon Festival of Endurance in Wales, as it is a spectacular ride. As it happened, 2019 was Wales’ turn to host the Home International and it was being held at Red Dragon. So, as it was our first year in competition, my mare and I got qualified as the novice horse and rider combination on the Irish team!
We had a great ride and a really enjoyable weekend, but I hadn’t intended to go again… Until someone told me some weeks ago that this year was the Home International again at Red Dragon… and the Irish team wasn’t yet complete!
I have continued to attend and enjoy ILDRA rides and last month entered a competitive trail ride at a distance of 48km at the St Patrick’s Coast ride. My mare was in brilliant form; she flew round, passed the vet before, during and after our ride and finished in a good time. We were selected to ride 55km on the Irish team at Red Dragon - which I knew would be quite a challenge over such mountainous terrain!
What I didn’t realise at that point was that getting there would be equally challenging, in more ways than one!
The last time we went to Wales, we travelled on the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead and then drove down through Snowdonia to the Royal Welsh Showgrounds, where the Red Dragon Festival of Endurance is held; this relatively short ferry crossing and drive worked out well for both horses and drivers. This is the route we would have preferred to travel this time too… But the paperwork now required due to Brexit, unfortunately made this nearly impossible within the timeframe.
We opted instead to travel out of Belfast on the ferry to Liverpool (Birkenhead) and then drive down to the Royal Welsh Showgrounds in Builth Wells via Chester and Wrexham. However, before we could travel to the mainland, even though we are UK residents, we had several documents to organise in advance, as well as having to organise a qualified vet on the mainland to certify our horses, so that we could return home!
Those of you who travel with horses on a regular basis will already be familiar with this, but for me, this was new and rather bewildering territory. I made numerous phone calls and sent messages to people who are familiar with travelling to get their advice (which was mainly to avoid the Dublin route, as it is too complicated); thank you to those I spoke to for their words of wisdom.
I contacted DAERA (the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) a number of times, both by email and by phone, to try and find out what was required (I was given several different answers) and I scoured the DAERA website to search for a list of instructions that I, as a horse owner travelling for leisure (as opposed to a professional transporter), needed to follow. I couldn’t find such a list.
Myself and my northern team mates figured out that for travelling over to the mainland, we just needed our horse’s passport and an Animal Transport Certificate, which details the departure and arrival points, transporter name and address and so on.
At that point, we weren’t completely sure what we needed to get back home again! That is, until we were put in touch with a very helpful individual, who really is worth their weight in gold! This person advised us on what we needed to do, what paperwork was necessary and then sent our information and relevant forms over to the vet (organised by the event), who then forwarded draft versions to DAERA in advance of the competition and prior to our return home.
I would have had no idea that all this needed to be done before travelling to a weekend competition! If you are planning to travel with your horse, I would suggest looking into this before committing to travelling, to ensure that you have everything in order in good time.
So, with all our paperwork present and correct, all we had to do was get to Wales… But Storm Agnes had other ideas!
She swept in on Wednesday and hit a crescendo that afternoon; we were due to travel on the overnight ferry on Wednesday night, so I checked online repeatedly to see if the ferry was still running - it was. To be sure, I then rang to check that they would be carrying horses; I was told that they ‘hadn’t been told otherwise’.
We got everything squeezed into jeep and trailer and made our way to the DAERA inspection post on Duncrue Street (as horses and transport certificate have to be inspected before travelling; this was simply a matter of the horse’s microchip being scanned and checked against the number in the passport). A boarding pass was then issued (which states the date of travel and is required for coming home to prove the duration of stay). All was fine, so we headed over to the port… Only to be told that the captain had decided not to carry horses!
We couldn’t believe it! It was terribly disappointing, but we had to respect the captain’s experience; we turned round, came home, unloaded the horses and went to bed, to try again in the morning!
Back we went early on Thursday morning - at least we knew where to find DAERA this time! Back through the inspection to get a new boarding pass and then back to the port again. This time we were allowed through to the queue - result!
We boarded and gave the horses a drink, before heading up to settle ourselves for our journey. The weather was still somewhat unsettled and I decided that the captain was probably right not to take the horses the night before, as it turns out I get sea sick…
The staff on the ship were first class and accompanied us down to check on the horses and give them a drink a couple of times during the crossing. This really put our minds at rest, as we could see that they were travelling really well.
We arrived in Birkenhead at about 7pm and drove to the showgrounds, arriving around 10.30pm. We took the horses for a long walk and a bite of grass before stabling them for the night. We then went to find our accommodation.
Friday morning came early and we made our way back to the showgrounds. We set up corrals and put the horses out (a great positive about endurance competitions!). We checked in at the ride office, then went to the stables to meet our team mates and get set for the team vetting at lunch time (passed), followed by the team parade. The team was a mixture of northern and southern riders, from ILDRA and Endurance Ireland, as well as a few honorary Irish - and it was indeed an honour to have them on our team!
This year’s Irish team comprised of nine members: Annie Joppe (two-day 160km), Emma Martin (two-day 124km), Helen McFarland (80km), Francis Bakker (80km), Teresa Moore (two-day 78km), Evelyn Moore (66km), myself (55km), Kathryn Featherstone (55km) and Zara Doyle Matthews (44km). Roseanna Andrew also travelled over to compete as an individual.
On Saturday, we wanted to get a feel for the course and to help out other team members, so we helped to crew for honorary Irish two-day 160km rider, Annie Joppe. She was incredible! She started in front and stayed there for the whole 50 miles (80km). It was amazing to be assisting and learning from Annie and her husband Robert, who have been at the top level of FEI endurance for many years.
Our fellow team member Helen McFarland, another top level endurance competitor, was also riding 80km on Saturday and she finished very well, taking overall seventh place in her class.
We then headed back to the showgrounds to ride our own horses prior to our rides on Sunday. Saturday had been quite a nice day and everyone said the going was good, but heavy rain arrived in the evening and remained overnight.
It was a very early start on Sunday, as I had to do a trot up before tacking up and starting my ride. At that point, it was dry. I made a great start and even ‘the hill’ that had taken out many the previous day (due to horses tying up) posed no problem to my mare. Before crew point one (where the horses get ‘sloshed’ with water to keep them cool), I met up with several English riders, one of whom was doing my distance, so she and I rode together right up to the mid-ride vet gate at 31km; I thoroughly enjoyed her company.
A mid-ride vet gate is a very new concept to me, as I have only just started riding a distance that requires it. Over longer distances, a mid-ride vet gate gives the horse a break, as well as assessing their soundness and fitness to continue; horse and rider both also have the opportunity to have something to eat and drink, replenishing their resources for the remainder of their ride.
My crew at the vet gate were simply phenomenal! Helen and David McFarland and Les Day not only have a wealth of experience, but are also knowledgeable, extremely helpful and not afraid to get their hands dirty (literally!). Along with my husband, they untacked my mare for the vetting and encouraged me to sit down and have a drink and a bite to eat. Helen accompanied me over to the vetting shed, where we got a time card, prior to having the vet checks, which my mare passed. We then had a compulsory 40 minute hold - which means we couldn’t set off again until 40 minutes from the vetting time.
My English companion vetted sooner than I did (her horse also passed), so she set off before me, which meant that I was on my own…
I set off again, but not long after that, the weather turned nasty. The rain was torrential and a heavy mist came down. I somehow managed to miss a marker, but realised I had gone wrong; I really didn’t want to get lost in the mist in the Welsh ‘hills’ (read ‘mountains’!), so I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out where I should be going. I was trying to make phone calls, but reception was next to non-existent and the rain was so heavy that it banjaxed the speaker on my phone.
An explanation of the terrain is required at this point. I was on a roadway in the middle of nowhere, knowing that I needed to leave the road and head cross-country in the mist-covered wilderness… With only a few sheep for company.
I was reluctant to do anything hasty, as I panicked slightly at losing my way. In hindsight, I should have played this differently, but that’s the way it goes! Eventually a local farmer, called Bill, came on the scene and he was incredibly helpful. He clearly saw that I was lost and he, along with a ride official who also arrived, drove ahead of me in Bill’s Land Rover until we found the route markers and I got back on track. I can’t thank these men enough for taking the time to assist me.
So, my mare and I were back on our own again (bar the sheep), trying to follow the route. The going by that stage was difficult; it was slippery, muddy, sticky and deep in places - not an ideal scenario for trying to make up the vast amount of time we had lost. In many places, with the steep inclines up and down, we had no option but to walk - the minimum speed for this ride was 9km/h, so I should have been trotting!
At one point, the rain was pouring off the peak of my hat and down the back of my neck; my supposedly waterproof coat was soaked through and stuck to my arms; I wanted to cry and go home… But I was in the middle of nowhere, so I had no choice but to keep going!
Endurance teaches you a lot about yourself, you find inner resources you didn’t know you had, and you learn a lot about your horse… Despite being a princess, mine really stepped up when I needed her to. She behaved impeccably in that weather, over those ground conditions… and she just kept going.
That section of the ride seemed to go on forever. Each time I saw the top of another hill, I thought surely the next crew point would be just beyond, but it wasn’t.
At times, when I could see, I did take in the spectacular views from those hilltops - this ride is not advisable if one has a fear of heights, but it does give one a feeling of being on top of the world.
At last, we got to the next crew point and my mare and I both got a much-needed drink of water. As we set off again, I hoped that the finish wasn’t too far away; I was conscious that time was ticking on and I didn’t have long to get to the finish. It was much further than I hoped, in fact I didn’t think we were ever going to get there. The hills just kept coming and they seemed to get steeper and steeper. My mare just kept going, not quickly, but steadily.
Across the top of another hill there was a rescue vehicle. I asked the driver how far it was to the finish and he said: “not far now and most of it is downhill”… It turned out that was a bit of an exaggeration, as there were several long and steep climbs yet to come!
Eventually we reached ‘the hill’ that we had climbed that morning and we began our descent. I knew at that point that we weren’t too far from the finish. I also knew that some riders choose to get off their horses to go down these steep slopes, as they are muddy, rocky and stony in different places and difficult to negotiate. My mare is sure footed and, if I had dismounted, I wasn’t entirely sure I could have clambered back on, so I remained on board and we made our way down in one piece.
Once at the bottom, we picked up trot again and made our way back to the road. From there, we had a steady trot along the road, through an industrial estate and along a path by the river. We then crossed the main road back into the showgrounds and trotted our way right to the finish. Including the time at the vet gate, it was more than seven hours since I had set off.
Endurance doesn’t end when you go through the finish, however. The horse has to be cooled down and their heart rate allowed to recover for a post-ride vetting. Soundness, hydration levels and gut function, as well as pulse, are all checked by the vet. My mare trotted up sound (quite an achievement as many were not after their rides), her hydration and gut function were fine, but unfortunately her pulse was very slightly too high (perhaps as much to do with the atmosphere as anything).
Not long after the post-ride vetting, we then had to have the vet check for travelling home. My mare’s ‘fitness to travel’ was assessed and her pulse checked again and all was grand.
The prize giving was on Sunday evening - in the team competition, Scotland were the worthy winners, followed by Wales, England and Ireland respectively… Not quite the result we would have hoped for as a team, but it certainly gives us plenty of room for improvement for next year, when it is Ireland’s turn to host the Home International!
Huge congratulations to all those who finished their rides within the time allowed and had a successful final vetting, especially to those who were in the individual ribbons for their classes!
My mare and I both slept well on Sunday night. We put the horses back in their corrals on Monday morning to let them stretch their legs, have a roll and a bit of grass. We came home on the overnight sailing on Monday night and got back to Belfast on Tuesday morning. We went back through the DAERA inspection without any issues and made our way home to get stuck into the laundry… We brought home lots of Welsh mud!
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank ILDRA and Peter McQuaid from Equestrian and Farm Feeds in Lisburn for their generous support, as well as my long-suffering, non-horsey husband for all his assistance before, during and after Red Dragon.
Thank you to Endurance Ireland, all my fellow team members and acting Chef d’Equipe, Kevin Croke for a great experience. The camaraderie, support and sportsmanship from everyone really added to the positive experience of the weekend.
Sincere thanks also to my wonderful crew members at the vet gate and at the finish, Helen and David McFarland, Les Day and Roseanna Andrew; I greatly appreciate your knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm!
If you enjoy your horse’s company and being outside, then you really should give endurance a try…