Horsin' Around

Despite some heavy training leading up to Ironman, I got the OK from Coach Eric to do a Hunter Pace on my pony. Now, a Hunter Pace is not an easy event by any means - I'm sore as heck today - but I think Eric acknowledged that it was important for my mental wellness more than anything.

We packed up the horses early and made our way to the pace. So, now you're wondering, what is a hunter pace? Well, let me first describe Equine sports from a cycling/triathlon perspective:

There are many equine disciplines: Dressage, Western, Equitation, Eventing and so on. Hunter pacing generally takes place in late Summer and into the Fall, much like Cyclocross. Like Cyclocross, there are those of us that treat it as fun competition - bonus to the year we've completed. For others (notably Hunt Clubs), it is cut-throat competition.

Hunter Paces themselves are essentially trail rides. The course is marked with arrows and signs and there are between 1-2 aid station stops along the way where you can get a drink, hydrate your horse and pass thru a vet check. You do not know the course before you complete it and you ride at your own pace. Riding at a good clip, you will cover the course and its obstacles anywhere between 1 to 2.5 hours.

At some point during the day, a designated team will go out and do the course. Their time is the "optimum time" for the competition. No one is aware of this time (sealed up in an envelope) until awards are presented. As with cycling and triathlon, anything can happen: A horse can lose a shoe, forcing the team to walk the course. A team could cheat and cut off parts of the course and so on.

As with any competition, there are different categories: Hunt (the fastest and most competitive), Pleasure (slower and more for beginners), Western (pretty obvious) and Juniors (18 and under).

There are also bonus awards at certain competitions for oldest horse/rider competition, peanut awards (which I used to miss by days as a kid - I was 6 when I did my first hunter pace - yesterday the winner was 10!).

After the rain on Saturday, the course was quite sloppy in certain areas. Getting to ride with my parents was a throwback experience. For one reason or another, I haven't had the chance to ride a hunter pace in many years. My pony on the other hand has enjoyed a healthy schedule of hunter paces over the years with my mother on board.

We just enjoyed the day, and passed 10 teams along the nearly 90 minute route. We were held up a bit at the aid station, but just laughed and reminisced about previous paces.

After washing down the horses with some nice linament for their muscles, we made our way to lunch and awards. As they began presenting awards, I had an incling that we would be close, and we were! 2nd place by a tiny margin. While it would have been nice to take home the win, 2nd place was a nice bonus to the glorious reward that was riding a pace on my off day!

Today is a long run, no more horsin' around until after Ironman...well, maybe a bit!