Training Tips: Endurance for the long haul

AROUND THE TRAPS

ABOVE: Sarah Read and Heathmont Stedinger at a different type of event – a photoshoot (Image by Beautiful A Photography). LEFT: Annabel Dignam and French Buttons were given a lesson by Olympian Rebel Morrow at the 2020 Sydney Eventing Hit Out (Image by Melanie Dignam).

LEFT: Stacey Heath and Close the Book came 1st in the Senior division at Mackay North Pony Club’s One Day Event (Image by Pink Lady Photography). ABOVE: Rebecca Hopkins and Strawberry Sundae well clear at the 2019 Tamworth World Cup Show (Image by Oz Shotz). BELOW: It’s love! 3-year-old Ethan Fogarty and Snowdon Vale Eclipse at the annual Huntingfield Pony and Riding Club Spring Show (Image by Sarah Fogarty). BELOW LEFT: Georgia Nettlefold aboard Chance competing at the Mt Evelyn Darby (Image by Jasmyn Sanders Photography).

TRAINING TIPS

Endurance for the long haul

Endurance riding is the odyssey among equestrian sports. No other discipline requires a horse and rider to traverse such varied terrain and travel such great distances as this one, writes CHRISTINE ARMISHAW.

Strappers hard at work during the 2017 World Youth Endurance Championships (Image courtesy the Radny family).

In the sport of endurance riding, horse soundness, fitness and overall health are of utmost importance. Added to that, rider gumption is essential. Vet inspections are held at multiple locations throughout a ride and any horse that doesn’t pass the mandatory checks can be vetted straight out of the competition.

Those are stringent requirements, so you may be wondering how horses are trained so they can successfully compete in what are often rugged conditions. In search of answers, I spoke with Rebecca (Bec) Radny, who competes in endurance right up to FEI level alongside not just one, but both of her highly successful parents. The endurance gene runs strong in this family.

Bec has been involved in endurance for 18 years, pretty good going considering she’s just 23 years old. In 2014, she placed 7th overall and 2nd in the Junior Under 18 section in the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, arguably Australia’s most prestigious endurance event. She also represented Australia at the 2017 World Endurance Championships for Juniors and Young Riders in Italy, and was a member of the 2012 Australian Endurance team as groom for her mum, Jane Radny, when she competed in the Trans-Tasman Championships held in New Zealand. In the same year, Bec again joined the Australian team as a groom for the World Endurance Championships in the UK, this time for her dad, Norbert Radny.

It’s fair to say that this trio has a pretty good idea of what it takes to get a horse to the top level of endurance.

At home in Western Australia, as well as further afield, the family regularly compete against each other, taking turns in sharing the glory of the podium. The Radnys are super strategic - they plan everything out. “We don’t just go out there and flog it,” says Bec. Right down to the day-to-day routine, all the details are refined. Bec’s mum Jane on Kib (left) and Bec aboard Max, enjoying a 40km training ride at Collie (Image by Down Under Images).

We’re checking for the speed of recovery. How quickly the heart rate comes back down to that horse’s normal is an indicator of fitness.

Longevity is key

This equestrian family approaches the training of all their horses with one motto: every horse is to have a decadelong career, if not longer. Bec stresses the importance of not overtraining. Throughout the season, running from March to October, each equine athlete is worked three to four times per week. These sessions start with an hour on the horse walker. “This allows them to warm their muscles and get their joints lubricated, it also saves me a lot of time, as I work full-time as a teacher,” shares Bec. Being riderless also allows for horse fitness to be built gradually, without human weight putting extra and unnecessary strain on precious limbs.

The ridden components following the walker warm-ups take place out in the national park backing onto their property. Over the course of a week, each horse does a couple of 7km loops, primarily spent in walk and trot with lots of stretching, then one longer 20km workout to further build on fitness. In line with keeping the horses fit, healthy and sound, for every 10kms travelled they get one day off. “This is especially necessary when training on hard or concussive surfaces,” Bec explains.

An intriguing point from the Radny training schedule that struck me is the daily integration of competition simulation. “Every time we train, we simulate a vet check,” Bec tells me. “We take the heart rate after every ride. We