26 minute read
We're all in this together
Living through the COVID 19 crisis in 2020 is something none of us will ever forget. Elizabeth Peplow finds out how the endurance community has coped…
We are all in this together
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Esther Young
Civil Servant and EGB Operations Director
How were you affected? I'm fairly sure I have had Covid 19, but until antibody testing is available I won't know for sure. I didn't have it badly, but it did take a long time to fully shake it.
The day job has been extremely busy. I hold (and wrote) our business continuity plan so I have been working flat out helping several thousand staff completely change the way they work and continue to deliver critical activities. I've also been working with the Endurance GB Board and ride organisers on our shutdown and resumption plans. It was heart-breaking seeing the season that everyone had worked so hard on pulling together fall apart in front of us.
On coping with lockdown On the one hand we've been very lucky. We now have the horses at the end of the garden and I can work from home easily. It's just turning into Groundhog Day. I live in Yorkshire and my family are in South London and Salisbury so that has been difficult. My 79 year old mother has now embraced Skype, and my brother and sister in law (with two lively under 6s) tell me that their trampoline has been a literal lifesaver! Being so heavily involved in both work's and Endurance GB's Covid responses has been quite stressful and has involved long hours, so I haven't done much relaxing. My coping mechanism is throwing myself into the recovery work, as I have to look forwards to keep myself sane.
On lockdown fitness Both I and the horses are extremely unfit. Because I was ill, I haven't been up to exercising so have gone to seed! I am now starting to feel that I could go for a walk without it knocking me out for a week, so I am starting to do a little bit more exercise.
On the endurance community I have been blown away by the phenomenal support and understanding that the Endurance GB community has shown. Whether that is looking out for each other, getting stuck into the lockdown activities, or thinking outside the box to enable events later in the year to have a reasonable chance of going ahead.
I need to particularly thank the Board and all of our ride and group event organisers. You are all amazing. A special thank you also to John Hudson, Nick Wallbridge and Matt Shovelton (the IT team) who have worked wonders on using the downtime to ramp up the delivery of Clubhouse, to the amazing Liz Hinings who has been updating the website, to Jane Greatorex, Richard Crone and Elaine Wallbridge who have helped with our post lockdown event guidance, and to Liz Peplow who has worked her magic with our comms. Everyone has really pulled it out of the bag to ensure that we have a solid and viable society to go forward with.
Next steps At the moment we are planning for our first pleasure rides, and I must admit I will probably have a little blub to myself when the first one goes ahead. Once we understand the implications of the next stage of lockdown relaxation we can refine our processes and perhaps run some smaller competitive rides. #WeWillRideAgain
From a personal point of view, I would dearly love to finally get my pony out to a pleasure ride or two later in the year.
Dianne Luke Ride Organiser
How have you been affected? Luckily, I moved back home from university just before lockdown as I would have struggled a lot more being stuck in the middle of Bristol rather than at home in a rural area with the ponies just down the road! It was bizarre to finish the third year of my veterinary degree online, including my exams, and my summer should have been filled with placements but looks very empty!
It was with total confidence that I answered the telephone at the end of February, reassuring an Indian judge that Kings was on! Little did I know what was to follow. After coping with the cancellation of the Spring Kings I was determined the Summer Kings would be better than ever. As the date moved from the end of June to July then August and now September I do wonder if it will happen this year.
Lockdown life Well it has to be said, that this is what I thought retirement was going to be like. Long sunny days, no pressure, gardening and time to ride the horses. With the original directive of one Lockdown lessons The main thing I’ve learnt during lockdown is to not expect too much! Most of us are used to being so busy so having all this time (unless you’re still at work!) makes you feel like you should be accomplishing all those tasks that never get done, but it is okay to just have some peace and quiet as well. On lockdown fitness I’m not as fit as I would normally be at this hour's exercise a day it seemed sensible to combine riding with exercising the dogs and with direct access into an empty Kings Forest it just couldn’t be better. The horses have never been fitter being ridden every day and I don’t think Paul and I have ever been so ride fit either. It’s given us the opportunity to put ourselves and our riding first. So missing out on ride organising has had its benefits. However, the longer this goes on for, and each time a certain date is reached with a ride pencilled in, the desire to get back to how things were is felt more acutely.
Lockdown lessons To continue to find the time to ride regularly, viewing it more as an essential rather than a luxury and the realisation of the genuine friendship within endurance, rarely a day goes by without an email or text from an endurance friend from around the world. I think we have all learnt not to take anything for granted but to
Ella Bunting
Vet Student
How were you affected?
make the most of each day. time of the year, I won’t try and deny that! But I’ve been doing a lot of walking, usually accompanied by at least one horse, dog and my mother! It has been a lovely way to bond with the horses in a relaxed way, but has also meant that we can work on Rocky’s bike phobia without me being on board.
On the endurance community Being part of the Cotswold Committee has meant that I’ve been involved in our recent committee meetings through a zoom call! It was lovely for everyone to catch up and talk about how they’ve been coping with lockdown. I’ve been enjoying following what everyone else in the endurance world is up to through Facebook and it’s nice to get ideas from other people.
Next steps? I knew that due to my degree I was going to have to cut back my competing as I don’t feel it would be realistic for me when my uni workload increases. The current plan is to try and convince Rocky that he would like to babysit my crew, Janet, and her youngster next year around his first season of endurance rides. I am also looking forward to get back out crewing, what better way is there to socialise?!
Nikki Malcolm
Co-Owner, Stride Ahead
On lockdown life Lockdown hasn’t really changed too much as with horses there must still be routine regardless of the situation, feeding, mucking out, poo picking, feed orders, farrier lists, general care and exercise, the horses were all ready to be ‘ first time out fit’ for their scheduled appearance in March/ April 2020, all had solid seasons last year and looked ready to be ahead of the game. Lockdown happened and plans were put on ice, the uncertainty of when things would resume again is what initially made things difficult to judge what to do with the horses, there was no wrong or right as this was unknown territory for all.
On fitness We decided to maintain the level of fitness the horses were currently at, all had come out of a three month holiday over winter they bounce back well from that, but make it a six month holiday and the task to return to a high level of fitness would be more challenging. The loyal owners who have been able to stick by us as a business deserve to have horses out and about Apart from the fact that I have not been out for over 12 weeks and have not been able to help at any of the rides, my life has not been affected too badly. I have already had to cope with the lockdown for 12 weeks and I suspect I will have to cope for a further 10 weeks. Luckily, I have quite a bit of work that I can do from home. As a member of the International Committee and being Vice Chair for the South West Group, the work carries on, thankfully. One of the things that has helped me enormously is the on top form as soon as restrictions allow. We kept within our own boundaries whilst the stay at home message was in place, with two gallops, an arena and private farm tracks it was no hardship.
Next steps Once the ‘stay alert’ stage was released we ventured out on training loops with endurance horses all done at a steady conditioning pace and started to pick up the pace slightly with the racehorses anticipating a season which although due to start late will roll into October/ November. The few boxes that have been stood empty are now starting to get bookings again for summer breakers and the horsebox has some transport jobs booked, so we are very hopeful as a small business ‘Stride Ahead’ have hung on in there, this is also down to the fact we had an amazing mid December to beginning of March where it was literally one horse home, disinfect the box and kit, next one in with a constant waiting list. So thank you so much to all our clients and
Stevie Martin
How have you been affected?
On coping with lockdown owners for the continued support. Government food box being delivered every week and also the priority slots given to me by all the supermarkets. Some people have had terrible trouble getting food deliveries
On staying fit I manage to cover between 1.5 and 2 miles a day by just walking around the garden and the house. Unfortunately, as I have advanced COPD I cannot do any cardio work.
On the endurance community I have been very lucky in that quite a few of my friends phone me or email about once a week, and a couple have offered to do some shopping for me. I think the Forum and Facebook have helped hugely with people keeping in touch and EGB have kept us informed of all the changes that may or may not happen.
Next steps Regretfully I won’t be able to attend any of the rides this year but I look forward to being out and about at every possible ride within a 300 mile radius of Cornwall next year!
Liz Hinings
Technical/ Vet Steward
How were you affected? As I am now 77 years old, I have had to stay at home as much as possible, as per the rules from the Government. Fortunately, my elder daughter has a regular shopping delivery and added my shopping list to her own and has brought it over to me each week. We have been fortunate with the weather so far, in that when she arrives at my house we have been able to sit in my garden (suitably socially-distanced of course) apart from one rainy week when I sat inside my garage and she sat outside in her car!
On coping through lockdown I own no horses and sadly no longer have Pebble, my Border Terrier, so I haven’t had to cope with the problems that I understand members have faced with horses at livery etc. I have been reading lots of books, doing online jigsaws (having been introduced to them by Stevie Martin!), tidying up files and sorting out my timekeeping, vet stewarding and TS-ing equipment. I am also fortunate to be involved with the new website, so this has helped pass the time and I also proofread the Endurance magazine – so I haven’t been idle! On keeping fit I have recently started following Joe Wickes’ video exercise routine for seniors and I try to have a walk each day for at least half an hour.
On the endurance community I have been moved by the amount of contact made by various members on the phone or by email, just asking how I am and how I am coping, what I am doing etc and I believe this has been the same for many others. The Model Horse Marathon and the Auction of Promises have Personally I have coped ok as I am used to working from home but I have started to really miss ‘seeing’ people, attending events and getting out with the horses. On coping with lockdown As RiderCise® is Online (apart from my riding clinics and soft tissue therapy) I am still working with clients but have seen a huge drop in ‘interest’ due to Covid which is understandable so it has had a huge effect on my ‘normal’ day but I have been focused on staying in a routine. I think it is easy to fall into a rut and this is why I have kept a routine but also accept that there are bad days when I feel a bit miserable and that’s ok. It just means a day of hugging ponies and doing ‘what I feel like’ doing.
been great morale boosters and some members have added to the Blog page (under News).
Next steps I can’t wait to get out there and see all my endurance friends again, get back into timekeeping, TS-ing, vet stewarding etc. There are still 5 rides on my 2020 calendar in which I am involved which, so far, haven’t been cancelled and I have my fingers crossed for those and I look forward next year to getting back to entries flooding in for the various
Clare Gangadeen Ridercise® Founder
rides for which I am the secretary. Lockdown fitness? I still exercise for a min of an hour 5-7 days a week and have been busy doing free workouts for riders and developing a new concept for RiderCise®. The horses came back into work roughly around the same time as lockdown was imposed so they have been slowly building up the fitness on the ground and work in the arena.
On the endurance community I am always impressed at how supportive the endurance community is of each other, something I feel is more present than any other discipline. There is no judgement of what people are or aren’t doing only support and encouragement. It is so refreshing.
Next steps? For me it is just about getting out there and making the most of what is possible for 2020. I did plan on entering a 20km with Annick this year and am sure we can, maybe just in the form of a pleasure ride. As a sponsor I am really looking forward to seeing the Championships take place in 2021 with even bigger prizes than planned for 2020.
Tracy Thompson
Para Rider
How have you been affected? We have been lucky and have not had any family or friends with the virus. We lost my father in May and it was very strange not to have a proper funeral, however we were so grateful that we had been able to nurse him at home. It must be horrific to see your loved ones shipped off to hospital and not be able to visit. How were you affected? I work for the NHS in the Urgent Community Response team and our work has changed a lot, we now try to work from our cars and home as much as possible and have had a greater emphasis of keeping people at home or discharged earlier or home under our care. On getting through lockdown Early on I found it very hard mentally as I live with We started the 2020 season full of big plans, never even considering that the whole world would turn upside down. My son Jamie had taken a year out in 2019 and was determined that 2020 was going to be a busy season. The plan was to get him and his New Forest Pony (Rosie) up to advanced, he also wanted to start and compete Benjana who is already advanced. We tentatively put a few rides in the diary and even persuaded Richard that he might like a trip to Ireland!
On lockdown Our first pleasure ride was the 12th March and we had a lovely ride around Escrick Park. By this time, the media was full of stories about Covid 19 and it wasn't a great surprise to discover it would be our last trip out for a long time. For the first six weeks we didn't ride at all as we were concerned that the NHS was under enough chronic pain through various medical conditions and one of the ways I deal and live with this is to set competing goals with my horses. Not having anything to aim for was hard but my enthusiasm for training and working the horses has returned and I’m really enjoying having the time to take the horses to lessons and clinics. It has also given me time to ride the older horses and 25yo Connie is loving our fun filled outings which have helped me mentally, especially after a challenging day at work. pressure and we didn't want to risk it. Jamie was thrilled to hear that the schools were shutting and having him at home all day meant I had a helper with the horses. I really struggle to mount without assistance and so we concentrated on getting my mare Breeze to learn to stand quietly. We taught her to ground tie and I couldn't believe the difference it made. We spent ten minutes each day and it really helped, we also caught up on all the odd jobs that needed doing.
On the endurance community I would like to think that lockdown has not been all negative and that we have had time to spend with our family and horses. I have quite enjoyed the quiet time but it will be lovely to see all our endurance friends again. I am on the local Endurance GB committee and although we have not had our usual meeting, we have been busy trying to organize things for our members, including virtual distance awards, treasure hunts and quizzes.
Next steps I suspect that we might not see much competitive endurance this year but hopefully might get to
Kirsty Wiscombe
NHS Key Worker
the odd pleasure ride before Christmas. On riding and training Early on I only hacked out with the sensible horses and didn’t ride a couple of the youngsters. They all went on the horse walker and all are now in work. During lockdown I’ve done flatwork, renovated my school and bought more pole exercises and the horses feel much more balanced and stronger for it. I can’t wait for my PT sessions at the gym to start again.
On the endurance community I feel there has been lots of support out there and the virtual events EGB have run have provided much needed stress relief in these difficult times. My friend and I had a fantastic time taking part in the model horse marathon.
Next steps I’m looking forward to getting out in the countryside with the horses again, meeting up with friends and competing Billy again. My long term goal is to finish another 160km ride and be championship qualified again, but this season it is to enjoy whatever classes are available.
Annie Joppe
Self Employed & H&H Columnist
How were you affected? Lockdown was a bit of a shock. We have an online business so initially this wasn’t affected but as time went on and more and more uncertainty crept in, orders began to drop off. Our white-water rafting expedition in Bolivia was cancelled but no money has been refunded. The good thing is that we are so lucky to have outdoor space and horses on our doorstep. Endurancewise I felt all at sea without a rudder to steer with. I had two semi-fit horses about to start their season with much excitement planned for them and then nothing….
On riding through lockdown To ride or not to ride was the question. I stopped riding totally for a week uncertain about what to do. Then rationality took over and I made the decision to keep Chiara in work but to rough off the other horses. At first, I stuck to riding in the school, using a variety of pole-work, raised poles to develop rhythm and improve core strength. We did a little close contact and this has made the bond between us even stronger.
On lockdown fitness It’s a question of chunk, hunk or drunk? Apparently, most people will be at least one of these coming out of lockdown. I can admit to being all three at various points, although perhaps steady with the ‘hunk’ bit. Yes, I’ve eaten too much chocolate and my husband’s attempts (mostly successful) at cake making and yes, one or two bottles of wine may have been consumed but my real success story is my fitness. How have you been affected? I was furloughed by my veterinary practice (we reduced to 50% normal manpower). On lockdown I retreated to my small farm in rural Cornwall for four weeks. We seemed to live in a bubble there while chaos reigned in the rest of the country. With the lovely weather and the countryside at its absolute best in May, concentrating on my young Connemara sports ponies for a month was doubly enjoyable. Our I am doing the RiderCise athlete programme with exercises designed specifically for the endurance rider and me in particular. This has now ramped up to 5 days a week with sessions up to 30 minutes, an amount of time which is easily set aside for such an important aspect of the endurance partnership.
On the endurance community I think we have all pulled together pretty well. There have been some great ‘events’ run by EGB, especially the model horse marathon which was great fun to follow. There are plenty of training webinars around with RiderCise and On the Hoof providing great sessions and there have been informative webinars from David Marlin and our resident Dutch International rider, Esther Groen about getting horses fit; something for everyone. Many of the groups have put on virtual training sessions and quizzes too.
On next steps This is where it gets tricky. I actually really miss seeing endurance people! I have a non-horsey family and just bore the pants off everyone talking about endurance. I had planned to try to qualify Chiara for the 2021 Europeans in the Netherlands and to do this it would mean completing two 3* 160km races. I am planning to take Fantom to Red Dragon (fingers crossed) as his last major competitive ride as he is now 19. Plans are there
Kieran O’Brien MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
but it’s now a case of wait and see! two grown-up daughters have also been marooned at home. It was great having some extended family time with them – and not a single argument!
Next steps I am now back at work. In theory, where we can satisfy ourselves by a detailed prior risk assessment that there is no COVID-19 risk to us or to the client, we are working almost normally. Having to wear a mask has taken a bit of getting used to. Looking down an endoscope with my spectacles now fogged by my breath has been one of the many small trials I have faced.
With rides cancelled, my endurance activities have been reduced to nil. I was anticipating some trips to rides overseas to implement the new – and very welcome – changes to the FEI endurance rules, but it is not at all clear what will happen for the rest of the year.
Man on a mission
David Yeoman has enjoyed international success in the sport but his record on Exmoor with three Golds and three Silvers at the Golden Horseshoe is one of the hallmarks of his career. He looks back at his best moments in the sport so far…
How did you get involved in endurance in the first place? In 2004 I was at a bit of a loose end and Chris, my former sister-in-law badgered me into riding out her horses with her. In March that year I did my first ride, a 40km at Forest of Dean. I trotted the whole way behind Chris and said: “I am never doing that again!” Then Chris gave me her great horse EZ as a Christmas present – the best present I have ever had.
Which other horse sports have you been involved in? I did all the Pony Club stuff, Prince Philip Cup Mounted Games, Eventing, Show Jumping, Hunting and Dressage, some point-to-pointing and polo, so pretty much everything until I was about 22. I then didn’t ride at all for another 22 years (until 2004) due to a combination of work and having kids.
Best moments in the sport so far? At the European Championships at Florac in 2011 with Haszar, my little 14.3hh horse pulling my arms out at the finish. He had taken under two minutes to vet all day and after the final trot up the Chief Vet came up and shook my hand and said ‘nice horse’. I felt we had got his training and fitness absolutely right.
Which aspects of endurance do you find most appealing? Everything! Being retired it is a lifestyle hobby; it is the interest it gives me. I think you have to enjoy the horses and the training and the challenges day in day out and then the ride is just one day on top of all that.
Which role models in the sport (other horse sports too) inspire you and why? Nikki Malcolm is for me the complete endurance person for her care of horses, training, understanding of how her horse is going and her encouragement of them. She is tactical at the finish but only where appropriate.
Are there any aspects of the sport/competing/training where you think men have a different approach to women? I am very lucky in that I have an excellent crew and they take care of all the horse stuff at rides so I can just concentrate on knowing where I am going, what the terrain and riding conditions are like and looking after my horse during the ride. I am not sure how I would get on if I had to be thinking about whether I had packed the saddle or if he had had his breakfast at the right time, so no multi-tasking for me!
How do you keep fit/train? I love hill walking so will do 20-mile hikes with say 3000 feet of climb. I regularly walk 60 miles a week and do a gym session once or twice a week.
Tell us about your horses and crew? I have two horses who are both 13 now. Vite a big-striding horse who is excellent for flat cantering rides and we’ve had some great 80km race rides in France over the last few years. I also have Cassie, a mare, who is excellent at hill rides, so an ideal pair. Charlie Perrott is my main crew. She is absolutely excellent, very organised and keeps everything straight. At rides her partner Jack helps and when he can, her dad Nigel who is also my farrier.
Tell us about your experience of competing on Exmoor and why the Golden Horseshoe is ‘up there’ among the best endurance rides? I love the Horseshoe. I like the fact that the Horseshoe is not a race so you are not thinking about how you are going to beat other competitors, it's all about concentrating on the horse and terrain and conserving energy all the time. The climb each day is usually more than 1800 metres so our horses go higher than Ben Nevis on both days of the
ride which is incredible. I like the heart rate challenge (achieving under 58bpm at the end of each day) to avoid getting a penalty point while you are crewing out in a big field on top of a hill often with the rain lashing down.
This is one of the reasons it is the best ride and where your crew is VITAL. You feel the vets are totally there to help you, as are the organisers and all the volunteers.
Seeing people out at far flung corners on the moor is special and a few years back an elderly couple came to help from their very remote farm with water for the horses and had a little chat with all the riders.
It is eight hours of full concentration for the riders and crews. I’m mentally exhausted by the Monday morning. In terms of record, at the Horseshoe, I seem to be getting worse at it. In 2015, I rode under an oak tree and fractured three ribs and in 2017 and 2019 I was vetted out on the second day with two separate horses. Reflecting on that is just making me more quietly determined to get back there next year and get a Pass, I don’t mind gold, silver or whatever... just a pass!
What would you say to encourage other men (of all ages) to get involved in the sport beyond crewing? Well it is a fab sport at whatever level you take part and if you like riding horses and getting out in nice countryside then give it a go. It would be great to see more dads with their kids and families out enjoying helping crew them.
