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Endurance rides is about speed and does not only evaluate the horse's resistence when covering long distances but also the riders strategy as to how to lead his horse.
The horse's performance on different types of terrain and natural obstacles is significant in order to determine its fitness and the riders horsemanship. Both rider and horse have to be in excellent physical condition since there is nothing worse for a tired horse than a tired rider.
An Endurance competition is organized in several laps or phases. At the end of each phase (at most every 40km) there is a veterinary check (the so called Vet Check) and a retention time (the retention starts when the horse's heartrate is 64 ppm or lower; until then the racing time continues). According to the race's overall distance its phases are spread on one or two days. For 1 day Championships the distance is generally 120 or 160 km and the winning racing time around 10 to 12 hours.
There are lesser distances joining the main races (30, 40, 70 and 80 km) for both male and female riders (young and adult). There is no restriction on the riders age nor the horse's breed. Any horse in good health and adecuately trained can practice Endurance.
The main emphasis is put on the horses wellbeing and health, since the competing horse will be eliminated from the competition should the vets suspect the slightest sanitary problem.
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