Riders take on orienteering challenge (From Salisbury Journal)
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Riders take on orienteering challenge
2:44pm Tuesday 21st August 2012 in News By Elizabeth Kemble
Riders take on orienteering challenge
AN equestrian activity designed to test navigational competence saw novice competitors of all ages take on an orienteering challenge on Salisbury Plain .
The day, organised by the Wiltshire British Horse Society (BHS), was part of an initiative to introduce Technique de Randonnee Equestre de Competition (TREC) to the wider riding community.
Julie Garbutt of the BHS said: “This event followed on from an earlier classroom-based map reading course and was intended as a practical training event allowing riders to test their newly gained navigational skills over a mixture of open downland and woodland but with a twist – at each check point they were asked to test their horse riding skills to successfully negotiate a TREC obstacle.
“Although some competitors did admit to being ‘geographically challenged’ once or twice, they all successfully completed the 12km route and said how much they had enjoyed the experience.”
BHS Wiltshire intends to run a further map reading course later in the autumn ahead of next year’s TREC events. Details will be posted on the BHS website at bhs.org.uk
