Basepoint Southampton support Young Riders Challenge
Staff from Basepoint Southampton decided to try something a bit different to support young people - they volunteered to help a local group of young endurance riders, some as young as 8 years old, and their horses achieve personal goals of speed & fitness over distances of between 10 and 40 kilometres using only a map to follow the route
The rides are run by volunteers on behalf of mid-south EGB to encourage novice and newcomer riders into the sport of endurance in an informal atmosphere. The emphasis is on the riders and horses enjoying themselves whilst learning about the sport of endurance, team work with both horses and other riders if part of a small group and achieving personal goals along the way. It isn’t a pony trek ambling through lanes and certainly is not for the faint hearted – it is a competitive challenge pitting yourself and your horse against the elements, riding in unknown territory all adding to the sense of adventure and then at the end having the horse pass a vetting to ensure it hasn’t come back lame or in distress. On a grey, damp February morning, parked up in the middle of the New Forest the Basepoint Car was a bright beacon seen across the distance to mark the start and finish where Centre manager, Caroline Kendall was charged with timekeeping - clocking riders out and back in, then working out their speed over the distance travelled. The day was a great success with a great team spirit all round and at the end of it Caroline was called upon to present the prizes to the winner of each class and requests have already been put in for help with others throughout the season..!