Welcome to our news and results section.
Here you will find News and Information, Ride Reports, Photos and Results from the many activities ILDRA are involved with.
As a member you can send in stories to be included, must be ILDRA/Endurance related, along with any photos and we will try and include it.
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ILDRA (Irish Long Distance Riding Association) returned to Shane’s Castle near Antrim for their second visit in 2025 on Sunday 13th of April with a spectacular turnout of horses and riders. Offering pleasure rides (PRs), vetted pleasure rides (VPRs) and competitive trail rides (CTRs), several riders chose to take part in a vetted ride. With dry weather on the day, the riders enjoyed the good-going on the variety of trails which wind through the estate at Shane’s Castle and for those opting to take in a longer route, the forested trails of Randalstown Forest Park were once again available.
Attending vet, Julie Dauncey, MRCVS, was kept busy by the numbers of horses undergoing vet checks pre- and post-ride as part of the endurance process. Karina McVeigh, who has previously competing up to the Silver Shamrock Level in endurance on her horse “Cheyenne”, completed her first CTR on her horse “Cococabana” who Karina has had several recent successes with competing at Eventing Ireland Northern Region events at Tyrella. “Cococabana” gained the first stage of her Bronze Shamrock Qualifier. Hannah Wilding on her horse “NWF Financial Bouncer” also successfully completed their first CTR together, with both gaining their Bronze Shamrock Qualifier. Congratulations go to all horses and riders completing endurance rides. The ILDRA Shamrock System offers a safe way to build both horse and rider fitness and the knowledge on completing longer distance rides. Some lucky riders on the day benefited from Judy Maxwell from Bailey’s Horse Feeds kind donation of several bags of Tasty Treats to be handed out as spot prizes by the ride organisation team. Thanks go to Judy and Bailey’s Horse Feeds for their continued support at ILDRA rides and events over the years.
ILDRA also offer the option with membership to have a log book for your horse, even if you are only completing pleasure rides this is an opportunity to have your mileage recorded at each event you attend. As you build up your mileage, there are several cumulative pleasure ride rosette mileage awards available which are awarded each year at ILDRA’s annual AGM, dinner and awards evening. There are also a variety of trophies available to be won for horse and rider combinations. Why not sign up for a log book-you might be surprised how quickly the miles can add up with rosette awards starting at 100 miles.
Thanks go to the ride organiser of Ros Morcombe, assisted by Ashley Morcombe, Kirsten Conly, the McFarland family, John Anderson, Mary Letch, Claire Walker and Pip Holmes for their hard-working before, during and after the ride for marking the trail and ensuring smooth running on the day. Thanks go to the O’Neill Family and Shane’s Castle Estate Staff for allowing access to Shane’s Castle, thanks also go to the Forestry Service for allowing access to Randalstown Forest Park. ILDRA’s next ride takes place on Sunday 11th of May at Baronscourt Estate near Newtownstewart offering CTRs, VPRs and PRs. All entries must be in advance and online via ILDRA’s website. For further information contact ILDRA’s Facebook page.
Results Shane’s Castle 13 April 25
32km (20 miles) CTR
Helen McFarland on Chalima de Gueyte,
Bree Rutledge on Clovermount Rhinestone,
Karina McVeigh on Cococabana,
Roseanna Andrews on Puzzle Piece, and
Hannah Wilding on NWF Financial Bouncer.
32km (20 miles) VPR
Emma Hayes on Almaz’ Asham
ILDRA (Irish Long Distance Riding Association) headed to Castle Ward Estate near Strangford for the second time this year on Saturday, October 19 for a day of pleasure riding. With fine weather on the day, the attending riders enjoyed making their way around the Hoof Trail at Castle Ward, which takes in a wide variety of scenery including woodlands, open parklands, the shores of Strangford Lough and views towards the main Castle Ward mansion house.
Thanks go to the National Trust for allowing access to this venue and to the Hayes family for marking and running the ride on the day.
ILDRA’s final ride for 2024 took place at the remote and rugged Cam Forest, located near Limavady, on Sunday, October 27. Despite the damp weather on the day, the riders enjoyed taking part in pleasure rides, vetted pleasure rides (VPRs) and competitive trail rides (CTRs) on the mountainous trails of Cam Forest, which offers stunning views across the Binevenagh landscape.
Thanks go to attending veterinary surgeon Julie Dauncy MRCVS for checking over the horses taking part in vetted rides. Thanks also go to Kirsten Conly and John Anderson for marking and running the ride on the day. Thanks also go to the Forestry Service for allowing access to Cam Forest.
Thanks go to Bailey’s Horse Feeds and Judy Maxwell for their support for ILDRA rides throughout 2024, with their kind donation of a bag of feed at every ILDRA ride as a prize for a lucky rider. The winner of a bag of feed at Castle Ward was Jane Bruce, with Evelyn Meharg the winner at Cam Forest.
Any ILDRA members wishing to apply for trophies or mileage rosettes must complete their award application and send copies of their log books by November 20 - see ILDRA’s Facebook page or website for further details.
Keep an eye out for ILDRA’s upcoming calendar for 2025, you wouldn’t want to miss out on any of the fabulous venues offering safe, off-road riding in a variety of locations across Northern Ireland and distances suitable for all.
£5.26 per Square. (£5.00 plus card processing fee)
Ride details and entry link here.
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Buy your tickets on line in entry system, at a ILDRA ride or from any committee member.
All proceeds from the day go to the charity.
Prizes donate by (more added regularly)
Would you like to...
You can do all this and more with us at ILDRA (Irish Long Distance Riding Association). Our riders enjoy access to many private estates, forestry and other land not normally open to the public and are open to both members and non-members (although entries are pre-booked, online only)
This year, to welcome back returning members and encourage new ones, we want to help riders get themselves and their horses back in shape, because neither rider nor horse will be having a good time if they are not fit enough. To that end, we are offering a ‘3 for 2 offer’ on Vetted Pleasure Rides between February and August (inclusive).
read on for all the info on this offer and hints on how to get started...
A Vetted Pleasure Ride does exactly what it says on the tin - you can enjoy a short ride without the time and speed constraints of a Competitive Trail Ride but with the added bonus of getting a chance to try the vetting procedure.
Every year we get many riders who would love to canter along those beaches at the St. Patrick’s Coast Ride but feel (probably accurately) that their horses are not fit enough for the full 20 mile loop - if you are one of those riders, this is your chance to change that. You will be able to see the improvement in your horse’s fitness levels through monitoring heart rates and recovery times at successive vettings and gradually increase the distances you are able to cover comfortably, with each ride you do.
We hope to offer Vetted Pleasure Rides at most of our events between now and the end of August (excluding our Clandeboye Charity Ride). To take advantage of the 3 for 2 offer all you need to do is enter and pay for 2 Vetted Pleasure Rides. Before you enter your 3rd Vetted Pleasure Ride you need to claim your free Vetted Pleasure Ride by emailing us at info@enduranceridingireland.com (or use the contact form on the web site) - we will allocate a credit your account so when you enter you will not be charged.
We have planned rides at Cam Forest, Baronscourt, Florencecourt and Shane’s Castle already and hope to have more at other locations as the season progresses.
Terms and Conditions are not too onerous -
Cost - £20 per Vetted Pleasure Ride (i.e. 3 VPRs for £40)
The offer does not include Competitive Trail Rides or non-vetted Pleasure Rides.
Membership - not needed - open to members and non-members
Horse registration - not needed
Age - riders must be 5 years and over (under 14 must be accompanied by an adult)
Horses must be 4 years and over (1st Jan)
Distance - ride distances vary depending on the venue, but generally start at a minimum of approx. 6miles/10km, with a maximum of 20miles/32km
Speed - there are no compulsory speeds for Pleasure Rides, but an advisory speed of 5mph/8kph minimum - 8mph/13kph maximum is recommended
Veterinary procedure - you need to present your horse untacked for vetting, before and after the ride - as it is not a competitive ride, veterinary criteria (heart rates, recovery time etc) are not mandatory, but as a guide, your horse’s heart rate should have recovered to not more than 64bpm within 30 minutes after the end of the ride
3 for 2 offer on Vetted Pleasure Rides
Helpful hints...
Aim to present your horse for vetting within the first hour of the ride - ideally after the CTR riders have gone and before most of the Pleasure Riders arrive.
Make sure the organiser gets a note of your start and finish times.
Most of our venues do not have warm-up facilities so you should spend the first 10 minutes or so of your ride in an active walk, before (if conditions allow) moving up to a steady trot.
The vetting procedure is straightforward - your horse’s heart rate is taken by the vet (or official) and you will be asked to trot your horse 30m out and back to check for soundness. At the end of the ride there will be other metabolic checks and a second heart rate will be taken after the trot up
Make sure you bring plenty of water to cool off and wash your horse down at the end of the ride - this is usually the most effective way to reduce the heart rate prior to vetting.
Don’t worry if you don’t have (or can’t use) a stethoscope to take the heart rate - there will always be an endurance nerd enthusiast nearby only too keen to help - just ask!
3 for 2 offer on Vetted Pleasure Rides
Sports NI are very keen to work with all those involved in all aspects of equestrian disciplines both in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland and to help with this a survey has been compiled by the members of the Equestrian Sports Forum.
Please see below and click on the link - we would be delighted if you would fill the survey in to help us see what has changed in terms of your participation as a result of Covid and also investigate the opportunities there may be for all the equestrian organisations to work together, better engagement for volunteers and officials and how equestrianism in general is an important sport in both the north and south. You will also find there is the opportunity to make direct contact with those who are represented in this piece of work.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey - we are sure this will benefit us all in the future.
