30th anniversary 2012: How things have changed 1982–2012

Equipment

The past 30 years have seen big changes in the gear worn by horses and riders. Compared to the range of saddles and other equipment available to endurance riders now, the choice of gear in the early 1980s was quite limited. Some keen endurance riders rode in old military saddles. Most others used either stock or general purpose saddles. Saddles and bridles were invariably made from leather, though it was not long until synthetic Wintec saddles became available and quickly became popular among endurance riders because they were much lighter in weight and easier to care for than leather. They were followed by a wide range of lightweight, easy-care synthetic equipment in a variety of colours, some of it designed specifically for endurance riding. Then, as now, some people chose to ride in halters, especially after the first leg.

Apart from the prohibition of whips and spurs, there were no rules about clothing or equipment. Riders rarely wore helmets, even for the first leg. Most would do the first leg either bare-headed or in headgear appropriate to the weather, then put on a hat for the remainder of the ride. Most, but not all, women wore jodhpurs but men generally preferred to ride in jeans or trousers, sometimes with pantyhose underneath to prevent chafing. Some people wore riding boots but others preferred shoes with a tread, such as tennis shoes, that were better suited for walking or running (the hybrid style riding boots that are popular now had not been invented in the 1980s). Torches were generally hand-held, with a loop made of tape or hay-rope bound on with Elastoplast to go over the rider's wrist and prevent the torch being dropped. Some riders used big torches of the ‘dolphin’ type attached to a strap (usually just a piece of rope, perhaps with some foam padding) slung across their shoulders. Hand-held torches had the advantage of being closer to the ground so the rider was not looking through a cone of illuminated dust or fog particles, but had the obvious disadvantage of keeping one hand occupied so that it was harder to control the horse. Helmets became compulsory for juniors during the 1980s but it was not until 2003 that this was extended to adults.

Riders' numbers used in the Brookvale ride were originally white calico squares held in place by tapes over the head and around the waist. When we started holding three rides on the one day, we needed more numbers. For a few years we borrowed some from other ride committees and one year we used cattle tags for one or both of the short rides. In 2001 we obtained a set of yellow vests with large black numbers, sponsored by ACTERA member Robert Kennedy, for use in the main ride. Strips of reflective tape were added to them later. The white calico bibs were then used for the training ride and more recently for the social ride. The green T-shirt style number vests used recently for training rides were originally made in 2003 for an FEI ride organised by the Capital Territory Division Endurance Riders Association (CTDERA) and sponsored by the President of the United Arab Emirates. CTDERA also recently made its blue vests available to ACTERA.

Barefoot and booted horses are now a common sight on the Brookvale course, but attempting the ride on a horse in anything other than traditional shoes, often with pads underneath for protection from stone bruises, would have been almost unthinkable 30 years ago. Pads were sometimes made from leather until specially-made synthetic pads became available, and some people still used leather pads in the 1980s. At the time of the first Brookvale ride, the rules did not preclude unshod horses. In the mid-1980s the rules were changed to require horses to be ‘adequately shod’, but for a few years ride committees could apply to NSWERA for an exemption. Riders did, of course, carry an Easy Boot in case a horse lost a shoe during a ride, but used it only as a temporary measure until the shoe could be replaced. People involved with the early Brookvale rides cannot recall the question of attempting the main ride on an unshod or booted horse ever arising. In 1990 one rider enquired about doing a training ride on an unshod horse, but by then NSWERA was no longer issuing exemptions.

Due largely to the efforts of local rider and vet Steve Roberts and (then) local rider Duncan McLaughlin, the rules were changed in 2003 to allow endurance horses to compete barefoot or booted. Blake's Heaven Endurance (the Hasko-Stewart family) sponsored an award for the first barefoot or booted horse to complete the 2005 Brookvale ride. This was won by Duncan McLaughlin on Marzipan, wearing boots. The following year Blake's Heaven Ventura, ridden by Talea Hasko-Stewart, completed the National Capital Ride completely barefoot. That ride was held in Canberra. The first horse to do the ride completely barefoot at Brookvale is believed to have been Magna Jiba ridden by Cris Magnabosco in 2009. That was Magna Jiba's first endurance ride and she completed it in 6 hours 47 minutes, carrying 102.5 kg, to finish fourth in the heavyweight division.

By Melanie O'Flynn

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