Trail users have an opportunity this month to enjoy themselves while supporting Horseshoe Bend Park in Kingwood Township.
On Oct. 30, the first annual Horseshoe Bend Boogie Endurance Ride and Ultramarathon will be held. There hasn’t been an endurance ride in central or northern New Jersey since the old Festival of Champions at the U.S. Equestrian Team in Gladstone.
This one-star ride is sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference, the South Eastern Distance Ride Association, the U.S. Equestrian Federation and the FEI (international equestrian federation). Distances will be 50 and 65 miles, as well as a 12-mile introductory ride to include two veterinary exams (before the ride and at the end) similar to an endurance ride. Because it is such a short ride, anyone with a horse fit enough to do a hunter pace could experience what the sport is like (and get two vet exams for the $40 entry fee).
Pre-ride vetting will take place on the afternoon of Oct. 29. The competitions will start at various times early on Oct. 30.
Meg Sleeper, the organizer, said “The other really cool thing about this event is that we will have a concurrent ultramarathon (the only endurance ride that is still held in conjunction with an ultra is the Vermont 100).
The human runners will be using the same trails with various distance divisions (20, 40, 60 and 80 km, so the maximum distance is 50 miles). There are several places on the trail where anyone interested can watch. Riders may enter at the AERC website (AERC.org) and find the ride information on the calendar tab. The ultramarathon has its own facebook page. For information on either event, contact Meg at: megsleeper@icloud.com