Catch riding at Cougar Prowl: Hot, humid, and fun LD endurance ride

On Saturday September 14th, 2019 I “catch rode” a horse in a 25-mile Limited Distance endurance ride at Cougar Prowl, held at Prague Lake, OK. Catch riding refers to riding a horse that you don’t own or train (or regularly ride) in a show or at an endurance ride.

What is catch riding?

They don’t call it catch-riding in flat-racing. It’s just riding. Most of the horses you race as a jockey (amateur, apprentice, or professional) are, by that definition, catch-rides. You are lucky if you’ve so much as had a change to see them gallop. Of course it’s better to race a horse you’ve ridden before, even if only for a few fast workouts. Trainers know this, and like to get a jockey to do the speed work.

Same with horse shows. It’s better to have the catch-rider get on the horse at least once. And if the rider-horse combination works (for showing or racing), it’s always better to keep the same rider.

As a rider, it is nice to know the horse before you compete… but it’s not necessary. Even when it comes to difficult horses, because sometimes it’s better not to know (and anticipate) bad behavior. Of course, no one wants to ride a dangerous horse, and no one (especially not an amateur and/or someone who is riding the horse as a favor to the owner or trainer) should be asked to ride a dangerous horse. At least, not without fair warning. I must admit to having agreed to ride horses that no one else would ride… Sometimes because I knew I could, sometimes because I wanted to prove that I could.

I love riding new horses. Unless the horse is likely to rear over backwards on me, I don’t really care whether I’m told about the horse’s idiosyncrasies. I’ve never quite decided whether I’d rather know or not.

What I do need to know is if the horse has any physical limitations that need to be taken into consideration. I need to know about tripping, lack of conditioning, prior injuries that are likely to affect my ride. I’d rather know if the horse is the kind that will run itself into the ground if the rider asks, or more likely to fake exhaustion long before it’s truly tired.

But that’s about it. I don’t mind discovering the rest from the saddle.

The Cougar Prowl endurance ride

Cougar Prowl (managed by Louise and Bruce Burton of Firedance Farms Arabians) is an AERC ride within the OCER region (Ozark Country Endurance Riders: Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas). It was held this year at Prague Lake. I was somewhat acquainted with the trails, having ridden my mare Lady there four years ago, at her first trail ride. It has a lot of steep little ravines and water crossings, as well as the lake (with a beautiful little inlet full of lily pads).

Above: Echo and I stopped to snap a picture of the lily pads.

Prague Lake is only about 60 miles from my home in Norman, OK. (About me), so I offered to drive up and volunteer. Endurance rides always need volunteers to help with everything from clearing and marking the trail in the days leading up to the ride to helping with vetting and timing during the ride. It’s really fun, and you learn a lot about the ins and outs of managing and riding endurance. I strongly advise anyone new to endurance to volunteer. This post was going to be about volunteering at an endurance ride but then I got the opportunity to ride.

I can never resist an opportunity to ride.

Catch riding at Cougar Prowl

Just a few days before the ride, Wendye Gardiner (Solstice Training Center LLC) posted on the OCER Facebook page that she needed a rider for the LD. I’ve volunteered to ride Wendye’s horses before, but despite our efforts to make it work, it never has, so it was great that this time everything worked out.

This was my second endurance catch riding experience. About a year and a half ago (I think), Deb Dickson let me ride her Quarab mare Jazzy in a 50 mile ride. My first 50, and Jazz was a really nice ride. (but boy I was sore the next day!)

Fazas Echo

This time I would ride Fazas Echo (youtube video), a good-sized bay mare who, I was told, could be a bit difficult at the start. Of course, most horses could be difficult at the start. It’s exciting!

As it turned out, Echo was a very good girl. She just needs a gentle touch on the reins. When she gets eager to go, or frustrated, she shakes her head to tell you. I listened, checked with one hand, and let her go. We got along well! Echo has a smooth trot and, once the excitement of the start is over, a very calm temperament. She isn’t going to race anyone anywhere, but in a few years she might be perfect for packing kids on their first LD or 50 mile endurance ride.

Above: Echo isn’t going to win any walking races, but she’s not going to trip and fall down a steep slope either. She is very safe.

The Ride

Wendye rode her Morgan mare Prairie Hill Hope (Rhea) and her assistant Courtney rode a pretty little Arabian mare called Noble Kiss. We started out together, but Wendye encouraged me to ride ahead, supposing Echo to be fitter. This turned out to be a bad idea, because I find trail-following a bit challenging. Echo and I accidentally did part of a loop twice (adding an extra 0.8 miles to the first loop).

We all rode together during the second loop. With the heat and humidity, Echo and I couldn’t have gone any faster in any case. Rhea and Noble Kiss did just as well!

Benefits of catch riding at endurance rides

Catch riding means you have a lot less work after as well as before the ride. Once you’ve untacked and cooled off your horse, made sure it is eating and drinking and in its place (tied to the trailer in this case), and done anything else the trainer/owner asks you to, you can relax. It’s not your horse, so you won’t be the one monitoring vital signs for the next day or so. You can chat with other ride attendees, go home, or watch some of the remaining riders come in.

On Saturday, I talked a bit with a few people I knew, met a few more, and watched some of the 50s come in and go out. I had planned to take some pictures, and I did… Until I felt I really needed to get home and take a shower.

Catch riding in endurance riding is especially relevant for riders preparing for multi-horse stage races. Though I did not think about it when I wrote this blog post, I am now prepping for the 621-mile Mongol Derby and need to take advantage of every opportunity to ride unknown horses long distances!

Pictures of Cougar Prowl endurance ride participants

Ride vets and the volunteers that help them by scribing are essential to endurance rides. Eventually I will post a blog on the topics of vet checks and volunteering.

Finally, a few pictures of bitless bridle options below.

Many thanks to Wendye Gardiner for allowing me to ride Echo, to the Burtons for organizing the ride, to Jeanie Hauser for being the head control judge, to Leslie Brown for marking a good trail (for people smart enough to follow, which doesn’t include me), and to everyone else who made Cougar Prowl possible.