Le Trec Competition

The first ever National Forest sponsored Le Trec competition was

held at Grangewood Farm Forestry in May.

Developed in France 27 years ago as a means of training and developing professional guides working within the horse riding tourism TREC (Technique de Randonnee Equestre de Competition) (T.R.E.C.) was born as a suitable way to test their expertise.

It is designed to test a horse/rider combination through a whole range of activities and is done in 3 phases

• Orienteering on horseback, following a route on a map, at speeds predetermined by the organisers

• Control of paces - to demonstrate that a rider can exercise a degree of influence over the horse first in canter, then in walk following a straight line course

• Cross country, including some elements where the rider leads the horse rather than rides.

Atherstone Riding Club organised the event, hosted by Jane and Andrew Kirkland at Grangewood, and this first ever competition attracted almost 50 competitors. Using existing bridleways and permissive horse routes, as well as generous co-operation by neighbouring landowners, the event was hailed as a great success.