Story originally posted by: Pamela Burton

Endurance riders often run beside or in front of their mounts for extended periods during training and competition. This accomplishes several things. First, it can give the horse a breather from carrying a rider and is felt to be useful in going downhill when the horse's soft tissue (tendons and ligaments) are most at risk, or uphill through tricky ground. Second, the conditioned rider can also have a break and a stretch from riding long miles in the saddle.


At the Swanton Pacific ride in July at Davenport, Ca., Dennis Rinde won the 75-mile ride by running most of the way alongside his homebred horse, General Geranium. According to his proud mother-in-law, Barbara McCrary, Dennis ran about 50 miles of the race. Daughter, Ellen, Dennis' wife and frequent Ride & Tie partner, was not surprised that he ran so much. She said, "The horse that Dennis used on the ride has never done more than a 50 miler before, so he wanted to try stepping up the distance a little bit and we didn't have a horse that was a solid 100 miler." Geranium did so well with this method that he also got the BC award.






Marcia Smith is a top rated U.S. rider who tells us her philosophies and techniques on tailing and running.


Marcia Smith has over 5,200 American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) recorded miles. Her career includes competing in the Western States 100-Mile (Tevis) ride 5 times, with three wins on two different horses.


Smith's husband, Tom, is a world-class long distance runner. The pair often ride and run together.


Smith says she gets off and runs, as her race goals are to "cover the course as quickly as my horse can do so happily and comfortably."


Smith doesn't run in the majority of her rides, as she feels she is usually riding fast enough that it would slow the horse down if she were off. "In general, I would tend to get off more on 100s and 50s, as the overall pace is slower on 100s," she stated.


The petite Smith, says when she is off, she will run on steeper hills, both up and down. She said this depends on the horse. On the Tevis race in 1992, she tied for first on Harry and got Best Condition (BC). "Harry, was a very talented downhill horse," she related. "It was rare that another horse could keep up with us on a steep downhill. On the other hand, he was lazy uphill. So I'd ride him down, tail up."


In 1998 she started competing on Saamson. Some highlights with him include a 2nd place in the Tevis in 1998, 9th place at the Pan American Endurance Championships in Manitoba in 1999, then a sweeping first at the Tevis ride in August, 2001.


"Saam and I can often move faster if I am off on steep ups and downs. I almost never would be off on flat terrain. It would slow us down too much," she said. Also, she said she would more likely be off over rocky ground, as she feels it's easier for the horses if they do not have to worry about balancing the rider's additional weight.


Smith said her running time per race would vary. On a recent 100-mile ride in Oregon on SA Proud Endeavor (Ed), her riding time was 10 hrs 20 mins and the course was fairly flat. She said she spent no time running. At the rocky and elevation challenging Tevis in August on Saamson with a ride time of 14 hrs 45 mins, she ran "about 12 miles."


Smith is adamant that you "must be fit to run, otherwise you will get more tired than riding, and defeat the purpose." Her minimum training regimen for herself is to do (in intervals), one track workout of 4-5 miles, one Long Slow Distance (LSD) on trails of 8-10 miles, and one additional day of 4-5 miles weekly.


She said that it is also important to teach the horse to both "tail" and follow. "Tailing" is the fine art of allowing the horse to pull you up a steep trail while you hold onto his tail. Smith finds it easier to train a horse to tail on a single-track trail. "That way they cannot try to turn around or move off the trail," she said. Smith and Tom train the horses to slow down behind them if they raise their arms from their sides. "They keep an eye on us when they get that signal, and will stop if we do," she said.


Smith feels that her horses appreciate the break from their backs when she is off. "It gives them a brief rest, and they'll often take off and move a lot faster when I get back on. It really helps with a horse that is going through a little mental slump in the later stage of a 100," she felt.


Smith relates her 1992 Tevis ride on Harry. "I was tailing up towards Michigan Bluff. In those days, I tailed Harry on the honor system (reins left around his neck, I held the tail, but otherwise had no control). He took off going up the hill, and ran for at least a mile with me screaming at him. He finally stopped, and I swear, turned around and grinned at me. That horse has always had a sense of humor. My knees stopped shaking, and I had breath enough to get on again after about 5 minutes. I didn't get off him again the rest of the day. Now, when I plan to tail during a race, I keep the end of the rein clipped to the saddle, so the reins will not fall to one side when I am off. I use a separate lead/tail rope that I hold in my hands all the time, so it takes me no time at all to get off/on.