Le TREC

Techniques de Randonnee Equestre de Competition

A new equestrian competitive discipline and recreational activity 

Polly Lloyd Owen is an ApHC UK director who is interested in Le TREC and introducing it to the members of the ApHC UK.  Polly has set up her own course at home near Cardigan in Wales and will be holding a training day for members in the Spring.  All you need to do is bring your horse (or borrow one!) and a packed lunch and you can learn all about Le TREC.  Polly will explain the course, the various obstacles and the checkpoints so that you know what to do.  You can organise to do this in pairs which could be advantageous for the orienteering section as you will need to copy down your course from the map room and be able to follow a map.  It sounds great fun and you can find out more about Le TREC at the ApHC UK AGM on the 19 th October as Polly will be doing a slide show and presentation.  There will also be a series of articles in the newsletter that will help build your knowledge before the training day.  Anyone interested in finding out more about Le TREC can contact Polly on 01239 614810.

Introduction

The discipline is known generally by its French name, Techniques de Randonnee Equestre de Competition (T.R.E.C.) and has grown up quite separately from the mainstream equestrian disciplines, within the equestrian tourist sector.

History 

The sport began its development about 27 years ago in France where they have a highly organised equestrian tourist industry.  A need to focus the training and development of professional guides working within the sector had been identified, and the concept of TREC was born as a suitable way to test their expertise. The competition very quickly appealed to the equestrian tourists themselves and by 1996, twelve European Championships had already been held.  Countries principally involved to that point had been France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. 

The sport has its own international governing body, the Federation Internationale de Tourisme Equestre (F.I.T.E.) and by the time of the 1996 European Championships, membership of FITE had expanded to include the United Kingdom, Argentina, Quebec and Tunisia.  The United Kingdom joined to gain international recognition for its newly developed Equestrian Tourism Qualifications and membership of FITE is via the BHS.  At those championships it was decided to attempt the first ever World Championships in 1997, planned to take place in France in the September of that year. 

The World Championships duly took place with all member countries being represented with the exception of Argentina.  By the time of the competition the United States of America, with the encouragement of the BHS, had joined FITE and were able to enter a team in the Championships. 

The competition was an outstanding success - bringing together riders from three continents and it was won, not perhaps surprisingly, by the French.

The Competition 

The competition is designed to test a horse/rider combination through a whole range of activities rather than focusing on one particular discipline.  The competition combines the requirements of trail riding, with jumping and riding school flat work.  It tests the horse/rider's ability to find their way across country using map reading skills and to deal with all types of terrain; to show a safe degree of control and riding ability; and to deal with the sort of obstacles and problems that can be encountered by a rider on their own in the countryside. 

The competition is conducted in three phases, and at Championship level takes place over two days.  Even at the lower levels, competition is usually conducted over two days as there is great emphasis placed on the social opportunities the competition affords.  Riders see themselves principally as equestrian tourists/recreational riders rather than as competitors.

Phase One - Orienteering 

Parcours d'Orientation et de Regularite (P.O.R) is orienteering on horseback.  Riders must follow a route on a map, at speeds predetermined by the organisers.  They must be able (and equipped) to deal with most difficulties and mishaps on their own, although suitable emergency procedures ensure the safety of riders and horses.  The POR is not a race and the majority of the course is conducted in walk and trot.  Although the course can be up to 45 kms long at championship level, generally the very high degrees of equine fitness associated with endurance riding or horse trials are not required. 

The scoring is based on accumulating the most points, and one of the major appeals of this discipline is that if a horse or rider is unable to perform any part of the competition, they are not eliminated; they merely lose points.  It recognises that the demands of the competition are so wide and varied that not all riders or horses can be good at everything.  Injury, cheating or losing equipment can result in elimination but in practice eliminations are very rare giving the sport considerable appeal to the less than perfect rider on the less than perfect horse.

Significant Issues 

The attractions of this sport are obvious, but it is worth emphasising the accessibility of the sport to the ordinary recreational rider.  TREC is environmentally friendly; and stresses individuality and personal development while offering enjoyable social opportunities.  The educational benefits go way beyond the boundaries of riding, stable management and horse welfare, and include knowledge of terrain, understanding of topography and a true appreciation of the countryside. 

A very significant issue is one of insurance, particularly as competitions tend to take place over private land.  In France the 36,000 individuals registered in 1997 all had to carry their own public liability insurance, personal accident insurance and insurance for the horse and equipment that they use. 

In promoting TREC as an inexpensive sport for all riders, the BHS decided not to create another separate competitive discipline along the lines generally established in this country, which would increase costs for individual competitors.  Any individual who is a member of an organisation affiliated to the British Equestrain Federation, which provides personal accident and public liability insurance, is able to compete in open affiliated competitions.  BHS members (including British Riding Club members), the sporting disciplines and the Pony Club all fall within this category. 

For restricted affiliated competitions, only BHS and BRC members are eligible to compete.  All championships will fall in to this category, and only results from these competitions will count towards selection for international competitions. 

There is no requirement to register horses so the sport is affordable and accessible to the ordinary, recreational rider.

General Points 

The sport is demanding in that it requires a wide range of basic skills from both horse and rider, but is also highly flexible.  It can be run on a single day, if that suits the venue and the competitors.  It is quite possible for the sport to accommodate Western Riders, Side Saddle (with some slight modifications to one or two of the PTV obstacles), and any breed of horse.  More than a quarter of the competitors in the British Premier were non-horse owners.  There is provision for pairs (or more), to give those less confident with map reading an opportunity to practise and develop their skills under supervision or to allow a young person to compete with an adult. 

One of the other attractions of the sport is that most people ride in their everyday riding gear, so there is not the requirement to spend large sums of money on specialist clothing or equipment. 

Our thanks go to the BHS for this article