Friday, May 16, 2008

Endurance Riding Team receives grant from the Kentucky Horse Council

Hunter Jumper News



May 15, 2008

Lexington, KY, May 15, 2008 – M. R. Riders 4-H Club of Campbell County was recently awarded a $1,000 grant from the Kentucky Horse Council. Members of the club compete as a team year round throughout the state at endurance riding competitions.

Typically the young riders and their horses compete by traveling an average of 25 miles over challenging terrain in a timed event. As they accumulate good scores and better fitness levels they enter endurance races of further distances. Those wishing to qualify for the 2009 US Endurance Riding team must be competing at 100 mile races.

M.R. Riders will use the grant to purchase blankets to protect their horses at winter competitions. Often during overnight competitions the youthful competitors camp with their horses at primitive sites which do not offer shelter for the animals. By covering the resting horses with blankets their muscles will stay warm, enabling them to compete more comfortably and safely.

“The Kentucky Horse Council is pleased to support the efforts of M.R. Riders 4-H Club. Endurance riding provides a great lesson in delayed gratification as the students condition themselves and their horses well in advance of competitions,” remarked KHC Board President, Madelyn Millard.

ABOUT THE KENTUCKY HORSE COUNCIL - The Kentucky Horse Council is a non-profit organization dedicated, through education, to the protection, growth and development of the equine industry in Kentucky. The Kentucky Horse Council provides educational programs, grants, scholarships, personal liability insurance, trail riding programs, and an annual statewide equine industry directory.

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