Saturday, December 21, 2019

WDRA: Western Distance Riders Alliance - “It’s not a ride, it’s an adventure!”

XPRides.com

We are a regional organization to promote distance riding in the West. WDRA will honor all past & future mileage from other distance organizations.
Our Mission Statement

WDRA brings together all equestrians who enjoy the companionship of their human & equine friends in natural trail settings in the West.

We welcome anyone with the best interest of their horse at heart, and eager to participate with like-minded riders in fun & challenging events, regardless of the distances.

Our Board of Directors include present and past AERC BOD members, riders and ride managers and Hall of Fame members who truly care about the future of our sport. They include Andrew Gerhard, Tennessee Lane, David Nicholson, Tom Noll, Kerry Redente, Christoph Schork, Tonya Oaks Stroud. Our new website is coming soon! WDRA.net

WDRA Reason to Ride

The Western Distance Riders Alliance brings together all equestrians who enjoy the companionship of their human and equine friends in the natural trail settings found in our beautiful country. The WDRA supports all aspects of equine distance riding – distance riding as it has been in the past, as it is practiced today, and equine distance riding in the future.

We define a distance riding event as an equine event, taking place over natural terrain, demonstrating the ability of an equine and its rider to perform. There are many equine distance riding events that are sanctioned by various organizations worldwide. Equine distance riding includes the traditional distance riding activities of the AERC, FEI, EDRA, USEF, along with other equine distance riding activities such as endurance driving, NATRC, CTR, and Ride and Tie, and even extending to the epic distance riding achievements recognized by the Long Riders Guild.

As an organization, we welcome anyone who has the best interest of their horse in their heart and is eager to participate with like-minded riders in fun and challenging events throughout the west. We look with favor upon those who are willing to saddle up and ride regardless of the distances and effort involved. We leave it up to the individual riders to decide for themselves and their horses what is a worthy challenge.

We feel that no other event, worldwide, offers the challenge of the Western States Trail Ride, known as the Tevis Cup Ride. We encourage those who set their sights on that ultimate distance riding event. While the Tevis Cup is the definitive challenge, there are many other events that offer important building blocks to reach that ultimate goal. The Western Distance Riders Alliance welcomes all equines and all riders whether they are preparing for the unmatched championship challenge of the Western States Tevis Cup 100-mile ride, or whether they are embarking on their own personal accomplishment of a long ride through natural terrain with their equine partner.

The WDRA honors all accomplishments of its members in any sanctioned event demonstrating the ability of a horse and its rider to perform in a natural setting. Members of the WDRA can have their personal records from other distance riding organizations incorporated into the WDRA records

We strive for an all-inclusive approach to the sport of distance riding. We take no issue with any of the other distance riding organizations, including AERC, EDRA, USEF, NATRC, and the others. We believe that we are all branches springing from the same roots. We offer ride managers a format that complements their primary sanctioning organization with the additional opportunity to experiment with new ideas to bring new people and new horses to the sport.

The WDRA is an alliance. An alliance is a “union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations.” The WDRA is an alliance between riders, drivers, equines, ride and event managers, ride volunteers, ride veterinarians, and all of the organizations that sanction equine distance riding events — equine events that demonstrate the ability of a horse and rider to perform in a natural environment. Join us and Ride On.
RULES

The overall intent of our rules is to operate with integrity supporting the best interest of the horse and rider.

1. The event must be of sufficient difficulty to test the performance of equestrians and equines.
2. The event must be under the control of control judges or veterinarians experienced with equines.
3. The Event Manager may set a specific time limit for completion and will make any decisions about allowing variations for extenuating circumstances.
4. The Event Manager will determine if an equestrian has met the completion requirements.
5. Placements will be determined by the Event Manager.
6. Event Managers reserve the right to make decisions about the proper conduct of equestrians and any person attending their event.
7. The WDRA believes all equines should compete on their own natural ability. The use of all drugs and performance enhancing substances and procedures is forbidden. Any exceptions must come from the head control judge or the head veterinarian in writing.
8. Protests will be handled through the primary sanctioning organization. Protests concerning the WDRA will be handled first by the Event Manager at the time of the event, provided that the protestor delivers a signed written description of the situation to the Event Manager at time of the event. Persons dissatisfied by the Event Manager’s decision can escalate the protest to the WDRA Board of Directors by submitting a signed written statement describing the situation for evaluation and possible decision. The decision of the WDRA Board of Directors is final.
9. WDRA will record mileage for members who have successfully completed any distance event sanctioned by other recognized distance riding organizations.

More information will be forthcoming


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