By Davy Crockett 

Both a podcast episode and a full article

Endurance riding is the equestrian sport that includes controlled long-distance riding/racing. The sport has existed for more than a century in various forms. 100-mile trail ultramarathons, especially the Western States Endurance Run, Old Dominion 100, and Vermont 100 can trace their roots to endurance riding. Other trail 100s that emerged in the 1980s were also influenced by endurance riding practices.

Ultrarunners should feel indebted to those of the endurance riding sport who had the vision to establish some early 100-mile trail races for runners. The trail 100-miler inherited many of the same procedures of aid stations, course markings, trail work, crews, medical checks, and of course the belt buckle award. Once ultrarunners understand their history, a common kinship is felt between the two sister endurance sports. So trade in your running shoes for horse shoes for a few minutes and learn about an inspiring and adventuresome endurance riding history that impacted the sport of ultrarunning.

The Origins of the Endurance Riding Sport in America

Usually the credit for establishing the endurance riding sport is given to Wendell Robie of Auburn, California when he initiated the Western States Trail Ride (Tevis Cup) in 1955. (That history will be covered in Part 2). But endurance riding competitions of various formats existed long before 1955. Vermont must be recognized as the birthplace for the endurance rides in America.

Perhaps it depends on the definition for the “endurance ride.” The debate around the definition of what an endurance ride is, is similar to the definition of what an ultramarathon is. Is an ultramarathon anything over a marathon or do they start at 50 miles? One published definition for the endurance ride is “a timed test against the clock of an individual horse/rider team’s ability to traverse a marked, measured cross-county “trail” over natural terrain consisting of a distance of 50 to 100 miles in one day.” That is a modern, very limited definition especially the “trail” limitation, and the one-day limitation. But it still does apply to many very early endurance rides that predated the Western States Trail Ride.

Just as ultramarathons did not originate with the 1977 Western States Endurance Run, organized endurance riding did not originate with the 1955 Western States Trail Ride as Wikipedia erroneously states. Such a claim can also be found in other histories on the Internet. Some of the early endurance ride pioneers and events seem to have been forgotten or pushed aside.

Rides That Inspired Endurance Riding

Sam Dale monument

In 1814, Sam Dale (1772-1841), the "Daniel Boone of Alabama" made a famous 670-mile ride on horseback in eight days from Georgia to New Orleans in the dead of winter to deliver a dispatches from Washington D.C. to General Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812. Some have called this the "greatest ride in United States history."

Francis Aubry

Long before there was organized mail delivery, a French Canadian, Francis Aubry (1823-1852) was a American frontier legend who delivered mail from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Independence, Missouri during the war with Mexico during the 1840s. He purposely sought to break speed records and would on occasion ride his horses or mules to death.

Depiction of Aubry's arrival at Missouri

In 1848 Aubry accepted a bet of $1,000 that he could make the 800-mile ride between Santa Fe and Independence in six days. He made arrangements to switch horses at various locations along the route about 100 miles apart. He ate as he rode, tied himself to the saddle, and took brief naps. An army Major stated, “He passed my train at a full gallop without asking a single question as to the danger of Indians ahead of him.”

After 100 miles he was going to switch out his yellow mare “Dolly,” but the relay station man had been killed and scalped and the horse were gone,