Crewing
What is a Crew?
A crew is usually family or friends who help the horse and rider throughout the event. How much they do depends on how much they know about horses, but even with limited knowledge they can meet you on course to offer water.
Do you need a crew?
Under EGB rules it is only compulsory to have a crew when competing in Endurance Rides (ERs). This means that in theory, you can compete in Competitive Rides (CRs) of up to 80km without a crew. Whilst some Offa’s Dyke members have very successfully competed up to this level without a crew, it takes a quite a bit of organisation and planning. Some rides are easier than others to manage without a crew. For instance, if water is easily available on the route and if the course comes back to the venue part way through, so you can visit your trailer for water. You can always ask the ride organiser for information before you enter.
You can easily do pleasure rides and shorter distance competitive rides without a crew, but as you increase the distance, you and your horse will probably be very glad to meet a friendly face offering drinks and a cooling ’slosh bottle’. It is also very helpful to have another pair of hands to help and another driver if you have problems during the ride.
Anyone and everyone can take part in an endurance ride as back-up crew from your children to your granny. This helps to makes it a unique “family” sport.
What Crews do
-
Help look after the horse at the venue, while the rider collects the bib etc
-
Prepare the horse for the farrier and vetting
-
One of the crew can accompany the rider in the vetting area and can also do the trot up for the rider if they like
-
Help tack up and see the rider safely away from the start
-
If the crew don’t drive, or you don’t want them to meet you on course, they can relax at the venue and wait for you to come back (most rides have a catering van to keep them happy while they wait)
-
If they are going to meet you on course, they can carry water for the horse to drink (usually plain and sugar beet water in buckets with tight fitting lids), water to cool the horse (slosh bottles) and drinks for the rider. They can also carry some of the emergency supplies
-
Back at the venue they help prepare the horse for vetting (see crewing tips below)
Crewing out on course
-
Check the ride information for details of where you are allowed to meet the rider. Some rides have restrictions where you are not allowed to meet e.g. busy or narrow roads, places local residents have asked us not to crew, roads the horses are coming along. Please respect all these restrictions or your rider could be eliminated!
-
You can crew in any vehicle except horseboxes. You don’t need a 4 wheel drive - you can use a mini if you like (we’ve even seen energetic men on bicycles out crewing)
-
Take a photocopy of the riders map & bring the OS map if you have it, so you know where to meet them. If the rider has worked out the time they expect to arrive at the checkpoints, this will give you an idea when to expect them
-
If possible your rider will probably like to be crewed about every 5-7 miles. Choose safe places to crew. Don’t block driveways and avoid annoying any locals. Drive safely.
-
Some rides have limited crewing places where you are allowed to meet, which makes it much easier, as all the crews will be driving to the same place and you’ll see the same faces on the way round (this is where all the gossiping takes place)
What do you take in the car?
This depends a bit on the size of car you’re using. Some people seem to fit in everything but the kitchen sink! However, the basic things you really need are:
-
Water for the horse to drink. We usually offer a choice of plain water and sugar beet water (well diluted before the ride, so it’s really tasty). You need these in buckets with well sealing lids. Some feed companies sell these (e.g Dengie) or wine making buckets are good.
-
Sloshes
to poor over the horse – make sure the rider has practised
this with their horse at home first! Most people use fabric
conditioner bottles, well washed out, as they are easy to pass to
the rider. This is especially exciting in ERs where time is
important and you often see the crews running along side the riders
with sloshes so they can keep moving whilst cooling the horse -
Spare water on a longer ride. 5 gallon water carriers are good to bring along so you don’t run out of water, especially on a hot day. It’s amazing how much you can get through.
-
Food and drink for the rider. They should hopefully carry a water bottle on their saddle, but if not you can offer them a drink when you meet them. It is very easy for the rider to get dehydrated and you will probably have to nag them to drink enough!
-
Any spare kit the rider may need. This can be spare tack, a first aid kit, hoof pick, spare shoes in case the horse looses one on course. The farrier will sometimes be able to come out on course and put a shoe on for you and it’s easier and quicker for him if you have a spare set in the car (an old set, not too worn will do).
Don’t worry about needing loads of special equipment when you start out. It’s more important that you meet the rider and the main thing you need is water. Everything else is a bonus!
What to do when you get to your crew point
If you are crewing at a ‘check point’ you’ll be able to check with the steward that your rider hasn’t come through yet.
-
Place your buckets of plain water and/or sugar beet water in a safe place off of the road. You don’t want your horse’s bottom sticking out into the oncoming traffic.
-
Get your slosh bottles ready and take the tops off them. If your horse doesn’t like slosh bottles, have a bucket and sponge instead.
-
Know where your rider’s drink is and nag them to take a drink. It is very important that the rider remains hydrated!
When your rider arrives
This
depends on whether the rider wants to slosh the horse first and then see
if it will drink, or the other way round. Sometimes the horse will dive
straight for its water bucket. If it does, then let it drink. Don’t
put it off by pouring a slosh over it until its finished drinking. Some
horses don’t drink until quite far into a ride, so initially just keep
them cool and comfortable.
When you‘ve given the horse and rider everything they need, see them off – in the right direction! Put your bucket lids back on & pack up for your next crew point.
Back at the venue:
Have everything out ready for the rider when they come in. This usually means:
-
Water and sugar beet water for the horse to drink.
-
Head-collar
-
Hoof pick
-
Buckets and sponges to cool the horse if necessary
-
A stethoscope or heart rate monitor for a competitive ride to check the heart rate is below 64 beat per minute
-
Rugs – depending on the temperature
What you do when they get back will depend on how hot a day it is.
If it’s a competitive ride with a full vetting, you will want to make sure the horses heart rate is below 64 beats per minute by the time you present to the vet (within 30 mins). This is where the challenge comes in: to learn about your individual horse and what you need to do to bring the heart rate down as low as possible. The lower your horses heart rate at the vetting – the better grading rosette you take home!
Every horse is different and what works for a thin skinned Arab won’t necessarily do for heavy cob or small pony. You need to experiment with what works for your own horse. Bear in mind the weather conditions. On a cold day, if you put lots of water on your horse it may shiver and that will put its heart rate up. You may need to put a rug on to keep it warm, particularly if there is a cold wind blowing.
-
Take the tack off and put on the head-collar
-
Wash the mud off so you can check the horse hasn’t got any cuts. Most horses love having the sweat wiped of their faces and around their ears and dried with a towel.
-
Pick the feet out.
If the horse is hot and it is a warm day
Put water on with a sponge, especially onto the neck and the large veins on the inside of the back legs to cool the horse. This usually helps bring the heart rate down. Check with your stethoscope or heart rate monitor
Hopefully your rider will know their horse and will know the best way to get it to be nice and calm and relaxed for the vet. You may need to walk the horse around and let it graze a bit so that it doesn’t stiffen up.
Keep an eye on the time to make sure you present to the vet within 30 minutes of finishing.
You may need to present your horse to the vet for your rider and do the trot up, but the rider will need to be with you.
After the vetting
You can relax and let the horse have some grass or hay and feed. Make sure it has a warm enough rug while you wait for your paperwork to be ready. The rider can take their bib back and collect the rosette!
Crewing on longer rides with vet gates
On rides of 64km and over there will be vet gates part way through the ride, where the horses are checked by the vets and the horses have a rest (or hold) period.
For more information on how to crew rides with a vet gate – see the Archive of articles on the News page. This contains advice from expert riders from the group on how they crew their own horses through vet gates.