Let me be the first to say that TEAMS competition is not everyone’s cup of tea. We get that. Some people are very focused, and only want the responsibility for themselves and their horse. Maybe you are an introvert, or the you/horse thing is JUST THAT IMPORTANT. In fact it is everything for you. You maybe are competitive, or you just want to see how you and your horse do in a field of similar riders with similar goals. That is what the Individual competition is about.
Here are a few facts concerning riding Individual at Green Bean Endurance in 2016:
You as the rider must have less than 1000 recorded sanctioned (please see the rules) endurance/LD miles to participate. If you have more than that, you probably have the experience to move yourself into the goals of open endurance riding happily.
You as a rider must declare the horse you will ride for the entire season. This is a one horse/one person endurance competition. You want to see how many points you can earn with your horse but careful riding and earning of bonus points. Do keep in mind that if you or your horse withdraws during the competition completely, your ride season will end at that point. Once you have turned in points on the horse, that is your competition partner for the year. So if you own multiple horses, pick your most likely sound, safe, and sane partner for the purpose of the competition.
Bonus points can be earned by doing certain things on non-ride competition days. These include attending educational endurance clinics, riding an Intro ride (one per year is max allowed), and volunteerism at sanctioned endurance rides. All will add bonus points to your rider scoreboard.
Awards will be offered in the Individual Competition. The high mileage rider will receive a year end award. The high point (which includes bonus points) will recieve a year end award. There will also be an award between the competitions (combining TEAM riders and Individual riders) for Volunteer of the Year.
What does it cost and where does the money go? To ride for the year costs $10. You must be an AERC member also before you can submit any points. This is how we verify that you rode the rides that are turned in. The money collected does not go to anyone here at Green Bean Endurance. It is kept in a paypal account and then used to pay for year end awards and the upkeep of this website (about $15 a year for that). So the value of the awards is dependent year to year on the donations of others, and the rider fees collected. If rider census is high we offer better choices of awards (jackets or vests) . If rider census is low, we keep it simple but worthwhile (buckles, trophies etc.) So that aspect can change year to year.
If you would like to join the 2016 competition as an Individual rider follow the link below: