History of endurance riding?
The modern day endurance riding sport was started by the late Wendell T. Robie (1895 - 1984) when he wanted a sport which involved "rapport with one's horse; companionship on a trail; and the opportunity to share the incomparable scenery of my home territory".
So he started the very first organised endurance ride - the 100 miles Tevis Cup in 1955. It was named after Lloyd Tevis, the long-time president of the Wells and Fargo Company (the Pony Express Trail). It was a huge success, and consequently, America soon started up 3 endurance organisations -
· The Western States Trail Foundation (the Tevis Cup)
· The American Endurance Rides Conference
· The North American Trail Ride Conference.
Soon afterwards, endurance became a world wide equestrian discipline, moving onto Australia, the formed the Australian Endurance Riders' Association and held the first Tom Quilty Cup (a ride similar to the Tevis Cup) in 1966. Great Britain formed the EHPS in 1973, and the Summer Solstice, their most famous 100 mile ride, was first held in 1975. Many other European countries followed their example and started up their own official endurance organisations in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
