Hope4Horses Biltmore Endurance Race
On September 26, 2018 by Erika EckstromI probably don’t have to keep repeating myself, but a trip to the Biltmore is basically the best trip. Ever.
This time we headed down south for not only the travel adventure but to ride in the Hope4Horses fundraiser endurance race and to witness the AERC Endurance National Championships.
Going with me this time were two couples: Teresa & Randall and Laura & Pete. Both couples ride with us regularly on trails and as students at the Painted Bar Stables. On this adventure though Pete had his main squeeze, Merlin, for the other three it was the first time they traveled with the partners they had been working with (Teresa on Bonita Ponyta, Randall on Kasper, and Laura on Nymeria).
Bonita the Pony
If you can’t tell, Bonita was positively thrilled to be joining us on our Equi-Travel Trip to the Biltmore Estate!
It is not her first endurance race or trip in a trailer but it is her first ever long road road trip with multiple stops! This 6 year old pony is already proving to be a great traveler eating her (handful) grain and munching on hay and being the first horse to volunteer to drink water in the trailer.
PONY POWER!!!
A New Lunch Stop
Usually when we are traveling it can be decently hard to develop consensus for food stops that meet the requirements of traveling with horses: trailer safe parking within eye-shot of the venue. Not to mention that usually I have to figure all of this out on the fly while driving the 6-horse trailer… As a result we usually end up at a Red Robin or some similar chain restaurant to accommodate everyone.
However this time we were traveling with Randall Lam, foodie extraordinaire but also one of the first people I’ve noticed that seemed to understand how to use satellite images to determine if there’s a place to park the trailer.
Randall found us our new lunching stop on the way down with perfect Equi-Travels stop with great trailer parking: Just in Time Seafood. Because, as he said, you cannot pass through the Mid-Atlantic without getting blue crabs.
This quick little seafood shop sells seafood both fresh and cooked over their counter and it was so fresh and delightful, no matter what you ordered.
Randall was so in love he grabbed a number of steamed crabs as leftovers to bring along for the journey. These crabs ended up being the Breakfast of Champions the next day.
Pomolas Equestrian Center
We stayed at our usual overnight bunkhouse and pasture, the Pomolas Equestrian Center.
The reason I choose this location whenever we had to the Biltmore is because it is only 2 hours away from Asheville. While it might seem like we might as well go all the way to Asheville on the first day, having some place that is most of the way there with really easy pull-in accommodations for late-night arrivals so much better. A lot can happen on a drive that far and sometimes those extra 2 hours can put you way late into the night.
Pomolas is a fantastic, affordable and super user friendly location. They have stalls for all of our horses as well as a overnight paddock option as well. The human accommodations are built right into the barn and though they aren’t super fancy they are so convenient. The space consists of a lower meeting room complete with kitchen, projector and tons of recliners that has a bunk loft with sleeping rolls, as well as two bedrooms upstairs each with queen sized beds.
Stuff Happens
As I mentioned before, sometimes stuff happens when you’re traveling. And just so you know, you need to replace your trailer tires every 3 years even if they aren’t worn!! Don’t just measure tread.
Yeah, I know. I don’t always remember to do that either. But this is why you always travel with a spare and a good jack or ramps. Check out our list of supplies that we recommend.
The Statesville NTB National Tire and Battery is becoming one of my favorite EquiTravel stops on the way to Biltmore. Flat tires happen. But knowing where to get a new spare and a great shop that will work on trailers is imperative.
PS – Walmart Auto does not work on trailer tires in many locations!
Biltmore Estate
Most of the time when you pull into a riding venue you don’t get much of a special feeling except: “Cool, new place to ride.” When you pull into the Biltmore, it’s like going to Disney World for Equestrians.
The first thing you encounter as you pull into the Estate from the Biltmore Village is this amazing archway that you drive your trailer through.
From there you follow a meandering road through the woods, the farmsteads, the walking paths and cultured lawns, the agricultural fields and all the way to the very far end of the estate to the Biltmore Equestrian Center.
Making Camp
During endurance races (unlike the rest of the year) you are allowed to set up temporary campsites for both horses and humans at the equestrian center. While most of the event set up (dinners, vet checks, awards, emergency tents, etc…) happen at the furthest field, we usually opt to camp in the “daily field” which, albeit further away from everything, offers us more space and privacy for the event.
Whenever we set up camp we use temporary fence posts with electric rope. See my other blog post about setting up temporary fence posts.
Even though our plan was to ride before we set up our own camp, we always set up the temporary stalls for the horses first. It gives us the opportunity to get our tack together, plan our route and take care of our own business before we ride. It gives the horses the chance and let them stretch, itch and roll, and generally adapt to their new environment and location before we head out.
And they really do usually like to roll…
And the big perk is that when we get back and are tired (or in this case could be in a rush to make the pre-ride banquets) we can just toss the horses right into their mini-fields and not have to worry about set up.
First Ride
After setting up camp we tacked up and went to stretch our horse’s wall. It was great having ample time to explore a trail we wouldn’t be riding during the race. Plus getting the opportunities to take the photos we want without interrupting our race.
What a lovely first ride of the vacation we had on the northern half of the Biltmore White Forest Trails. This trail has a wonderful mix of a bit of field path, access roads and winding trails through the woods – but it is mostly wooded and winding.
One of the landmark views is the “Horse Only” view of the Biltmore Estate Mansion. The trail leading to this view, which is unquestionably the best view of the mansion, is ONLY accessible by horseback.
It was nice to hit up this view before the race because otherwise we all know we would be stopping for selfies mid-race!
Endurance Race Advantages
In addition to being able to camp with your horses during the race, there are many other huge advantages of riding at the Biltmore in conjunction with an endurance.
In addition to all of the perks that we list in our Endurance Race Advantage Post such as veterinary support, marked trails, debrief meetings, volunteers, event photographers and more (CLICK HERE for more) you also have a major financial benefit to riding the Biltmore during a race event:
THREE days at the Estate are included in the price of your race entry!
Usually you need to pay a daily entry price of $85.60 ($53.50 for the human and $32.10 for trail access for the horse) or for multiple days you need to pay $107.00 for a 2 to 5 day length of stay pass and then an additional $32.10 for any day that you ride.
Compare that to the entry fee for $150 for a 25 mile race ($210 for 50 miles, $28 for 75 or 100 miles) where you get:
- Access to the Biltmore and trails for 3 days.
- Additional access to the Western trails across the river through the vineyard at the top of the mountain which are usually closed to recreational riders.
- Camping with your horses for free.
Evening Celebrations
Every evening at Biltmore races there is always an amazing banquet. These banquets are catered by the estate and have fantastic food, but also serve as an opportunity for ride management to announce awards for the day’s races and debrief for the following day’s events.
For some reason after our debrief as we settled back into our camp an even spectacle happened over the Biltmore Mansion: fireworks!
We still have no idea what the fireworks were celebrating. We highly doubt it was to celebrate the Endurance Riding National Championships because what equestrian in their right mind would set off a fireworks display to celebrate a field full of Arabians in temporary fencing in a field.
That said, our ever steady horses did very well handling the event and we all felt very special.
Endurance Riding National Championships
In the morning we were up and drinking our tea and coffee as we saw the national championship 50 mile riders pass in the morning.
There’s something magical about watching a herd of mostly Arabians trot out of the mist past your camp as they head out for their capstone ride of the year.
DuPont State Forest
While we usually use DuPont as a slow detox ride after our Biltmore Races, on this trip we took the 1 hour trek down before our race in order to stay out of the way of the championship rides.
As usual DuPont didn’t fail to impress with their waterfalls, covered bridge and wonderful swimming hole.
As usual the wading stream near High Falls never fails to disappoint. It’s a great spot to splash about and wade into the water.
With Little Bonita being so little, Teresa thought it better to strip her tack for the endeavor and just ride in bareback. Due to some failed calculations of riding a rolly-polly downhill built pony down the stream bank she had one amazing belly flop into the stream before her pony even dared enter. Never one to be thwarted she dragged Bonita in after her and off they went!
Tradition mandates that we always must have a group photo at the covered bridge. With 6 horses this time (versus the 10 from the spring) it was a much easier feat to accomplish!
Every time we ride in a location I get better and better about planning the route to suit the group.
DuPont is one of those places that has loads of options but that the trail differences are important to the group you’re riding with. Many of the main routes between the water falls at DuPont are gravel roads which offer fantastic canters and extended trots – IF your horse is properly shod (this trip all of the horses were shod all the way around and the pony is just tough as nails). If shod inappropriately those long gravel stretches can be an extended opportunity for bruised soles and chipped hooves.
The smaller trails winding off the main paths towards the lakes are soft dirt and pine needles making a much easier footing for the horses. 
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