Two weekends ago, Eryca and I headed out for our first pace of the year. Between weather and conflicting schedules, we pretty much missed the entire spring season. To be honest, I don't mind. I love hunter paces and we have historically done really well.
However (and you'll have to excuse me for sounding like an old fart) paces are not what they used to be. I remember the old days when the local pace was 12-15 miles and took you through the entire valley. People would tailgate before and after riding and you had to really know how to ride. Plus it was like twenty bucks to enter.
These days, a lot of paces are 5-6 miles (or less!) Depending on who is hosting and whether it's a hunter pace, trail pace, or pleasure pace, the ideal times vary drastically. I don't do these things to be competitive so I don't really care about that. In fact, I think it's great to encourage people to get out of the arena, even if it's at a walk. Plus, I totally respect doing whatever you need to do to keep horse events alive year after year. You have to adjust to your demographic.
With the cost of paces being in the fifty dollar range, though... I'm going to be picky about which ones I go to. We stick to old favorites, places we've never been, and paces that have a longer option.
With the newfound freedom of truck and trailer, Eryca and I have really been racking up the travel miles. We both agree that we'd rather spend money on gas to ride someplace new. I do, however, enjoy not having to navigate once in a while.
So when the Alexandria trail organization advertised that they were hosting a trail pace a new location and offering a short/long course format, we were all over it! It wound up being a gorgeous day.
