A Judged trail ride is a type of
trail riding
Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and ...
popular in the western
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
where
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s and
riders are asked to travel a natural trail for a set distance (usually 10 to 15 miles) with occasional stops for the horse and rider team to negotiate an obstacle, usually with varying options for difficulty, with higher scores given for completing the more difficult version of each obstacle.
Unlike
endurance riding or
Competitive trail riding
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
, the ride is not timed. Only obstacle scores are utilized. Rides are informal and rules vary widely by region and individual ride.
Endurance and trail riding
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