Horses for treacherous 45 kilometre long courses

Orienteering on horseback across distances of up to 45 kilometres with a handmade map, traversing dense forest and steep inclines, braving blizzards, storms and 30 degree sunshine – TREC might be the craziest sport you’ve never heard of.

TREC, or Techniques de Randonnee Equestre de Competition, was founded in France in the late 1970s and consists of three stages – orienteering, control of a horse’s paces and an obstacle course – across two days that push both horse and rider to their limits.

Traditionally dominated by its French founders, the sport was introduced to the UK in 1998 and has grown in popularity ever since with around 600 British competitors testing themselves across some of Europe’s most demanding landscapes.

Two of those, Bucklebury mother and daughter Kirsty and Eleanor Adams, have been on a mission to upset the French panier de pommes and have gone hoof to hoof with their continental counterparts in Lamotte-Beuvron, Brittany and Burgundy.

“I’ve been riding for 44 years, since I was five,” Kirsty said.

“Eleanor’s first rosette actually came along before she was born, I was competing while I was pregnant with her.

“Eleanor always wanted to compete, but I wanted her to wait until she was at least 10.”

As it happened, Eleanor, a pupil at Kennet School, found a competition that fell on the date of her 10th birthday – and she hasn’t looked back since.

“I’ve been riding all my life, mum put me on a horse when I was three months old and I’m 15 now,” Eleanor said.

“I had that first competition, then another two when I was 11, and I did my first full season the next year, when I turn 18 I can compete as an individual internationally.”

The duo have enjoyed considerable success on both the domestic and international circuit – Eleanor competing in a team until her 18th birthday – and plan to push their rivals across the Channel to pick up some of the sport’s most prestigious silverware.

Kirsty said: “Success is dependent on having a good relationship with your horse, and being confident with maps and navigation.

“You’ve got to control the horse and read the maps, that’s what’s important – I don’t know of any horses yet that can read the maps themselves, no matter how good, no matter how expensive.”

The pair, who are supported by Wessex TREC Club, recently travelled to Lamotte-Beuvron, home of the French Equestrian Federation, to compete in the TREC World Championships.

Kirsty finished 44th overall and her mount, Dougal, was the flag bearer for the British team.

“Dougal’s so calm, he’s got such a good temperament, but when he needs to he can turn it on,” Kirsty said.

“He carried the Union Jack, I think that was because he was the most accepting of having a large flag strapped to him, he’s quite happy being the focus of attention.

“The competition was such hard work, we knew we were stepping into the lions’ den.

“The French were very good hosts, we started with a drinking game, we were all convinced the Austrians would be good for nothing after that but they ended up finishing second, perhaps the French knew who to target!”

Eleanor – who promises she didn’t take part in the drinking contest – her horse Raiden and her partner Louisa Brammer finished an impressive seventh in the juniors division.

Eleanor said: “It was the most amazing experience.

“Raiden has his moments but he surprised us with how well he travelled.

“We had an incredible opening ceremony where we rode through the centre of Lamotte Beuvron, he was a bit overexcited but he soon calmed down."

Last November, Kirsty won the team event in the 40th anniversary edition of the prestigious Raid Centaure in Burgundy, a 100 kilometre night-time ultra-orienteering event.

Not put off by the two hours sleep, the threat of wolves and a ferocious blizzard, she plans to have a crack at conquering the solo competition in Brittany in a month’s time.

“I rode with the other two British riders in a team of three, we called ourselves the Galloping Circus,” she said.

“We set off at 12 minutes past midnight and as soon as we were two kilometres in, drizzle turned to snow.

“We got really lost at about 4am, we had to fight so hard to get ourselves back on track.

“Unbeknown to us, all of the other teams had lagged so far behind that they’d been removed from the course.

“We rode for sixteen hours with one 20 minute break, we had two hours sleep and then rode another 40 kilometres for 12 hours, we didn’t know we’d won until we got back.”

Eleanor meanwhile has her sights set on the 2024 World Championships – she admits she’d love to win, but says that TREC is about far more than that.

She said: “I just love the sport, the orienteering, the people.

“You know you’re going to get lost, but no matter how lost you get, you always find your way again.”