5 Minutes with ….Trec Ireland’s Gwen Bastian

 

 

Trec, which stands for Technique de  Randonnee Equestre de Competition, is an equestrian sport that originated in France and was designed to test the skills of professional trekking guides. TREC challenges the skills of horse and rider over three discliplines – orienteering, control of paces and the PTV (Parcours en Terrain Varie / Course in varied Ground) obstacle course. To find out more about TREC in Ireland, please visit www.trecireland.com 

As well as being part of the team that run Trec Ireland and coaching people in the discplines, Gwen Bastian competes herself at both National and International level.

Hi Gwen, how did you first get interested in Trec?

Through the riding clubs, it offered a competitive sport where not too much jumping was involved, and I loved the idea of spending hours on my horse rather than just the 5 minutes in a dressage arena! I like all the 3 phases, as they are such a good test of how well trained your horse is, and how much it trusts you. The orienteering is simply one of the most challenging things I have ever done, and when completing a difficult route the sense of achievement is amazing. I then kept it up when I was coaching riders, and helped to set up TREC Ireland when the riding clubs decided not to keep going with TREC.

What is your favourite obstacle?

Tough question. I like them all as they present such a great challenge to horse and rider combinations and really work on the trust between the two, so I suppose those in general. If I had to pick one that I like for a number of reasons, probably the Low Branches, this obstacle really tests trust in your horse! As I’m quite a speed junky I prefer the mounted obstacles myself, but I love the led obstacles when I coach riders.  

What was your favourite Trec moment in 2009 and why?

Winning the Level 3 Pairs competition in the British Championships, the exact moment the second place was announced and we realised we’d won. Riding at level 3 was an accomplishment in itself, but doing the fairly challenging obstacle course on a young horse that I’d only ridden 3 times before was possibly the best bit. The scenery was also amazing on the orienteering and I rode across terrain that I’d normally never do (plus down a very steep mountain and I hate riding downhill, we trotted part of it!!!!), plus we got fabulous long canters along the way!

What are you looking forward to in 2010, what is coming up in Trec?

I am looking forward to all the Championships, the Irish, British and European, where I’ll be representing Ireland. In Ireland we will be running a National Championship, a qualifier for the British Championships and also an Open Championships in September, where we will run our first ever Level 4 and will be seeing riders from overseas taking part. I’ll probably be involved in the organisation of all the events, but hope to compete at 2 out of 3 as well on my own horse.