Who are we?
Welcome to the Ohio Arabian & All-Breed Trail Riding Society (OAATS, Inc.) the competitive distance and pleasure trail riders club for the Ohio and surrounding areas.  OAATS, Inc.  began as committee of an Ohio Arabian show club (AHAO) in 1972 to promote, develop, and sanction distance riding events in the Ohio and neighboring areas.  As we developed over those 30 years we realized we needed to operate as our own organization dedicated to distance and trail riding.  In July of 2002 the Distance Committee of AHAO voted to incorporate as OAATS, Inc. and our new organization was formed. 

OAATS sanctions over 30 events and an estimated 3,600 miles of distance competition annually.  In addition, the organization is a governing body for competitive trail rides (CTR). OAATS maintains the career mileage for all participating horses, holds clinics and instructional presentations throughout the year to introduce the sport to new riders, as well as improve and educate our existing riders.  The club offers many year end awards based not only on individual season accomplishments, but the career accomplishments of each horse. OAATS also promotes and maintains it's own recreational riding program for those who enjoy pleasure riding and hours in the saddle.  The Recreational Riding programs offers awards at specific hourly achievement levels.  Though OAATS, Inc. is a recognized AHA (Arabian Horse Association) affiliate, our membership is open to any and all breeds. 

What is distance riding?
 There are two distinct disciplines of distance riding.  The first is called Competitive Trail Riding or CTR.  CTR is a timed event that judges an individual horses finishing condition against the same horses starting condition.  Points are deducted for any condition considered to be worse at the end of the ride by the veterinary and lay judges.  The points are considered for pulse rate, soundness, quality of gait, and metabolic conditions.  The horse finishing the ride with the highest score over all is considered the winner.   Competitive rides are great for entry-level riders. The rides are usually only 25 miles to 40 miles in length a day and most offer a novice ride of 10 to 20 miles.  These rides are ridden at an average pace of 5 to 7 miles per hour, and all riders must complete the same course within the same amount of time.  Rules for CTR's vary by geographic region so when competing in a CTR be sure you know the rules for that rides governing body.  All rides sanctioned by OAATS, Inc. are governed under the OAATS rules.  (for a copy of the rules check out the CTR Rule Page)

The other distance discipline is called Endurance Riding.  Endurance riding is more of a cross-country race.  All horses begin at the same time and horses are placed as they cross the finish line.  Each horse must pass a series of stringent veterinary inspections and holds along the way as well as complete and pass a veterinary inspection after they finish.   A horse failing any of these veterinary checks is immediately disqualified.  The lengths of endurance rides are from 50 to 100 miles in a day and can be ridden at average speeds of 10 to 12 miles per hour depending on trail conditions.  All endurance rides in North America are governed by A.E.R.C. (American Endurance Ride Conference).  Horse and rider teams excelling at this sport can qualify for National and International level Competition.