Cayuse Creek Ranch is hosting two prestigious endurance races in 2015, the Pan American Endurance Championship (“Pan Ams”) and the North American Endurance Team Challenge (“NAETC”).  These are collectively known as The Americas Endurance Series.  Both of these are international competitions sanctioned by the International Equestrian Federation (“FEI”), the association for sanctioning all international equestrian events worldwide.

These will be held during the week of August 17 – 22, with the races being on the trails of the Ganaraska Forest located near Millbrook, Ontario, about 20 miles SW of Peterborough.

The Pan Ams will be held on August 18 and will comprise of teams from several South American and Central American countries as well as USA, Mexico and Canada.  The NAETC will be held on August 21 and will comprise of teams from USA, Mexico and Canada.  Both of these events will feature some of the best human and equine endurance athletes on the American continents.

Both competitions will be 75 miles (120 kms) and will be on the trails of the Ganaraska Forest.  The courses for the two events will be identical.  There will be 4 loops, with the longest being 24 miles and the shortest 14 miles.  All vetting will be at base camp.  As these are FEI events, the technically difficult single track trails have been reduced from those normally used for AERC and OCTRA events, replaced with double track trails, most of which are hard packed loam or sand.  There are a few rough gravel spots on steep hills that are manmade to reduce erosion.  Shoes are recommended, but pads should not be necessary.

A rough breakdown of the trails surfaces is:

Double track:
Single Track:
Gravel Road:
Fields:
Paved Road:
72%
20%
4%
2%
2%

The draft schedule for the event is:

August 16 Noon Campsite Opens
August 17 Noon Registration Opens
1:00 pm Vetting Starts for Pan Ams
6:00 pm Ride Talk
August 18 6:30 am Pan Ams – Seniors Start
6:45 am Pan Ams – Juniors Start
August 19 5:00 Awards Ceremony
6:00 Pan Am Banquet & Closing Ceremonies
August 20 1:00 pm Vetting Starts for NAETC
6:00 pm Ride Talk
August 21 6:30 NAETC – Seniors Start
6:45 NAETC – Juniors Start
August 22 10:00 NAETC Awards
11:00 NAETC Breakfast