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{"PageID":1425,"ThemeCode":null,"BlogInfo":{"Breadcrumbs":[{"Name":"News","URL":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News"}],"ID":46,"SpaceID":2,"Name":"News","Description":"Key news items","Author":{"ID":14,"Name":"John Hudson","CompanyName":null,"HasEmail":true},"CreationTime":"18/11/2019 11:00","Tags":[],"URL":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News","IsWatching":false,"CanWatch":false,"CanPostBlogEntry":false},"EntryInfo":{"Breadcrumbs":[{"Name":"News","URL":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News"},{"Name":"Barefoot, Brave and Built for the Long Miles","URL":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News/Barefoot+Brave+and+Built+for+the+Long+Miles"}],"ID":1425,"Name":"Barefoot, Brave and Built for the Long Miles","Abstract":"Barefoot endurance rider Helen Newton shares 30 years of experience, from Dartmoor to the Golden Horseshoe. Discover how patience, preparation and trust in her horses have delivered over 5,000km of successful, shoeless competition.","ImageUrl":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Client/Images/Cms/Helen_Newton.jpg","ThumbnailImageUrl":"","Author":{"ID":18512,"MembershipNumber":null,"Username":null,"Forename":"Bella","Surname":"Fricker","Name":"Bella Fricker","Handle":"Bella","CompanyName":null,"FamilyGroupName":null,"Branch":{"ID":3,"Name":"Cromwell","Description":"Northants, Cambridgeshire, Beds \u0026 Hertfordshire","Icon":null,"Colour":"rgb(208, 58, 73)","Depth":0,"Indent":0,"CanBeSelected":true,"Sections":null,"Label":"\u003cspan class=\u0022label label-default\u0022 style=\u0022background-color: rgb(208, 58, 73)\u0022\u003eCromwell\u003c/span\u003e","LabelLarge":"\u003cspan class=\u0022label label-default label-lg\u0022 style=\u0022background-color: rgb(208, 58, 73)\u0022\u003eCromwell\u003c/span\u003e"},"IsLoggedInUser":false,"ImageUrl":null},"IsDraft":false,"PublicationDate":"Sunday, 22 March 2026","CreationTime":"03/03/2026 07:46","CommentCount":0,"Tags":["Stories","barefoot","horse care"],"URL":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News/Barefoot+Brave+and+Built+for+the+Long+Miles","CanAdmin":false},"Content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHelen Newton on endurance, Exmoor and trusting the horse beneath you\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor Helen Newton, endurance riding isn’t just a sport — it’s a lifelong addiction. One she happily admits there’s no cure for.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I started endurance in about 1993 with my palomino mare Tequila,” Helen recalls. “We both loved hacking and fun rides, but one pleasure ride with EHPS on the Wirral introduced me to the wonderful world of endurance — and I was hooked.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral years of pleasure rides followed with her local Cheshire/North Wales group before Helen stepped up to competitive distances. When 30-mile rides came into view, her husband Steve was enlisted as crew — a role he’s been performing ever since.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Tequila neared retirement, Helen bought a young Arab, El Carmaal, so she could continue with the sport she’d fallen in love with. “There seems to be no cure,” she laughs. “Two more Arabs, over 5,000 kilometres with Endurance GB, and 30-plus years later — I’m still addicted.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA rider shaped by terrain\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHelen’s calm confidence over tough ground is no accident. She learnt to ride on Dartmoor, hacking for miles over demanding terrain — including riding through a busy market town just to reach it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I encountered similar terrain when I moved to North Wales,” she explains. “So the going in the South West doesn’t faze me or my horses.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSouth West endurance, she says, offers extraordinary variety. “You can have flat disused railway lines, stony forestry tracks, wild hilly moorland — there’s plenty to train for and genuinely something for everyone.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe moment everything changed\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHelen remembers exactly when barefoot first entered the picture.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“El Carmaal — Carly — was bred for his looks rather than physical resilience. After a couple of seasons competing, he became lame. Check ligament strains in both forelegs were diagnosed, caused by hoof imbalance.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShoes came off. Time, patience and a respected barefoot trimmer followed. Carly recovered, discovered a surprising aptitude for riding club dressage, and eventually returned to low-level endurance — much of it with Sport Endurance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“From a horse I thought would never compete again, he became a barehooved star — in my eyes anyway,” Helen says. “He didn’t take another lame step and is still with us at 32.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne moment still makes her smile. “Cantering along on an Endurance GB ride in Lincolnshire, someone shouted, ‘Your horse has lost a shoe!’ I called back, ‘He’s lost all of them — it’s amazing!’”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLearning the hard way — and getting it right\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBarefoot, Helen says, is a steep learning curve.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I made mistakes over the years, but I learnt from them.” She transitioned two Arabs from shoes before finding what she jokingly calls “the holy grail”: El Borann — Rocky — a youngster who had never been shod.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The main thing to realise is that all horses are different. There is no one-size-fits-all. All horses \u003cem\u003ecan\u003c/em\u003e be barefoot — just not all owners.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer non-negotiables are clear: patience, time, diet, trimming and movement. Grazing is managed to encourage movement, forage is fed year-round, bucket feeds are simple and mineral-balanced, salt is always included, and trimming is either done with qualified guidance or by an experienced professional.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“And movement,” she adds. “The more varied work a horse does, the stronger his hooves become. Don’t be afraid of boots — but don’t rely on them either. Tarmac is your friend.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result? “It’s a total gamechanger.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoots: tool, not a crutch\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHelen always carries hoof boots on her saddle — just in case.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“They’re a useful tool in the barefoot endurance kit,” she says. “If I’m unsure, I’ll decide at the start and fit them properly. I’d rather discard them at a crew point than try to fling them on halfway round.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExperience and preparation guide her decisions now, including studying maps and asking questions beforehand. Her top tip? “Use old boots for competition — ones you won’t cry over if you lose them.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRocky once shed an almost-new pair of Scoot boots mid-ride. “He redeemed himself by winning the class — but sadly the prize wasn’t a new pair of hoof boots.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStill, she’s firm on one point: “If you always use boots, your horse isn’t truly barefoot.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Golden Horseshoe: where barefoot shines\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFew rides inspire Helen quite like the Golden Horseshoe on Exmoor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“I hold the horses and riders who complete the full 100 miles over two days in the highest esteem. It’s the truest test of horse and rider in England.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHills, rivers, gates, moorland, forestry tracks — and famously unpredictable weather — make it a ride that demands everything.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“There’s something about the Golden Horseshoe that really gets Rocky going,” she says. “From the 24km pleasure ride to the two-day 80km, he flies round barefoot, taking everything in his stride.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne exception stands out when she was riding Rooster one year. After heavy rain forced route changes onto stonier ground, Helen opted for boots based on advice from another competitor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The boots rubbed and we were vetted out lame at the halfway vet gate. Lesson learnt: nobody knows your horse better than you do.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer verdict is clear. “From my experience, this is a ride best tackled barefoot. The terrain is so varied — boots and shoes can actually be a hindrance.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDistance, limits and knowing when to stop\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHelen has competed up to 80km in a day but never beyond — simply, she says, because life happened.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Time, money, injuries — I’ve got every excuse,” she admits. “There are barefooters competing very successfully above 80km. It’s just not been me.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBarefoot hasn’t limited her ambition. “In fact, if barefoot hadn’t worked for Carly, I might have given up endurance altogether.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs for Rocky? “If he can’t do it barefoot, he can’t do it — end of.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChallenging the myths\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The biggest myth,” Helen says, “is that barefoot endurance can’t be done.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe remembers the early 2000s well. “There was huge prejudice — even from vets. I was once told to expect ‘bleeding stumps’ when we got back from a ride.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead, the horses trotted up sound — and better than many shod ones.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“To his credit, the vet admitted he was wrong and said he’d learnt something.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results speak loudly. Rocky has completed 65 Endurance GB rides, covering 2,228km, with just one lameness vet-out. Rooster (Ley Lader) has 35 starts and two lameness fails. Once Carly lost his shoes for good, he never failed another ride.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAdvice for those considering barefoot\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHelen’s advice is direct and uncompromising.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Get help from a qualified hoof professional — ideally one with endurance experience. Use boots rather than rushing back to shoes. Be patient. Be disciplined.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHorses unsuited to barefoot, she believes, are rare. “The bigger limitation is often the rider’s knowledge and commitment.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking ahead\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAttitudes have changed — and Helen believes they’ll continue to do so.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“At the current rate of progress, I can see shoeing being considered a welfare issue one day. Perhaps even banned.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor Helen, endurance has given her far more than results.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The horses, the countryside, the fresh air, the friendships — some of my best friends came through endurance. Competing barefoot for most of that time has been my greatest achievement.”\u003c/p\u003e","HasCommentsThread":true,"SeoTags":{"OpenGraphTags":[{"ID":"og:title","Name":"Barefoot, Brave and Built for the Long Miles"},{"ID":"og:type","Name":"website"},{"ID":"og:url","Name":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News/Barefoot+Brave+and+Built+for+the+Long+Miles"},{"ID":"og:description","Name":"Barefoot endurance rider Helen Newton shares 30 years of experience, from Dartmoor to the Golden Horseshoe. Discover how patience, preparation and trust in her horses have delivered over 5,000km of successful, shoeless competition."},{"ID":"og:image","Name":"https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Client/Images/Cms/Helen_Newton.jpg"}],"NonOpenGraphTags":[{"ID":"description","Name":"Barefoot endurance rider Helen Newton shares 30 years of experience, from Dartmoor to the Golden Horseshoe. 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