GPS and CTR. Do they mix? – An inconclusive report on the spread of navigation technology to Competitive Trail Riding. It may be too soon to make rule changes to include or exclude GPS devices from our events. But it is important for us to start understanding what this is all about, so that we can make informed decisions about how it relates to our equine discipline in the future. This outline takes explanations from several of the manufacturers, comments from some experienced users and endeavors to simply explain the technology. What is GPS? GPS stands for Global Positioning System, a system of satellites hovering over the globe, which work together to provide Latitude and Longitude coordinates to receiving devices on the earth. Originally intended as a military navigational device, GPS was developed by the US military in the late 1970s. In its first form it was known as NAVSTAR. The first large-scale military use of the technology was during the Gulf War. The logic behind GPS navigation is simple triangulation — if you are standing in one place with a radio transmitter and you have three receivers at known positions, in this case satellites, it is theoretically possible to calculate your position, where you happen to be standing. The reality is, of course, much more complex. Variations in terrain, tree cover, number of satellites in the vicinity, quality and attributes of the GPS receiver you are using all affect the accuracy of the navigation. GPS in CTR questions Is there a place for GPS in our sport? Does it create a competitive advantage for those riders that can afford the technology, at the expense of those who can't? Are there riders out there right now that are using them without telling us, since we've made no rules to stop them anyway? Is it giving them an unfair advantage? How would we use a GPS as a Ride Manager? As a competitor? As a lost rider? As a Ride Manager searching for lost contestants? Feedback from other organizations I requested information from a number of other organizations, both CTR and ER. I didn’t receive any official society stance’s on the matter, but did receive a number of informed opinions from directors of other organizations. Since several pointed out that they did not necessarily represent the opinion of their organization, I thought it prudent to leave out the names and organizations that gave me feedback. If there is a valid reason to have the information in the future I can provide it. …We have not made issue in Ont. with people using GPS's at CTR's. We only exempted them for the championship ride. Personally I have one although I don't ride with it. I am not sure it makes a big difference as we generally mileage mark our trails. A rider with a watch should be able to do the calculations fairly quickly. I don't think we are going to ban them from use in the near future… …Interesting discussion. To my knowledge, no one has ever asked to carry a GPS while riding a trail. Or they could be carrying them, and I don't think I would have minded. However, more and more ride managers are using the GPS to calculate ride mileage. But because the GPS doesn't calculate elevation deviation, it's not the most accurate assessment. We usually use the tried-and-true trike odometer when we can, then switch to a capable and agreeable mountain bike rider with an odometer, and the county maps. This has been successful. … Riders riding with GPS. I just returned from the World Endurance Championships in Jerez, Spain. FEI rules state no contact between rider and crew (e.g. cell phone) while on trail. The rule changed for this ride and it was common to see riders cantering along talking on cell phones, taking instructions from crew or relaying the distance they were from a crew point. Level playing field? About as level as it ever is. It poured on ride day and the carefully planned trail turned to absolute muck with a clay base. The front runners were reasonably lucky with footing. Those bringing up the rear, however, plowed through deep mud churned up by more than 140 horses. The playing field isn't even level at the international rides. So your question is interesting. What's to be gained by carrying a GPS unless one gets hopelessly lost? Endurance riding isn't supposed to be an orienteering course but we all know some trail markers need to be far more specific. I'd be more prone to emphasizing to ride managers the necessity of trail accuracy and marking so there's never a question in a rider's mind, more than I'd think about what a rider was carrying. There must be a reason people are feeling the need to carry a GPS. Personally, I've tried it and as you know from orienteering, they have to be pointed in the direction of travel, and that can be quite a nuisance and a distraction. At least it was to me…. …[My partner] is making trails for her 5 day rides (using a gps to collect the way-points and send them to the BML (federal agency) as part of the permit application process.) Then BML sends her back maps with the trails on them from their arc info GIS system. So, we're using GPSs here. Last summer, on the 2001 XP rides, GPSs were required. This was the first time in the US that such an event was used with only GPSs navigation (i.e. there were no trail markers on the ride at all). [Our organization] is officially not committing itself on the issue. It allows ride managers to do as they wish with GPSs, from requiring them to banning their utilization during the ride. So in US endurance riding, there is no official easy, consistent answer to your question in the context of the endurance community. There are strong opinions both ways. [I know a manager who] is a very strong proponent and all of the XP rides encourage GPS use. [Another] is a strong opponent and GPSs are banned from his rides. There have been many discussions about the accuracy of the devices (with most comments referring to the lack of accuracy in all but very flat and open terrain). Collaborative distance measurement techniques are always highly recommended. As to competitive trail events, I have no experience with those and so can not comment from that basis. Common sense would lead me to think that the ability to have real-time speed calculations, in an event which has min/max speed is one of the competitive criteria, would provide somewhat of a competitive advantage to the participants… …GPS devices. We too have noted that more and more competitors are using them, but they are still very much in the minority. They are of course VERY useful for checking the distance of ride routes. We have taken NO steps to ban their use, and it is unlikely that we will in my view. My personal view is that they do not give much competitive advantage anyway - because once the rider is lost, then the main "loss" for them is the time taken to recover back to the official course. I guess the advantage is that they can locate their current position very quickly, but in most cases riders simply turn round and go back over their "hoof prints" anyway… …I did the entire 2000 miles of the pony express trail in 2001 with GPS receivers. It was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Of course competitors without them will be at a disadvantage. So wll competitors without saddles, bridles, trucks to pull their horses to the rides, telephones, etc, etc. This is the new age and GPS receivers are a great new technology. The only real problem is that we are going to have to redefine the length of events as surveyed 50 mile rides are impossible in some terrain, especially in the rugged west. Riders talk about wanting to go an honest 50, but they won't and can't keep coming back when it is offered. Riders want to do a "fifty" that can be won in just under 5 hours and can be reasonably completed in 10 to 11 hours. I have seen 32 mile courses that were won in over 9 and many couldn't finish. That is another subject… As you can see from the responses, there is little established ruling on the topic yet. Progress in bringing GPS technology to consumers Initially, after the government declassified GPS, it was used in aircraft and shipping. Consumer products were too expensive to produce. As well, the devices were not terribly accurate, due to both the built in "Selective Availability", and also due to little connectivity to other navigation systems. In 1996 the process started to phase out the built-in inaccuracy of Selective Availability. This made the consumer devices much more accurate. In the past 5 years GPS has come of age as a tool for the average consumer. Many devices are now available on the market for fishers, hikers, bikers, riders and drivers. A number of manufacturers are vying for consumer dollars, including Garmin, Magellan, Lowrance & Brunton to name a few. The list of GPS units online is near overwhelming. A good site to check out for info is www.gpscitycanada.com. The current round of GPS devices nearly all have 12 satellite capability, and automatically are enabled with other navigation systems such as WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) and LORAN to provide extremely accurate position readings. The better devices are also connectible to your computer via USB or serial connections. There is a vast array of accessories and variations in software, memory and display capabilities. One thing I can't tell you is what the right GPS is to purchase. It is apparent, however that you will be paying between $200 and $300 to get a GPS with a reasonable mix of options and power to do the job. Further GPS Technical Detail History Timeline 1978 NAVSTAR (Navigation System with Timing And Ranging), now known as GPS (Global Positioning System), launched by U.S. Department of Defense for military use, with 11 satellites in orbit. 1980 GPS atomic clocks onboard satellites activated. 1982 First GLONASS satellites launched by the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. 1983 GPS declassified by President Reagan after a Korean Airliner was shot down by Soviet fighters. GPS moves from pure military effort to public project. 1989 Magellan NAV 1000 introduced as the world's first commercial handheld GPS receiver. 1990 Selective Availability (SA) implemented to purposely degrade accuracy for civilian users. 1995 Full constellation of 24 GPS satellites in orbit; system declared fully operational. 1996 U.S. President Clinton authorizes SA to be phased out to provide civilians worldwide with greater GPS accuracy. 1997 Magellan introduces first handheld global satellite communicator; the GSC 100. 2000 Selective Availability phased out as a result of the 1996 executive order by U.S. President Clinton. Civilians can now achieve 10-15 meter accuracy, compared to the previously available 100-meter accuracy. This is a major win for the GPS industry and for GPS consumers. Home | Gallery | Events | Results | Join Us | Announcements | Contacts & Links | Rulebook | Merchandise | Year-End Awards