For Pleasure (to a lesser extent Trail) division your style of tack and the breed of horse would not matter because you are only riding maximum 20km/day. The only requirements for tack is that it is safe, fits the horse and is in working condition. You can read the finer points regarding tack on DRASA website. Some people find it is helpful to do a clinic (1 star ride) first. Clinic runners will explain everything you need to know.

You may enter as a Single Event Member only once and for this option you do not have to be affiliated with any club. This will cost you only the insurance DRASA has to pay toward the insurance company. To become a full member you will need to affiliate with a club of which there are WCCD, Stoneriver and GRDR currently available in Western Cape. You may upgrade to Full Member after you used your one SE member at an extra cost which will entitle you to your lifetime number, bib and chip. Every year you will just need to reaffiliate at a smaller fee than the initial Membership fee, because you already have your bib and chip. You will also need to register your horse. Please remember to only use one email in the registration process and subsequent entering of events. All Events are entered online at www.drasa.org.za under the Events tab. This can be a two day process because POPs needs to be processed.

There are three catagories that are being scored: Timekeeping, Veterinary and Horsemanship. Timekeeping entails you nominating your speed you want to do the distance in and riding it in that time as close as possible. There is a maximum and minimum speed for each trail that will be communicated at the Pre-ride meeting. Riding faster than maximum or slower than minimum leads to immediate disqualification. You incur penalties riding faster or slower than your nominated time which will be converted to a score. Veterinary scores are designed to assist you in managing your horse's wellfare when doing CTR. There are scores for body-condition, heart rates and recovering heart rates pre-ride and after each leg. Horsemanship scores are designed to educate and measure the control and management of the horse. You will be required to negotiate real-life obstacles as well as show how well you can control your horse. You will also be scored for how you look after your horse before during and after the ride. All these scores are calculated to determine not only winners in each catagory but also the over-all winners. These scores also are converted to points toward end of the year National rankings and prize-giving.

CTR is very affordable because you mainly camp out with your horse at venues. Depending on the ride there might be catering at the venue but usually these rides are self-catering. Because DRASA is not affiliated with SAEF the costs to affiliate and compete is considerably reduced. Rides usually have a lesser rate for shorter distances and higher rates for the longer distances, except for Nationals which usually is set at a flat rate for the event. Depending on the sponsors and the venue you might need to pay a horse levy and rent paddocks if you do not have your own. Some rides will not be able to supply paddocks. Make sure if the ride allows pets and children. We sometimes ride in game reserves where pets are not allowed or Covid-regulations caps the amount of people that can be present at the venue.