Just like reading a murder mystery, Northern Adult Riding Club's annual Navigation Ride is all about steadily gathering clues and not rushing to the finish.
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About 120 riders are expected to saddle up for the ride’s 20th anniversary event on June 12, which will again be held at Biralee's Harveydale property.
Riders will set off with a cryptic clue sheet to scour a marked course spanning between 10 and 20 kilometres, aiming to gather as many answers as possible before crossing the finish line.
The winner will be the rider to gather the most answers and treasure hunt items and complete the course closest the the optimum time.
Club president Jenny Harvey explained the optimum time was calculated externally and was not revealed to competitors until post-ride.
“It's not a speed event, so if they go too fast they won't get all the clues and they will be over the optimum time so they'll lose points for that,” Mrs Harvey said.
“If you want to go slow and try and find all the clues to get maximum points for your clues you'll probably lose points on the optimum time because you'll be slow, so you have to work out a balance between the two.”
This year’s milestone event will feature a bumper prize pool with $3500 in prizes up for grabs.
Among some of the new inclusions are prizes for some of the event's non-competitive participants.
“Some people just go in it for the trail ride; they don't really care about the competition,” Mrs Harvey said.
“They’re not too worried about looking for clues because they're too busy enjoying the ride or riding with their friends, so we've got these random prizes for people who are non-competitive - they might come away with a really nice prize or something they could use for their horse.”
The competition spans five divisions, including senior and junior categories and three pairs categories.
Riders interested in competing in the event are encouraged to submit an entry form before registrations close on Thursday June 2.
Registrations can be made at www.northernadultridingclub.org.au, the NARC Facebook page or by contacting Mrs Harvey on 0407514611.