In the 1970s, some of the leading figures in Equestrian Tourism in France, came up with the idea of holding ‘competitive rallies’ to raise public awareness of the ‘randonnée à cheval’. Although, at the time, there were those who believed that placing the rules and restraints of a competition on the randonnée went against the very concept of the freedom of the great outdoors, most saw it as a good opportunity to promote their sphere and encourage others to enjoy Equestrian Tourism.

With this in mind, it was decided that, at each of these rallies, there would be a search for the best cheval de randonnées. The first championship trophy for such a horse was awarded by the National Stud, in 1977 at Briancon, but was subsequently criticised by many in the world of Equestrian Tourism. The judges’ decision had been based purely on the type of horse and its paces and it was felt that these were not the sole criteria that made up a truly great cheval des randonnées. It was suggested that the horses also be tested over the sort of obstacles and terrain they would be likely to encounter on a randonnée. From this idea was born the PTV (Parcours en Terrain Varie).

Competitions known as ‘concours d’aptitude du cheval de randonnée’ were held across France and the first National Finals were held at Fontainebleu in 1980. The 18 horses (at this point it was still only the horse being judged) selected from the regional heats faced 3 phases of competition: a 50 kilometre endurance ride over a set route, a series of PTV associated tests, plus a presentation of the horses paces and its type.

It was not until 1983 that the idea of judging both horse and rider together was considered and in 1985 the first French Championship of the Cavalier de Randonnée was held in the Rhone-Alpes. This competition had 5 phases: orienteering over 50km on horseback, a series of 15 obstacles and manoeuvres, the usual presentation of the horses paces and type and 2 new sections – a presentation of tack and equipment and dressage.

In 1987, the orienteering phase became known as the POR (Parcours d’Orientation et de Regularité) and, finally, TREC (Techniques de Randonnées Equestre en Cométition) was born. It was the Director of Equestrian Tourism at that time, Hervé Delambre who came up with the acronym. The following year, his successor, Jacques Aguétant, removed the need for presentation of type of the horse and reshaped the competition in to the 4 phases of TREC seen in France today: the presentation of the couple and equipment, the POR, the Maitrise des allures and the PTV.