Steel City Human and Horse Endurance Festival

A three day festival celebrating time spent in the woods whether on foot or on hoof. Each day will feature a unique sport that combines trail running/hiking and horseback riding. Join for one day or stay for all three. Located at Hillman State Park near Pittsburgh PA and all events include free primitive camping Thursday-Sunday. Volunteer one day for a discount on another event (stay tuned for details).

Fri July 30 Hillman Ride and Fly: Ride & Tie
Teams of two people and one horse work together to complete the course by leapfrogging each other, trading off running and riding.

Sat July 31 Steel City Human vs Horse: equestrian endurance ride and trail running race
Participants enter as individuals and either run/hike or ride.

Sun Aug 1 Hillman Ride & Fly: Equathon
Relay race with first loop on horseback, second loop on foot. Team (one person rides, one person runs) or iron (same person rides and runs) divisions. Partner matching available.

Hillman Ride and Fly - Equathon

2026 Rider briefing
Long course: 18 mile ride/13 mile run
Short course: 13 mile ride/6 mile run
Intro: 6 mile ride/6 mile run

2027 routes coming soon, will be similar to the 2026 routes. Aid stations every 5-7 miles
2026 18 mile loop
2026 13 mile loop6 mile loop

All participants much be members of the Ride and Tie Association. Add membership ($15 for one day, $35 annual, discounts for juniors) to your registration or join online.

What is an Equathon?

An Equathon is a relay race where the first lap is on horseback and the second lap is on foot.

There are two divisions:
Team - one person rides, and another person runs.
Iron - the same person both rides and runs.

Runners, this is a unique opportunity to team up with a horse! No horse experience necessary.

see https://www.rideandtie.org/what-is-equathon/ for more information

No Partner? No Problem!

You may sign up as an individual to either ride or run, and we will pair you a partner for a team equathon. Sign up for "Equathon Rider" or "Equathon Runner". You will be added to a waitlist until we find your match.

Runners, note that since this is a relay race your starting time is not set. You may begin running only after your horse returns and reaches pulse criteria (their heart rate returns to normal). When we match you with a rider, we will give you a specific estimate.

Event's current local time: 9:34 AM ET