Spring Racing Carnival

Hello Mounted LOTRO Players,

It’s Spring-time again, it’s time to mount up and see who is the fastest on Pony/Horseback.

We have had the news released from Windy Acres Ranch with details of a whole day’s events planned for Saturday 17th May. This is one to mark on your calendars. Prizes are just oozing from the organizers of this event. It’s like stealing sweeties from a Baby Hobbit.

 

 

This year’s Spring Racing Carnival will be held on Saturday, May 17th on the Landroval server. Events begin at 10:00am EDT (servertime) and continue until 10pm. There are numerous races, contests, and shows for you to attend. Don’t miss a single chance to have fun and win prizes with this complete guide to the SRC.

Here is the full schedule. The event rules and details are listed below.

Event Schedule

Event	Event Description
EVENTS IN THE SHIRE
Smell the Roses Shire Sprint 10:00am-10:45am Michel Delving Host: Lilikate	Join us for a challenging steeplechase around the Shire. The first 19 entries will be accepted. Pre-register by sending in-game mail to Lilikate. Click here to view the race route and rules. Prizes are 15 gold + 1,000 Turbine Points for first place, 10 gold + 500 TP for second place, and 5 gold + 500 TP for third place. Band: Bit’s Pieces
Smell the Roses War-Steed Sprint 11:00am-11:45am Michel Delving Host: Lilikate	Ride your war steed on an exciting steeplechase course. Click here to view the race route and rules. Prizes are 15 gold + 1,000 Turbine Points for first place, 10 gold + 500 TP for second place, and 5 gold + 500 TP for third place. Band: A Rock and a Hard Place
Middle-Earth Rare Breeds Parade Noon-12:20pm Michel Delving Host: Harperella	Listen to wonderful music as you enjoy a parade of rare breeds and beautiful outfits. Band: Lilikate’s Creatures
Westfarthing Horse Show 12:30pm-1:15pm Michel Delving Host: Harperella	In this mounted fashion contest, riders show off their favorite steeds and matching outfits. The audience votes for the winners. Click herefor the rules. Contact Harperella to register before 12:30pm. Prizes are 15 gold + 1,000 Turbine Points for first place, 10 gold + 500 TP for second place, and 5 gold + 500 TP for third place. The top three winners will also receive the title, “The Sociable”. Band: Lilikate’s Creatures
BREAK 1:15pm-2:30pm	Lunch/dinner break.
King of the Wind Sprints 2:30pm-4:00pm Shire racetrack Host: Aldekim	Four qualifier sprints will determine which riders can participate in a final race to prove who is the King of the Wind. See the race rules below. Entry will be limited to the first 16 riders to register by contacting Aldekim by in-game mail including a one gold piece entry fee. Registrants who do not make it into the races will have their entry fee refunded. Prizes are 500 Turbine Points for first place in each qualifier, and 500 TP for first place in the final race. In addition, prizes of 5 gold will be awarded to the winner of each qualifying race, and a prize of 10 gold plus all entry fees from competing racers will be awarded to the winner of the final race. Band: Die Meisterbarden von Bree
EVENTS IN BREE-LAND
Formation Riding Team Demonstration 4:30pm-5:00pm Horsefields Host: Craicwyth	Celebrate the beauty and harmony of horses as the Windy Acres Ranch formation riding team performs dressage on war steeds. The Horsefields are located north of Bree-town near the festival grounds. The riders will perform on Hobnanigans field #1. Band: Andune Ensemble
Hengstacer Stampede Rodeo 5:30pm-7:30pm Hengstacer Farm Host: Kiralynn	Enjoy the thrill of war-steed barrel racing. Laugh with The Sore Thumbs, the rodeo clown comedians. Participate in Name-that-Steed and Name-that-Song contests. Register with Kiralynn starting at 5:00pm – specify which event(s) you wish to participate in. Prizes are 15 gold + 1,000 Turbine Points for first place, 10 gold + 500 TP for second place, and 5 gold + 500 TP for third place in each event. Band: Just Abby’s
Hengstacer Sprint 8pm-8:20pm Hengstacer Farm Host: Kiralynn	The final qualifier race for the championship cup. This is the last chance to earn an invitation to the most prestigious race in LOTRO. See the race rules below. To register, contact Kiralynn after 7:30pm. Prizes are 15 gold + 1,000 Turbine Points for first place, 10 gold + 500 TP for second place, and 5 gold + 500 TP for third place. Band: Just Abby’s
Bree Championship Cup 8:30pm-9pm Hengstacer Farm Host: Kiralynn	An invitation-only race where the best riders of LOTRO compete to be known as the best jockey in Middle-Earth. This is a fast-paced war steed race where all speed enhancements are allowed. Contact Kiralynn after 8:00pm to confirm your participation. Prizes are 50 gold + 3,000 Turbine Points for first place, 25 gold + 2,000 TP for second place, and 10 gold + 1,000 TP for third place. The top three winners will also receive a Steed of the First Marshall. The audience can “wager” on the race. To place a “bet”, simply /tell the Bookie the name of one rider you think will win. One lucky fan who guesses the race winner will receive 1,000 Turbine Points. Band: The Remediators
Carnival Concert 9pm – til Hengstacer Farm Host: Kiralynn	The finale of our day-long equestrian extravaganza. Enjoy music by The Remediators, dancing, and fireworks.

 

 

FAQ

What is the best way to enjoy these events?
Make sure that you have Regional chat activated, as the event hosts will speak in this channel. Advertisements and scheduling will be announced in the “AlesAndTales” channel – type /joinchannel AlesAndTales to listen. If you compete in an event, you will be required to join a Fellowship with the event host, so consider putting Fellowship chat and /tells in a separate tab. Start with your graphics settings turned down low. If you don’t notice any lag, you can slowly turn them up until you find a setting that works best for you.

How can you give away Turbine Points, steeds, and titles?
The winners will receive codes. The Turbine Point codes can be activated in-game through the Store. Open the Store, click Add Points, and Redeem the code. Steed and title codes can be redeemed by logging into MyAccount.Turbine.com and entering them as Product Keys. All prize codes are awarded account-wide and can be used on your home server. Codes are given away on a “best effort” basis — we do our best to make sure winners get valid codes, but ultimately cannot do anything about broken codes.

Can I use speed enhancers, perks, or riding traits during the races?
The King of the Wind Sprints and Bree Championship Cup allow all forms of speed bonus, including those purchased from the store. All other races restrict the use of speed bonuses, and riders who have purchased a speed-enhancing riding trait must activate their “Smell the Roses” skill.

Who Can Race in the Bree Championship Cup?
The top three winners of the Smell the Roses sprints, King of the Wind final race, and Hengstacer Sprint will be invited to participate in the Bree Championship Cup. The following riders have qualified to participate during the normal racing season – Kikilaa, Cirthalon, Eliwren, Artemieth, Hoboin, Louellana, Mornareth, Tinylea, Craicwyth, Gonda, Limilniel, Mellime, and Meneladan.

How do I bet on a race?
Listen to the Regional channel for the list of riders who have registered for the race. Send a /tell to the Bookie with the name of one rider you believe will win the race. If you guess the winning rider, your name will be entered into a drawing. One or more names will be selected at random and awarded prizes. This is not actual gambling — you will not bet money. You can only place a “bet” on one rider.

What is the Name That Breed contest?
A rider will mount up on a rare breed of horse. The first people to correctly /shout out the breed of that horse score points. After a dozen horses are shown, participants who earned the most points win prizes. It is important to use /shout to avoid a bug associated with /say which could prevent the host from hearing your answer. The breed of the horse is its name from the Mounts panel. For example, “Yule festival snow”, “Prized dark chestnut”, or “Red-clad steed of the Gap”.

What is the Name That Song contest?
The band will play a country western song. The first people to /shout the correct song title score points. After a dozen songs are played, participants who earned the most points win prizes. It is important to use /shout to avoid a bug associated with /say which could prevent the host from hearing your answer. Do not wait for the end of the song to /shout your answer. The band will stop playing and move to the next song after several people have shouted the correct answer.

What is barrel racing?
Participants must navigate their war steed around three obstacles in a particular clover-leaf pattern. Turn right around the first obstacle, left around the second and third obstacles (see below). Hobbit “barrels” in orange outfits will mark the obstacles. The clock starts running the moment the horse crosses the fence line and enters the field, and stops as soon as the horse reaches the fence line again. Touching an obstacle results in a time penalty. The riders with the fastest times win prizes.

Who are the Sore Thumbs?
The Sore Thumbs are a merry troupe of performers who will keep you in stitches (apologies to the healer) and dazzle you with feats of death-defying foolishness!

Rhovanael: Rho knew from a young age that he had a talent for making people laugh. Through the years he’s been practising at making the effect more and more intentional. Although his success with that effort has been patchy, when he performs people always seem to throw gifts (oddly, produce of questionable freshness). He doesn’t have the heart to to deprive his audience, so he soldiers on.

Krohkur: As a young dwarf, Krohkur had a series of unfortunate accidents involving working the mines, barrels of glue, and cave claws. Once the wounds healed, he decided there had to be an easier way to earn his bread and ale. Learning quickly that he wasn’t good at burglary, he entered the jailhouse talent show with a puppet act. Who knew that one puppet would bear an unfortunate resemblance to the Warden’s wife? Luckily he was released the next morning, found a tailor, had a costume made, and has been fleeing audiences across Middle-Earth since.

Briallan: Having been told she’s tall, Bri likes to keep things short.

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Hengstacer Sprint Rules

• Riders must register to participate in the race. Registration closes 5 minutes before the event begins.
• Riders must be at the start location at least 5 minutes before the race begins.
• Riders must join a raid fellowship with the judges and remain in it until the race results are announced.
• Only standard (+62%) horses and ponies will be allowed. Goats are not permitted.
• No mount speed enhancers will be permitted. All buffs (temporary ability enhancements) must be cancelled before the race begins. Participants with a riding trait must activate “Smell the Roses”.
• Riders must only use their horse for transportation. Stables, milestones, wayfaring, camps, rally points, acorns, mustering horns, summons and all other non-mount forms of travel are forbidden.
• Spamming fellow riders, giving a false start signal, having allies ride in the wrong direction to mislead riders, and all other forms of unsportsmanlike behavior will result in disqualification.
• Riders must clear all checkpoints in the proper direction and order. Course judges are the final authority in determining if a checkpoint has been properly cleared. A decision can be appealed if screenshots or video can be presented immediately after the race.
• If a rider falls from his horse, he may mount up again and continue the race. He will not be disqualified for swimming if he is dismounted at a water crossing.
• The winner will be determined by the first rider to cross the finish line, not the first mount.

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King of the Wind Sprint Rules

The Lonely Mountain Free Press will be sponsoring the King of the Wind Sprints, a no holds barred series of sprint races intended to determine who is the fastest in all of Landroval.

Past races have concerned themselves with fairness and the cost of obtaining the best buffs for racing. Long known as “The Sport of Kings” the King of the Wind Sprints recognize that some speed buffs are quite expensive, but will have no limits on what types of mounts and buffs are employed. This one day series of sprints is intended to determine “who is fastest” and no restrictions will be placed on entries other than number of entries accepted and the following rules.

Rules for racing are as follows:

1. Entry will be on a first come first serve basis, beginning May 1st.
2. Entry will be limited to the first 16 riders to register by contacting Aldekim, publisher of the Lonely Mountain Free Press, by in-game mail including a one gold piece entry fee. Racers not making it into the races will have their entry fee refunded.
3. Riders will be expected to be on hand at the Shire Race Track to join a raid no later than 15 minutes prior to the posted 3 p.m. start time.
4. A waiting list will be kept from entries not in the first 16 to replace any riders entered who do not show up at the race at the appointed race time. In the event that 16 racers do not enter in advance, entries will be accepted on the day of the race on a first come first serve basis.
5. There will be four qualifying races on the day of the event with the winner of each qualifier advancing to the final race. Each race will consist of four riders.
6. Each race will consist of one lap around the lake at the center of the Shire Race Track, starting and finishing at the Shire Race Track starting line. Riders dismounted during the course of any race will be disqualified from winning that race.

Prizes of 5 gold and 500 Turbine Points will be awarded to the winner of each qualifying race, and a prize of 500 TP and 10 Gold plus all entry fees from competing racers will be awarded to the winner of the final race. The winner of the final race will also be recognized and announced as the “King of the Wind” in the Lonely Mountain Free Press. The Free Press recognizes that the prize amounts are small. This race is not about the prize money, it is intended as establishing bragging rights and recognition for the fastest racer in all of Landroval.

In the end it is simple. Start fair, ride fast, finish first! Will you be recognized as “King of the Wind?” Contact Aldekim on Landroval if you have questions about this event.