Makes sense. Heck, maybe these people weren't part of whatever competition was going on either, they were just in a hurry.
Heh... I was just thinking it would be a pretty good test, to have a decoy rider that gets in the way on trail, to judge how well they handle it, whether they do something unsafe to try to get around, or whether they're patient and safe. :~)
That would be a good observation.
It would be a good way to judge the manners of the horse being passed too.
When I'm asked to be passd, unless the trail is very wide, like a road, I pull off trail and stop, to let them go by. Alot of people want to be passed while they keep going. That does require a lot of room, and that much room can be hard to find in some areas. Pulling over and stopping isn't so hard unless you're riding in a big group.
If a horse I want to pass is acting up tho, I stay back till the riders tells me it's OK to go on by.
There are so many things in a passing situation that need to be considered.
Becky
I didn't think to tell you but if they were endurance riders, all the horses would have had numbers on their rump rather than numbers on the rider. No numbers on the rump, not endurance.