If you have problems with the plank jumps in the festival race you should read this great guide. Jilla has made several tips & tricks on winning the race by taking the "low road" - running though the mud as opposed to trying to make the jumps. This "low road" guide works for the Shire but not for the Bree. If you have any additional tips please let us know.
- Even if you've done this a million times, run the track again on your regular mount. Go all low road (don't use the planks). Get a feel for the best place to make jumps and where you can go around obstacles but still stay in the course. It's good practice and I get the feeling it eliminates lag in the real race (not sure on that though--might just be co-incidence for me).
- Do not hesitate out of the gate. Whatever key you use to move forward (mouse, "w", whatever) have it depressed so you take off right away. You should get as far forward as possible when first mounting the horse, and press the autorun key during that short time while you are mounting, just after you summon but before you can move. That way you don't miss a single beat.
- In the Shire race, you don't need to jump all of the obstacles, For example, go around the fallen tree (on the right). I noticed on the stone fences, the shorter spots (easier jumps) are also tend to be on the right. Use high ground to give yourself some extra jumping room (finding these good jumping spots is a good thing to do on your normal horse, when testing the track). But make sure you go through the gate before you run to the right! If you miss the gate, you have to turn around and go back through it. Also, clear your quest tracker of ALL quests before getting the race quest. This way you can make sure the informational text that appears there is the only thing you see when you look at it. It WILL tell you if you miss a gate.
- I just ran straight though the mud. I didn't try anything fancy like running on the planks and jumping off at the right time, etc. Keep it simple for yourself.
- Keep in mind that the time is a little tighter when running though the mud. But I made it with a just a few seconds to spare. So don't give up if you miss a jump. There is still hope and a chance you might make it.
- At the Finish Line, continue riding through until it forces you to dismount. If you stop right after you cross the finish line, there is a good chance it actually doesn't finish the race and you lose
- when doing the shire run....when you get to the wagons....stay to the right of them and jump over the "handles" of the wagons. That way you don't have to navigate around them.
 run straight though the water |
 Go around this tree instead of trying to jump it |
 Go on a test run and find the short spots |
