Trail Competition

So this year Chief and I are planning to broaden our horizons.  Well I'm planning to broaden our horizons, Chief is just along for the ride, ready or not.  First, we got an English saddle and are working on jumping.  We are up to 18" which is kind of a big deal for me.  Now, I need to work on my seat and get myself together, because Chief is certainly able to go higher... But that's another day's blog.

Today is about competition trail riding.  As you know, Chief and I do a lot of trail riding and one of the things I love about him is his calm demeanor, even in potentially scary situations.  You encounter all sorts of spooky things on the trail, and Chief is typically more calm than me, which works out well.  I do the worrying and get us out of bad situations, and Chief trusts me to get us out of there.  We make a good team.

So this year, when a fellow barnmate suggested that we do a competition trail ride, I was all about it.  If you are unaware, competition trail rides, are rides about 6-8 miles long (untimed) and along the course are obstacles that you are judged and timed on.  These obstacles can be something simple like navigating up or down an embankment.  Or, something kind of scary like a wall of streamers.  The obstacles are meant to simulate challenges that you often encounter on a trail.  They are judged on how well you and your horse navigate the challenge.  Does your horse flip out, and not complete the challenge?  Or does he walk calmly through it?  That kind of thing.  For more info, check out the ACTHA website:  www.actha.us.  They have a complete list of obstacles, and a list of rides all over the country.

So, yesterday, we had our first practice and I'd say it went rather well.  We thankfully have the advantage of an indoor arena.  This made our practice possible with the 6"+ of snow still on the ground.  What was great about it was that there was snow melting off the roof and running down the sides which made for an added element of fun.  But, our horses being the good trail horses they are, didn't seem to mind too much.

I apologize as I didn't take pictures of our set up because I was just having too much fun.  But, we set up a wall of streamers, a rescue, a gate, pulling an object, a Spanish pole, and backing through an L.  I had done some of these challenges before, but some were also new.  Chief struggled on the streamers at first, but ended up doing that quite nicely by the end.  He is also not a fan of backing in the L.  He hates giving the hindquarters which is something I am now going to focus on.

Giving on the hindquarters means when I put pressure behind the girth on the right side, he should take his hind right foot and cross it over the left.  He should do this with little prompting, but, it usually take the crop back there to wake up that hind end.  So this move on both the left and right will be our new focus for now.  This will also set us up to learn how to do a sidepass.  A sidepass is where the horse takes both the front and back legs and crosses them over the opposite side, respectively.  It is a dressage move that will get you extra points in competition trail riding.  So, all the more reason to practice this.

If you would like to try some of these obstacles, it can be done fairly easily and cheaply.  Our wall of streamers was skinny pvc pipe as the sides, and a string at the top.  The streamers hung from the string.  And we taped the pvc pipe to two jump stanchions to hold it up right.  Pulling an item from behind, we tied a rope to a jump rail and pulled it behind us.  The rescue was a dummy made from old clothes and hay.  You simply dismount, put the dummy on the horse, remount and ride off.  I say "simply."  We made the L for the backing challenge with jump poles.  More ideas can be found on the ACTA website and of course my favorite, Pinterest.

I hope that we make it to our first trail challenge in March.  We are still working out the details.  But, should we make it, I'll be sure to give you the update.  Wish us luck!

In the meantime enjoy some pictures from our recent snowfall.

 I wanted to walk out to the VT jump, but, Chief was not a fan of the crunchy snow.  I figured it wasn't worth it.  So we walked around the pond instead.

Ain't Chief just a cutie?

Happy trails ya'll!