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September 10, 2011
American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) Ride
Reported by Pat Duran

From Start to Foundation Riders Shine:
Pat and Marlin place 8th out of 41 entries, Sydney and Mystic place 14th

Pat Duran and Marlin attended their first ACTHA ride on September 10. This particular ride was a fundraiser for the Mustang Heritage Foundation and ACTHA rides were held across the nation on the same day with the aim for a Guinness World Record Ride.

It was very well organized, started on time, and was fun. It is a little different from CSHA trail trials in that there are only 6 obstacles and you are told at the rider meeting what the obstacles are. The horse and rider each receive points on how well they execute the obstacles. We did things like a rope gate, picking up a hat on the ground with a stick while mounted, correctly mounting, dismounting and having our horse stand still while being sprayed with water, going over cavelettis, walking over a pole and stopping so the horse is straddling the pole and then stand quietly. Not necessarily challenging, but as we all know doing trail obstacles, what looks simple can become complicated. This particular trial was only a couple hours duration although some can be longer. My only experience with a CSHA trail trial was it was a 5 hour marathon with lots of waiting. That wasn’t the case in this competition.

The weather cooperated and was not too hot, a good thing since the trails were quite steep. Marlin was running out of steam by the time we hit the last hill. At the end of the ride was a fantastic lunch and lots of camaraderie. Then awards were given for 1st through 6th. First place in each category won beautiful buckles. After awards, a raffle was held for all participants (who hung around). I came away with a great horse hair hatband. When I got home scores were already available on-line and Marlin and I placed 8th out of 41 entries. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised and ready for the next ride. Sydney Blankenship also attended on her mustang. She also did quite well and placed 14th. Not bad given the number of entries. The only downside was finding out several days after the ride that one of the horses had been exposed to a horse not on the ride confirmed with EHV. Not what you want to hear, but I’m hopeful none of our horses will come down with it.

I haven’t been able to attend a Wednesday Corralitos training with Krista in quite awhile, but I still use the foundation work I learned from her when I first got Marlin. Whenever I can hook up with her I’m always learning some new technique or way to address a problem. I’ve done several trail obstacle clinics with Charles Wilhelm learning methods for introducing “scary” things. It’s also been a road of gaining my own confidence and Marlin and I learning to trust each other.