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Trails Obstacles Clinic
November 11, 2011-From Start to Foundation Ranch
Photos by Dave, Notes by Krista
Fuji, standing square, relaxed, waiting for instruction. We focused on giving the horses a lot of time to stand in between cues, making the obstacle a very relaxing place. Everyone was very comfortable and had no problems putting the reins down and letting the horses stand quietly and well-behaved while watching and waiting their turn.
For Gary and his horse Tucker, this was the first time riding with both of the dogs . . . . that in itself is a trail obstacle!
 
Bravo, the shire, is as friendly as he is big, and he was just fascinated by little Haley and her pony, Java Chips
.Of course, the next step it to inspect Haley!
Notice that only the people in motion have their reins lifted.
The Head 'N Home Gang. Happy pony and her girl! They have started to show and compete in trail classes. This is their first year as a team and they're doing great.
Notice that she is holding her reins in case the pony moves, but not pulling while mounting. We used this box for both front-end inside and back-end inside. This has a twist since you not only have to sidepass, but move each end independently of the other. Bravo is demonstrating here.
Frogan is a young Morgan X Fresian who can be quite a handful. Bailey worked with him today and while he had his moments, he too was able to stand quietly with the reins down. Bandit and I demonstrating the back through 'L'. The more accustomed a horse is to standing with a loose rein, the more precise we could be by taking our time and NOT moving any more than necessary.
 
Pizza for lunch!
And we're off to the creek ride. It's not very long, but we've made trails in the creek behind us and have everything: single track, steep banks, and water crossings. There were all things that we encountered in last years' Canada Verde Trail Trials and see in the Mustang Makeover events. Not all trail classes are in an arena and there is a new class of competitive trail riding that mixes natural and manmade obstacles. Of course, safety is our first priority. This ditch was a great place to work on spacing. We had 11 riders and only room for 2 or 3 to cross the creek at a time. This made timing important for keeping the horses calm on both sides of the creek while waiting for each horse to check out the water. Beamer looks to be enjoying himself and lingering to play rather than just rushing across to get it over with.
Magic is from Canada and we're thinking that he hasn't crossed a whole lot of water. Fuji used to have pretty severe issues about crossing water. They're both looking calm, cool, and collected. Notice how even though Merry-Lee's reins are lifted, she is still pushing her hands forward and encouraging Fuji to go forward without putting her head down and stopping.

Skeeter is a green horse and for the most part, is great. It looks like Sheri wasn't too sure here and could have given him his head a little more so he could pay attention to his feet. But if you look at his ears, he's paying attention to her, and not resisting the cues.

Sheri responds: Yes, I need to try to give him his head more, but at this point, he wasn't real sure whether to jump or walk through the water. Also, trying to catch up with the horse in front of him. But he didn't jump, and he stopped here, which is what I was asking him to do.
Pat and Marlin make a picture perfect entrance. Most people don't know that if you're competing in ACTHA rides, you aren't supposed to let your horse drink except at designated areas. So there's a fine line between letting your horse linger on a hot day and just crossing in front of a judge. A few more practice runs and Pat was looking great going in one-handed.
This is one of our most challenging banks: it's very steep and about 20 feet long. We do a lot of going up and down it until the horse can do it calm, slow, and willing to stop on the hill. I'm so proud of Carrie and Merry-Lee to do this one on their Paso Finos! This is great exercise to get their back end under them, stretch their top lines, and put to use all of the collected riding we've been practicing in the arena.

Man from Snowy River, the short version. This is a pretty steep and soft incline: we're just glad it's only 20 feet or so from the bottom to the top! See that Pat is sitting in a good position and holding his mane, leaving his face alone and letting him work to his full potential to get to the top. Good work!

Pat comments: I keep thinking I have him on a loose rein, but the photos are giving me new info.

 We just managed to catch Gary cresting the top of the incline. He's also in good position with a loose rein. There is a fine line between the reins being too long and pulling on your horse, inadvertently, because the reins are too short. This is actually considered 'light' contact. It's enough to steer or correct in a timely fashion, but still stay out of the horse's way when negotiating the steep.
Magic has other ideas (than going up the steep) and is nimble enough to play cutting horse to try and evade. Remember that this is steep, so once she is pointed and moving forward, Dave must release quickly so that she can balance herself on the slope!

Krista@FromStartToFoundation.com
831-588-6214
1425 San Marcos Rd. Paso Robles, CA 93446