Von Holten Ranch ACTHA Series Ride 5, 6, 7 & 8

Wow!  What a ride!  I just realized I didn't blog about my final rides for the VHR buckle series.

Rides 5 & 6 we placed 1st and 2nd.  Cat did very well and I was please (for the most part) with her performance.

Ride 7 was a completely different story.  Ride 7, Cat decided she didn't want to wait for me to cue her, but instead she thought she could call the shots.  Needless to say, we placed 6th that day (the worst she's placed since beginning trail challenges last year).  After the ride, I rode out with MIL and worked on working her around Sis and letting her rest away from her.  She must have figured things out as she started to get to where she wanted to be no where near Sis.

Sunday morning (Ride 8), she started wanting to buddy up again.  I immediately jumped off and put her butt to work doing LFR stage 2 and turning her every time she got close to Sis.  While it wasn't a perfect ride, the judges like it enough for me to place 1st.  We must have done something right though as we were competing against two riders who are in the top 2 for nationals.

I ended up finishing the series in third, one point shy of the reserve buckle.  I had a great time at the series and met some really awesome people.

Our 3 blues have forced me to move up to open in the 2015-2016 season (next month) so it is time to really buckle down and perfect maneuvers and increase her confidence in scary objects.

Von Holten Ranch ACTHA Series Ride 3 & 4

What an awesome weekend!  I knew this was going to be an exciting weekend.  When I looked at the ride rooster I saw there were two gals coming from Texas.  One was featured in an ACTHA article.  What I was soon to find out was there were 4 gals there battling it out for a National Title (ACTHA's year ends at the end of May).

Brandon was able to get a day swapped with another coworker so he could go with me.  We weren't able to leave until late Friday so we didn't make it down to VHR until almost 10:30.  We quickly got the horses settled in and then went to bed.

Saturday - Series Ride #3

Obstacle #1 - "Get your motor running"
Score -  Horse 6 Rider 5 
Judges Comments:  Nice rhythm

For this obstacle we were supposed to trot, pick up an extended trot at the cone and then return to a slow trot at the next cone.  This is what Cat and I need to work on this year.  She doesn't have a slow anything so ours was fast trot, faster trot, fast trot.

Obstacle #2 - "Help us out"
Score - Horse 8+ Rider 8 
Judges Comments: Reins a little long.   Horse stood well.

There was a pile of bottles on the ground.  We had to get a pair of grippers and we had to pick up a bottle and place it in the bag on the tree.

Vonda and Jazz

Grippers

Obstacle #3 - "Mini Downhill" Sounds easy.....right?
Score - Horse 8 Rider 8
Judges Comments: Hesitation (Cat hesitated at the bottom of the embankment before going across)

For this one we had to go down an embankment, over a creek and then back up an embankment.  Right after I went past the start cone Cat's attention shifted.  I thought maybe she had hit a limb on the ground and looked down to see what the fuss was about only to see this big guy slithering away from us.

Yikes!

Obstacle #4 - L Back
Score - Horse 9 Rider 9
Judges Comments:  Nice straight

David made this pretty wide so Cat rocked this one!

Obstacle #5 - Why are you out here?
Score - Horse 8+ Rider 9

This was a close encounters obstacle.  David was on a bike w/a pink garbage sack.  Even though the kids ride all around us Cat was not super excited about seeing a biker on the trail.

Yielding the HQ while going past the biker

David and Brandy Von Holten

Obstacle #6 - Checking the mail just got a lot more interesting!
Score - Horse 8 Rider 9
Judges Comments:  Nice approach. Horse moved a little before asked.  Could have had a looser rein.

I'm guessing you can figure out what this one was.  Cat did fine but did leave before she was asked.

I was so happy Brandon was able to go.  Belle did great (extremely for this being her 4th ride this year).  Based off of his smile, I think he had a good time.

He found a shroom!

I was extremely happy with how Cat did on Saturday.  We ended up placing 5th.

Sunday - Series Ride #4

Obstacle #1 - Dance Fever
Score - Horse 7 Rider 8
Judges Comments - Good approach. Horse lost focus.

This was the Spanish pole.  Here is a video of Brandy demonstrating how to do it.  Cat didn't do it very pretty but she got the job done (she got frustrated and tried to knock the pole over for me).

Obstacle #2 - Elevated Maze
Score - Horse 10 Rider 10+

I didn't get any pictures of the elevated maze.  It was a labyrinth made out of barrels and landscaping timbers (on top of the barrels) with tarps, snow fence and other objects on the timbers.

Obstacle #3 - 360 Spins
Score - Horse 7 Rider 7

We had to walk into a circle and do two 360* turns on the forehand.  I've been working really hard with Cat to untrack that front foot vs. having it planted so this wasn't as pretty as it could have been.

Obstacle #4 - Aren't They Adorable
Score - Horse 9 Rider 9
Judges Comments:  Nice yield.

We had to walk past two minis in tutus and yield our hindquarter as we passed them.

WTH are those?

Obstacle #5 - Pulling a Double!
Score - Horse 10 Rider 10

For this one we had to drag a tarp with pop cans tied to the back of it.

Obstacle #6 - "You Better NOT"....said the judge
Score - Horse 10 Rider 10
We were "Judges Pick" for this obstacle

We had to ride into a circle, pick up a squirt gun that was on top of a barrel but inside of a painted motorcycle tire, squirt it toward the ground and then "blow" out the gun.

On Sunday we managed to place 3rd.  I got some compliments on how well she did from some of the top riders which was nice.  She seems to excel at the "scary" stuff.  Now to work on the precision stuff.

Crossing one of the many water crossings at VHR

Brandon and Belle

Von Holten Ranch ACTHA Series Ride 1 & 2

Due to a family emergency I wasn't home all last week which meant no ride time.  Thanks to some great family members, I was still able to go to the ACTHA ride at Von Holten Ranch in Mora, Missouri.  MIL and I loaded up and left around 2 on Friday.  Missouri has some interesting roads but we managed to arrive at our destination around 7:00.

Missouri Bridge

The ranch was lovely and the people were great!  David even cleaned the manure out of our horse trailer while we got the horses bedded in for the night.

Cat tucked in for the night

Saturday the obstacles were "easier" per the ride host Brandi.  She wanted to ease people into them.  It was snowing (if you want to call it that) and the locals were not thrilled but we rode out anyways.

Saturday - Series Ride #1

The first obstacle was a rain slicker.  Pretty simple obstacle if I do say so myself - however Cat had a different idea of how she was going to complete it.  She was in a hurry to get to Sis and tried knocking the traffic cone down.  We managed to complete the obstacle - but it wasn't pretty!

Rain Slicker

Along the way, some of the buddy riders had difficulties getting their horses over some water crossings which slowed things down a bit.  While most of the riders were complaining - I was happy to have the extra time to make "adjustments" to my ponies attitude.  By the time we got to the next obstacle we were a bit more in sync.

"Don't feed the bears" was the next obstacle.  It was done differently than any I've seen before and unfortunately I don't think I can explain it well enough in writing and didn't get a picture.

To get to obstacle #3, we had to ride through a canal.

Obstacle #3 was "Up Hill".  It was a pretty decent incline and by the time it was our turn the hill was a bit slick.  Cat had to dig in but did well.

Up Hill

Obstacle #4 was a "log drag" in the woods.  The log blended in with the leaves on the ground but Cat still did really well and so did Sis.

Obstacle #5 was "Canter - Stop - Canter".  Cat did this well enough to score high but I would have preferred a better stop.  I think I was the only one that sat for a second or two after my stop was completed which gave me a + on my score.

Obstacle #6 was a "Water Box".  Luckily I have one of these at home so Cat rocked it!

Water Box

Sis - well Sis needs more work. lol

Saturday Cat and I placed 3rd.

Sunday - Series Ride #2

Sunday was brisk in the morning.  It felt as if it wanted to rain and a lot of the horses were worked up.  Cat had a severe cob up her @$$ and Iwas pretty close to putting her back in her stall and calling it a day.  She started to relax so I decided to go ahead and go out.

Obstacle #1 was "dirty campsite".  We had to ride around a burn barrel that had a fire going in it and three chairs.  Cat hesitated when the smoke hit her face but continued on nicely.  After obstacle #1 I think she realized what we were doing and relaxed almost immediately.

Cat "ear-ing" the fire pit.

Obstacle #2 was "milk jugs" (vine simulator).  The ride host was hoping this would be the "scary" obstacle for the day but it didn't phase too many horses - including Cat and Sis.

Obstacle #3 was "hat pick up".  We had to pick up the hat from the traffic cone and touch both sides of the neck and both sides of the hindquarters before returning it.

Hat Pick Up

Obstacle #4 was a "jump".  OMG I hate jumping - even if it is a small jump.  This is something I need to work on this year but didn't expect to have one at the first competition!  You could either trot or canter to the jump.  MIL opted to canter.  She had so much fun but this picture just kills me!

Ahhhhhh!!!!!

Obstacle #5 was a "rope gate".  MIL has struggled with this one but ended up getting it completed with 1 second to spare!  It was ugly - I mean really ugly - but she got it.  Cat rocked it!

The final obstacle was "barrel run".  We had to trot/canter the barrel pattern.  You wouldn't think this sounds like a difficult obstacle but I was surprised at how many horses wanted to come back to their buddies.

Looking to the next barrel

Cat did great.  We even went the opposite way I had planned to so I could show another gal what the pattern looked like.  We were "judges pick" on this obstacle (shocked the shit out of me).

Sunday we ended up placing 3rd again and MIL placed 5th.

After the end of the ride on Sunday we decided to play on a few of the obstacles.

Raccoons?

This little guy was added to the "dirty campsite" with his buddy for the advanced riders.  He didn't seem to bother Cat one bit.

16" Bridge

I thought my 2' bridge was narrow!  This bridge was only 16" wide!

All in all we had a great weekend.  The drive home was exhausting.  VHR is having a series with 8 rides - I'm hoping to make it to all of them.  I met some great people and rode some fantastic trails.

Sometimes good enough has to be good enough!

"Then it hit me. All you can do is the best that you can do at this very moment. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you can wind up waiting so long you never get back on the horse. Sometimes good enough has to be good enough." - By Rhonda Massingham Hart

I finally got the videos from this weekend uploaded.  I could go through minute by minute, second by second and tell you what went wrong - but I'm not going to. ;)

I'm only posting my videos as I don't think it's fair to post Janet's w/o her permission.

First go -

Second go -

Jester Park ACTHA AOC

Saturday, Jester Park Equestrian Center held an ACTHA AOC (arena obstacle challenge).  Janet and I showed up right at 8:00 hoping to get a good ride time.  I typically like to ride towards the middle/end and wanted to be spaced far enough apart so I could get some good video of Janet.  That idea was quickly squashed when we entered the registration area to find out they had pre-determined ride times.  Awesome - I was the third one to ride and Janet was the 4th.

The arena was set up nicely.  It looked very well thought out.  Not too difficult but not too easy either.

The riders briefing took longer than I expected.  I looked in the arena to see a horse/rider on the course.  I looked down at my clock it was 10:18 - oh shit!  I was supposed to ride at 10:30 and I hadn't even warmed up!  I ran out to the trailer and grabbed Cat.  Took her through the scary barn and into the warm up area.  Jumped on for about 5 minutes and then it was my turn.

Obstacle #1 - Mount

Cat was fine with this obstacle.  Sis, for whatever reason Sis didn't want to stand still.  This is not Sis so it threw Janet for a loop.

Obstacle #2 - Bridge

The first go, Cat stepped on the bridge and then kind of hesitated like she was waiting to see if it was going to move like the mattress.  Sis did awesome with the bridge which made Janet very happy as she has been struggling with bridges.

Obstacle #3 - Hat Pick Up

As strange as it may seem, I knew this would be Cat's most challenging obstacle.  This was one I had hoped to work on prior to this ride but since my riding was very limited I didn't get a chance.  On the first go she let out a snort but then allowed me to pick it up.  On the second go she was fine but I couldn't seem to get the hat on the stick!  Sis and Janet rocked this one!

Obstacle #4 - Trot Weave

Both horses did well with this one.  Cat did start to slow down on her first go when she saw the pine tree in the corner but ended up making it through it.

Obstacle #5 - Labyrinth

We were required to walk through the labyrinth.  Both horses did well with this one too.

Obstacle #6 - Don't Feed the Bears

Go figure!  The pile of PVC fittings I posted on FB - yeah, that was to make one of these for my fun day.  It is nearly complete but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

I'm not sure how many people were able to complete this one.  Mr. Polar Bear received a lot of attention.  On the first go I couldn't get Cat close enough to the fence to get the rope so I grabbed it from the pole.  I was able to get her close enough to return the rope.  On the second go, I was able to get close enough to get the rope but then had difficulties getting it returned.

Obstacle #7 - Pinwheel

I've done pinwheels a few times now but on the first go Cat was not mentally at this obstacle.  By this time she was looking at Janet and Sis and wanting to get the hell out of the arena.  The board was a 2 - 8 and was quite heavy.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to complete the obstacle so I dropped the board heavily onto the barrels to see what she would do.  Surprisingly I didn't get a reaction.

Round 2 I was able to complete this obstacle but it wasn't pretty.

Janet and Sis have struggled with the pinwheel and were not able to complete it.  This is something we will have to work on in the future.

Obstacle #8 - Mailbox

Not exactly a difficult obstacle.  Round 1 Cat was ready to be done so as soon as I shut the box she though she could leave.  Round 2 was much better.  Sis did better with this one Round 1.  Round 2 she moved away from it and then Janet couldn't get her back up to it.  This was very frustrating for Janet.

While Cat's performance wasn't anything to write home about, I was still very pleased.  I've ridden her 8 times this year, was not able to ride her the week prior to the competition, and had little to no warm up.

I'm glad this was done as "Gambler's Choice" as it gave me a chance to see how much she could improve.

We ended up taking home a the Blue and a long list of things to work on!

ETA - Ride Results

Suck it up Buttercup!

Does anyone else get nervous before a competition or is it just me?  No matter how much I prepare, I never feel like I'm prepared enough!  Tomorrow, Cat and I will compete in our fist competition of the year (ACTHA AOC) and I'm already getting sick to my stomach.  I've barely gotten 8 rides in this year due to the weather and I haven't ridden her in over a week.  If I was riding her consistently I might feel a little bit more confident (bwa ha ha ha, yeah right).

Earlier this week I was informed we had to have additional paperwork so instead of riding tonight, she's getting hauled to the vet.  On the plus side - this ride is considered "Gambler's Choice", which allows for each obstacle to be ridden twice.  While I really enjoy seeing what Cat's initial reaction is (that's the important one), I know if we get a second chance we'll do much better and my main goal is helping her to grow.

After this ride I have a fairly busy schedule which is not going to be very cohesive for riding.

03/08 -Chase has his band solo

03/09 - We have a birthday party

03/13 thru 03/15 - I'm taking the boys to an aquatic center for spring break

03/21 & 03/22 - We will be in Nebraska for the Nebraska Trail Exp (I'm going as a spectator)

03/27 thru 03/29 - MIL and I will compete in MO

Whew - Finally a weekend off!

04/10 thru 04/12 - Cat and I will be in a demo at the Iowa Horse Fair (if you think my anxiety is high about tomorrow take it times 1000 for this)

04/18 thru 04/19 - Back in MO

Finally a weekend off!

What in the world have I gotten myself into?

I guess as the saying goes "suck it up buttercup!"  

Did I mention the weather forecast?  23* (real feel 12*) with snow expected in the afternoon.  Guess I'd better get some thermals washed tonight!

The scores have been posted

And Chase beat me! lol

Our total score was 105 with 1+  The winner scored 114
Chase's total score was 107 with 2+

Mailbox -
Lucy - 10
Me - 10

Sis - 10
Chase - 10

Dismount/Wounded Animal -
Lucy - 9
Me - 7 (yep, I need to work on my dismount per ACTHA rules)

Sis - 9
Chase - 10

Drag -
Lucy - 10
Me - 10

Sis - 8
Chase - 10

L Back -
Lucy - 8
Me - 8 +

Sis - 9
Chase - 9+

Vine Simulator -
Lucy - 10
Me - 10

Sis - 9
Chase - 10

Jump -
Lucy - 6
Me - 7

Sis - 6
Chase - 7+

What’s blue and green?

Our ribbons from this weekend! I decided to take Chase on an ACHTA ride. We were in need of some quality time together and since the first 5 kids to register ride free I decided to sign us up.

Chase & Sis after their win.

Did I hear someone say treats?

I picked the horses up from MIL’s Thursday night. Friday night we were supposed to “practice” but it looked like it was going to down pour so we went out to dinner instead. Saturday we didn’t get out to the barn until later in the afternoon and then I found myself giving Carmella an unplanned workout. Chase took the initiative to catch Sis and jump on bareback.

After I took a short break we saddled both horses and headed out to ride. Lu was super duper lazy. I think I could have taken her in a w/t class an easily won. I grabbed the sled so Chase could try to drag something with Sis. Sis was having NOTHING to do with dragging anything so Lu and I drug the sled around while Chase followed. It didn’t take long before Ty hopped in the sled. Lu and I drug him everywhere. We were trotting and cantering and Ty’s laugh was echoing through the pasture.

Sunday morning we woke up early and headed out to the farm to load up. We got to the ride location around 7:30, unloaded and started to clean up the horses. After a short riders briefing we saddled up and headed to the arena to warm up. Getting Lu out of a snails pace was not an easy task. She has apparently learned how to conserve her energy very well. Chase and I rode out with our group around 9:30.

Getting reedy to head out.

We had 6 people in our group. Chase and I went last so he could watch the others do the obstacles. Chase went before I did and this seemed to work out well. He had Lu on one side so Sis didn’t feel like she was being left and he had the rest of the group on the other side to help encourage her to continue forward if need be.

Obstacle #1 – Mailbox
This was pretty easy. We rode up to the mailbox, took out a stuffed animal and showed it to the judge.

Obstacle #2 – Injured animal
We had to ride into an area (marked w/cones), dismount and walk up to a stuffed animal, place it on our saddle and walk back to the judge. This wouldn’t have been so bad for most of the pleasure riders since our stuffed animal wasn’t very large however they left the larger stuffed animal for the open riders lying on the ground and this freaked out a lot of horses. Sis and Lucy weren’t even fazed.

Obstacle #3 – Drag
Oh I was so worried after our drag attempt from the night before but Chase did great! He did let the rope get behind him a bit and Sis did get a little fidgety at the end but he was past the marker so he was fine.

On the way to our next obstacle

Obstacle #4 – Back up
Instead of doing the full “L” we had to walk into the l part and back straight out. Chase couldn’t have had a more perfect backup. My back up on the other hand…………..well let’s just say it was rider error. I didn’t hit the rails but she did get crooked and when I went to correct her she gave me her opinion about my decision to wear spurs by laying her ears on her neck.

Obstacle #5 – Vine Simulator
They took a vinyl shower curtain (reddish orange in color), cut it in strips and hung it up. Sis looked off but I don’t think she was shying from the curtain as much as I think something in the distance caught her attention. It was only for a brief moment and then she went through.

Lucy paused at the curtain, put her head down as if she was going to duck under it and then went through. I got a chuckle out of that.

Obstacle #6 – Log jump
LMAO I knew how this one was going to go before even attempting it. They brought a large log into the middle of the arena. You trotted to the log, jumped the log and then continued to trot afterwards to the barrel.

Sis trotted to the log but then tried to go around it. Chase backed her up and made her go over it but she was very cautious and went over one leg at a time…………..very…………..slowly. The crowd cheered as he finally made is way over the log.

Lucy trotted to the log and to my surprise she stopped and went over it. She was quicker and more agile about it then I expected too but we were still a long ways from a “jump”.

After lunch they had the awards. Chase got first in his division (Junior) and I got 6th in mine (Pleasure). There were 17 people in my division so I have no complaints. I think we could do better if I actually practiced. I know where my weak spots are.

I couldn’t be happier with Chase. For the first time I can actually say he deserved his blue. He rocked! I think he enjoyed himself too. He’s already asking me when we can go again.

Lucy was ready to go home.

ACHTA Ride Results

Saturday morning we got up and headed over to Jester Park for the ACTHA ride. We arrived shortly after 9:00 so we had plenty of time to check-in and get warmed up before the ride started. We had access to use the indoor so that was nice. Lucy was a bit suspicious about the garbage cans and the buggies next to the arena but she got over it. Sis was psycho. I’m not sure what her deal was but she was full of it. She was spooking at the overhead door going up and down and just being goofy. Yes, I realize she’s had some time off too but she’s normally better then that.

At 10:30 we got the obstacle list and a brief orientation on how things worked. I was placed in the last group with DH (the safety rider) so we weren’t schedule to go out until 12:15. MIL was the trail boss and left with the first group at 11:30. When we got to the first obstacles (uphill) it was backed up. Apparently there was an accident in the indoor arena so the judges weren’t at the obstacle. We waited for a bit and then turned and rode the trail back to camp just to keep the horses moving (a few in our group were not very happy about standing still).

When it was finally our turn for the hill it was a bit greasy since we’d had a warm up and all of the other groups had already been up it. We were required to take it at a walk. Lucy did well. I had a bit of a tighter rein on her then normal and after thinking about it I wish I would have just left her on a loose rein and corrected her when I needed to. She did take a few trot steps but I’m honestly not sure if it was avoidable.

In the meantime, DH was at the bottom of the hill with Bell. She got a bit antsy that her buddies were leaving her but he just kept turning her in circles and she eventually calmed down.

Obstacle #2 was going downhill at a walk. Lucy did fine for the judges but she got a bit rushy for me so I got after her. I don’t think the judge could see it from where she was standing. We waited for the other riders in our group and then headed on down the trail.

To my surprise Bell was walking right out in the lead. Lucy was slowly bringing up the rear. A pile of snow fell from a tree and spooked Bell and the two horses behind her but both her and Brandon handled it well. It was cold down by the lake. My toes were starting to take the brunt of the winds.

Obstacle #3 was to pick up a set of sleigh bells and jingle them 3 times. I thought Lucy did well at that but when I read the scores there was a comment that she took two steps to the side. That was because they had a barrel on the ground and she wasn’t sure about it. I didn’t realize it counted towards the bell score.

Obstacle #4 was to pick up a hat off of the ground with a stick. They had a driving whip and a Santa hat so it wasn’t very easy for me. I couldn’t get the stick in the hat far enough to get it off of the ground w/o the hat falling off. I finally did manage to get it in my allotted time frame but I will have to keep practicing that one and/or teach Lucy how to pick it up for me.

Obstacle #5 was a sled drag (so glad I practiced that the other weekend). Lucy was perfect! The judge almost got ran over by one of the contestants.

The final obstacle was an emergency dismount. I don’t practice these and I wasn’t moving very well in my thermals, jeans and chinks so it wasn’t very pretty.

Finally we were done so I could warm up! Since we were the last group we didn’t have to wait very long for the awards.

Below are my scores and the placing.

There were 22 riders total. 3 in Junior, 3 in Open and 16 in my division.



Here are my individual scores & comments:



And Lucy got a pretty halter plate and ribbon!

It's official!

I'm signed up for the ACTHA ride this weekend. There is no turning back now.

MIL and DH are going along as the safety riders so I'm a bit more excited. I told the ride organizer she'd better put MIL as the front safety rider and DH as the rear one. Bell will be fine I'm sure, she just isn't confident enough to lead the pack.

I'm hoping Mr. Weatherman is wrong about the forecast (or a day off). It is supposed to be 35* Friday but only 21* and windy on Saturday. Yes, that is still a fair amount warmer then what it is now but it will still be cold.

Wish me luck (and warmth)!

I’m Not Going

I’m not going to the ACTHA ride this weekend.










But only because it has been rescheduled due to the weather! They have now moved it to the 29th of January. They need two safety riders so I asked DH and MIL if they wanted to be the safety riders. To my surprise DH said yes. I think MIL will too but she’s still debating. She wants to make sure there are no liability issues since she is a RN.

What is a safety rider you might ask? Well one takes up the lead to show the contestants where the trail is and the other one brings up the rear to tell the judges when they are finished. They both carry 1st aid kits and a cell phone so they can call 911 if necessary. I joked and told DH he would have to bring up the rear because there was no way Bell was going to lead that pack.

Originally there were 13 or 14 signed up for the ride so it will be interesting to see how that changes due to the change in the day. So far there is only 1 signed up (and no, it isn’t me - yet).

What is my problem!

I don’t know if I’m having bouts of anxiety or AOF (adult onset fear). As you guys know, the ACTHA ride is coming up this weekend. I have to decide by Wednesday if I’m riding or not.

The weather is supposed to be between 18* - 26* (big difference I know). I’m not sure if there is going to be any wind or not but it isn’t going to be horribly warm either way.

The ride will last approx. 2 hours and will be six miles long.

There are 12 riders signed up so far.

So what’s the problem? I don’t know! Lucy has always been very dependable. Even when she’s scared she doesn’t scare me. So why now? Why all of the sudden am I worried she’ll spook?

Saturday I got her out to see how she would handle dragging an object (a sled). I jumped on bb w/a halter like normal and she was goosey! She didn’t like the wooden squirrel that was in the front yard (it has been there for ages) and she hated the sled!

DH started off pulling Chase on it behind the 4 wheeler w/us following. I thought I was coming off a few times but quickly regained control. When they went inside to warm up I jumped off and desensitized her to it a bit from the ground & then hopped on. She was good as gold. I even had Chase come out and get in it so I could pull him (from both sides). I’m not sure if she could have been any calmer.

I have to say, I’m almost more nervous about doing this ride then I was going to the CA clinic. I’m nervous she’ll spook at the obstacles, I’m nervous she’ll spook at deer (even though she never has before and these deer are so used to horses that they don’t move), I’m nervous about stuff I don’t even know I’m nervous about.

Any thoughts?

Go for the Silver Winter Wonderland CTC

I’m on the fence and looking for a bit of input from you guys. There is an ACTHA trail ride on the 22nd of this month and I’m debating on going. I’ve never been to one before but they look like a lot of fun. DH of course thinks it is a horrible idea since I haven’t ridden Lucy since Nov. Hey, I’ve ridden her once since then!

It looks like the cost of the ride would be approx. $93, not including food or fuel ($35 for membership and $58 for ride fees). I know they money goes to a good cause and that they have over $1200 worth of prizes at every ride but that does sound a bit expensive. On the other hand – I tend to follow through with things when my money is on the table so to speak.

The ride is 6 miles long with 6 judged obstacles and 6 different judges. Here is the list of possible obstacles (you don’t find out which ones until the day of the ride) and my comments in red on how I think Lu would do.

Slicker (Raincoat) – I think Lucy would be fine w/thisHat Pick up – Not sure if I can do it but I don’t think Lucy would be bothered.
Water Obstacle – Might take some coaxing
Mount – No problem
Dismount – No problem
Drag – I’m not sure how she’d do on this. For some reason, I don’t think she’d care
Back- No problem
Uphill – No problem, I do this when she anticipates going down a hill
Downhill – Never tried it but I think she’d do ok
Stop – awww, her favorite thing to do!
Canter (Lope) – shouldn’t be an issue except for picking up the correct lead. Somehow I doubt they ask for this in 7”+ of snow.
Mailbox – since she tries to rub my leg off on ours, I don’t think this would be an issue
Vine Simulator (Ropes dangling down) – she was ok w/the ones at the CA clinic & they were pretty scary.
L-Back – I think if we communicated well she would do fine.
The Jump – she can, I can’t!
Noise Control – I have no idea
Bank (Up an Embankment) – she’d do fine.
Bank (Down an Embankment) – she’d do fine.
Trot Transitions – We’d have to stop her from stopping on the downward transition.
Turn on Haunches, Forehand, and 360's - since this is done in a box, I’m not sure. She does the hq well but not so well on the fq.
Barrel Board Pin Wheel – this looks difficult!
Side Pass – I’ve never tried to sidepass her so I have no clue.
Tarp – I don’t think she’d mind. I think I’ve taken her over them before.
Trot Weave – no problem.

You can see videos of all of the obstacles and more detailed descriptions of how to complete them here.

Well those were my initial thoughts until I looked at some of the ACTHA photos on FB! The drag used a fake person, the vine simulator was cups, stinger, etc., they had a fake deer on the one side of the bridge, a mirror in front of the dismount, etc. These are things most people wouldn’t think to train their horse for. It almost intrigues me more!

And DH is right. I haven’t ridden Lu much but I don’t think she’d do anything out of character. You ride out in a group, not by yourself. You just do the obstacles by yourself.

I also think it would be a great place to meet new people. So far there are only 10 people signed up so it is a very small group.

Any thoughts?