Post by restlessacres on Jul 31, 2015 19:28:18 GMT
Hi all!! Long time no see (here anyways)... 
Since I had a special request to post here about my recent judged trail rides, I thought I'd take a minute to drop in to describe the rides. Hope this isn't too long. I'll try to include pictures as well to keep your interest. smileys-multiple-smileys-651015
The first ride was held on Saturday, July 18, at the Hickory Creek Wilderness Ranch in Tidioute, PA. I had a great ride ... hubby not so much. But that just goes to prove that you can't just hop on a horse a few times and expect them to do what you want them to.
The ride was probably about six miles and had ten obstacles that you had two minutes to complete. Below is a description of each and my score:
1) five hula hoops on the ground that your horse had to walk over and get at least one hoof in each. 10
2) 360 box - put front feet in box and side pass all the way around - then all four feet in box and do complete 360. 10
3) Jump and pedestal - jump over a small jump and then get your horse to put front feet on a log while you were in the saddle. If you couldn't do that, you could get off and get them to put feet on log but to get full points you had to then get in the saddle. I was able to get Dakota's feet on the log from the ground but not able to climb in the saddle at that angle. I have been having a lot of sciatic nerve problems in my right leg and am in a lot of pain. Dammit old age! Still scored an 8 though
4) Tarp and Drag - walk over blue tarp and then drag a tire walking forward and then drag it while backing up. 10
5) Gate - We usually nail the gate but they threw in a curve ball this year. You had to have the horse push the gate with its head or chest and then latch the rope. Well ... I teach my horse to respect fences and gates and not to be pushy but I was able to pull off a 9 on that one somehow.
6) Teeter totter bridge and tarp. Walk over the bridge and then go under the tarp. I got robbed on this one. Dakota walked right up onto the bridge but balked a bit as it started to tip (it's a long drop). He also balked at the tarp a little bit, but I thought we should have gotten a little better than a 6.
This is me and Dakota last year (I think) doing the same bridge
7) Hat pick up - You pick up a hat off the ground using a grabber, put hat on head, walk between two tarps simulating a wall, then hang hat and grabber on a tree. 10
8) Put your hand on a tree and then back your horse all the way around without taking your hand off the tree. Uh yeah, right! 7
9) Barrel - You were handed a broom and horse had to stand quietly behind a line while you hit a ball into a barrel lying on the ground. 9
10) Flag - Trot or lope around arena carrying a flag. I trotted and hubby told me the judge said that I got a big boring 10 .. haha
So my total score was 89. First place winner scored 90. UGH!! If I had only done that darned bridge better!!! But second place isn't bad.
trophy
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Second ride was the following Saturday at Two Mile Run County Park in Franklin, PA. Very nice trails there!! They also have a horseman's campground so if anyone is looking for a nice place to go I highly recommend this place. Again, Dakota and I did okay. However, we left before the awards ceremony because it was getting late and we still had a three hour haul home and we were wiped out after a TEN MILE ride!! That's just too far for these old bones. And to top it off I pulled a groin muscle (or something) and was in excruciating pain almost the entire ride. So I don't know what the scores are for this ride yet....I'm trying to get them to email them to me but I can't get anyone to answer.
1) Vine simulator - Walk through a wall of pool noodles. This obstacle was very well done. The pic is of someone else but it gives you an idea of how elaborate it was. Both our horses walked right through.
Untitled
2) Spider - Walk over a barrel and black hoses put together to look like a spider - again a very clever obstacle. Dakota hesitated a few seconds but succumbed to my persistence. Katie walked right over because Dakota was already on the other side!
3) Slicker/umbrella - tie horse to hitching post, dismount, put on slicker, open umbrella, walk with horse around marked tree, retie horse, put slicker and umbrella back in original location, remount. Again - no problem.
4) Knots - Stupid stupid stupid!!! Can you tell I didn't like this one? This obstacle was judged by a forestry ranger and it was more educational than an obstacle. He told you to tie your horse and then you had to demonstrate on a high line and hitching post the proper way to tie your horse. Well I knew that you are not permitted to tie your horse to any trees but that's all we had. Luckily I knew how to tie a slip knot so we at least got some points on that one. Apparently, you're supposed to carry a tie line with you everywhere you go. HATE!!
5) Mailbox - Take cup of water out of one mail box, side step to the second box and put cup of water in it.
6) Noodles - pick up large ball, walk through noodles and put ball in barrel. Katie did okay but Dakota aced this one.
Untitled
7) Backup around barrel - They had two barrels with a board . you had to pick up the board with one end still resting on one barrel and BACK around the barrel and replace other end of board where you started. The judges complimented me on how well we did.
8) Tire - Horse had to put front feet on tire (filled with sand/dirt) then yield hindquarters two steps each way. We had trouble with the yielding part.
9) Water - This was done at a lake with lots of boaters/kayakers in the water. Dakota was more concerned about the boats than the actual obstacle. You were handed a rope and bucket, then BACK into the water, drop the bucket to scoop up some water and then walk out and dump the water into a barrel. They also had floaty toys in the water. (Disclaimer: hubby isn't very good at picture taking since he's usually fighting with Katie who doesn't like waiting). I actually hadn't even started the obstacle yet. The guy was fixing something that Katie had stepped on and I was trying to keep Dakota from panicking about the boats.
10) Bridge - another teeter totter bridge but much narrower than the previous ride. Didn't do very well on that one either. Dakota kept stepping off the side. Guess I'm going to be building me a bridge in the near future.
And this is my "I'm miserable - don't take my picture now look!" lol
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So that was my horsey vacation! We also rode each day during the week around our camp, which we were happy to find that there were ATV trails right out our back door. My dog, Oz, is becoming a great trail riding partner. I think we finally wore her out after three days of two hour rides each day.
oz
Since I had a special request to post here about my recent judged trail rides, I thought I'd take a minute to drop in to describe the rides. Hope this isn't too long. I'll try to include pictures as well to keep your interest. smileys-multiple-smileys-651015
The first ride was held on Saturday, July 18, at the Hickory Creek Wilderness Ranch in Tidioute, PA. I had a great ride ... hubby not so much. But that just goes to prove that you can't just hop on a horse a few times and expect them to do what you want them to.
The ride was probably about six miles and had ten obstacles that you had two minutes to complete. Below is a description of each and my score:
1) five hula hoops on the ground that your horse had to walk over and get at least one hoof in each. 10
2) 360 box - put front feet in box and side pass all the way around - then all four feet in box and do complete 360. 10
3) Jump and pedestal - jump over a small jump and then get your horse to put front feet on a log while you were in the saddle. If you couldn't do that, you could get off and get them to put feet on log but to get full points you had to then get in the saddle. I was able to get Dakota's feet on the log from the ground but not able to climb in the saddle at that angle. I have been having a lot of sciatic nerve problems in my right leg and am in a lot of pain. Dammit old age! Still scored an 8 though
4) Tarp and Drag - walk over blue tarp and then drag a tire walking forward and then drag it while backing up. 10
5) Gate - We usually nail the gate but they threw in a curve ball this year. You had to have the horse push the gate with its head or chest and then latch the rope. Well ... I teach my horse to respect fences and gates and not to be pushy but I was able to pull off a 9 on that one somehow.
6) Teeter totter bridge and tarp. Walk over the bridge and then go under the tarp. I got robbed on this one. Dakota walked right up onto the bridge but balked a bit as it started to tip (it's a long drop). He also balked at the tarp a little bit, but I thought we should have gotten a little better than a 6.
This is me and Dakota last year (I think) doing the same bridge
7) Hat pick up - You pick up a hat off the ground using a grabber, put hat on head, walk between two tarps simulating a wall, then hang hat and grabber on a tree. 10
8) Put your hand on a tree and then back your horse all the way around without taking your hand off the tree. Uh yeah, right! 7
9) Barrel - You were handed a broom and horse had to stand quietly behind a line while you hit a ball into a barrel lying on the ground. 9
10) Flag - Trot or lope around arena carrying a flag. I trotted and hubby told me the judge said that I got a big boring 10 .. haha
So my total score was 89. First place winner scored 90. UGH!! If I had only done that darned bridge better!!! But second place isn't bad.
trophy _____________________________________________
Second ride was the following Saturday at Two Mile Run County Park in Franklin, PA. Very nice trails there!! They also have a horseman's campground so if anyone is looking for a nice place to go I highly recommend this place. Again, Dakota and I did okay. However, we left before the awards ceremony because it was getting late and we still had a three hour haul home and we were wiped out after a TEN MILE ride!! That's just too far for these old bones. And to top it off I pulled a groin muscle (or something) and was in excruciating pain almost the entire ride. So I don't know what the scores are for this ride yet....I'm trying to get them to email them to me but I can't get anyone to answer.
1) Vine simulator - Walk through a wall of pool noodles. This obstacle was very well done. The pic is of someone else but it gives you an idea of how elaborate it was. Both our horses walked right through.
Untitled2) Spider - Walk over a barrel and black hoses put together to look like a spider - again a very clever obstacle. Dakota hesitated a few seconds but succumbed to my persistence. Katie walked right over because Dakota was already on the other side!
3) Slicker/umbrella - tie horse to hitching post, dismount, put on slicker, open umbrella, walk with horse around marked tree, retie horse, put slicker and umbrella back in original location, remount. Again - no problem.
4) Knots - Stupid stupid stupid!!! Can you tell I didn't like this one? This obstacle was judged by a forestry ranger and it was more educational than an obstacle. He told you to tie your horse and then you had to demonstrate on a high line and hitching post the proper way to tie your horse. Well I knew that you are not permitted to tie your horse to any trees but that's all we had. Luckily I knew how to tie a slip knot so we at least got some points on that one. Apparently, you're supposed to carry a tie line with you everywhere you go. HATE!!
5) Mailbox - Take cup of water out of one mail box, side step to the second box and put cup of water in it.
6) Noodles - pick up large ball, walk through noodles and put ball in barrel. Katie did okay but Dakota aced this one.
Untitled7) Backup around barrel - They had two barrels with a board . you had to pick up the board with one end still resting on one barrel and BACK around the barrel and replace other end of board where you started. The judges complimented me on how well we did.
8) Tire - Horse had to put front feet on tire (filled with sand/dirt) then yield hindquarters two steps each way. We had trouble with the yielding part.
9) Water - This was done at a lake with lots of boaters/kayakers in the water. Dakota was more concerned about the boats than the actual obstacle. You were handed a rope and bucket, then BACK into the water, drop the bucket to scoop up some water and then walk out and dump the water into a barrel. They also had floaty toys in the water. (Disclaimer: hubby isn't very good at picture taking since he's usually fighting with Katie who doesn't like waiting). I actually hadn't even started the obstacle yet. The guy was fixing something that Katie had stepped on and I was trying to keep Dakota from panicking about the boats.
10) Bridge - another teeter totter bridge but much narrower than the previous ride. Didn't do very well on that one either. Dakota kept stepping off the side. Guess I'm going to be building me a bridge in the near future.
And this is my "I'm miserable - don't take my picture now look!" lol
----------------------------------------------------
So that was my horsey vacation! We also rode each day during the week around our camp, which we were happy to find that there were ATV trails right out our back door. My dog, Oz, is becoming a great trail riding partner. I think we finally wore her out after three days of two hour rides each day.
oz 
).
