AQHA trail challenge

I have always wanted to do a trail challenge competition with Tex, and we did our third yesterday. This was an AQHA sponsored one with 15 or so obstacles. I was very proud of Tex, not because of him going through the obstacles- I've learned this year that he will do ANYTHING I ask him to do, so I wasn't surprised at that. I was actually more proud of him giving me a nice, decently collected trot when I asked for it. 

I was also proud of myself for something that happened during warmup yesterday. 

Before we began, I was "warming him up"'in the outdoor arena, just walking, trotting, and some limited loping did to the wetness. Hazel was tied up not far from the entry gate. Well, we got to the far side of the long arena, and Tex decided to do this thing that he does sometimes when I ride out- fake a spook.  And it's so fake that it's funny. He sticks his head up, swings his ribcage around, and runs- always in the direction of where he really wants to be. Maybe he's trying to look like an Arabian. Regardless, in the past, I've called it quits when he does that, or just slowed down to a walk and taken it easy. Well, this time, there was NO reason for it at all, and I knew that. So, I just picked up a lope and made him keep working. The lope got a little hairy when he was leaning incorrectly outside his turns with the wet dirt, though, so we brought it down to a long trot (as long as it can get with those short legs) and worked his hiney off. That's the first time I've really pushed him hard through that, and I'm proud to have stuck it out, even though it freaked me out a little bit.

Let's review his performance of the trail obstacles. 

Steps for the trail challenge 

1. Gate - open with my left hand 

Pull to me, push hindquarters around and 

Back through the gate to close it.

 I thought Tex stayed calm and listened well, but I would've liked to use less pressure to make this happen. I, however, never could figure out how to do this obstacle correctly. 

2. Suspension bridge - walk over it 

Tex barely hesitated, but then walked on over this moving 30 ft bridge. He almost stepped a back foot out a couple times.

3. Blocks (white beams- a: enter at a trot and enter at the corner AT A TROT). Keep going across the diagonals at a trot. Cross squarely at the x. 

B: circle to the right and enter again and zig zag out back whee I came in.

Terrible! We didn't stay at the trot and we hit poles and we weren't very collected.

Keep trotting to the pedestal. 

4. Trot to the pedestal, stop and  Put 2 front feet on the pedestal.  Stop. Hesitate. You can move hindquarters around if it's going well. Back off of it.

We rocked this one. Tex went right up to it and put both front feet on it like he owned it. All that pedestal work in the barn at Judson paid off well here. 

5. Walk to the barrel with two big poles. Take the longest one out of the barrel, and drag it into the corner. Make a figure 8 - one circle to the right, one circle to the left.. (I'll have to ride under the pole) at a trot. 

HOLD ON to the POLE

And then return it to the barrel. 

Well, I didn't quite grasp that we were to pivot the pole, not drag it, on my first run, so we messed that one up. But, Tex didn't mind the pole at all and did anything i asked him to do with it.

9. Go to the triangle. Keep the front feet in the triangle and disengage hips to circle around the triangle TO THE LEFT. Back out or side pass out. 

I was pretty nervous about this one. Hips over is his Tex's least favorite maneuver. But, on our first run, we just took it slow and he did it, stepping over only once that I remember. 

10. Walk around  to the other side of the plank bridge. Enter the left side, twist and ride out into the middle dirt part. 

Oops- I was so worried about my leads in the next one that I forgot the bridge on my first run! On my second run, Tex went right in there with no problems. 

 

11. Lope in LEFT LEAD to the water box. STOP quickly.

I THINK we caught the correct lead both times, but I'm still working on cueing and feeling leads myself. The stop wasn't bad for the first, and was slower for the 2nd run. 

11b: Go through the water box from

Right to left.

This was fun! Tex went up there and DRANK some of the water. Crazy horse. Then he went on through. This summer's creek riding paid off. 

12. Daisy chain/4 leaf clover pattern.

Keep inside pole on my left shoulder. First, Trot left around the middle Santa then around the satan elf to the right. 

Always turn right around the outside poles and left around the middle.

After the last outside pole, trot to the two cones. 

I was afraid I was going to break pattern on this one. But, we didn't. Tex gave me a really nice collected trot through this whole thing, and I was pumped about that! I didn't know that the purpose was to get collected, even circles though, so on my first run, I ran it like a pole pattern. On the 2nd run we made nice circles. 

13. Go get the rope with the log. Trot around the cones and then drag the log in a straight line through the cones. Keep the rope tight. Can walk or trot. 

Can back the horse to drag the log.

Return the rope where it was

Oh we rocked this one too. Team roping paid off. :) 

14. Walk through the feed bags. 

No big deal, except Tex PICKED UP one of the bags in his mouth. Looney. 

15. Trot or lope to the poles. Jump the middle pole at the middle. 

Turn right and make a pretty circle.

Jump the next pole I come to.

Turn right and jump over the next pole you come to.

Ok we sucked at this really bad. Tex knocked over all 3 I think. Lazy, lazy feet. We will be doing lots more work on this, and I will go ride him in the thick dirt at Clinton arena to make him pick up those feet. 

I'm so proud of this little free Craigslist horse to have come so far. 

These are pictures from his Craigslist ad at 2 yrs old in 2009.

This was taken at the challenge yesterday in 2014. He's still a lazy goofball shorty, but a very brave one.