Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Today my husband and I did something very different...we went to a playday/fun show hosted by the TX Paso Fino Horse Assoc.  We have 3 Pasos (and 4 Arabs)...my husband has almost 700 endurance (and over 500 LD) miles on one of the Pasos, and another will do its first 50 the weekend after Christmas.  We thought it would be a hoot to take Ross's endurance Paso, Diamante, and my somewhat green Arab gelding Sundance to the show.  An added bonus was that the event was being held at the farm where Diamante's sire lives, and we wanted to see him.  I figured this would be wonderful chance to get Sundance accustomed to lots of commotion, and after this, a ridecamp would be small potatoes.

 

So we tossed the ponies in the trailer and headed down there.  Sundance still gets pretty excited when there's a lot going on, and was higher than a kite as we rode over toward the arena.  The whole concept of country music blaring over loud speakers, people zipping hither and yon on their Pasos, and all the hustle and bustle overloaded his little horsey brain.  Riding over to the arena, I felt like I was sitting on a powder keg with a lit fuse...but I didn't know how long the fuse was!  He was just looking for an excuse to do a 180 and get out of Dodge!  LOL  We got over to the arena, Ross dismounted to sign us in, and I maneuvered Sundance as close to the arena as I could, where riders were practicing riding noisily through a pile of flattened plastic bottles.  Sundance did a few 180 degree spins on his hind quarters, and every time the guy tested the PA system, he jumped.  I kept him there, and he started to settle down and watch.

 

They started the obstacle course...when it was our turn, I was under no illusion that my bold, bombproof trail horse was going to shine...and he didn't...he wanted no part of the waving flags, teeter totter, walking on a tarp (even though he will drag tarps around the pasture at home), etc.  But it was a hoot trying, and I knew the whole thing was good for his brain.  He did do the jump, but is used to jumping quite high logs in the forest.  The next event was a keyhole race, where we had to hustle down the length of the arena, go between two lines of landscape timbers into a "box" of timbers, turn around in the box, and hustle back.  He did great at that...hesitated at going in the keyhole, then did it.  The "ride a buck" contest, where one rides bareback while trying to keep a dollar bill under one's leg, didn't go well...I'd never been on him bareback, hopped on, and he promptly bucked me off.  <G>  Ok, something to work on.

 

Barrel racing...now he had fun at that, and got some cheers from the crowd when I turned him for home, leaned forward, and kissed to him...he was flat out, belly to the ground, flying.  He did wonderful on polebending...seemed to figure it out right away.  Ross and I did the ribbon ride together, holding a crepe paper ribbon between us, doing various maneuvers while trying not to break the ribbon...we were doing ok, till I dropped my end of the ribbon.  :( 

 

The funniest (although I didn't get to see him do it) was the hollow log race.  We rode down to the far end of the arena, dismounted, crawled through a barrel, and hoped our horse was still waiting for us...then remounted and hurried back to the start.  Most people's horses waited, but a few made quick departures.  Sundance was one of those...he stood quietly when I left him and headed for the barrel...as I was crawling through, I heard a roar of laughter from the crowd, and knew that my faithful steed was not so faithful...sure enough, he was cantering around the far end of the arena, tail in the air.  Ross said that the minute I started crawling through the barrel, Sundance took one look at the "thing" that was eating Mom, and figured he'd better get the heck out of there before it finished me and came for him.  He sat back on his haunches in a little rear, spun, and took off like all the demons from hell were after him!

 

The good news is, that the whole experience was great for him.  By lunch time he looked a little bored, and by the end of the day he was standing untethered near me, snoozing.  We basically saturated him with commotion, and he just had to mellow out and accept it after awhile. 

 

Ross's horse did better than Sundance on the obstacle course...and did about as well as Sundance on the other events.  Diamante was having a lot of fun, once he figured out what was going on.  We got to see his sire, and now we know where D gets his gorgeous head...he's a carbon copy of his daddy.

 

All in all, a fun day, and wonderful brain training for the boys.  Next up for Sundance...cattle sorting!  And of course, he has a 50 coming up the weekend after Christmas.  :)

 

Dawn Carrie, Texas

and Epic Sundance (my brain is exhausted!)