Re: spongeing at camp

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-06-24 03:28:21 EDT, jlong@mti.net writes:

<< This is always something that has disturbed me about many CTR rules.
 On the one hand the objective is supposed to be good horsemanship, but
 at the same time many techniques of good horsemanship are disallowed
 to facilitate judging. >>

I recently judged the Region III IAHA Championship Ride in Livermore,
California.  I had been away from CTR for several years, but originally cut my
teeth on Rocky Mountain Competitive Trail Ride Conference rides (more like 30
years ago...).  We never had the "artificial" rules there, and I am glad to
say, the IAHA Championship did not have such "artificial" rules, either.  A
couple of CTR organizations have given the sport a bad reputation, and
problems with individual managers (such as that which Becke was trying to head
off by polling ridecamp) don't help.  But by and large the sport has learned
from the immense volume of knowledge gained over the past few years, and is
not as restrictive about issues that could impinge on horse health as it was
for awhile.

BTW--I had no difficulty whatsoever separating out the horses at the Region
III Championship, even with sponging and proper care.  I was aided by the fact
that ride manager Rita Schlimm had designed a course of appropriate difficulty
and assigned the correct speed to it to challenge the horses without overdoing
them, making my job easier.  When courses are properly designed for the course
and judges are willing to really examine the horses, artificial things like no
sponging are not needed.

I also agree with Deena that CTR can provide a great base for young horses,
but even moreso for inexperienced riders.   The experienced rider can do
without novice or training formats because he or she already knows how to
bring a horse along, but for the inexperienced rider, the attention to pacing
and scoring provided by CTR can be invaluable.

Heidi