Posts Tagged ‘challenge

2012 Judged Trail Competition at BCHP

Last weekend we took Blitz and Boomer to the Bucks County Horse Park to compete in a Judged Trail Competition. You get to ride through the park stopping at obstacles along the way where they judge you on your performance.

We attended the event last year as well, which you can check out Boomer & Jet competing here.

We had a blast on the trail, this year I thought the course was a bit easier than last years though, but it was still a fun time and great experience for the ponies. We filmed some of the obstacles – but missed a few along the way, mostly because we forgot!

Hope you enjoyed watching the boys compete – we’re already looking forward to next year’s event!

Tags : assateague, bitless bridle, blitz, bucks county horse park, challenge, chesapeake boomerang, chesapeake lightning, Chincoteague, chincoteague pony, clicker training, course, extreme cowboy race, farm, horse, iron horse farm, judged trail, judged trail competiiton, Kyley DiLuigi, misty of chincoteague, natural horsemanship, obstacle, painting pony, paperchase, pony, teeter-totter, trail, training, trick, trick horse, trick pony

Versatile Chincoteague Ponies

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted something, but that doesn’t mean the ponies haven’t been BUSY! We’ve held a few events at the farm, and all the ponies have been getting exercised regularly in preparation for a very special trip we’re taking this weekend.

We’re loading up the trailer and taking all three ponies down to Chincoteague Island, Virginia to participate in a beach ride on Assateague Island with our friends from the Chincoteague Pony Centre! I’m so excited to ride MY ponies on the beach for the very first time ever – and to also bring Minnow back to the island where he was born 18 years ago.

I’ve had this trip on my bucket list for a long time now and even though the weather this weekend is looking not so great – I’m still excited to go on this adventure.

Part of the adventure is being able to ride on the beach, and considering Minnow has been in retirement since 2008 due to his ringbone, I figured it was time for him to be saddled up. Minnow hasn’t had a saddle on in about 2 years and although I do exercise him to keep his weight down and occasionally hop on him bareback I needed to make sure he remembered what a girth felt like before our beach ride. Mostly likely Minnow will just do some light walking on the beach and Boomerang will take me on the 2 hour ride, but it was still important to get a practice saddling in before the trip.

So after one of our shows at the farm we decided to run all three ponies through the obstacle course we had set up (none of the ponies had done this specific course before). Below are videos of all three ponies completing the course. Minnow did exceptionally well considering he hasn’t really been ridden in 2 years (he does get exercised regularly in the ring by allowing him to free-lounge himself) – it’s such a testament to how much he really trusts me.

Minnow:

Blitz:

Boomerang:

So if you were our judge who would have won? We typically judge on accuracy, how relaxed & willing the horse is, and how the rider executes the tasks (speed is not a factor) – this would of been a tough one to judge between our 3 ponies – just goes to show what a great attitude these Chincoteague Ponies have.

Anyone else ever ridden their horse on the beach? Did you know that Assateague Island allows beach rides in the fall season, and you can even camp on the island with your horse. So if it’s your dream too – it is possible!

Tags : 2011, assateague, beach ride, bitless bridle, challenge, chesapeake boomerang, chesapeake lightning, Chincoteague, chincoteague minnow, chincoteague pony, chincoteague pony center, clicker training, extreme cowboy race, farm, horse, iron horse farm, Kyley DiLuigi, misty of chincoteague, natural horsemanship, obstacle course, painting pony, pony, saddle, training, treeless saddle, trick horse, trick pony, Trooper, versatile, video

Judged Trail Competition – Sept. 18

On Sunday I took Boomerang to a Judged Trail Competition at the Bucks County Horse Park. I’ve never been to one of these before but it sounded like fun. You ride a 4 mile long trail through the park and at certain check points you have to complete an obstacle. You are judged on your performance (and sometimes timed). Boomer was great, completing every one of the obstacles to the best of his ability. We encountered several obstacles that Boomer had never seen before, like a teeter-totter, dragging a boogie board through water, walking across a carpet in the grass, opening trash cans, playing mini golf, and a few others. I was able to film some of the obstacles – but I wish I had remembered to film all of them, I got caught up in all the fun we were having!

Here’s a short compilation of some of the stuff we encountered throughout the day:

We’re still waiting to hear the results, so hopefully we did well enough to place. But either way it was a fun experience and I hope we can make it out to another one soon.

Here’s a video of my mom and my sister’s mare, Jet, doing some of the obstacles:

Tags : 2011, assateague, bitless bridle, bucks county horse park, challenge, chesapeake boomerang, Chincoteague, chincoteague pony, clicker training, course, extreme cowboy race, farm, horse, iron horse farm, judged trail competiiton, Kyley DiLuigi, misty of chincoteague, natural horsemanship, obstacle, painting pony, paperchase, pony, teeter-totter, trail, training, trick, trick horse, trick pony

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