Riding and Preparing for ACTHA

 

(Warning: Lengthy post. Grab refreshments. Visit the potty first)

 

Saturday was lots of fun! My friend, Renee and I were invited to ride along and assist Colleen, of Walkin' N Circles Ranch Horse Rescue, and her husband John in setting up the trails for next weekend’s American Competitive Trail Horse (ACTHA) "Wild Bunch Meets Hole in the Wall Gang" Competitive Trail Challenge.

It was really good for me to ride my pretty pinto pony again, too, as it’s been several weeks since the last time, due to the snow, ice, and mud. I almost didn’t go today because the day started off very windy and cold.

But after I got all my gear loaded and Apache in the trailer, the day was still windy, but much warmer. All I needed to wear on Saturday was my thin fleece jacket to be comfortable. Yay! Don’t you all get so tired of looking like the Michelin Man all bundled up in several layers of heavy, bulky clothes during the winter? It’s such a relief when it’s finally warm enough to peel most of those layers off.

I was a little bit frazzled when I arrived at Cedar Hill Farm because Colleen, John, Renee, and a friend of John and Colleen, were already saddled up and riding around. I hate to hold anyone up, but they promised to wait for me and I was very grateful. I also was a little nervous because I hadn’t yet sat in my new saddle. My kids have, but not me. I also hadn’t ridden Apache in her new bridle or bit either, and with the wind I wasn’t sure what to expect. (Note: I love my new Abetta Trail Saddle! And so does Apache! I rode for almost 3 hours and we were both very comfy and weren’t sore afterwards. The bridle and bit worked nicely, too. She seemed relaxed and rode softly, except for the couple times she got a little bit stubborn about wanting to go in a different direction)

But she was a good girl and Ranchman John was there to help me get her tacked up and mounted. And then he hopped into the truck and took a nap. He was tired after working a graveyard shift Friday night. Colleen’s husband, John, and their friend had already headed down to the Eventing Field to move some trail ribbons around, so Colleen, Renee and I headed on down the trail to the Eventing Field to find them

Apache did great except for a little stubbornness, but thankfully no temper tantrums. In comparison, when Baby Doll would get stubborn, which was on every single ride we took together, she crow-hopped, bucked and pinned her ears until I set her straight. Thankfully, Apache will just either stand still and have to be encouraged to move or she will lean in the direction she prefers to go. But so far, she doesn’t fight with me about it after I use some leg and ask her again to move where I ask.

Apache was also slightly concerned being in that huge, wide field. And when the other horses started calling out to each other when we saw John and his friend in the distance it was a little bit unnerving. Renee was riding Atta Bay and I know that she can be a little live wire. Renee was worried about Atta Baby trying to bolt in the direction of the other horses, so she could be with her herd mate. And Renee had told me that Atta Bay had been jiggy and done a 360’ spin and jump just before I arrived at Cedar Hill Farm. She managed to stay on, but I’m sure it was a little scary.

I learned from riding Atta Bay that she just needs a firm, confidant rider who won’t put up with her sassiness. (In this photo you can see that Renee can be just that kind of rider, too) 

But out in that vast field, Atta Bay could see one of her herd mates, Jake, ridden by John, in the distance and was getting prancy, jiggy, and snorty, screaming for him. And Renee’s confidence level plummeted, so Colleen jumped down from the horse she was riding, a cute little white gelding from the horse rescue, and led Atta Bay and Renee for a little while, until John, riding Jake could catch up with us again. And then all was well, because Atta Bay had her herd again.

Apache did throw a few longing gazes towards the other two riders in the distance, and she did call out once or twice, but otherwise she was well-behaved. And Colleen kept Apache and I busy, reaching out and pulling ribbons off some of the trees, and placing new ribbons on other trees, in preparation for making the CTC trail a little bit longer and more challenging.

(That big Rottie is Samson. He lives at Cedar Hill Farm and loves to accompany all the horses on the trail. He’s mostly well behaved except for getting in the way sometimes.)

 

After about 2 hours of riding, we had to head back to the stables so that Renee, and Colleen and John’s friend, could head home. While I watered Apache and let her nibble on some grass, Renee and I talked about the ACTHA CTC ride next weekend. We’re both so excited! We’re going down on Friday morning to help set up and assist folks who check in. Then we will probably do a little bit of riding that afternoon around Cedar Hill Farm, followed by a Potluck and then…….we’ll be camping out. Some of us will be camping out in the farm’s guest house, while some will be camping out in tents or in their horse trailers. It should be a lot of fun, just hanging out with fellow horse people.

And on Saturday, Renee’s going to be riding Atta Bay, while Colleen rides Renee’s Missouri FoxTrotter, Kacy, in the CTC. And of course, I’m going to be riding Princess Apache!

Check out this DIRECT LINK to the ACTHA ride and you can see the details, as well as the photos I took from the last ACTHA CTC ride. Rosie is in the top photo(ridden by someone else), and Caesar is in the bottom photo (with his owner, Cheri), which is my favorite photo of all time. I took that inside the indoor arena and the lighting was perfect! They didn’t even know I was photographing them.

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Anyway, I digress. Renee had to go home, but Colleen and John were interested in heading back out again to prepare some more trails and check out some of the Challenge locations, so they invited me to come along. Yay! We rode into the rugged hills for another 45 minutes, up and down some steep, rocky, narrow trails.

And then we came to ‘The Slide’, or at least that’s what it reminds me of, although no one has slid down it, as far as I know. I looked down ‘The Slide’ back in February when it was covered in snow, and thought, “No way am I ever going down there!”

But there I was in April facing that same hill, and Colleen and John were asking, “Want to try it?”

(With this view you can almost see all the way to Texas!)

I must admit that I did hesitate. I even asked Apache, “What do you think? Think you can handle it?” ‘The Slide’ is easily misleading and under-estimated. When you stand 6 feet back from the edge, it doesn’t look so steep, because you can’t see all of The Slide.

But just like those wild luge water slides, you don’t realize how steep they are until you are standing right on the edge.

But we were ready to try it.

The cute little rescue gelding looked back at us and encouraged us. He even went first.

Then after John and his horse Jake worked their way down ‘The Slide’, Apache and I made our way slowly and carefully down. I just gave her loose reins and trusted her to find her way down. I was very proud of Apache and how careful she was.

I do love challenges, and I must admit that was a fun one. John told me to turn around and take a photo of The Slide from the bottom of the hill. Keep in mind that if there had been another horse and rider at the top, we wouldn’t be able to see them from this vantage point……..unless they were standing on the edge.

Not quite “Man from Snowy River”, but still an adventure!

After we finished our ride I did have some different kind of challenges with getting Apache back into the trailer. I don’t know what was up with her because she was easy to load at my house. Maybe she wanted to go back to the stables and stay there for the night? She’s been there before and she does seem to like all the comforts. But we wanted to get back home, so after a long exhausting ordeal of making the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy, and with help from Colleen and John, we finally got her loaded. Ugh. Trailering issues. Looks like we’ve got some things to work on this week.

Ranchman John said to me, “No horse is perfect and they all have some kind of issue or quirk” And I know he’s right. And most kinds of issues can be worked on and fixed. So, I’m not going to stress about it too much, but still it’s disappointing.

But then I am reminded of several situations that happened on the trail during Saturday’s ride, like the time that one of the horses spooked and rushed up behind us. Apache didn’t bat an eyelash and only leaned slightly sideways to see what the commotion was. I immediately thought of how, if that had been Baby Doll, she would have bolted for Mexico.

And at one point in the ride, 3 of us were encircled by a thick stand of trees and John, on Jake, happened to be on the other side of the trees. We could hear them, but we couldn’t see them. The other two horses got wide eyed and a little jiggy, but Apache just calmly stood there and eyed the wall of trees.

And finally at the end of our ride, John was shutting a large metal gate and Jake freaked out about something and jumped backed fast and hard and ran into the little gelding that Colleen was riding, who happened to be standing right beside us. The little gelding bumped into us, but Apache just calmly backed up and moved us out of the way. I remarked to Colleen and John that if that had been Baby Doll, she would have blown up and teleported sideways 10 feet.

Everyone comments on how calm and laid back Apache is, and that is true. She has a quiet confidence when she is being ridden. It’s as if she knows she has a job to do and is focused on doing it well.

(Here’s a video I took of our ride. It’s pretty funny when Renee makes comments on me taking photos and videos for my blog)

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Something interesting I discovered about myself on Saturday is that if it weren’t for what I went through with Baby Doll and dealing with her antics, I wouldn’t be so fearful when I get on a horse’s back now. Maybe in some ways that is a good thing because it’s wise to remember that horses can hurt you, even when they’re not purposefully trying to.

But I also realize that because of what happened with Baby Doll, the fear is always just below the surface, and I tend to constantly be aware of situations around me while riding or handling horses, that could end in a bad way.

Except I also understand that some of the horses I’ve ridden, like Rosie, Nadia, Atta Bay and my sweet Apache, can help rebuild confidence and trust. Riding a kind, calm, willing, trustworthy, honest horse is a blessing and a joy…and one I will never take for granted. 

             

(I don’t think Apache looked too impressed with my goofiness, do you?)