Ok, Now this is a tough one for me, but the question is this...........Other than your own discipline, What do you admire most? I do extremely light riding, occasional trail, not nearly as often as I would like, but I plan on changing that this year with a new schedule that allows me a little more time, but unfortunately I no longer have a trailer, ie: kid in college...... About three years ago, I managed to get quite a few trail rides in and even a few two years ago, but last year was bad for me, for many reasons I will not go into, anyway.........I love to trail ride with a group. Mostly a small group, but even the huge group, 100 plus, that I got to go on for two hours with my best friend Jess and Gerald, was too much fun and so confidence building. My horse even jumped a tiny creek as if it was a damned huge tree and I stayed on, Thanks to Gerald insisting on re-adjusting my saddle and helping this MS riddled heavy weight weakling to get back on, Bless his big heart. I loved it........So in saying that, it is hard for me to pin down only one discipline I admire most beside my own......I love to watch them all, even Halter........As long as there is a horse involved......But if I was 20 years younger without MS and alot more experience I think I'd like endurance. As kids, Jess and I had our own version of endurance at the local trail riding barn...LOL...I remember Jess winning the full out run on the straight away, but we had fun anyway. I also think Gymkhana looks fun. Hell, it all looks fun to me. When Jess found me Dakota, I remember her telling me, he'd look great in dressage and he probably would have and I'm sure I would have enjoyed that as well. Jess and Gerald do Cutting. Pretty friggin' awesome to watch. So in saying all of this........What, other than your own discipline do you admire most? I can't nail it down to one, I'm afraid.
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Me either but then I don't ride just one either. As I learn one and get to do it well, then I want to move onto a new one. I really want a reining horse and cutting looks like fun. Dressage might be not too far off in the future for me, along with saddle seat. Working cows would be fun, but am I getting toooooo old for that. That translates to, do you ever fall off????
I've learned a lot about endurance and I like competitive trail. I could see me riding that one day. I've even worked on a CT ride one time doing P&Rs.
Even though I'm slowing down, I still have a "need for speed". I've done most of the speed events and did go on an endurance ride. I finished in the top ten my one and only time out. I really enjoy watching jumping, I would never do it. I'd be scared to death. I've tried everything that I wanted to. Raising Rainbow, your not even close to "too old" to cut. The oldest cutter that I've ran into was 80 yo. The first time I cut I called up one of my friends and told him it was almost better then sex. I fell off one time, my cinch broke. It was in slow motion, luckly we work our horses in pretty deep sand. Spider took off running around the pen with the saddle under him. I jump up to get him and my friend Sue said just wait, she was on her horse and just turned and faced Spider as he came around and yelled WHOA. He slid to a stop and I walked up to him and uprighted the saddle. I wish I had a video of that!
Callie, there are so many things to do with horses it is hard to pick just one. Personally my favorite is still the English equitation division, but I haven't jumped in a few years because of a knee injury, so I switched to Dressage and trail riding. I have friends who do endurance and fox hunting and while I admire them, I don't think it would be for me. There is a new thing I have heard about that sounds like a blast, it is called Le Trec and I think originated in Europe. Here is something I copied from Wikepedia about it:
National Association of Competitive Mounted Orienteering
www.nacmo.org
Competitive Mounted Orienteering (CMO) is one of the most challenging and exciting equestrian sports - for the competitive as well as family horse rider! CMO is like a mounted treasure hunt, which tests your horsemanship, your map reading ability, and your compass skills - all while having great fun with your horse!
(missing picture here)www.nacmo.org
Checking the compass in the woods
A CMO rider taking a compass bearing from a clue - A LARGE ROCK ON A STUMP. CMO stresses sound horsemanship, and we like to call it "The Thinking Horse Sport"!
The object of the sport is to ride out as an individual or a team on a prescribed course and find as many of the hidden Objective Stations as you can and get back in the least amount of time, on either a ten station long or 5 station short course.
The long course can be anywhere from a around 8 to as long as 25 miles. The terrain depends on the ride manager's choice of area - but CMO rides are held all over the country from the high forests of Washington State to the rolling hills of Indiana!
The short course is much smaller, and is oriented towards families, riders wishing a less competitive event, training of new horses, and new riders looking to check out the CMO fun
All riders are welcome.
To join CMO, simply attend a ride in your area. The ride manager will help you with the application form, and your membership is valid starting right away!
Good Golly Callie, you sure can make me think at times!
Ya know, I honestly can not say that I "have" a disipline. Bizzare, or what? I love learning dressage (when I can,) I love riding in a nice English saddle, have done a lot of Western Eq, and some Wes. Ples., in hand, even a little Over fences.... I'd love to do some type of endurance, or even a judged trail ride- that sounds like fun.Getting out on the trail with a couple of folks is a blast too (although if I did a 100 person ride, my Gold Hermit Status would be in jeopardy once again...hehe) And learning more dressage would be a thrill-- I can only think how beneficial that can be for my horse, no matter what saddle we happen to have on at the time, or what "job" we are doing.
Can we consider "Horse" a disipline? Seriously? I mean, what catagory do folks like me "fall" into? There has to be more people out there than just me who like a wide variety of things, and who don't really "do" one of them... (Of course, I cant THINK of anyone off the top of my head and am feeling very alone here...LOL) MiKael, you sound like me in not really having one specific thing you "do"... aside from "Horse"...
Riding trails is about all I do (other than wander aimlessly around the barn property), but if I had the resources, I think I might like to show. I think showing Walking Horses would be fun, but the problem is that I've developed such a bad attitude about the Walking Horse show industry overall, I probably wouldn't have as much fun in reality. And I'm terrible about keeping my feelings to myself. I'd be lecturing every horse owner that had heavy shoes and pads. But I would like to do something that gave me tangible goals and more discipline. Something I could measure, along with a social structure of people who were interested in the same thing I was.
I am planning on eventually doing driving. They have a "3 Day event" driving thing where you have an obstacle course that is timed, a "dressage" type set pattern and a final, formal something or other. In the obstacle course part, the husband can be the ballast hanging on the back to balance you as you go galloping through water and around things--doesn't that sound fun! I figure I'll need a lot more money though. Buggys cost more than saddles. :)
Mikael, Well, you see what Jess says about the cutting, only fell off once because of a cinch......
Arlene, There's a Trail Club here in this area that holds that CMO at least once or twice a year during the season. I just got an e-mail about it.
Mrs.Mom, I don't really either, just trail and hanging on the property. The big trail ride is easy to stay "incognito". There's so many of you that you can't possible be noticed and your concentrating on not running the big dude on the small mule in front of you over....LOL
Lynda, Nicely said, And that is the hard part. I did join a local trail club and could never make it to a meeting and really didn't feel I fit in as they had all been together for so long. I'm kind of a loner that way.....
Netherfieldmom, I just saw something about that event. It looked kind of cool, Modern Day chariot...I think someone just recently posted on that....I'll have to have a look see....
I've had a hankering for endurance. Just look at the pictures in the horse magazines. Every endurance rider has a grin that spans ear to ear. Then you look at these riders in other disciplines, and they are boring an angry hole into the back of the horse's head. It's like they are saying, "Damn it! You better not screw up this time. The judge is watching." Gabbrielle's dam was an endurance champion. If I didn't have a job, I could get the both of us into shape and...
NuzMuz, Endurance sure does look like fun to me........
I feel very fortunate. I have at least got to touch on almost every dicipline that I was ever interested in. Bouncing around the country in my youth, I got to ride a lot of different breeds of horses. Because I am a book worm and studied EVERYTHING horse related and listened and watched people it was always pretty easy to get them to perform. I have never got to ride a really good dressage horse though.
But if I had to pick a discipline that I always wanted to learn, make a career of and excel at, it would have to be Three Day Eventing.
I know that the Three-Day is out of my grasp now, but we have a couple of horses that really look as if they could do well in dressage and the 3y/o has hunter/jumper written all over him. So it looks like I will be spending some time studying up on those.
Hello Callie, I found your site after a visit from your Steve. I'm enjoying a browse at the moment and like what I see :)
As for your question I would like to try driving as it's totally different from anything else I've ever tried. Although there is a beauty to just jumping on with minimal tack and going for a long ride (which is what I normally do!)
Kim x
BrownEyedCowgirls, I think that's what our little friend over at The Pony Tail Club does. I know that dedicated young lady does jump and I remember reading about her doing some dressage. That's quite ambitious.
Kim, Driving would be fun, I'm afraid, jumping would be a bit scary. I don't mind the occasional small jump on the trail as long as I'm ready for it, but I like that western tack. Don't think I have the balance to stay on minimal English tack.....LOL
I have taken level 1 dressage. It is no easy thing to learn! I have a new respect for the higher levels!
I am a pretty darn good roper. Scooter was trained when I purchased him 22 years ago. He has taught me more than anyone ever could about cowsense. I can heel just as good as the next cowboy :) I am rather proud of that.
BG, Alot of the trail riders around here have a place they go to for weekend ropin' parties and parctice for fun. I was invited once, but did not have a chance to go.
BG - I am jealous. I love to rope-alas-I suck!!LOL. I am left handed and had to teach myself to rope with my right hand. It has taken a few years. I can break-a-way some.
Level 1 - That would be so cool. The nearest dressage instructor is 150 miles away, but I am hoping to fit some lessons in this summer.
Callie-Ambitious-Yes. But the benefits to myself and my horses-so worth it.
BrownEyed, You go girl! You go!
I don't really think that I have a disipline... I just like to ride and do it for fun. I prefer to ride bareback or in a western saddle. If I could choose any discipline to do and be physically able to do it I would choose trick riding (is that considered a disipline?) or something like the dancing horses. I've been to a couple of shows that have had both trick riders and dancing horses and it is amazing to see!!!
Nikki, I like to watch trick riding and dancing horses too. Always thought that would be fun.
Hmm... that's a hard one. I think it would be pretty evenly split between dressage, foxhunting, and team penning. :)
Good question!
jdp, Well that's a good mix!
Driving...always wanted to get a cart and do some of that.
I think driving is cool too. I enjoyed my ride over the Holidays with our kind driver and such a lovely gentle draft......
At this point I think team penning for me. I understand how a cow moves. Perhaps cutting, but that seems unattainable. If I can find a place close by that does team penning I am going to drag my girls and make them do it with me. Just for grins and giggles.
Great question!
I don't really have a specific event that I do - I've done team penning and sorting, roping( I'm left-handed too, and rope right handed; I heel),driving, a lot of mountain trail riding and horse camping,but what I would really like to do is Working Cow Horse. Beamer is professionally trained in reining,so he could do the dry work, I just need to find a place to start him on cattle this year. Other than that, I'd like to try cutting. I did have one horse that I started on a mechanical cow (Coyote Belle's mom) but lost her a few years ago and never continued with it. I'd also like to try the AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse class, which combines ranch cutting, ranch riding, conformation, working ranch horse, and trail. As far as the English events go, I'd like to try polo.
Shirley, the pic I have up as cutting is my best friend, another contributor of this blog......That's was she does...looks fun!
I'm with Shirley with the AQHA versatilty ranch horse class. Spider would do well at that. I have 1 AQHA point in him. I would like to show him in AQHA shows. We have only had one show in the area. I tried to get Gerald to rope on him at the shows. Spider is temporarily out to pasture. I hope he will be back to form by April. I'm suffering from bucket elbow. We should be back at the same time.
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