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Janet Sheflin rode in the ACHTA Ride on June 13th at Little Valley, N.Y. . There
were 9 riders who participated and it was great fun. This was a 6 mile ride with 6 Obstacles along the
way and there were 3 different groups of Riders. The Open trail riders have a little more advanced obstacle
and the Pleasure is the Basic Obstacle and Junior riders have the Basic Obstacles
also.. The Obstacles are things you would normally find on a trail or things you and your horse might
have to navigate on a trail. There were judges at each obstacle and they judged you on how you and your horse
as a team work together . The Open Division is for anyone who has won First place 3 times in the Pleasure
Division and then they have to go into the Open Division or anyone who wants to participate in Open Division
can. I decided to enter the Pleasure Division being my first time ever doing this.
The first Obstacle was just a good size Square marked with flour.
Your horse just had to step inside and do a 360 with out horse showing any signs of not wanting to do this. and rider
not yanking on the reins and advanced may have had to do a 360 both ways of the square. The Second Obstacle
was just backing your horse up into an L design. with wood. Horse is to back very nicely when asked and advanced
had to do the whole L and not hit either side of the wood L design.backup. When this was happening it was pouring
like crazy but we all navigated it well. and all got a little wet. Part of the fun I'll say. The Third
Obstacle was horse walking over 6 branches lined up 10 " apart. Horse and rider to walk over and not hit branches or move them and advanced had
to trot over them. Fourth Obstacle was 2 Cones set 30 feet apart on a flat
spot on the trail. Horse and rider to come up to first cone and then trot to second cone and halt and stand
for 60 seconds. Standing quiet and not moving. and Advanced had to canter from first cone and halt at Second
cone and stand for 60 seconds. Sounds easy but they get excited but if your horse is trained well t hen they
do what is asked of them. Fifth Obstacle
was a Circle made out of Flour. Horse to step front feet in circle and turn half way on the forehand and back
and Advanced had to step in circle and go whole circle on the the forehand. The Flour disappeared in the rain but they
just added more flour from the sack. and last but not least was the Sixth Obstacle was cross
over a good running creek and there was a Blue Tarp on the ground right after the creek. It was held down with
steaks and Pleasure Division had to walk over with out stopping and Advanced had to trot over the Tarp.
This was all a lot of fun and was challenging for rider and horse. Two persons entered
the Open Division and Five entered the Pleasure Division and two younger Girls entered the Youth Division. There were
safety riders from the Little Valley Trail Riders who went along to keep up safe and help us not get lost. Trails were
marked very well and it was a lot of fun. Cash and Janet placed 3rd in the Pleasure Division and won 50 ACHTA
Bucks to be used on the internet at the ACHTA site. The lady who won the Open Division was from Pa. and had
a Spotted Saddle Horse and the
lady who won the Pleasure Division was from Hornell, N.Y. on a very nice Quarter horse and the girl who won in the
Youth Division was from Bristol, N.Y. on a 32 year old Arabian mare who did fabulous and put all us adults
to shame. Many other prizes were given out from the surrounding area. I
am sure next year they would like to have many more trail riders participate. ACHTA
American Competitive Trail Horse Association was started by a woman out West who when many people were asked said
Oh I just have a trail horse and we don't do that much. Well she felt Trail horses do many things
of value that most people don't realize is of great value. You do have to join through the internet at
their site and it does cost to enter a Division but it can be well worth the time you put into it.
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 Steve Luoni and his horses DJ & Pavo recently did a traditional tribute to fallen soldiers
at the Brookfield NY Memorial Day parade by using Pavo as a "caparisoned horse".
Steve wanted to do something
more "significant" to honor fallen soldiers and put the true meaning of the holiday back in peoples eyes. He
felt that with all the celebrations and traditional red, white and blue, people were forgetting about why we celebrate
Memorial Day (Kind of like Christmas!)
Steve chose to wear black as a sign of morning for the fallen. A
simple yellow ribbon on his chest showed support for our troops. A small American
flag on both DJ & Pavo's saddle pads signified his patriotism for our great country. The
riderless horse symbolizes the
horse returning to camp without his soldier. The boots turned backwards in the stirrups symbolize that the soldier will
never ride again and is looking back upon his family one last time. The tribute was well received by the
spectators. Many people, especially veterans were deeply moved.
Let us know if there is any news or events you would like to share with fellow
members.
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