Competitive Trail Riding Clinic
Date Added: September 3,2009 |
On May 29-31, the 22nd Annual Competitive Trail Riding Clinic, sponsored by New York State Horse Council (NYSHC) and sanctioned by Eastern Competitive Trail Riding Association (ECTRA), was held at the Brookfield DEC Horse Trails, Brookfield, NY. Twenty-two riders and one audit attended.
Rules and regulations of both NYSHC and ECTRA were carefully followed, as the care and welfare of the horses is the top priority at any ECTRA event clinic. The focus is on teaching this purpose through lecture, small group instruction, and hands-on activities. Topics included conditioning the horse and rider, horse’s anatomy and physiology, shoeing, saddle fitting, cardiovascular knowledge with stethoscope practice, long distance and hill riding techniques, pacing, presenting a horse to the judges, horse camping safety, and scoring on an ECTRA sanctioned competitive trail ride.
On Saturday evening, Todd Gorton gave a lecture followed by a question and answer session about hoof care and shoeing horses and mules. Todd is a knowledgeable and respected farrier in the Brookfield area and beyond.
Anne Filley of Trumansburg, NY, was the head instructor of the clinic. It is common at competitive trail rides to find fellow competitors willing to help in any way possible. This spirit was exemplified at the clinic where highly qualified and veteran competitive trail riders come to the clinic as volunteers to teach others about the sport they love. These people were Dr. Ann Chaffee (veterinarian), of Trumansburg, NY, Eva Norris of Port Crane, Bonnie McDevit of Fabius, Chuck Houghton of Trumansburg, and Nancy Hart of Marietta. Heather Vecchio of Amsterdam followed the ride on Sunday, removed all trail markings, and assisted in other ways.
The culminating activity of the clinic was a 15-mile mock competitive trail ride run according to the rules and regulations of ECTRA. The Junior rider division winner was Awesome ridden by Beck Schwoerer, an exchange student from Germany. The heavyweight (includes rider and all article carried by the horse) division winners were Mag’s Parade ridden by Barbara Edmunds in first place, Buddy ridden by Joan Waldron in second, and thirdly, Topper ridden by Shannon Budnick. Lightweight division winners were, respectively, Camy ridden by Marianne Richards, Kristy ridden by Danielle Wroblewski, and Hafiza’s Star ridden by Kristy Wilson.
Information for next year’s clinic, to be held June 4-6, 2010, will be announced on the NYSHC website at www.nyshc.org under Events and then Clinic.
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