10 minute read
by Kathy Busch
by Kathy Busch
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I was in my mid-to-late thirties in the early 1980s when I met Suzanne Bidwell, and oh my, she had horses!!! Three to be exact! They were all rideable and, yes, she wanted me to ride with her. I had gone to heaven! It had always been a dream of mine to have a horse one day. So, we rode and as we rode, I found out about competitive trail riding and NATRC. I would ride as much as she did. As it turned out, I was learning to condition the horse, and she was teaching me everything I had to know in order to compete. When Suzi was convinced that I knew enough, we found a ride in southern Missouri at the Mark Twain National Forest. She would ride Open; I would be a first-time rider in the Novice devision. I had been riding and conditioning Katama, a black half Arab mare. She was riding Miska Prince, a dark bay three-quarter Arab gelding that my husband was later to own.
Suzi had the trailer and an old station wagon that we would be using to pull. At the time, we both worked, so in the evenings before we left on Friday, we packed the car with all we would need to camp and cook and sleep. The trailer was packed with feed, hay, buckets, saddles and all the accoutrements for a weekend of serious riding and horse caretaking. We had a map that took us to the campground next to a lovely 70-foot wide, relatively shallow river. It was a beautiful venue, and there were approximately 60 riders arriving to compete.We found a space large enough to park the rig and set up camp. We unloaded the horses, tied them to each side of the trailer, and made sure they had water and hay. We then headed to the meeting area to check in with our entry forms, coggins and health certificates, pick up our numbered vests, and say hello to soon-to-be new friends. This meeting area was at the top of a high hill adjacent to the valley where we were camping.
There was a lot to do that evening. After check-in, we were on the clock and needed to groom the horses for an initial vet check which entailed recording all of the rates of the heart, respiration, hydration, hooves’ condition, way of going and the demeanor of the horse. Back at camp, we set up our tent, a make-shift kitchen, ate, organized the tack, feed, buckets, water (fresh water is always provided, but not always close, so we would stock up on Friday for the evening and morning) and generally got ready for an early Saturday morning wake-up call. Suzi and I then took the horses for a relaxing walk, greeted people, and played in the river. (Sometimes we would go for a short ride to give them a stretch
after trailering.)
The ride meeting was held at 8pm for all the information about the ride, introductions of the Judges, timers, ride administrators, farrier, safety riders, getting maps of the trail, and mileage as well as timing of the ride divisions, Saturday and Sunday lunch stops (45 minutes), number of P&Rs (pulse and respiration checks), and available water on the trail. They announced wake-up time at 5:00am and start times. Obviously, you need a great watch! At 10pm, all horses must be properly tied to the trailer, with plenty to eat and drink and you may not untie or disturb the horse (other than water and feed) until after the morning check by the judges. It was 5:00am when a bull horn woke us up. We got up and immediately attended to the horses with feed, hay and water. Then dress for the ride, eat breakfast, prepare saddle bags with what we wanted to take with us on the horse, the map in a plastic bag with a pen and paper, water bottles for sponging, sponge, drinks, hoof pick, leadrope and halter, and snacks for ourselves. We also organized the horse’s feed and our lunches in buckets to be taken to the lunch location. All of this while waiting for the judges to appear. They come to your camp and the first thing they want you to do is to untie and trot your horse out to check for lameness and stocking up in the fetlock area. They check the horse’s back for any soreness, the safety of the stabling area and the tie and length of the lead rope. When they leave you can relax. Start time is usually between 6:30 and 8am, as each horse is timed out individually. Open Class leaves first as their ride is the longest. Then the other classes start timing into the ride. Suzi and Miska were already competing and now it was Katama’s and my turn to get into the waiting line, mount on request of timer and start.
Competitve trail riding is a timed event. Each individual must keep track of their ride time. If you have six hours to complete the ride, you must figure your finish time, adding to the total of six hours + 45 minutes for lunch, and the timed out minutes for the P&Rs. Example: start time was 8:00am, you have six hours to finish, thats 2pm, plus add 45 minutes for lunch and, let’s say, plus 30 min. for two P&Rs equals 3:15pm. This is your “finish time”. You must finish in a 30 minute window of that time, in this case, 3:00 pm to 3:30pm.
You write down your start time according to your own watch. Then start your ride. When I was competing, Open was up to 60 miles in two days or approximately 30 miles per day (four to six miles per hour). Novice was 30-40 miles for the two days and 15-20 miles a day (three and a half to five miles per hour) and the ride time for Novice was six hours. The two P&R stops and lunch are not part of the ride time. A P&R is a pulse and resperation stop. When you enter the area designated for the P&R, you are officially clocked out (by the number on your vest.) Your horse’s pulse rate is taken first, the number of beats in 15 seconds. The respiration rate is taken after that and it is the number of breaths in a 15-second period. After this is written down by volunteers, you have 10 minutes for your horse to naturally bring the numbers down to 15 beats or lower for pulse and 12 resperations or lower in a 15 second count. If it was a hot day, I would remove the saddle and bit, and sponge the neck and the big veins between the hind legs, making sure to keep the horse as relaxed as posible. At the end of 10 minutes, you are scored again, this time for recovery rates and you then may continue after being timed back into the ride.
There are two Judges, the Veterinary Judge and the Horsemanship Judge, and they can be anywhere on the trail, not always in sight. The Horsemanship Judging is 20% Grooming (body, tack and hooves), 50% Trail Equitation (the mount, body position, balance and and lightness,etc.) and 30% Trail Care (care of horse during ride, safety, courtesy to others, and stabling). Veterinary Judging is 40% Condition (P&R recovery, hydration, mucus membrane check for blood refill, bowel sounds, etc.), 45% Soundness (lameness, heat, tenderness and way of going) and 15% Manners (mounting behaviors, disposition, buddying up, etc.).
I did fine through the morning P&R, lunch stop and the afternoon P&R. Katama did the trail obstacles (logs across the trail, water crossings, and hill work, etc.) with flying colors and she was relaxed and eager. We crossed the finish in perfect time. At the finish, I dismounted (a courtesy to the horse) and we walked back to camp. I loosened the girth, provided water and hay, removed all tack and let her settle for a few minutes while I rehydrated. It was wonderful having the river so close. We had to have a vet check and the horses had to be clean, head to tail. As soon as Katama was cooled a bit, we went to the river. It was so easy to use the sponge and clean her body with the cool water. I used the scapper and some towels to help pull the water off. As soon as she was almost dry, I cleaned her nostrils and picked her hooves and headed to the last vet check. Both judges were there and they checked her totally. She behaved beautifully. We went back to camp for dinner, feeding and cleaning ourselves and the campsite.
Sunday began the same as Saturday and the ride was basically the same: morning vet check at the trailer, start, P&R, obstacles, lunch, obstacles, P&R, more obstacles and finish on time. I was more tired than I had been on Saturday. I hit my forehead on an low hanging branch in the morning and bumped my knee cap on a tree trunk in the afternoon. Otherwise, the day had gone well. I cleaned her up and headed to the last vet check, where the judges inspected her thoroughly. Suzi was finished for the day as her Open class was faster and her ride time shorter. Being a first-time rider, I had no idea how Katama and I had done. Giving the horses a chance to relax, eat, drink, Suzi and I scramble to eat then begin to pack up the trailer, the campsite, tent and all the innumerable things we brought. The Judges were tallying the score cards and placing the finishes in the different classes. We had some time to clean ourselves up a bit and use the restrooms before we would gather on the hill. When we returned, Katama was missing!! I was horrified, but Suzi kept her cool. After all, she would not have gone far. We asked our neighbors if they had seen her and they didn’t know anything. We climbed the hill and there she was happily eating grass, being held by a very nice safety rider. He said, “Don’t worry! Enjoy yourselves! Go get a seat, as placement and awards are about to be announced and I’m happy to be staying with your mare.”
Well, Katama won Sweepstakes in the Novice Class!(That’s why she had been taken). I was astonished! I truly can’t remember how Suzi and Miska did, but I did place lower in horsemenship. Suzi had taught me well and I would have many years to learn a great deal more about horsemanship! This is also how I began to be an Arabian fan. (I bought my first as a 40-year-old). I didn’t know about the Al Khamsa Arabian at the time I was competing, but if I had, I certainly would have owned one. They are perfectly made for this sport in distance riding, temperament, stamina, cooperation, and intelligence.
I want to say this — there is no better way to see country than traveling across it on the back of a horse. You have a real chance to create a strong bond and great team work with your horse. NATRC competition is for all ages 10 years+, all weights, all horse breeds, and all types of riders. The North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC) is the premier competitive trail riding (CTR) organization in six regions across North America. The working NATRC Organization is made up of riders and past riders. The people that participate are friendly and always helpful. It is an education on how to take care of the horse on all levels and how to be a better rider. Find all information about NATRC at natrc.org. [Photos are from the NATRC website.]
