ACTHA Arena Obstacle Challenge Results 26 Sept 2015

This past weekend saw us hosting an Arena Obstacle Challenge (AOC) under the sponsorship and guidelines of the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA). We had 14 riders sign up to compete, relatively small by national ACTHA standards, but par for ACTHA participation in the West Texas/Southern New Mexico area.  This event was a benefit for the Perfect Harmony Horse Rescue and Sanctuary.

Division Winners (see photo below).  Open Division: Luanne Santiago, Competitive Pleasure Division: Marianne Bailey tied with her daughter Jessica Bailey, but had more pluses, so Marianne took home the Blue Ribbon and the first place Plaque.  Competitive Novice Division: Terri Rutter. Scout Division: Angela Beltran-Flores.   Additionally, each of my judges, Vicki Maly and Arden Evans each gave out a custom hoof pick to the rider who made the biggest positive impression on them.  Luanne Santiago and Dan Bailey, riding a huge Percheron, won the hoof picks.

We obtained great national and local level prize support from sponsors including Smart Pak, Hoof Wraps, Camel Bak, Noble Outfitters, Eclectic Horseman magazine, and Sanctuary Leather, while we had great local sponsorship including Alamo Automotive, Riders Tack and Feed, Diamond Bar V Horseshoeing, Leonard Benally and Chaff Haye. The donated prizes allowed us to put $1,300 worth of prizes back into the hands of competitors.   

The obstacle course consisted of the following obstacles:

Trot Weave - weave between six cones placed 7.5 feet apart, turn and repeat.

Stop and Back - stop your horse on a spot and back in a straight line for a distance determine by your competitive division.

Drag - retrieve a rope off the fence and drag an orange bag of cans about 25 fee.  Open Division had to also back their horse while dragging the bag.

360 Degree Turn - riders entered a 6' x 6' square box and executed a 360 degree turn; Open had to also turn 360 in the opposite direction as well.

Slicker - riders had to retrieve a slicker from the fence and run their horses necks and hips with the slicker.

Gate - open, go through and re-latch a 10' gate.

Cowboy Curtain - or what ACTHA calls the Vine Simulator. Riders rode through the rope curtain and Open Division had to back their horses through it.

Circle Trot - riders trotted around a 35 foot circle, enter the circle and exit at the trot going the opposite direction.

ACTHA competitors and their horses are judged per obstacle on a 10 point per rider and 10 point per horse system.  The bottom line on ACTHA competitions, be they Competitive Trail Challenges or AOC's is that you expose your horse to more training opportunities, some of which you may not think of, continuing to build that brave, safe trail horse.  And as it is with horses, some were great at dragging a loud, clanking bag but fearful of a yellow slicker handing on the fence, and vice versa. 

My objective for the chosen obstacles was to balance the pure horsemanship tasks with prop related obstacles. In the video below, I am doing the Rider's Brief explaining the negotiation of each obstacle.

Prior to the AOC, I held a short clinic on backing your horse in an arc and extending that to a circle and figure 8. As well as a competitive strategy on jogging into the obstacle, stopping and immediatley backing to get momentum for the backing in an arc as most ACTHA obstacles give you 60 seconds to complete an obstacle and time can be ate up pretty quick on the Figure 8 Backing when you are in deep sand or with traffic cones placed far apart.

The competitors and their horses also had 30 minutes or so to warmup on my fixed obstacle course which included single and two level Bridges, Cones for backing in arcs, Two Step platform, Narrow Figure Z path, Nerf Bar obstacles and a heavy Rope Curtain.
     

Arena Obstacle Challenge - September 2015

I have received many requests for ideas and videos on arena obstacles for training horses to be better trail horses. Most of the ideas for obstacles I use come from what I have seen Craig Cameron use in his clinics, or from the Extreme Cowboy Association (EXCA) races, or obstacles from American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) events, which are Competitive Trail Challenges (CTC's) or Arena Obstacle Challenges (AOC's).

ACTHA provides a governing body for CTC's and AOC's, approved obstacles and evaluation criteria, awards, and a point system for regional and national awards. Competing in ACTHA events is a good way to meet new horse people and get a horse gentled - making a better trail horse - in a pretty informal type of competition. ACTHA has several divisions to cover the skills of the rider and experience of the horse, from novice to advanced riders.  

Competitive Trail Challenges or CTC's are a six mile or longer trail course where riders encounter an obstacle each mile and negotiate that obstacle for a score. An example of an obstacle is a rope gate - see picture at right - a simple gate is made from rope running through PVC pipe and anchored on one end to a T post and to the other end with a loop or something that allows the rider to open/un-latch it and move the horse through, then re-latching the gate.  You can imagine the coordination and support needed to mark trails, build obstacles and provide transportation for judges to and from.

Arena Obstacle Challenges (AOC's) are conducted in an arena where a horse and rider enter and complete 6 to 10 obstacles. If you have seen an EXCA event, then you can imagine an ACTHA AOC as a much slower race where while there are time limits to complete an obstacle, time in not factored into the score.

You can go to the ACTHA obstacle page to see the list of approved obstacles.   

Because of the lack of local ACTHA or other obstacle type events in my area, I am hosting an Arena Obstacle Challenge on Saturday 26 September - I'll be posting an article and video in early October on this event. We going to try a slightly different format with a obstacles clinic on one ACTHA approved obstacle in the morning prior to the the AOC competition. This will be an obstacle that the rider's will not encounter during the subsequent AOC. After the last rider competes, the arena and obstacles will be open for riders to work on any obstacles they and their horses need to work on. I'm doing it this way so competitors can get more of a training value out of the AOC.

All ACTHA events give back to a charity. ACTHA give 20% of their proceeds to the designated charity picked by the ride host and the ride host (that would be me) gives a percentage of the entry fees to the charity. Our designated charity for the September AOC is Perfect Harmony Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization based out of Chaparral, New Mexico.

There is also an ACTHA blog with articles on ACTHA competitors and ideas for obstacles and training.


You have to be a ACTHA member to sign up for and ride in an AOC or CTC, ACTHA has a 30 day trial membership for basically $10 per person.  Otherwise annual membership is $35 per year for an individual, $50 for a family of two, or $85 for a family of four.  ACTHA membership information can be found here.

ACTHA Trail "Ride To Remember" for Veterans

American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) "Ride to Remember", is a nationwide charity trail ride to honor and benefit our Veterans, on Saturday and Sunday, November 10th and 11th, at many locations across the country.  Proceeds of this ride will primarily go to Horses For Heroes an veterans rehabilitation and support organization in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

The local ride we will be donating prizes for, helping on, and riding in will be hosted on BLM land near Anthony, New Mexico adjacent to West El Paso, Texas.  Rebecca Eldridge and April Hanley are the Saturday and Sunday Ride Coordinators respectively.  These are two ladies who should be commended for volunteering to ramrod this benefit and there is alot work involved planning the obstacles, getting judges and such. 

The address for the ride check in is 333 Spirit Hill Lane, Anthony, New Mexico. Directions to the ride are: Take Exit 6 (Transmountain Exit) off of I-10. Head South on Transmountain (towards Mexico) to Doniphan. This will be a "T" intersection. Take a Right on Doniphan. Take a Left at the first stop light onto FM 259. Continue on FM 259. At the first stop sign, which is a "Y" intersection, go straight. At the second stop sign, veer left. Follow that road around a sharp left curve, a sharp right curve, and at the second sharp left curve, turn right onto Koogle Road, this will be a dirt road. Follow Koogle and turn Left onto Mountain Vista. The ride start point will be the first place on the right with the white pipe fence.

See Map Below. Click on the map and I think it may give you a larger and clearer view.

ACTHA trail rides are a slow, leisurely six mile trail course with six obstacles and judges evaluating how each rider and horse negotiate that obstacle, which are spaced approximately a mile apart. 

For more information you can call 915.443.4128 or 915.249.1186 or go to the ACTHA web site, click on "Our Rides" tab, then "Rides and Locations" and enter "NM" in the search box.

The Anthony, New Mexico ride will begin with a rider checkin at 0800 am, followed by a rider's brief at 0900 am, with the first group of rider's departing on the trail by 1000 am. After the ride there will be a catered no-host lunch by local Rudy's BBQ prior to the awards ceremony.  Hope to see a lot of people enjoing their horses on a trail ride in what should be really nice weather and supporting this great cause.

Trail Riding Competition

Most horse people know about the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) and the “competitive rides” that ACTHA affiliates conduct. If you think you are put off by the competition aspect, I don;t think you will be so inclined with ACTHA as these are very low key events where you go on a trail ride of six miles or so with a group of other horses and riders and at every mile marker you have an “obstacle” to complete with your horse. These obstacle could be simply backing in a circle, side passing a short distance, opening a gate, riding over poles laid across the ground or other simply demonstrations of your horsemanship and your horse’s abilities.

On the plus side these events bring people together, share horsemanship and camaraderie, and the horses are probably grateful for a nice slow benign ride. Really, if you have been thinking about trailering to an ACTHA event – then go. The only downside really is the entry costs and sometimes a facility fee charged by the hosting ranch. But you spend that much eating supper out once a week.

Another like event is a Trails and Trials challenge that an area Horseman’s Association holds twice a year. Much like ACTHA rides with obstacles to test you and your horse, these Trails and Trials Challenge do not cover the distance than an ACTHA ride will, but offer more challenging obstacles.

My wife and I rode in one recently, at the Issacks Ranch outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico in the shadow of the Organ Mountains – simply a beautiful place. Some of the obstacles we faced were: entering a knee deep pond to open, go through, and close a gate; cross a bridge over a water obstacle; back uphill; dismount and lead your horse over a couple jumps; remount then throw a loop on a roping dummy; side pass over logs arrayed in a “Z” pattern; a little more challenging because of the one obstacles after another format.  The picture at right is my wife on her big Sorrel Gelding Charlie.  Charlie is not the bravest horse in the world, but he does well since my wife gives him time to accept things and he knows he'll get a fair deal with her.  The obstacles he is looking at is a couple of old horse blankets laying in a frame they had to step over.  Suprisingly several horses had issues with these blankets due to the smell.  Charlie is alert, but relaxed - note the loose reins.  After maybe 10-15 seconds my wife asked Charlie to move forward across the obstacle.       

These types of events is a way many horse clubs or associations could generate more interest in trail riding. I was happy to see some young people participating and one in a particular, a young cowboy riding a two year old mare who really impressed me with the time he took with this horse and how his horse responded.

Popularity of the Extreme Cowboy Association and the American Competitive Trail Horse Association

There has been a fast rise in popularity for the Extreme Cowboy Association (ECA) and the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA).

The ECA, founded by Craig Cameron, is healthy competition centered around all around horsemanship and riders are evaluated on their ability to negotiate obstacles or accomplish tasks associated with working cowboys.

Some of the obstacles or tasks may be opening and closing a gate on horseback; roping and dragging a barrel or just plain dragging a log; loping in a circle and executing lead changes on a figure 8 path; and other similar obstacles. Riders are judged partially on time but I think the focus is on how well the rider rides judging by how well his or her horse responds to subtle cues on loose reins. Some of the harder tasks for some people may be firing a Single Action Army revolver (using blank ammunition of course) at balloons or entering into a round pen and roping a loose horse.

There are categories for different skill levels. Competitions are conducted across the country and sometimes shown on RFD TV. Some of the competitions are conducted in covered arenas and others are ran in open fields or otherwise seemingly take up 5 or so acres of land.

For more information please go to: http://www.extremecowboyassociation.com and you can see some sample obstacles.

Another competition rapidly gaining popularity is the American Competitive Trail Horse Association. I have previously written about it HERE. For more information please go to: http://www.actha.us/

One reason these competitions are gaining popularity are that they have remained focused on the horses, good manners and better riding. As with competitive ventures in other areas of riding, and certainly in activities outside of riding, such as the shooting sports, winning seems to take over the original reason that competition was founded. Competition has the benefit of expanding our knowledge and increasing our ability to perform at higher levels, and, has brought innovation to many activities, however you have to remain vigilant for people who are consumed by winning and who's ethics are often set aside for that purpose. Seen more of my share of people, who call themselves horsemen, who blame their horses for their failures and do not begin to adequately treat their horses with respect.

By far the best result of events like the ECA and ACTHA are that they allow horse people to gather and test the relationship between them and their horses. Trail riding or learning to tackle obstacles and tasks in the ECA competitions make a good horse better be it for Western or English Show riding, Team Penning, Hunter Jumper events, Team Roping and the host of others that a multitude of riders compete in each week....plus it allows us to judge our progress with our horses.

I recommend checking out the websites and exploring the value of competing in such competitions. Safe Journey.

American Competitive Trail Horse Association

The American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) is a fairly new organization with the stated mission of “Providing an enjoyable venue showcasing the wonderful attributes of the great American Trail Horse, granting them the recognition they so richly deserve. To maintain a registry open to all breeds and a point designation system which will stay with each horse for its lifetime, thereby adding to their value and distinction. To enable the humane treatment of horses in need. ACTHA donates up to 50% of its proceeds to eligible horse charities annually.”

The ACTHA website advertises the following: “That the Organization’s Founders, Karen VanGetson and Carrie Scrima, were tired of long drives to multi-day, timed competitions. They wanted a venue where they could enjoy their horses and the wonderful scenery around them. Of course they wanted some challenge and a chance to learn as well as show off their horse’s talents. But most of all they wanted beauty, camaraderie and fun! Try as they might to find this in areas they were interested in or on a national level, their search was in vain. So Carrie said "Let’s start one!" Thus the foundation for ACTHA began.”

ACTHA is billed as casual competition and has been endorsed by well known Horse Trainers, Clinton Anderson and Monty Roberts.

A Competitive Trail Challenge is billed as a 6-10 mile ride, negotiating judged obstacles such as crossing streams, crossing bridges, riding up/down steep hills,
backing around obstacles, dragging a log, opening/closing gates, jumping over a low log, riding through vine styled obstacles, trotting over spaced logs, stand in position while a loud noise is present, walk on/around plastic tarp/bags and trotting/cantering from point A to point B.

Sounds like a good training venue to me. If you are interested in the American Competitive Trail Horse Association, please go to their website and poke around.

http://www.actha.us/