Three horses, Three trainers, Three hours . . . but only one champion was crowned the winner at the Natural Horse Vet ® Natural Horsemanship Trainer’s Challenge held at Stoner Ridge Farm in Paris, KY on March 21st. There was a great turn-out for the event. Spectators saw horsemanship at its best at the colt starting competition. Three trainers used their unique horse training techniques to start a two year old under saddle. Three geldings by UMH World Grand Champion Merry Go Blue were placed in a round pen. Trainers Clinton Jones, Tim Scarberry, and Chris Tipton had only three hours to get their horses ready to ride through an obstacle course and perform a freestyle demonstration.

The judges, Laurie Quincey, Charlie DeAtley, and Erin DeAtley evaluated trainers’ techniques in both the round pen and during the obstacle course to determine the winner. When asked about how difficult it was to judge the competition, Erin DeAtley said, “It wasn’t as difficult as you’d think because all the requirements were broken down. We just had to assign points to each element.” The judges and trainers were given score cards (with the same criteria listed below) prior to the competition. Score cards were collected after each session so the judges didn’t even know who was ahead.

At the close of the round pen sessions participants were each given 25 minutes to re-orient their horse, complete the rail work, the trail obstacle course, and to demonstrate their freestyle maneuver.

Rail Work (50 Points Possible) - Horses were asked to work on the rail both ways at a walk, intermediate gait, and a canter. It was pointed out to the judge that these young horses may not start off gaiting (even though most of them did). Therefore, gait was not considered in judging. However, the willingness of the horse to work on the rail was. Trainers had to mount and dismount. Horses were also asked to back and to allow the trainer to pick up each hoof while demonstrating a willing demeanor.

Obstacle Course (50 Points Possible plus a 10 point bonus) - Trainers were required to serpentine through cones, walk over ground poles, step over an elevated pole, and to drag a bag. An additional obstacle was a 6 foot ball. As a bonus, trainers were asked to move the ball out of a circle drawn on the ground.

Freestyle (50 Points Possible) - For the freestyle portion of the competition, the trainer could choose to have his horse perform in a unique way or show off a skill that had been taught during the competition. It could be creative and/or entertaining but was supposed to demonstrate the trainer’s skill and show his ability to help the horse learn.

While all the trainers used different styles during their time in the round pen, they were neck and neck point wise at the end of round two. They all had included a variety of obstacles for their horse to experience. They had all taught their horse a high level of respect, and they had all desensitized their horse as much as possible in the limited amount of time they had. It was actually the freestyle that determined the final outcome. Chris Tipton was the first to complete his work outside the round pen. His horse performed well competing all elements except for the canter. He had Rainy Day Blues playing polo by the end of his 25 minutes. Tim Scarberry was next. He moved through the required elements quickly and had more time for his freestyle. Singing the Blues was standing up on a plywood box allowing Tim to use a leaf-blower all over his body by the time he was through. It was Clinton Jones, however, that went the extra mile during his allotted 25 minute time. He completed all elements of his rail work under saddle except for the back. Clinton demonstrated Maximum Blue’s willingness in a variety of ways. He used a spray bottle, chain saw (with the chain removed), and a large plastic tarp. Clinton was able to ride his gelding while holding the chain saw above the saddle. He also rode his horse sitting on top of the tarp and using only one lead rope as a rein. It was a great demonstration to show what his horse had learned with only three hours of training. While the scores were being tabulated, Robert named each trainer asking the audience to applaud for who they thought would be the winner. He wasn’t surprised when they chose Clinton. In the final tabulation, all three trainers were within 14 points of each other but it was Clinton Jones came out with the highest total over all. It was a great competition. Everyone had a great time and learned a great deal.

Thank You to Our Trainer’s Challenge Sponsors !!!

Thank our sponsors and let them know you appreciate their support of the 2009 Trainer’s Challenge!

March 30, 2009