Clinton Jones Wins Natural Horse Vet Natural Horsemanship Trainer's Challenge

Even though Saturday morning was cold, the competition was hot at the Natural Horse Vet Natural Horsemanship Trainer's Challenge held at Stoner Ridge Farm. Clinton Jones, Tim Scarberry, and Chris Tipton were all charged with the task of starting three Merry Go Blue two year old geldings. The challenging part, was that they only had a total of three hours to start their horse and build enough foundation that would allow their horse to be ridden successfully through a trail obstacle course. It was amazing what all three trainers were able to accomplish! When time was up, it was unbelievable what these horses could do. The trainers had to ride their horse at a walk, intermediate gait, and canter, pick up all four feet, back, weave through cones, walk over ground poles, step over an elevated pole, and drag a bag. For additional points their horse had to push a 6' ball out of a circle. An additional element was the free style where trainers choose skills to show what their horse had learned. Chris played polo with Rainy Day Blues while Tim Scarberry had Singing the Blues up on a six foot wooden box - then he turned a leaf-blower on his new equine friend with no resistance. Clinton Jones, however, had the most extensive free style. He began with a spray bottle and moved on to cracking a whip while standing on his horse's back. He also used a chain saw (with the chain removed) to demonstrate his horse's trust. Finally, he rode Maximum Blue bareback with an 8' x 10' tarp spread over him - he rode with only one lead rope as a rein. Wow! It was too cool. We really appreciate the great turn out and all our sponsors! Yee Haw - if you weren't here you really missed out on a great opportunity to learn about different colt starting styles and seeing these excellent trainers in action. The point spread was within 14 out of about 700 points possible. The guys were totally awesome! Be sure to check out the newsletter that will be posted on the web site on April 1st for additional photos and more detail about this great competition.

Road to the Horse 2009

Our congratulations to Richard Winters for winning the Road to the Horse competition in Franklin, TN today! He did an oustanding job working his horse in the round pen yesterday and continued what he started today. He had the right combination of sensitivity and control that helped his horse learn. The trail obstacle part of the program was the most challenging we've seen. Horses had to walk, trot, canter, back, turn a 180, and the riders had to mount and dismount. Then they had to go through the obstacles which included serpentines, spiraling raised poles, regular ground poles, elevated poles, lasso, drag, jump, and the patience box (horses had to stand calmly as long as possible). Finally, there was an optional obstacle where the horse had to approach a cage of live chickens. All the competitors, Richard Winters, John Lyons, and Tommy Garland did a fantastic job with their quarter horses. We had a blast!

Be sure to make room in your calender - next Saturday, March 21st, Stoner Ridge Farm will be hosting the Natural Horse Vet (R) Natural Horsemanship Trainer's Challenge. Three Merry Go Blue geldings will be started in round pens by trainers Chris Tipton, Tim Scarberry, and Clinton Jones. Our judges will be Laurie Quincey, Charlie DeAtley, and Erin DeAtley. We are excited about the competition. It is an opportunity to see Mountain Horse training at it's best!

A Lot of Learnin' Going on

Last Saturday, Stoner Ridge Farm was the site of the 2009 Youth Clinic organized by Terry Kleier. Several different groups of young equestrians came - UMH Youth, KMSHA Youth and their new director, and a group from the Clark County 4 H program. Several adults were also here. We had folks from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and North Carolina besides the home folk here in Kentucky. All together we had 30 - 35 people here. It was great to see everyone working together to help young people learn more about gaited horses. The morning activities began with a test . . . that's right, a test. As part of her instruction, gaited horse judge, Kelley France, gave attendees the UMH judge's test. They also had to judge a couple of live classes. It was a pretty effective technique to help the kids experience the show ring from a judge's point of view. They also received instruction on Equitation and Showmanship from Natalie Wright who explained some of the techniques and the attire required for success in these specialized classes. Robert also gave some tips on helping to get horses ready for versatility training. He used a large ball (about four foot in diameter) to show everyone how to help desensitize their horses to scary objects moving toward them. We had a great day full of friends, education, and pizza. Thanks to everyone who came and to Terry for getting everything set up. Look for more comments about the clinic in the next SRF newsletter.

We Have 3 Extra Road to the Horse Tickets

If you have never attended The Road to the Horse Competition, it's a phenomenal event. It is a trainer's challenge where nationally known trainers start 3 year old gelding quarter horses and then take them through a series of obstacles with just three hours training. This year John Lyons will be among the trainers. You can go to their web site to learn more www.roadtothehorse.com. The event will be held in Franklin, TN on March 14-15. It begins at 11:00 on Sat. Well, Robert and I purchased a block of 6 tickets this year, but we only need three of them. We'd be glad to sell the tickets for what they cost us - $57 each. The event is sold out. We also have an extra room that is reserved for the weekend. Please let us know by Wednesday March 11th if anyone is interested. We've attended 3 or 4 trainer's challenges and thoroughly enjoy it every year. We hate to see these tickets go to waste.