Walking On Volume 5, Issue 5, May 2018 | Page 14

The TOP 10 Myths of Distan By Tammy V Recently on Face- book, I quickly tried to debunk some of the myths and con- cerns associated with competitive trail riding (CTR). Am I an expert? No. But I was once the person who had these same fears. My desire to try the sport finally prevailed as most of the worries were a non-issue. As a casual competitor with © ANDY KLAMM just under eight hun- Author Tammy Vasa and her horse Windy. dred competition miles, I have been involved with the sport for over a decade and heading into my fourth year as a ride manager. Here are the Top 10 reasons I was concerned about competing and what I learned from the sport which debunked those fears. (most likely). She has never been an easy horse, or per- haps I have never been the best rider. However, when I look at where we started -- kicking out at the touch of a stethoscope to almost running a judge off the trail – she managed to pull off a few wins and enough points to garner the 2015 Region 6 Novice Champion. She didn’t do it on her own; we did it as a team with me as her leader. We practiced at home. We practiced while pleasure riding. Some of it was probably sub- consciously planted by the sport and we improved. All horses are smart, and as owners we need to find the way to communicate better with our equine partner. Through competition I learned how much we lacked in this department, and because of the sport itself, I became a better competitor. ©JIM EDMONDSON Clutter-free, simple stabling set up. A horse’s home away from home where the horse can rest, eat, drink and sleep. © MIKE COLLINS Standing quietly for a vet exam. 1. My horse will NEVER do THAT (fill in the blank)! From lunging, picking up her feet to standing at mounting -- even at 15 years old, my mare still has a mind of her own. Or perhaps she still has my number 14 • Walking On 2. OMG I have to tie my horse to the trailer over- night! She will die! She needs to rest and lie down and stretch her legs and exercise and roll! I will not risk my horse’s health or my beautiful trailer having her tied up overnight! If tied correctly, the horse is as safe as it would be in a stall or corral, and trust me, the horse doesn’t want to exercise any more than you will following a ride. Coming back to the trailer at the end of the ride is the horse’s happy place, and tied correctly, your horse can