they maybe didn’t see are pointed out and they can work to correct it next time.
A rider can compete in multiple divisions as long as they qualify. In our first show, Lashon Bussell won both the Advanced and In Hand on her lovely bay horse, Charmed to Meet You. Jennifer Alcott on Cowboy was 2nd in the Advanced and Kristy DeRemer on Chunk was 2nd in the In Hand Class. Dawn Howell on Jade and Cyndie Pittman on Hawk (both blanketed Appaloosas) tied for 1st in the Novice class with Brittany Gay aboard Cody a close 1 point behind for 3rd.
To break a tie in VOS, the judge selects the most difficult obstacle and whomever scored highest in that obstacle wins the tie. If they still tie, we go to the next difficult obstacle and so on until the tie is broken.
To learn more about Virtual Obstacle Shows, visit our website at www.virtualobstacleshows.com or join our facebook page where riders are posting their videos and score cards. Hope to have you on our next ride!
We would love to have you join us
at www.virtualobstacleshows.com
Virtual Obstacle Shows
By Stephanie Rivers
much time pass
and then I would chicken out
because I would not be prepared. I needed a team of horsemen. I thought long and hard about what this should look like. It came to me in an instant; I should form a drill team. With my husband and I owning a trail riding facility, my weekends are swamped, which means that I needed to practice during the week.
I posted on Facebook that I wanted to start a drill team and PEOPLE SHOWED UP!
To make things even better, the women that showed up were almost all former rodeo queens! I couldn’t believe the line up! We formed the Country Tough Drill Team! Our first practice was absolutely wonderful except for JoJo. We couldn’t trot in a straight line, couldn’t trot all the way around the arena, couldn’t canter around the arena, and our stop took around 15’ to accomplish. Plus, the horses did not know what he was and why he was beside them!
If you are looking for a step by step answer for how to find motivation, there’s not a “catch all” answer. I am a people person and enjoy being on a team. In addition to improving my basic horse/mulemanship skills with the use of the drill team, I also took private lessons, competed in a few obstacle challenges, and even went cattle sorting. The way to feel more confident is to believe in your training. In order to persuade myself to train, I set a goal. It is sometimes easy to set a goal, but not easy to keep yourself from backing out later on. By having the team, I felt like I would be letting them down if I did not show up. Whatever you have to do to keep yourself from backing out; do it. You could prepay for a bundle of lessons, write your training time down in ink on your calendar, and make a promise to yourself to not cancel.
I am now the 2017 Benton County Rodeo Queen. Did I compete on him bridleless? Heck no! But I did ride him bridleless for two laps in the arena the night of the rodeo with one of my drill team teammates by my side and another one guarding the gate.
CONTINUED >
40 / Sport and Trail Magazine
Our first show of the season was a huge success here at Virtual Obstacle Shows! Riders and handlers alike had great things to say about the experience, even those who competed in the snow in their back yards!
We were so excited to watch the videos of everyone’s experience. One of the great things about VOS is that no experience is exactly the same. Riders set the course per the instructions using their own materials at their own site. This may mean one person has painted wood ground poles while another has pvc and a third used garden rails. We may see someone in an indoor arena, someone in their pasture and someone else utilizing their driveway! It is fantastic how it works, yet everyone completes the same pattern and are all judged by the same judge.
The feedback riders and handlers get from the judge is often their favorite part of the experience. They get advice for fixing what dropped their score and encouragement for their next ride. Things they maybe didn’t see are pointed out and they can work to correct it next time.
A rider can compete in multiple divisions as long as they qualify. In our first show, Lashon Bussell won both the Advanced and In Hand on her lovely bay horse, Charmed to Meet You. Jennifer Alcott on Cowboy was 2nd in the Advanced and Kristy DeRemer on Chunk was 2nd in the In Hand Class. Dawn Howell on Jade and Cyndie Pittman on Hawk (both blanketed Appaloosas) tied for 1st in the Novice class with Brittany Gay aboard Cody a close 1 point behind for 3rd.
To break a tie in VOS, the judge selects the most difficult obstacle and whomever scored highest in that obstacle wins the tie. If they still tie, we go to the next difficult obstacle and so on until the tie is broken.
To learn more about Virtual Obstacle Shows, visit our website at www.virtualobstacleshows.com or join our facebook page where riders are posting their videos and score cards. Hope to have you on our next ride!
We would love to have you join us at www.virtualobstacleshows.com
Lashon Bussell won both the Advanced and In Hand Divisions on her lovely bay horse, Charmed to Meet You