NOT JUST A COMPETITION
By Sheryl Schmalz
Check out our Host and Judges section of our web site or get out and have some fun with your equine. Check out the calendar on the Equine Trail Sports website (www.equinetrailsports.com/events) for an event in your area, or contact us to host your own event. We are here to support you!
30 / Sport and Trail Magazine
My husband and I attended our first ETS event in September, 2017. As new horse owners and riders, we were looking for a fun competition that would challenge us and help us build our horse/rider partnerships. ETS did not disappoint!
We have attended numerous events in our SW region. We have developed many cherished friendships at ETS events. We have experienced tremendous growth for us and our horses, especially the trust that goes both ways. Since we live in a small town outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, we always have to travel to reach events. Surprisingly, the travel has become one of our favorite aspects of ETS.
Part of our “strategy” for competitions is to arrive the day before the event starts. This gives us time to get our horses and ourselves acclimated without having to rush. It also gives us some one-on-one time away from the responsibilities of our fixer-upper horse-property.
ETS was designed to give a great deal of autonomy to each region to design and put on events. But, ETS also has a national component, and that is something that has piqued our interest this year.
When looking at the national standings, we found ourselves wondering what the other regions’ events were like. Curious about the people whose names we were seeing on the leader boards, we found a NW region event in Idaho City, ID early in September and signed up! Not sure what to expect, we took the leap and “region hopped”! Here is how it went.
Since the event was an eleven-hour drive for us, we found a stopover point a little past half way and spent our first night there. When we arrived at the ETS event campground the following day, the ride host, Cullen Raley, was there to meet us. He quickly got us and the horses squared away.
On Friday morning, I went from campsite to campsite and met my new neighbors. Everyone was welcoming. It was nice to know some names and faces when we competed in the in-hand on Friday afternoon. Friday night, Kelly Jamison, a local ride host and competitor, organized a horse/rider soccer game. Super fun! And the improvement in riders and horses within minutes was amazing to watch.
Come Saturday, when I was signing up for the trail ride and mentioned that we would like to ride with someone who knew the area, a rider in line behind me spoke right up and said, “We can ride together, I know the terrain.” Thank you, Tammy, it was a pleasure to ride with you. Saturday night, a group of us rode ½ mile into town for ice cream. Again, thank you Kelly Jamison for planning this fun equine excursion.
Sunday included another highlight. Kim Shinn, an amazing ETS judge, had not been able to compete as a rider in an ETS event before. Kim agreed to ride our new mustang, Maverick, in the trail competition. They were awesome, and Kim won the newcomer award! Maverick was trained by a prisoner in the 120-day Nevada Correctional Center Equestrian Program (see The Mustang movie to learn about this amazing program).
As you now know, our “region hopping” was a success. Shout outs to Cullen and Kim Raley, ride hosts, the ETS judges & Ian Jones, NW regional ambassador. We came to compete, but we left with new friendships. Thank you, ETS.