This year’s event featured four female horse trainers
competing for the colt starting championship.
It was outstanding.
There have been female competitors in 2 previous years
but this was the first time that it was exclusively female. The horses that they were presented with
were, in my opinion, exceptionally challenging.
The result was a remarkable opportunity to observe horses with very
strong personalities and trainers with a unique range of styles.
I have already watched the DVD program three times and
it is a challenge to see everything that is going on.
This year one of the competitors was a professional show
jumper with tack and methods never before seen at RTTH. When I first heard about this all kinds of
questions went through my fuzzy old head.
As I should have known, horsemanship is horsemanship no matter how you
dress it up.
Just to add another dimension to the event, one of
these ladies dislocated her shoulder near the end of the first round pen
session. For most people, this would
have been the end but, not so. After a
few minutes to put the shoulder back in this lady resumed the session and then
went on to complete the event. That is
the picture of determination and strength.
For students of horses and horsemanship this an event
you should not miss. It is an
educational opportunity that is truly priceless. You will see some of the best examples of building
trust in horses with high levels of sensitivity (skepticism and fear). For me personally it reinforced it reinforced
the importance of using my voice to communicate with and build trust with a
horse.
No comments:
Post a Comment