Western Trail is a Pony Club Event!

 Did you know that Western Trail is one of the newest events accepted by USPC (The United States Pony Clubs, Inc.) as a rally? 

Members who are eligible and meet the requirements of the discipline at a regional rally may go on to compete in the National Championships.

Here is some information from the Western Trail Rulebook for Rallies

"Western Trail in Pony Club uses similar obstacles and challenges that are seen in other shows that contain a trail class. Members compete on a team of 3 to 4 riders with a stable manager and generally complete 2 to 3 courses at a rally. One or two of the rounds are a traditional trail class round with a specific order of obstacles, each obstacle judged using a scale which evaluates the mount and rider team and how successful they were at negotiating the obstacle challenge. One round may be a speed round with a time limit. Each obstacle must be negotiated successfully and bonus points may be awarded for successfully completing more obstacles than required in the time allocated. Another round may be outside of an arena and take place in the open in an area the size of a pasture, cross country course or along an actual trail that can be up to 2 miles long. During this round, each obstacle may have a different judge to facilitate the logistics of competition."

Types of Obstacles

Obstacles are categorized into 3 categories: Agility, Calmness, or Control.

Some of the pictures from our September meeting at the Rountree Ranch Equine Obstacles in Liberty Hill showcasing those categories.

Agility

These obstacles demonstrate athleticism on the part of the horse and rider pair. Most common include banks, riding over bridges, ditches, jumps, ride-overs and platforms.

Calmness

These obstacles demonstrate the ability of the horse and rider pair to perform possibly unfamiliar and possibly scary (though not startling) tasks in a relaxed and confident manner. Most common types of calmness obstacles include carrying objects, drags, water crossings, varied footing and squeezes. Other obstacles may be used as long as they do not pose a safety hazard.

Control

Require rider control of the direction of movement of the mount, generally at low speed. Most common types of Control obstacles include: back-throughs, gates, serpentines, side passes, small clover-leaf, figure 8's or turns on the forehand or haunches.

Special thanks to RR Equine Obstacles for our fun day exploring a new USPC discipline! Now we can work on adding this to our potential rally quests.