$\"Iron$

Iron Horse Farm's Large Outdoor Arena<\/p><\/div>\n

So my final conclusion was to hold some competitions – certainly our\u00a0enormous\u00a0\u00a0150′ x 280′ ring will be a wonderful\u00a0asset\u00a0for\u00a0competitions. The only drawback is that currently we have screenings put on it as a base for atleast 6 months when we can then apply a footing to it. Most serious\u00a0competitors\u00a0will not travel for inadequate footing – and honestly I’m not really interested in the typical hunter\/jumper show – or even a dressage show. My first choice would be a mounted games competition (being that this is my discipline of choice), but again the footing will not be ready for this high-speed action yet. So I thought the perfect solution would be a gymkhana\/trail class\/skill challenge type event. I saw something similar to this at a horse expo this year where they took riders from all disciplines and asked them to complete a series of challenges where judges judged them on how well they completed the tasks. In my area we have a very large Parelli barn that is always interested in taking their horses to events such as this. I think it would be a great way to provide all disciplines with a competition that could hone skills, introduce their horses to new things, and just be a lot of fun to attend. Now I have to set about developing this competition – I’m determined to make it unlike anything else that is out there today – I think I have a lot of work ahead of me. Running through my mind right now is a mixture of timed events, skill completion events, and strictly fun events. Any and all suggestions are welcome – above all I want to make it a positive experience for everyone who attends, I think it should be a competition\u00a0tailored\u00a0more to achieving goals with your horse rather then earning a first place ribbon. If I held these once a month I think it would give people a goal to work towards – like last time my horse wouldn’t go near that ball, maybe this time he will calmly walk past it.<\/p>\n

$\"View$

View of our farm from my father's plane, you can really see the large arena!<\/p><\/div>\n

I’m looking forward to starting a new trend in competitions in my area – or so I hope. I feel very up to the challenge!<\/p>\n

-KD
\n www.ponypaintings.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"