RYE COLORADO CITY SADDLE CLUB
Is Ol’ Paint truly bombproof? Would Trigger really do anything you asked? Want to find out? Load up the horses and come give the obstacle course at the Rye Colorado City (RCC) Saddle Club arena a try.
RCC Saddle Club, in association with the Colorado Obstacle Series (COS) 2023 Season, is presenting an obstacle course arena event on Sunday, July 9. The RCC arena at 5604 Cuerno Verde Blvd., Colorado City will be set up with ten obstacles sure to stretch the rider's horsemanship, entertain the onlookers, and make the horses say, “Oh, what now?”
This uncommon and challenging event builds horsemanship and offers a chance for riders to bond with their horses as well as with fellow riders. Any discipline is welcome and a division for every skill level from Lead Line youngsters to Pro level skill sets and everything in between is offered.
This year's theme for the event is the “Cowboys of the Caribbean”, and organizer Nan Hassey encourages riders and horses to come in pirate related costumes. The horse and rider maneuver through a series of obstacles while demonstrating skill, finesse, horsemanship, and speed. A score is given for each obstacle on the course and riders are judged on overall horsemanship.
Obstacle races are timed events, however, time accounts for less than points.
Slightly similar to a trail course, the obstacle course usually contains “spookier” challenges, as well as the bridge, backing through cones, mounted gate open and closure, etc. common to the arena trail course. Some of the common obstacle course events are the car wash where the horse must pass between foam noodles attached to two poles, riding across a sheet of plywood or tarp on the ground, or pick up and carry items while remaining mounted.
Potential obstacles are extensive and event hosts are quite creative, so a rider may encounter obstacles not encountered before. It is a great spectator event.
There is a time limit per obstacle. If a horse shows hesitation or refusal, the time will begin, and if the horse is still refusing after that time frame, the rider will be told to move on.
COS makes safety a first priority when designing obstacles. If an obstacle is deemed unsafe for riders by COS personnel, the event will be stopped and the issue will be remedied.
Judges will focus on overall horsemanship and partnership between each horse/rider team and judges will write a comment regarding completion of each obstacle. If a rider is marked down on any maneuver, there shall be a comment explaining the score. As a result of a tie between riders, the total oncourse time will go into effect as a tie-breaker. In case of a tie of both an obstacle and time combined, there will be a ‘Ride Off.”
There are several different divisions and levels of competition. Rules and rider information can be viewed on the Colorado Obstacle Series website at https://coloradoobstacleseries. com.
Division entry fee is $28 per ride with online registration. Ribbons will be awarded for first through third place. A jackpot race with an entry fee of $20 will be held after divisions runs.
For more information locally, please see rccsaddleclub. com for details or contact Nan Hassey at 719-4892732 or by email at nanhassey@ yahoo.com.