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Johnson Creek to host competitive trail ride

by andrea hahn, THE SOUTHERN

Thursday, July 27, 2006 6:51 AM CDT

JOHNSON CREEK - A different kind of horseback ride will hit the trails at Johnson Creek Recreation Area.

The North American Trail Ride Conference is hosting a competitive trail ride next week in the recreation area west of Kinkaid Lake.

A competitive trail ride is not a leisurely ramble, nor is it an endurance race. It is an event requiring riders to pace themselves at moderate speed for 20 to 90 miles.

Denise Maxwell, chairwoman of the Illinois Trail Riders, said this is the first time an NATRC event has been held in this area.

In this event, horses are judged on their condition and fitness. Riders are judged on overall trail savvy. Scorecards, which are filled out at judged, natural obstacles along the way and at veterinarian checkpoints throughout the ride, indicate how well judges believe the horse and rider teams work together, and how capable the horse is of safely completing the miles.

As might be expected, judges sometimes make observations that come as a surprise to riders.

"People who have ridden all their lives find there are horse experts out there who think you don't know what you're doing," Maxwell said, laughing.

Pat Welsh of Cobden agreed. Welsh studied horsemanship for three years at the University of New Hampshire. Imagine her surprise when, at one of her first competitive rides, she was told to "suck in your gut and pick up your butt" on the way up a hill.

Welsh soon learned that her style of riding might be appropriate the show ring, but not to five hours on the trail.

"You have to be open to constructive criticism," she said. "I didn't realize you are judged from the time you put on your vest at check-in until the event is finished. The judges can come up to your campsite and ask you questions and look to be sure your horse has water, that there is no hay in the water."

Welsh rides an 11-year-old Morgan gelding. He has "way too much energy" to ride comfortably with her casual trail riding friends. She was tired of the show ring, she said, but she did want to find a challenging activity to enjoy with Scout.

Her first competitive ride was in April in Arkansas. She was on the trail by 7 a.m.

"I woke up the next day and said to myself, 'I can't ride another four hours, wait till the competition is over, and drive seven hours home.'"

She pulled out, with a promise to her new friends that she wasn't giving up entirely. In June, she was in Missouri for a ride. The opportunity to ride in an event so close to home is "a real treat," she said.

There are two experience levels, divided again by combined weight of rider and equipment, as well as "distance riding" for those who want to sample the competitive trail ride experience without the commitment of competing. Open riders will ride 50-plus miles in two days; novice riders will ride 30 miles in two days.

For more information, call Denise Maxwell at (618) 656-1129. Information is also available at www.natrc.org.

andrea.hahn@thesouthern.com

(618) 529-5454 ext. 5076