Ranch Versatility - Part 1

I went to my first Ranch Versatility Show at the end of August. This is the real deal. It separates the doers from the wannabe's.

I am going to go into detail on this because this was one of those events that I found completely exciting and challanging - Mind, body and soul.

Because this is a long, long post I am going to work on part two while you muddle through part one.

Ranch versatility is made up of 5 classes. Herd Work, working cowhorse, ranch riding, trail, halter/conformation class.

This event was part of the National Versatility Ranch Horse Assn. The way this club or group operates is great for beginners. They start out by offering a clinic on the first day. You can go and learn what it is all about. Get coached through each event and in this case - the judge was the clinician for several of the classes. Talk about a learning experience. They also offer several different levels of participation. From Open, amatuer, limited, novice, and youth. The Novice class doesn't have to rope in the working cowhorse and the trail course is a little easier. Other than that everyone is expected to do the same elements.

We started the clinic doing the herd work. Each rider got a chance to work cattle out of the herd. The clinician would walk you through what he was looking for and then critique you as you rode. When you were done he would tell you what was positive and where you needed work. Herd work is challanging if you are not riding a super cowy horse. Think about the big paint horse here. Semper will work a cow, but at 16 hands he isnt't quite as "catty" as the smaller cowhorses. He has a lot of power and can move quickly but he tends to want to get ahead of the cows and that makes me late coming through my turns. After you work your cow you have to take it around a cone, down the fence and put it in a pen. During the show we worked out of the herd well. When I was ready to move the cow down the fence, I asked my herd holders to move and went to drive my cow to the fence. The cow stopped in the middle of the arena, snorted and took off down the center of the arena. In the cows defense... these were used up corriente roping cattle. He was doing what he was supposed to do for roping. Not so much for herd work. I had about 45 seconds left and the audience was yelling at me to take him back down and around the cone. I might have been able to bring him back and put him around the cone but I would have risked letting him get back in the herd. I made the decision to just follow him to the end and pen him. It cost me 5 points for missing the cone. Afterward the judge talked to me and said I did the right thing. If I had lost the cow back to the herd I would have taken a no score.

Next we went to the trail course. This isn't your run of the mill arena trail course. This is a trail course set up in a natural environment. On a hillside with pine needles for footing. The course consisted of a gate, lope over poles, cones to jog through, a dummy to rope, a log to drag, rotten hay bales to walk through, a pole to move around a barrel, a bridge to cross, walk over poles, trot over poles and then stop in a box, ground tie, open a mail box, drop your bridle, pick up all four feet, and remount. It was a lot in a very small area.
The gate was easy. But from the gate the first of the lope overs where about 15 feet, so you were facing to the right, had to turn pick up the left lead and lope over 6 poles set about 5 feet apart as you started to go up a hill. I have mentioned a time or two that Semper is a big horse right? Everything in this course was TIGHT. We got it done but it wasn't real pretty. He ticked the last couple of poles. Then we were supposed to drop to a jog to go up the hill and jog through 3 cones. Again they were tight. During the show I let him drop to a walk because I was pretty sure we had to much forward motion to make the cones at a jog. He was able to get it done in the clinic.
Next was rope the dummy. I have told you all that I can't rope. I have been practicing but I am in no way proficent. You are supposed to untie your rope and rope the dummy. They let me use a loaner rope in the clinic but I had to have my own the day of the show. I didn't have one of my new ropes in the trailer because I have been practicing at home. I dug around and found this ancient rope in the trailer - think of a petrified snake. It was old, had been coiled wrong for decades and had black electrial tape on the end to keep it from splaying apart. I got it done, didn't catch - again not pretty. The thing is that Semper let me work it out. And that is what it is all about. He was patient, he didn't get jiggy or nervous, just stood relaxed and waited till his roping challanged rider made every error known to man.
Next was the log drag. Around a tree on a hillside and you had to dally. First I have never attempted to dally properly. Ever. The nice young man that was working the course during the clinic was very patient with me and did his best to teach me how to dally so that I wouldn't lose a finger. Of course all that went out the window during the show. I was still so befuddled about he roping dummy that dallying was just as foreign to me as flying an airplane. The one thing that I did remember was to leave enough rope so that the log didn't hit my horses legs. Points for me. Semper could care less what I ask him to drag. He is a trooper.

From there you had to jog through 3 bales of hay set in a zig zag. No big deal.

Here is the one that I had never seen before. Two barrels, one 10ft bamboo pole. You pick up the end of the pole that is resting on one barrel and rotate it around the other barrel. Can you say leg yeilds? Thank goodness for the clinic. The clinician walked me through it - once you get it, easy peasy.

Next you had to go down the hill an onto the bridge. I don't know if I have every told you all about the disasterous bridge incident. Let me fill you in. One time at band camp... Oops wrong story. One time during a clinic with a very well know cowboy clinician... We had to do an extreme trail horse course. I had to leave before we got to the bridge so the next morning before the clinic, I decided to take Mr. Semper over the bridge. It was a teeter-totter bridge. Huge mistake. He walked on like a champ and when that thing broke over and came down with a thud... he thought he had died and gone to hell. Every since then... trail course bridges have been a huge challange. Real bridges are no problem. I had worked with a new trainer on getting him over one and he was doing wonderfully the weekend before. The one thing that I did not want to do was have it in MY head that is was going to be a problem. So we came off the hill and I just looked up and sent him. He started to say "no way Jose" but then he went on. He kind of rushed it but he did it. I let the rushing go. But because he rushed it, he had trouble with the walk overs that were directly after the bridge. Small sacrafice.
Then you picked up a lope for about 10 ft, dropped to a trot at a set of logs, and trotted into the box and stopped. Sounds easy enough. Yeah Right! Tough. Took me a couple of tries during the clinic but we finally got it. The day of the show we got it but his toes were touching the board at the end of the box. Now here is where is gets comical. When I first got Semper I was schooled him to open a mail box from his back. I would put cookies in the mail box. After he let me open the box I would give him the cookies and ask him to stand quietly at the box while I closed it. Again - Huge mistake. At the show, I had to get off, ground tie and go open and close the box. He saw that mail box and was sure it was a cookie dispenser. During the clinic he kept trying to follow me to the mail box. At the show, he stayed put but I had to give him an "evil eye" and say "whoa" a lot. The upside... His ears were forward and he was watching me the whole time.

The last thing you had to do was drop the bridle and pick up all four feet. No issues there.

.... stay tuned for part two.