Luckily, by the time Cowboy Eventing in Allegan rolled around sunshine and temps in the high 80s were on the docket so JP, Remy and I took off to experience a new adventure.
We arrived at Allegan County Fairgrounds and were pleasantly surprised to find a really nice set up, Remy got a stall (and didn't have to be tied to the trailer). The barn even had a wash rack. One of the most noticeable differences between Dressage shows and Western Events is the friendliness of the people. Annie, the woman with the trailer next to us, immediately offered us to sit in the shade of her awning or to cool off in the air-conditioned living-quarters of her trailer.
Brandt had offered to use Remy as the Demo Horse for Cowboy Eventing, however, first I had to Google it to figure out what it is:
Cowboy Eventing is an equestrian sport that demonstrates the skills necessary for working cowboys to be effective on the ranch. Cowboys had to be proficient in all areas of horsemanship, cattle working skills, as well as being able to ride hazardous terrain to search out stray or loose cattle. The horses that were required for this work also had to be adjustable, in that they had to transition easily from job to job. Cowboy Eventing requires horses and riders to be efficient in three events.
1. Cowboy Dressage
Contestants will ride a predetermined pattern of movements that will be judged by two of our officials. Scores are based on rhythm and relaxation through the movements, accuracy, style, and ease of transitions between different movements.
2. Open Range
Contestants will maneuver through a series of natural like obstacles in search of “stray cattle”. Riders must move through each obstacle with little or no hesitations from the horse. Obstacles could be but not limited to bridges, brush, jumps, water, and other natural type scenarios.
3. Cattle Sorting.
10 head of stray cattle will be gathered up in the “canyon” (aka end of the arena). This event is timed and allows only 90 seconds before the “Thunder Storm” ends all chances of catching more cows. Cowboys must sort the cattle in order according to the number displayed on the back of the animal, to the opposite end of the arena and into the catch pen. Once he has sorted as many as he can to the catch pen, cowboys must then load the cattle on a trailer. Once they are all loaded on the trailer, time will stop.
Well, Remy was a little star - for most of it. He stood patiently while Brandt supervised the building of the obstacles, then tried them and mastered them all: Going over a wobbly bridge, navigating steep in- and declines, passing through dense brush. Pulling a log was an issue, my dressage saddle didn't allow for proper attachment. All this while the band was doing the sound check and practicing - and let me tell you, sound checks for freestyles at dressage shows are NOTHING compared to those decibles!
When the cows were unloaded from the trailer, Remy whinnied and had no problem mingling amongst them.
The dressage test was rather unusual (at least for me): Enter at A, halt, salute the cross, back up 4 steps, then proceed. The test itself was a piece of cake for Remy, but not so the horses surrounding the arena. Unfortunately, Remy has not completely overcome his fear of other horses, and still spooked at them. Guess we can handle almost everything - except other horses.
Still, it was a very positive experience. JP especially was super proud of Remy, so much so that me and my brand-new sparkly Western shirt didn't get any acknowledgement at all (at least not from him..!).
