Exhibitors take the extreme trail challenge plunge at the Region One Championship in Langley, British Columbia.

By Larri Jo Starkey

No problem: Dennis Hooge was worried about this obstacle, but after a little training, he and Codys Lil Hick were able to stand on it for the required three seconds easily. (Larri Jo Starkey photo). For more photos from the trail challenge and the Region One Championship, scroll to the slide show below.

On July 23, exhibitors at the Region One Championship lined up to take part in a class most of them had never seen before: trail challenge.

Trail challenge involves extreme trail obstacles and a partnership, explains AQHA Professional Horseman Mark Bolender, who led the four-hour clinic before the class. Mark is a multiple National Mountain Trail champion, and his American Quarter Horse Sir Rugged Chex is known for his bridleless runs through obstacles that would make a goat blanch.

From turning around on small pedestals like an elephant to crossing a tangled web of poles without knocking any loose or trotting across 15 poles, trail challenge horses complete challenges that seem impossible at first.

“You never know what a horse can do until you trust him,” Mark says. “I like to see the mind work out the problem.”

Under his guidance, close to 30 riders asked their horses to work out the problems in a clinic, sometimes with the riders closing their eyes and tossing the horses even more rein. In the afternoon, the horse-and-rider teams competed.

Dennis Hooge of Chilliwac, British Columbia, rode Codys Lil Hick in the class, a team penning and ranch sorting mare he owns with his wife, Margo Roy. The mare can get a little hot on cattle, Dennis says, but she was cool and undisturbed by the tilting bridge and the split cedar log tangle.

“I wanted to try it just for the experience of it,” he says. “When the clinic was attached (at Region One), it was a good opportunity for me, too. (Mark) put on a good clinic. He taught us a few things and put on a good show.”

Even the pedestal, a challenging obstacle for many competitors, came easily for “Shelby,”though Dennis said he didn’t have high hopes for success.

“I tried it at home on a mounting block and it didn’t work out so well, but this is a little wider, a little bigger,” he says.

Dennis and Shelby’s quiet, smooth performance on the judged course was good for the win.

Bill Cassidy of Arlington, Washington, is the chairman of the AQHA recreational riding committee in addition to being part of the Region One team. He helped re-set poles and other obstacles and was in part responsible for getting the trail challenge at the Region One Championship.

“It’s something else we can do with the American Quarter Horse,” Bill says. “We’re working on getting AQHA recognition for horses that do well at this.”

A proposal is working its way through the system, he says. But it’s fun, Dennis says, and he might even try the class again next year.

“That’s a year away,” he says, reluctant to commit. “I was quite impressed with the situation. It was good.”

For more photos from the Region One Championship, watch the Journal slide show below. To view the captions, click on the photos.