MAY 2010 THE RIDER /65 The Wind Rider Equestrian Challenge Championship By Kelly Bowers
Bob & Suzanne’s Wind Rider Equestrian Challenge was presented throughout 2010 by Bob Jeffreys & Suzanne Sheppard at equine expos and equestrian facili- ties across the US and Canada. The competition was open to riders 12 years + up from all disciplines includ- ing western, dressage, hunter/jumpers, trail riders, natu- ral horsemen, gaited horse riders and more. In the initial rounds, about 65 Canadian and 150 american horse/rider teams competed on a preliminary course that included challenges drawn from gymkhana, dressage, reining pat- terns, jousting, gaited horse events, trail obstacles, caval- letti patterns, hunter pace courses, etc. In the final chal- lenge round, the four top scoring participants competed for prizes by riding a new challenge course, and then performing a solo 3-5 minute freestyle!
As Canadian champion, Camilla and Mercy were sent, all expens- es paid, to compete in a head-to-head competition for the North Ameri- can Wind Rider Challenge Championship at the Midwest Horse Fair in Wisconsin which took place April 16-18th, 2010 at the huge Mid-West Fair in Madison. She thought of it as another great opportunity to pro- mote her wonderful and versatile Paso Fino breed. It was there that finalists fought for the title of “Most Versatile Horse in North Ameri- ca”. There was some super tough competition, mostly western pleasure type quarter horses. Once again Mercenario was probably the only gaited horse and definitely the only Paso Fino. The obstacle course was super-tough with 15 elements to memorize, including canter cir- cles, flying lead changes, jump, joust, javelin, forehand turn in a hula hoop, sidepassing a pole box, leg yielding and more. Fortunately for the Canadians, the teams were required to perform their Musical Freestyle again. Camilla admits “ I got lost in the middle... totally blanked... but Mercy continued on like the rock star he is! The crowd was amazingly receptive and after an exciting weekend, we won the title of 2010 North American Wind Rider Challenge Champion!” She beat out the Midwest Horse Fair Wind RIder Champion, Moriah Auch who claimed N.A. reserve championship.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOwcQnX2WFo Camilla says “The folks at MidWest Fair were so nice and it was especially enjoyable to meet the awesome sponsors at OrthoFlex Saddlery, who donated the beautiful saddle we won at Can-Am.”
made. So watch for the Canadian Championship next year at Canam again. To find out more about Bob Jeffreys and Suzanne Sheppard’s Wind Rider Challenge
www.TwoasOneHorsemanship.com.
please visit And plans for the 2011 Wind Rider Challenge are already being
Camilla is thankful. “ Needless to say I am happy and grateful for my beautiful horse, Mercenario. I am also very grateful for all the help and support I got from my great Fina Vista friends, especially Jennifer, Victoria, Leslie, Margaret, Donna, Janet and Marianne. Also a big thank you to Cathy W. and her girls, Janet Konyer and the lovely folks at Lookout Farm for opening their doors to us and looking after Mercy while we practiced.”
Their musical freestyle performance can be seen on youtube at
Camilla and Mercenario at Can Am. Photo by River Bend Designs.
The cross disciplinary course consists of a pattern including some elements such as: circles cantered on the correct lead with speed control, lead changes, a 2 foot jump, trotting or gaiting while balancing an object in one hand, backing through and around barrels, sidepassing, ground poles, balanced halts, turn on the haunches or turnarounds, leg yielding, open/close a gate, dragging objects, and a ring joust. Riders have a time limit to complete the course or be disqualified. Points are awarded to each team of rider and horse for challenges on a scale of 0 to 5, based on accuracy, the horse’s will- ingness, good horsemanship, and equitation. The win- ners from each competition across Ontario earned the opportunity to compete at the Canadian finals.
Camilla and Mercenario at Can Am. Photo by River Bend Designs.
The Canadian finals took place at Canam March 19 to 21 in London. There were 22 finalists who had pre- qualified by winning a regional competition in 2009. Though the competition included breeds such as QHs, TB, Morgan, Shire X, Gypsy Vanner, Appaloosa, Arabi- an, a Canadian Horse and others, there was only one gaited horse, a Paso Fino named Mercenario deLa Liber- tad. He is proudly owned by Camilla Willings from Fina Vista farm. The first stage of competition was an obsta- cle course. Mercenario was unbelievably hyper and super-charged for this part (he piaffed all the way through the Gate obstacle) but he held it together and still managed to receive High Score for this portion. Stage 2 was a timed obstacle course and then individual Musical Freestyles. Camilla was thrilled to get to this stage after working so hard to prepare their musical freestyle. Camilla describes the second obstacle course as “a bit of a hot mess,” but the freestyle went really well. It was a real crowd pleaser and apparently a judge pleaser too, because in the end, she was surprised but thrilled to WIN! Her prizes included a custom Ortho- Flex saddle, an Anivac Animal Cleaning System, new clippers, other cool stuff and cash.
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