12/ MAY 2019 THE RIDER Happy Trails Horse Park


By Shari Irwin When Linda Campagnolo,


owner of Happy Trails Horse Park, contacted me to judge one of their Mountain Trail horse shows, I really didn’t know what to expect. As a carded judge for National Snaffle Bit Association, NSBA, and Western Horse Judge’s Association, I have to admit that I’ve never judged a Mountain Trail event. Upon arrival to Linda’s


farm, I noticed a portion of the farm had been transformed into


multiple obstacles taking advan- tage of the natural landscape. Helping to design and build Happy Trails Horse Park, was Linda’s good friend, Sam Goehner. When asked how did you design the park, Sam replied, “we wanted our course to be vi- sually appealing but also safe for every horse and rider, and have multiple levels of difficulty.” Designing a course, takes advan- tage of the natural landscape, in- corporating use of hills, creeks, and ditches into obstacles. A


course consists of a minimum of 6 obstacles and a maximum of 16. Courses are exciting and de- signed to challenge all levels of horses and riders. Therefore, a true partnership between horse and rider. Mountain Trail is a rela-


tively new horse sport that orig- inated in Oregon back in 2001. The International Mountain Trail Challenge Association (IMTCA) is the governing body for mountain trail events. IMTCA’s objective is to pro-


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mote and encourage the interest of the sport of mountain trail. Even though this was the founda- tion for bringing back old style show ideas, it sparked a new level of interest in the horse in- dustry. Linda herself, a veteran AQHA show competitor can at- test too. I asked Linda if she missed showing in AQHA classes? She responded quickly, “ No. My horse hated it and he loves this.” I learned quickly that Mountain trail shows are a fun social event. Competitors trav- elled from all over On- tario to attend and everyone had fun! So how do you


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Saturday, June 8th & Sunday, June 9th Burford, Fairgrounds


Come out for an exciting weekend featuring: Bucking Broncos, Pole Bending, The Canadian Cowgirls Precision


Drill Team and Heavy Horse Barrel Racing and more! Vendors, Horse Drawn Wagon Rides, Bouncy Inflatables, Food Trucks, Musical Enter- tainment with Don Dunham and Ken Lightheart, The Nelson Family Bluegrass Band and Bits of Bluegrass


Gates Open Daily at 11:00 AM Free Kids Rodeo and Activities


Postal Code: Date:


Saturday Ram Rodeo Show @ 2:00 PM Sunday Ram Rodeo Show @ 2:00 PM


Sinden’s Feed and Seeds, 136 Main St., Norwich Advanced Ticket Prices


Adult: Youth (6-12):


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judge a Mountain Trail class? Points for obsta- cles are based on good horsemanship. For the horse, did they behave well and show a willing- ness to complete the ob- stacle?


A horse’s


curiosi ty/wi l l ingness combined with a rider’s ability to ride the horse correctly through the ob- stacles are what is impor- tant. The obstacles are completed at a walk. For the more experienced


h o r s e / r i d e r combination, travel between ob- stacles can be at a jog and/or lope.


Happy Trails Horse opened


in 2016 and hosted several clinics and horse shows over the years. The park consists of a water ob- stacle, various bridges, teeter tot- ter, balance beam, mazes and a newly added suspension bridge. As the show wrapped up,


what I noticed was everyone stuck around even though they were done showing. People tried


obstacles again or sat around chatting. As someone new to mountain trail, I witnessed first- hand how much fun you can have with this event. Looking for something different or want to give your horse a break from the same old thing? Give mountain trail a try. Happy Trail Horse Park is located in Stoney Creek, Ontario . For more information, search for Happy Trail Horse Park on FaceBook.


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