APRIL 2021 THE RIDER /17 President Vice President


Secretary/Treasurer Past President


Fundraising Director


Regional Director - South Regional Director - Central


2021 OXC Board of Directors Susan Caldwell Jamie Newton Shelley Newton


Communications Director Youth Director


Chuck Ornstein Tracy Galvin Josie Rowling Ashley Rezka Dave Black


ontarioxtremecowboy.ca OXC News Greetings and wishing


y’all a Happy Spring! The clocks have changed, the snow has melted and we’re watching those first green


grasses of spring fill our fields. We hope that you’re saddling up more often now and enjoying the beautiful weather.


Regional Director - Central Michelle Manklow Regional Director - Central Regional Director - West Regional Director - West


John Blodgett Cindy Vyse


Samantha McFadyen Laikyn West


416-529-5425 705-930-1631


705-930-1603 (After 6:30pm) 705-445-3524 705-741-7654 613-334-9527 289-338-8284 905-921-0359 705-559-9448 705-828-5988 416-435-3555 416-799-5090 226-668-1289


ontarioxtremecowboy2012@gmail.com The OXC is hopeful


that there’ll be OXC compe- titions in Ontario this sum- mer. In past years, we’ve raced primarily at fairs, but we’re moving into holding more races at private facili- ties and this year, even if the fairs are cancelled again, we plan to run races at individual farms. The 2021 Board of Direc- tors have developed and


adopted COVID-19 a and


Equine Health & Safety Management Plan and are working on strategies to hold races and clinics while keeping both humans and horses safe and well, and meeting or exceeding provincial


health


guidelines. Race days may


look a bit different from our previous years due to the pan- demic, but we have high


hopes Xtreme for Cowboy


Racing in Ontario this year. As well as care-


fully planned in-per- son events, we’ll also be continuing to offer our special ‘members only’ virtual activities during the months with


no Hud Roberts, Ellie Ross, Roy Ionson races


planned. For the very reasonable cost of membership, not only


will you be supporting the OXC through the tough times of the pandemic, but you’ll also be eligible for Members Monthly Give- aways and for our Monthly Skills Challenges – all of which reward you with prizes such as OXC swag, sponsored prizes or a free OXC membership. Keep your eyes on our social media sites to keep up-to- the-minute on our chal- lenges and give-aways! And if you have a busi-


ness or service you’d like to promote to our membership and social media friends, please consider becoming an OXC sponsor with our 2021 Partner Up Program. Our Fundraising and Spon- sorship Director, Ashley Rezka, would be happy to walk you through the many ways you can be involved. Please visit our website


and check out the Events tab for all the races we’re plan- ning in 2021 including our Provincial Championships in September. In addition to our regular racing divisions, the Provincial Champi- onships will also host the 2021 OXC Futurity (for 3- and 4-year-old horses) and the 2021 OXC Maturity (for 5- and 6-year-old horses.) And remember all OXC races are approved for NAERIC, the Ontario Quar- ter Horse Racing Develop- ment


Program, the Off-Track Standardbred In-


centive Program, and the Thoroughbred Incentive Program. The OXC is deeply


saddened to learn of Roy Ionson’s recent passing. A gentleman and a legendary horseman, Roy was a trusted advisor, master sto- ryteller and dear friend to many in the Canadian horse community. The OXC was sincerely honoured and grateful to have Ionson’s Saddlery, along with HR Saddles & Tack, as our Pre- mier 2019 Season Sponsors. Our deepest sympathies go out to Roy’s wife Joan, his family, and many friends. May Roy’s legacy live on in the hearts of so many whose lives he inspired. Your OXC Board of


Directors will continue to work hard behind the scenes to make sure our club can make the most out of the 2021 season. We hope you’ll join us on our many


Spike on an obstacle -Karen Dallimore


Laikyn West and Bent Over Backwards - free run at 2019 Prov Finals


obstacles and free runs this year! And, as always, a big thank-you goes out to our OXC members and friends


Palm Partnership Training™ Building A Partnership With Your Horse Aids Communication: The Seat


By Lynn Palm. I am going to discuss


one of the rider’s most im- portant, yet often, over- looked aids. Can you guess which one it is? If you said the rider’s SEAT, you’re right! I will explain how the


rider uses her seat by using the example of upward and downward transitions. As the rider puts weight in the saddle, the rotation and movement of her hips gives the horse the indica-


tion to go forward. When this rotation and move- ment decreases, it signals the horse to slow or stop. Let me explain how this works using simple exer- cises you can use at home to improve communication using your seat.


Walk-Jog/Trot Transi- tions Using The Seat The goal of this exer-


cise is to use your seat, rather than hand or leg aids, to signal requests for upward and downward


transitions from walk to trot. Start by asking your horse to walk forward on a large circle. Gently follow his movement with your hips as he walks forward. Prepare for an upward transition to the jog/trot using your seat as the main tool for communicating to the horse. Do this by first putting more weight in your seat. As you do, ro- tate your hips to follow the horse’s movement and en- courage to him to increase his speed through the ac-


tion of your seat. Support this action by lightly ap- plying leg aids (if needed) and slightly releasing the reins to encourage his for- ward movement.


If


needed, reinforce your re- quests with a “cluck”. He should pick up the jog/trot. Continue following his motion with your seat. Jog/trot a segment of


the large circle. Then turn him to make a smaller cir- cle within the large one. We will use the smaller circle to ask him to for a


Jog-Lope/Trot-Canter Transitions Using the Seat


When the horse is


comfortable and under- stands the aids communi- cation you are giving him for the walk-jog/trot tran- sition, it is time to try a jog to lope/trot to canter tran- sition.


This exercise


downward transition back to the walk. Jog/trot a por- tion of the small circle and prepare for a downward transition using the seat. Once again put weight in your seat, but this time de- crease the movement and rotation of your hips with the horse’s movement. He


should make a transition from jog/trot to the walk in response to your seat aid. Praise him. Do this exer- cise in both directions. As you practice this exercise, your seat aid will become more effective and your horse more responsive. You’ll notice that less leg and voice aids are neces- sary to achieve the transi- tions.


for your on-going support. We make this happen to- gether.


should be done in a large fenced paddock or pasture. Be sure the horse is warmed up before starting this exercise. Repeat the walk-jog/trot transition ex- ercise (above) to reinforce the effectiveness of your seat, leg, and hand aids. The exercise starts


with trotting the horse on a large circle. The rider should post to the trot even if using a western saddle. Encourage the horse to de- part into the canter by using the word command “CANTER” (he should have already learned this voice command from ground training on the longe line, liberty, or round pen). At the same time use seat and leg aids to encour- age him to move forward into the canter. Keep a loose contact on the reins, lightly positioning him on the arc of the circle. Con- tinue following his motion with your seat while post- ing as he increases his speed and makes a transi- tion to the lope/canter. At his point, it is not impor-


- Tracy Galvin Communications Director


tant which lead he takes, just that he canters. When he begins loping/cantering, sit and follow the rocking motion of the gait with your seat and hips to en- courage him to continue cantering.


Your Next Step… Most often when a


horse has problem picking up the correct lead, the rider is not maintaining the proper form and balance. When the horse has prob- lems, the rider is not prop- erly controlling his body position during jog- lope/trot-canter transitions. To achieve this requires an understanding of


the


rider’s turning aids. Be- fore I can go into more de- tails about perfecting transitions, refer to my previous articles on turn- ing aids and how they are used to position the horse. It will help you improve your transitions and may change your riding for- ever!


Until then, follow your dreams…


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