GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. – Leaping a horse over a metre high fence built on top of a hill and racing down the other side isn’t for the faint of heart.
Riders that register in cross-country events are “adrenalin junkies,” said Kylee Haining, one of the organizers of the South Peace Horse Trials and provincial championship that took place Sept. 1-3.
“It takes a lot of bravery.”
Cross country is just one of the events in a three-day horse trial, which is a three-way test of a horse’s skill. Dressage and stadium events are the other two.
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Dressage has often been called ballet on horseback, in which horses respond to riders’ subtle commands. Stadium events are jumps within a ring or arena, but the cross-country event, which involves racing across fields, down hills and over jumps, is the action-packed event that attracts the riders.
“We convert barrel racers really easy,” said Haining, who is vice-president of the South Peace Horse Club.
Depending on the skill of horse and rider, the pair competes in one of six levels with six heights of jumps and a set rate of speed at which riders must complete the course.
Haining said most riders at the Grande Prairie event and throughout the province are women. If there are 100 riders entered, there may be one or two men. The women are attracted to the championship within the horse community.
“You get to see people every year.”
