Competitive Trail Challenge
From AlexBrownRacing
American Competitive Trail Horse Association - website National Organization
"To create a safe, engaging, and challenging event that is based on qualified trails that will showcase the connection between horse and rider using the trail and obstacles as a measure of their skills, attributes and communication."
This discipline is kind of a combination of Western Trail and English Endurance and Cross-country.
It is a 6-10 mile trail ride with one “obstacle” for every mile. It does not have any real “difficult” obstacles and any horse can do this with a little bit of training.
Different types of obstacles: walk over a bridge, open and close a gate, cross through water, back up a slope or up and down a small mound, straddle a log and sometimes side pass a few strides before continuing across the log, put on a raincoat, take it off, and hang it back in place, drag a branch or ball behind your horse, pick up a canter lead, stop and pick up the other canter lead, mount the horse from the right side, jump over a low fence or log, do a turn-on-the-forehand inside a square, turn-on-the-haunches inside a square…and more.
Riders can go together in groups or by themselves. There are 3 divisions: junior, pleasure and open. Riders of all divisions can ride together, but get scored individually.
All types of horses can enter; Quarterhorses, Arabs, Morgans, Standardbreds, Thoroughbreds, Paints, Warmbloods, Ponies, Drafthorses, Appalosas, Tennessee Walkers, Missouri Fox Trotters…and anything in between! There is not an obstacle that a certain breed of horse can’t handle.
Sure, the OTTB and the Arab might take a little more training with the "rain coat", and the Pony might need more encouragement NOT to lay down in the water (LOL) – but with some basic “horse sense” and patience ANY horse can learn this stuff. And it doesn’t take a super skilled RIDER either, just your basic trail-ride loving person who wants a little more challenge and fun and something to train and look forward to.
Tack: Saddle and bridle required, be it western or English. Juniors MUST wear a helmet.
Dress code is optional. A typical English rider would wear breeches or jeans, short chaps and jodhpurs – no show coat or tall boots required. The typical western rider would wear jeans, chaps, boots, cowboy hat, maybe a fancier western shirt.
This is a family and friends kind of event!
The mother & daughter team, the husband & wife team, the girlfriend group team, the cowboy buddies team, the older gentlemen or ladies team, or for the person who just started back riding after many years of being away from horses and just wants to enjoy his/her horse, nature and company with other fellow trail riders.
Each event also has a dog contest, were either the cutest dog, or the dog doing the funniest trick will win a prize.
There is also a special prize for “best dressed” rider 
NEW SPORT - PERFECT for RESCUE horses! ABR thread 3/17/08
Comments & Questions
Fee free to express what you think about this discipline - how it would benefit the typical "rescue horse" or your personal horse and riding or ask questions. The idea is to take this sport to other states in the US, right now it only has events in Texas.
Another idea is to have a local rescue group (at each event) set up a booth with information about Horse Slaughter, Horse Auctions and Rescue Organizations.
