So I have an OTTB that been ridden almost exclusively english (dressage/hunter-jumper/eventing as well as horse camping/trail riding etc). She is very level headed but does LOVE to run. For shits and giggles, I am going to participate in a gymkhana fun day. The events will be barrels, pole bending, and key hole race. The actual event is in September but our first practice is tomorrow (I just found out today- Sunday July 30th that is). I am planning to just walk/trot the patterns to get her used to them for tomorrow. I am going to be using English tack because that is what we have and with what I am most familiar. For tomorrow I may even just use a bareback pad (to avoid temptation to go very fast). We are just out to have a good time but that said, I am super competitive (will make my best effort to put a lid on that). I think the best strategy is to go slow and teach her the pattern before adding any sort of speed (which way I think we should hold off on until the actual event in September or perhaps a few weeks prior to the event). Thanks in advance for any advice/words of wisdom.
I am not sure where you are, but here those competitions require western tack and jeans and a shirt with long sleeves, best I have seen.
Most you need to wear a cowboy hat and are disqualified if you lose it before your run is over.
There are lately some exceptions of the hat rule for riding helmets.
Do find out what you need to have there, so you can be prepared and the last days practice in that?
There are plenty of OTTB’s here in gymkhanas.
They make very good horses for that.
Use your saddle even in practice and wear your helmet even if everyone else is not. Sometimes slower is faster. My son beats a lot of younger and faster horses because my horse is very, very broke. They are super smooth, especially on poles and cones. Make sure your horse knows the pattern before adding speed. For you, body position is everything! Look through your turns using your entire body and never ever, ever look down at the barrel. That is the best way ever to get your horse to drop her shoulder and hit it.
Thanks for the info. This is a totally casual event, just a play day for the local horseman’s club and it states english tack is fine. I think it will be a lot of folks who have limited experience in gymkhana events. We have three formal practices prior to the event and I will do some practicing on my own as well. I will definitely be wearing my helmet- as I always do.
I think it is like jumping, skiing, or mountain biking in that you look ahead, where you are going versus looking down where you are. I’m leaving in about an hour. Super excited to give this a try!!!
That was really fun. We mostly walked/trotted patterns. A little bit of controlled canter. Can’t wait to do it again!
I’ve been watching a lot of videos. One thing I am NEVER going to do is spur or whip my horse to make her go faster. I know she tries her hardest and I am not going to hit her. I really wish that people wouldn’t do that.
I would not advise using a bareback pad for speed events. They are not made for it. If you want to ride “real” bareback, fine. I’ve been to gymkhanas where some people rode without saddles (and once in a while, there’s been a bareback dollar race).
Your English saddle will be fine if that’s what you have. Most gymkhanas do not have any tack rules.
Yes, slower is often faster especially if your horse does not know the pattern. If you try to go too fast, you’ll cover way more ground then you need to trying to control your horse and end up being slower. Don’t expect to be going full blast in a month so just take it at whatever speed your horse can handle and still maneuvar correctly. So long as your horse is broke well, you should be able to take a nice slow canter through no problem. If your horse isn’t as broke … then you may need to trot.
Plus, going too fast too soon will often just confuse/frustrate your horse because they aren’t ready for it and don’t understand what you want. Just as you wouldn’t go jump over 3 feet on a horse that’s never jumped before; you need to train them for it so you are successful – even if you are just doing it for fun.
Now when I say this I am not talking about the people that do whip/kick/spur their horse excessively (because heavens knows, those people are out there) but think of these as tools to help your horse. Some horses need them; some do not.
You are just doing this for fun so you probably don’t have any need for them, but some of us run barrels and poles at larger events and at a higher level. 
There is a place for them. If you want to win, then you need to do what works for the horse. I currently (well…“was” … until he got hurt) use spurs on my younger horse during his runs, and an over-and-under on the way home. He pretty naturally lazy and is also still learning how to run, so I use the spurs to give him a squeeze leaving the barrel and the over-and-under to get him to open up on the way home. He still hasen’t quite figured it out yet but he will eventually, and then I may not have any need for those aides anymore. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like barrels because I have to push him - but it’s because he just doesn’t know what it is all about yet. That light bulb has to come on for some of them before they learn to work the gas pedal.
Not the best quality video, but the last video I have of him getting a little bit of speed at a local gaming show. At the local jackpots, (before he got hurt) he was just creeping up into the 3D with lots of room for improvement.
I don’t normally ride my horse Red with spurs on the barrels because he doesn’t need it, but I sometimes will carry a crop to remind him to power out of the turn on 1 and 2. He’s very much a push style, despite the fact that he looooves to run, so I’ve got to ride every second of my run. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t like his job or that I"m kicking him all the way, but that’s just his style. We were 7th out of 62 runners at the jackpot yesterday – one of his personal bests.
That was a nice clean run.Good job!
I had fun at the practice and so did my mare. Mostly western folks but there was a lady there who rides dressage on a Fresian- beautiful to watch her trot around the barrels. My mare is a very go go kind of gal. However, I just want her to have a good experience so we are going to go very slow mostly walked and trotted at the practice. This isn’t really competitive but in the actual event which is over a month away. I will ride her sensibly but let her run as fast as she wants to from the last barrel, last turn around pole, and turn around on key hole. She is a very good smart girl and I had so much fun.
Thanks for the video squirt! Beautiful horse.
Update. The play day was today. We had a great time! All of the entrants were randomly assigned to 4 person teams. Since they didn’t have enough folks to have 4 teams some of us rode on two teams (I did that and that way got to do poles, keyhole, and barrels twice!). There were several eventers competing. Angel was the best girl 
She was fast and cornered really well. One of the teams I was on won the event. So much fun. Will definitely do it again next year!
Good for you and your mare, fun is always nice.
You may want to check into regular fast events, like barrel racing.
It is a whole different world.
Some of my friends are barrel racers and they are out there competing, several times a week some times, have year end awards, etc.
I was very happy that on limited practice my girl did as well as she did. She seemed to figure out that a pole or barrel meant turn and I was surprised with how tight she was able to turn. The funniest event was the race to the barrel, put on a pair of panties (over your pants). And run back (dismounted). There were a few men competing and that made it extra funny. Then we put the panties on the horses ears. Haw haw!!! It was a hoot. We had a good mix of English and Western folks.
Sounds like neat games, what a hoot!
