RED Arena Round Up

Ella started horse lessons pretty late in the season. They typically run through the school year, and she jumped in around spring break, but in her short time riding, her confidence and skill increased and she started to relax and actually enjoy riding. Toward the end she wasn’t just stiff and holding on, like her first lessons. At the end of their season, RED Arena has a Round Up where the riders participate in a competition and a trail ride. Despite not quite knowing what to expect, we were very excited for our first Round Up and to see the events surrounding it.

Upon arriving and checking in, Ella was given her bag of goodies and her number. She was in the second heat, so we didn’t have to wait long for some action! There was a flag raising ceremony with two disabled vets/riders presenting the flags to the Boy Scouts who have done a lot of work for the Arena. 

We had a little time before Ella had to get ready for her heat. We visited with the horses, but then it was time for Ella to get a helmet and belt on!

A quick photo with Hans who came in 3rd for Horse of the Year

Ready to Ride!

Ella’s trainer, Melissa gives her some last minute encouragement and a little helmet adjustment and they’re off on Magic to play “Musical Horses”

For Musical Horses, there are six total riders. Much like musical chairs, you go around in a circle and when the music stops, you need to center your horse over a pole. There is one fewer pole than number of riders/horses. You play until you get to a winner. Things got interesting to decide the 4th place position. Ella and another rider were jockeying for the same pole, the music was going and the other rider’s horse stopped to relieve itself (problems not occurring when you play with actual chairs), while the opponents horse was doing it’s business, Ella passed on the outside and there was much excitement and giggling. The music stopped and Ella and Magic were able to get to the pole.  Ella’s time in the competition came to an end at third place. She received a bright yellow ribbon and then moved onto her trail ride.

Ella passes on the outside….

Studying her ribbon. Onto the trail ride.

Once each rider was eliminated from the musical horses competition, they moved onto the trail ride portion of the event. This was a series of tricks and obstacles. Because Ella was fairly new to riding, her bag of tricks was rather limited. She stayed upright, varying her position from forward, sideways, and backward. Whereas, some riders were able to also kneel or even lay across their horse, thereby scoring more points. Something to work towards as Ella’s confidence on the horse increases.

Ella worked on throwing a hoop around a cone (lassoing)

Ella had to throw a ball through a hoop and knock the critters off. She’s really good at this one!

There was also a basketball toss, walking over poles, weaving through cones, crossing a bridge and turning your horse 360 degrees in a box.

Before we knew it, Ella’s ride was complete. She was all smiles and very excited about her ribbon!

Since Ella was done riding, we had a lot of time to enjoy the other festivities set up around the grounds. Lily had been making a mental list of things she wanted to definitely check out: face painting and bouncy house were at the top of the list, so off we went after a brief snack. Lily became a cat, and then both girls thoroughly enjoyed the bounce house.

We were able to take a hay ride through the trails that Ella rides on. Usually during a lesson she spends 45 minutes out on the trails and 15 minutes or so in the arena where we can see her. The trails have always been a mystery to us, but we’ve been told there’s a tiger, giraffe, elephant and other creatures out there, along with trees with faces and other magical things. Sure enough, there were creatures all over. Some made of plywood, others of the garden sculpture variety. We even saw some real-life deer. I now understand why they spend so much time riding under the treed canopy of the trails. Aside from the shade, it’s a beautiful area with a lot of fun details for the riders.

We enjoyed a cowboy lunch of smoked pork sandwiches, bean, and corn under the trees while watching other riders compete. We took a stroll through the barn to see the silent auction items. Ella really wanted a piece of artwork that made “her” horse, Ed, look like a My Little Pony – but in the last few minutes, we were outbid. We settled for a photo next to the artwork.

Loran had to leave us after lunch, as he was en route to Japan. We were so happy to have the entire morning together at round-up. The girls and I spent another couple of hours there poking around the auction and watching everything wrap up. At the end, once everyone’s sheets had been scored, there were more ribbons passed out for the trail ride. Ella earned a Runner Up ribbon. She scored a pretty solid 19/33 points on her score sheet. We saw the horse of the year awarded (Sven) and then decided to call it a day. A pretty solid day indeed.

I figured I would have a quiet car on the drive home. A full day of riding and playing, fresh air and sunshine – the recipe for naps in the car. NOPE! Two girls were still going with plenty of energy, both removing their shoes and trying to put their “stinky feet” on my seat. There was a lot of laughing.

After only ten lessons, I am in awe of how far Ella has come. Her confidence has grown, along with her horse knowledge. It’s fun to hear her voice across the arena bellow out a loud “Whoa!” and to see her become more comfortable on the horse. She was stiff as a board her first lessons, and now her little body sways with the horse and she’ll reach across, or put her arms out like a bird. I’m in awe of how I have fallen for horses. I’ve never been a horse girl. I liked them from afar, but you would never catch me drawing horses in my notebook or dreaming of horse ownership. I’ve never even been on a horse, just a pony or two at various carnivals. Shocking, given my ranching ancestry. But now that a piece of my heart rides on a horse and loves them, I can’t help but become a softy to this herd at RED. I look in those big brown eyes, and it’s really like they can see into your soul. So maybe it’s just that I’m in love with therapy horses, the gentlest of giants. I’d probably look into an unbroken horses eyes and run for the hills. So perhaps my love is a little one-sided. But how can you not love an animal that can make a child of any ability feel like a complete rock star?