The inaugural UMH Gaited Versatility Challenge and Open Gaited Breed Dressage Show near Lexington, Kentucky, held the weekend before the renowned Rolex Three-day Event was heralded a success by organizers.
The competition was conceived by Margo Kirn who began riding gaited horses after decades of training Thoroughbreds for the racetrack and three-day eventing. She found that gaited horses were as athletic as any other breed of horse, and she wanted to highlight their talents in a three-phase event modeled after three-day eventing.
On April 21 and 22, the riders who took up this challenge arrived at a new facility being built by United Mountain Horse in Winchester, Kentucky. There they completed a dressage test, a stadium obstacle course, and a cross-country course.
The stadium course was inspired by show jumping with banks, an in-and-out, and a water obstacle mingled with traditional trail obstacles. A two-phase event of dressage and stadium obstacle was offered, but all riders chose to enter the full event.
Although dressage purists may question how a gaited horse can do dressage, Betty Ortlieb, a US Dressage Federation judge for the event said that the ultimate goal of dressage is to “learn to be partners with these animals rather than dominate them.”
She emphasized that this “truly classical” approach to dressage is effective with any breed or type of horse, regardless of the gaits.
Also judging the dressage classes was Diane Sept, a long-time judge with the Independent Judges Association. Sept was instrumental in developing the first dressage tests for gaited horses while living in Canada during the 1980s.
The cross country phase was held on the second day of the event over a course designed not with jumps but with other challenging obstacles. Each of the courses took as much brain power as brawn to complete successfully. Horses negotiated bridge and water crossings, and riders were penalized if they arrived at the finish too early or too late.
Many of the owners and riders expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to showcase their gaited horses in a new way. Even some seasoned veterans of the show ring admitted that they would rather compete in this type of event instead of the more traditional pleasure classes.
Upon the conclusion of the event, Bob Lawson, a board member for United Mountain Horse, added: “I can’t say enough about this event.”
The judges were not immune to this excitement. Dr. Martha Day, a versatility-certified judge from the National Walking Horse Association, remarked that the event “was more fun than a regular horse show” and promised to come back next year. She even seemed disappointed when her duties in judging the stadium course were complete.
