Most novice timed-event riders don't realize how important each of these 10 Tools is when it comes to preparing for, and participating in, timed events. In the beginning, most riders feel they can get by with ignoring or skipping some of the components.
You may hear, "I don't have to do that for my horse; he's working just fine without worrying about that." The rider may be right, in the short term, but sooner or later those skipped steps and misconceptions will come back to haunt such competitors. Slowing down to cover all these essentials will make you faster, later on.
We like to think of barrel racing, or timed events, as being a lifelong career for a horse, so we want to train for the long term. We want to keep the horse as quiet as possible. We also want to keep all those basic skills working and usable. If the horse makes a timed event horse, great, but if he doesn't, he's got the skills (and the mind) for another career.
It all comes down to understanding. Think of it as an on-going communication between you and the horse. You're the leader in this relationship, and it's your responsibility to guide the conversation and the relationship so that you convince your horse to work with you.
That is somewhat more of a challenge than you might think. There is not a running horse on this planet that understands the concept of an electric timer and why we think he's a hero one day and a failure the next. What the horse does understand is exact repetition of the pattern. What he can feel comfortable with is doing the same thing over and over again, which gives him the confidence to become bolder about running that familiar pattern.
Maybe you're just getting started with timed events, or you're still just thinking about it. Or maybe you've already started, but have missed some of the steps. Or you might have missed the signals when your horse has tried to tell you he was confused or sore or apprehensive. The good news is, whatever stage of learning you're at with your timed-event horse, most problems can be fixed. Some take more time than others, but if this is something you want to do with your horse, he'll be worth the added effort.
In our "Timed Event Toolbox" column in the coming months, we'll be explaining techniques, philosophies and goal-setting. You'll soon start to see progress and improvement in your horse, which will add up to more fun and faster times.
