Arena Charges

On Tuesday we had the new riders work on the preparation for their final test which is coming up in a couple weeks. We basically just have them perform our riding demonstration. The demonstration involves a series of maneuvers at the gallop and at a walk and several other displays before culminating in a couple of charges.

Arena charges are safer than open field charges, but still require a fair amount of control. The arena is 400 feet long by 190 feet wide which allows the horses to get up a fairly big head of steam. I was leading the charges on the Wonder Horse who is reasonably good in the arena.

In addition to the students, I had a couple of instructors riding at the front of the column. Our German lady rider, Martina, was riding Regent in the #1 position. Regent is hot and I forgot that it was the first time that Martina had conducted charges on him. The first charge is a pistol charge which, of course, means the rider has only one hand on the reins. I elected to keep my pistol holstered to better control the Wonder Horse and then set up the troopers in a skirmish line and called for the charge.

Apache started out under control but out of the corner of my eye I could see Regent bearing down on us. I could almost feel the heat coming off of Regent. When we get to the end of the arena during a charge, we curve to the right and rejoin into a column of twos. Because Martina was on the right of line, I feared she and Regent would cut me off, which could spell disaster. Apache saw the problem too so I gave him his head. He lit the afterburners and we dug in at the rail and turned hard to the right. My right knee was nearly in the dirt, but the Wonder Horse kept his footing and drove out of the fur ball right under Regent's nose. We lit up the rail as the rest of the herd reformed behind us.

The second charge is done with sabers and I again decided to keep both hands on the reins. We lit out at a good gallop but the line held back this time and Apache didn't feel compelled to bolt. Fearing I would get too far ahead of everyone, I turned early and let everyone form up behind me. No worries. The second charge was a little less chaotic and, of course, any charge you can walk away from is a good one.

The student riders are about ready to test and have only one more practice session before the real deal. Hopefully all will go well and we will soon have three more riders on the team. Maybe one of them will want Apache.