Catch All of the Action at Equine Affaire's Popular Versatile Horse & Rider Competition

Congratulations to Lia Savas who rode Yo Quiero Cat to first place in the 2011 Equine Affaire Versatile Horse & Rider Competition.  Many thanks to John Lyons who judged the competition and to Aaron Ralston who provided informative and entertaining commentary throughout the event.

2011 Versatile Horse & Rider Competition Champion, Lia Savas, with Yo Quiero Cat

What's in Store for 2011

For the fifth year, Equine Affaire will host the Versatile Horse & Rider Competition during the four-day expo in W. Springfield, MA.  The Versatile Horse & Rider Competition—known to some as the "VHRC"—will be a timed and judged race through an obstacle course created to test communication between horse and rider as well as each competitor’s horsemanship skills and athletic prowess.  As the horse and rider teams race through the course and work through each obstacle they will be judged on several horsemanship criteria as well as overall performance. Contestants will compete for $5500 in cash and other prizes, and the competition will feature riders on a variety of breeds of horses representing a variety of riding disciplines. Over the past few years the Versatile Horse & Rider Competition has become one of the most popular features of Equine Affaire.  Throughout both the qualifying rounds and the finals, crowds cheer on their favorite contestants as they negotiate the challenging obstacle course at high speeds and are pushed out of their "comfort zones."  

The Versatile Horse & Rider Competition will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, November 10-13, in the coliseum at the Eastern States Exposition. A maximum of 30 horse/rider teams will be pre-selected to participate in the competition. The qualifying runs will be conducted on Thursday and Friday afternoons, November 10 and 11; the top 10 horse and rider teams will advance to the Finals on Sunday morning. The judge and speciaal guest commentator for this year’s competition will be announced later this summer. 

The Competition Pattern

The course will be constructed within the 95’ x 200’ parameters of the Eastern States Exposition coliseum and feature numerous trail obstacles and riding challenges such as: jumping over obstacles, backing up through a pattern, pole bending or roll backs, various gymkhana games, working gates, riding over or through “spooky objects,” lead and gait changes, etc.

Prizes

Cash prizes will be awarded to the top four contestants; ribbons and other prizes will be awarded to the top ten contestants.

Objectives & Judging

The Versatile Horse & Rider Competition will be a timed race during which the performance of each horse and rider team will be judged on each obstacle for quality of horsemanship. For each obstacle, the judge will award performance points on a scale of 0-5 based on the horse’s attitude, the rider’s horsemanship, and the team’s overall performance. Horses and riders will be required to complete each obstacle within a given time in order to receive points. If an obstacle is not completed within the given timeframe, the contestant will be flagged and must move on to the next obstacle. Times will be translated into points, and points from each obstacle will be totaled. The horse and rider team with the highest overall point score wins.

Are You & Your Horse Up to the Challenge?

Click here for details on the competition and how to apply to participate.