The more I travel to outside areas and show or clinic away from home, the more valuable lessons I keep on learning.

One of the more important discoveries I have made recently is for a non-pro rider who wants to compete to only have one horse. I really began to understand this when I was in Alberta last year. There were four other non-pros working regularly out of the same barn with J.P. Forget, in September when I was there.
Of those, two had only the one horse, both of which were in full-time training (both training sessions and riding lessons). One had two horses, both in full-time training. Of those two horses, one was a two- year old in training, the other was her “practice horse”, who she rode five days a week, preparing herself to ride the two-year old after she matured. The fourth non-pro had several other horses, all young stock or broodmares. However, she was only riding the one horse at the time.

I began to see how much easier it was for those non pro competitors to focus on only one horse - not splitting their concentration or their energies between several. Not only was the effort concentrated, so was the finances - it was far easier to keep one horse in training than three or four. If you don’t mind doing it yourself, you can do them all, but most of us can’t afford time and money to have several horses in full time training or lessons.

Since then I’ve watched other non-pro reiners, and noted the bonds they have with their one horse. It’s pretty neat, watching the rider make sure her horse is bathed and cooled out, managing the horse’s feed supplements, doing particular exercises designed to help that horse warm up, or mellow out, as required. Each horse is different, and having only one means getting to know that horse intimately if you spend the time.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

Another important fact I noticed with the non-pros with their one horse is that it is easy to judge them. I know - I did it! I sat back and criticized them for being in training all the time, at the same time envying them for being able to spend the money on such a good horse. I watched the horses make mistakes in the show pen and felt I could do better.

Then I got a reality check, when I really started getting things together with Tori. Just because you spend a lot of money on a horse doesn’t mean it will win everything for you. In fact, it doesn’t mean you’ll ever win anything! For one thing, the rider is at least half of the horse and rider partnership - we may not have the physical means to compete without our horses, but we are the thinking half, the planning half.

Mainly, however, I began to see that each horse comes with its own set of instructions - and you may or may not get an instruction manual with it! Many times it takes a non-pro rider several years to really get it together with that horse. She has to be able to develop the right feel for that horse to respond to. Sometimes the horse and rider simply have a personality clash, or they don’t meet each others needs at all. In those cases, the rider has to bite the bullet and move on, or continue to stagnate.

After all, besides enjoyment, what else do we get from our four-legged equine pals? Learning - and trust me, the learning never stops!

Until next week, happy riding!
~ Kristi :)

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Just like the other dilute genes, the champagne gene can affect each of the different base coats. You can find pictures of each of the three basic champagnes listed below (plus a couple of other combinations) on the Photo Page during the week this article runs.

The three main champagne colours are called Classic, Amber and Gold. Each is the name given to the interaction between the dilution gene and the various base coats. The Classic Champagne is the champagne gene on a black base coat.

Some people mistake classic champagnes for grulla, because of the dilution of the black base coat. However, they are quite different in that the grulla will also have dun factor - a dorsal stripe, leg barring, etc (refer to the archives articles on the dun gene - please link).

Due to the slightly purple tint of the coat, classics have also been referred to as lilac duns, but again, this is incorrect. If you see a grulla appearing horse without dun factor, check the eye colour.

Amber Champagnes result from the dilution gene on the bay base coat. They can appear similar to a buckskin (cream dilution on bay base) or a dun (dun dilution on bay base), but again, there are differences such as the eye colour.

The Gold Champagne is often mistaken for palomino - even often registered as such. The Gold is of course the champagne dilution gene acting on a red base coat, sorrel or chestnut. They are often very striking looking with their gold coats and bright green or amber eyes!

Some people will also refer to horses as Ivory Champagnes, which was meant to construe a red based horse with both the champagne and cream dilution genes. Now however, they are listing each separately - for instance, a Gold cream (red base, champagne, cream), or a Classic cream (black base, champagne, cream), or an Amber dun (bay base, champagne, dun) for examples. This is because any combinations of gene can be present - and sometimes present a very striking outward colour!

All in all, the champagne gene is an often misidentified colour modifier that makes for some spectacular looking horses!

For more information on the champagne gene, we welcome you to visit these three websites:
http://www.ichregistry.com, http://www.champagnehorses.org and www.champagnehorses.com

I’d like to thank Carolyn Shepard of the International Champagne Horse Registry for her assistance in proofing this two-part series!

The Bulkley Valley Exhibition is the event of the North! This hometown style Fall Fair of Smithers and the surrounding areas is the focal point for many people of all interests on the last weekend in August (before the long weekend).

There are more categories than you could ever imagine - poring over the prize list I find divisions such as Fruits and Vegetables (got a green thumb? The Fair is the place for you!), Flowers (cut, arrangements, and house plants), Handicrafts (feeling crafty - wow, look at all the types of crafts they judge here!), Art & Photography (with many different mediums to work with), Textiles (crocheting, knitting, embroidery, sewing). Spinning & Weaving, Baking and Jam Contests, Foods (mouth watering list of categories!), Homemade Wine & Beer (for those of you with a good hand at spirits), Grains and Forage (why not enter some of that produce you worked so hard to produce?) and much, much more.

There is logger sports, a dog show, children’s divisions, a livestock show (rabbits, cattle, goats, sheep, poultry, and swine), a 4-H achievement day, a full scale draft horse show - and of course, that brings us to the Northern BC Horse focus - the Light Horse Show.

The four-day Light Horse Show brings competitors from all over northwestern BC. Entrants come from Kitimat, Terrace, the Hazeltons and Kitwanga, and from Prince George, Vanderhoof, Burns Lake, Topley and Houston - and of course from Smithers and Telkwa! The past two years we have even had an entry haul her horses in from Hythe, Alberta, and last year we had a competitor from Sweden riding a local horse.

Why is this show so popular? Well, partly because it is the second largest horse show in BC of its kind. There are great awards and prize money up to be won. There is also a huge selection of classes for competitors to choose from - many times we have three rings running at once, which is more than the usual schooling shows can handle.

This show manages to meet the needs of nearly all levels of competitors, and offers something for everyone - contestant and spectator alike!

More on the BV Exhibition next week!

Northern BC Horse is sponsored by local businesses who support equine sports in our area including:

• Baerental Ranch
• Burns Lake Building Supplies
• Griffin Crick Ranch
• Hoskins Ford
• Northern Horse Supply
• Ridennoure Paint Horses
• The Tack Store

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