For those of you who have ever watched a Trail Class at either your local show or even a higher level of competing, Trail can seem fairly easy. Instead of being out on a real trail with fallen trees and uneven ground you are in a safe arena with smooth riding ground. Although it may seem simple to ride over a bridge or navigate through some cones. Although it may seem fairly simple, without many hours of practice, it is nearly impossible to up hand the serious trail riders out there. Trail is one of the hardest classes I have ever competed in, but along with that it was one of the most enjoyable classes by far. So before you step out in the show ring with all eyes on you, please read through the description of some Trail obstacles that you may have to complete along the way.
The Bridge
The bridge was one of my favorite things to practice because my horse loved going over the bridge. He would slightly lower his head, check out what was in front of him and t
hen gently walk over the bridge as if he thought he may damage it with his hooves. For those riders that have horses that think the bridge is going to eat them, I feel bad for you. The bridge is usually somewhere in the trail pattern where you can easily walk up to it. You will never be asked to trot or lope over the bridge. To practice this obstacle, the best technique I have seen is to place rubber mats over a wood palette and have your horse walk over it. The wood palette provides a wider platform and the rubber mats dull the sounds of the horses hooves going over the bridge.The Back Through L
The back through L is one of many back through obstacles you can be asked 
to execute in a trail pattern. It is simply 4 ground poles shaped into an L, and you have to back through the poles. The object is to not hit any of the poles or step outside of the obstacle. Points are taken off for the horses hooves knocking the poles and you can get no score for the obstacle if your horse completely leaves the obstacle in a fit of rebellion. The key to being successful in the back through L is to take one step at a time. If you go slow you have a much better chance to correct your horses position before they have a chance to knock a pole. This is one of the obstacles that no matter how many times you practice, your horse may still mess it up due to taking one step too many.
to execute in a trail pattern. It is simply 4 ground poles shaped into an L, and you have to back through the poles. The object is to not hit any of the poles or step outside of the obstacle. Points are taken off for the horses hooves knocking the poles and you can get no score for the obstacle if your horse completely leaves the obstacle in a fit of rebellion. The key to being successful in the back through L is to take one step at a time. If you go slow you have a much better chance to correct your horses position before they have a chance to knock a pole. This is one of the obstacles that no matter how many times you practice, your horse may still mess it up due to taking one step too many.The Gate
The gate. The worst obstacle ever. I cannot stand doing the gate. Don't get the idea th
at I'm not good at this obstacle, I have actually never lost a point in a Trail class when doing the gate. I have even had a judge compliment me on my gate skills. I may do outstanding in the show ring with this obstacle, but during practice I always seem to either run my leg into the gate resulting i a huge bruise or have to let go of the gate. The purpose of the gate is to go through a gate, on your horse, without letting go of the gate. You can either back through a gate or walk forward through it, but if you let go of the gate while in motion you have to start all over. It is defiantly an obstacle you need to practice because your horse will need to learn how to side pass and back up as straight as possible. Whenever I have practiced this before a show I have successfully ran my horses butt into the gate, knocked the gate completely over and ran into another horse while trying to execute this obstacle.
at I'm not good at this obstacle, I have actually never lost a point in a Trail class when doing the gate. I have even had a judge compliment me on my gate skills. I may do outstanding in the show ring with this obstacle, but during practice I always seem to either run my leg into the gate resulting i a huge bruise or have to let go of the gate. The purpose of the gate is to go through a gate, on your horse, without letting go of the gate. You can either back through a gate or walk forward through it, but if you let go of the gate while in motion you have to start all over. It is defiantly an obstacle you need to practice because your horse will need to learn how to side pass and back up as straight as possible. Whenever I have practiced this before a show I have successfully ran my horses butt into the gate, knocked the gate completely over and ran into another horse while trying to execute this obstacle. Lope over Poles
Many riders believe that lope over poles are the simplest obstacle in Trail, but they 
can actually through your horse off quite a bit. You must go over 3 ground poles at a lope and not break gate. If your horse doesn't recognize these as harmless poles they may break gate over them or completely freak out and refuse to go near them. Also you loose points if your horse hits its foot on the pole as it goes over. The best way to practice these it to go over ground poles regularly at home and really encourage your horse to pick its feet up as it goes over. One of the funniest things I've ever seen a horse do in trail class is jump about 3 feet over the pole for fear it might have it attacked if it had simply just loped over it. The rider was not prepared for their western pleasure horse to execute such a high jump, and fell off the horse, into the pole.
can actually through your horse off quite a bit. You must go over 3 ground poles at a lope and not break gate. If your horse doesn't recognize these as harmless poles they may break gate over them or completely freak out and refuse to go near them. Also you loose points if your horse hits its foot on the pole as it goes over. The best way to practice these it to go over ground poles regularly at home and really encourage your horse to pick its feet up as it goes over. One of the funniest things I've ever seen a horse do in trail class is jump about 3 feet over the pole for fear it might have it attacked if it had simply just loped over it. The rider was not prepared for their western pleasure horse to execute such a high jump, and fell off the horse, into the pole.**If you want to ride out of the show arena with a blue ribbon in this event, I strongly encourage you to practice all these obstacles. Trail is a great class and really teaches your horse to respond to leg movement well. I think everyone should try out trail at home, and attempt to compete in this class.
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