Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
Black Press
Stettler area 4-Hers made the one hour trek to Ponoka to get some fundamental horsemanship training at the Calnash Ag Event Centre last weekend.
The 4-H Silver Stars Horse Club took the one hour drive to take advantage of the large space in Ponoka and get some key horsemanship training Sunday, Oct. 19, said Davis Cox, general leader of the club.
He has been to Ponoka before for other events and he felt the ag centre was an ideal spot to train club members. “The venue’s awesome. That’s kind of one of the only reason we came here,” explained Cox.
For about the same cost, the group was able to get a larger indoor space to give members important fundamentals in horsemanship from Dustin Grams, a specialist from Leduc.
“He’ll work on the fundamental things there. How to work on different parts of your horse and the kind of knowledge behind what we do on a daily basis with a horse,” said Cox.
Over the day, Grams gave 4-Hers a strong background on how to ride a horse and what a rider’s body should do to get the best performance out of the animal.
“He’s a clinician and a horse trainer,” added Cox.
For the last five years the Silver Stars Club has been working hard at developing a strong program for young 4-H riders. Cox says kids range from nine-years-old to 19-year-old and skill levels also range from beginners to more experienced riders.
“We’re not discipline specific. So there’s western and English and we have kids that ride both,” said Cox.
Depending on the interest of the member, riders may find themselves delving into the world of western equitation and western pleasure while others will work on their skills such as barrel racing or enhancing their knowledge in gymkhana events such as pole bending and thread the needle. He looks forward to making better riders of the club membership.
“They can take that (training) and apply that to any discipline. Because the fundamentals are the same,” said Cox.
He says there are young riders who started out riding ponies but are now training with appendix breeds — a cross between a quarter horse and a thoroughbred. Cox feels many of their riders have developed a positive confidence in their riding abilities because of the program.
“We’re always willing to talk to anybody about it,” said Cox.
He said coming back to Ponoka’s ag event centre is something the club plans on.