Cross Country Schooling Opportunities

As spring approaches, it's time to start schooling and getting yourself and your horse ready for the show season.

The Front Range provides many opportunities for cross-country schooling. Each course offers a unique combination of jumps, terrain and atmosphere.

Lory State Park 

Lory, located west of Fort Collins, has a great variety of trails and conditioning opportunities as well as a wide variety of cross-country jumps. The course was originally built to host recognized events, so jumps range from beginner novice through prelim. It has been many years since these events were held at the park, so many of the jumps are not well maintained. Colorado State University's English riding club has been doing maintenance on the jumps, however, so plenty of schooling opportunities remain.

Before jumping, please inspect the jumps as well as the approach and landing because there may be hazards both on the ground and on the jump. The jumps are scattered throughout the south valley, so some great opportunities can be found by simply taking some time to wander around.

Lory State Park charges a parking fee unless you have a Colorado State Parks pass.

Windy Wyoming at Wyoming Territorial Prison Park

Installed a few years ago at the park in Laramie and still under construction, this cross-country course is only open on specific days throughout the year. Riders will need to contact the Windy Wyoming Eventing Club for more information.

A fee is charged for schooling and use of the park grounds. All the jumps are safe and up to competition standard because the park hosts several schooling shows and an annual recognized event. Full courses through preliminary level are featured.

With a wide variety of jumps and more coming soon, this course will evolve into a great place to both school and compete.

Spring Gulch

Located just south of Colorado Highway 470 in Littleton, this park is a great place for beginners and introducing horses to the next level of jumps. The jumps and terrain here are friendly and inviting and promote confidence for both horse and rider.

Several schooling shows and recognized events are held here, many of which support the local pony club and young riders' groups. A parking fee is charged unless you have a Colorado State Parks pass.

Tomora Training Center

Located on the west side of Greeley, this course is easy to access from U.S. Highway 34. To school here, you must sign up for lessons with the trainer on site. The farm hosts several events and schooling shows each year, so schooling here is great preparation for those shows. An expansive schooling area is featured, and some unique jumps are great practice for your horse and rider.

Remember to never school cross country alone. Always school with your trainer and wear your helmet, vest and boots. Enjoy schooling, and good luck at your shows this year!

Spring into action with rider fitness

Guess what? It's almost spring - and with spring comes the start of a new show season.

Have you slacked off this winter? Are your breeches and boots getting a bit tight? Or are you just looking to be more fit and more competitive this show season? In any case, it's time to start an exercise program for both you and your horse.

The keys to getting back into shape are simple and apply to rider and horse alike:

• Don’t push yourself too hard. This can lead to injury, which can put you even further behind on getting into shape for show season.

• Create a plan you can stick to and which challenges your mind and body. If you or your horse get bored with a program, you won’t be able to stick to it.

• Incorporate a variety of exercises so that you work all of your muscle groups and continually challenge your muscles.

• Most importantly, have fun!

Every rider will work a bit differently. Some prefer group efforts or going to the gym. Others prefer to work at home on their own. Find what works for you.

Local tack stores such as Jax Farm and Ranch and Happy Horse have a library of books on rider fitness and getting your horse into shape. Remember that you not only need to do work on yourself and your horse, but also with both of you working together.

Those old exercises your instructor made you do, the ones you thought were torture, actually are great for getting both rider and steed into shape:

Try working without stirrups, especially at the trot. Slowly extend the amount of time you trot and post without stirrups to increase your strength and balance while your horse gets a cardio workout.

Spending time in your two-point position will not only strengthen your legs but also allow your horse to pick up its back, strengthen its abdominal and back muscles, work on extended gaits and do some stretching.

Ask your riding instructor or a friend to give you lunge-line lessons so that you can work on your balance and strength without interfering with the horse.

Another great way to get into riding shape is to incorporate some yoga or pilates into your fitness plan. Julie Leiken of Boulder has a great program designed to use pilates instruction to improve riding and communication between horse and rider. She offers clinics, group and private lessons both in dressage and pilates.

Good luck meeting your fitness goals!