**For
Immediate Release**
Festival of the Horse Planned
-released by OPSU Campus Communications 03-13-2006
Goodwell, Okla. - Oklahoma Panhandle
State University’s
Equine Science department is planning “Festival
of the Horse” on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April
28-30. The celebration includes demonstrations of a variety
of horsemanship skills, a horsemanship workshop, a chuck-wagon
cook off, traditional artists’ demonstrations,
a western art show exhibit, cowboy poetry and music,
a concert by the Red Dirt Rangers, and a horse auction.
Kicking off the event will be the
Ranch Horse Versatility Show on Friday, April 28 at
9 a.m. at the University Farm. This “equine pentathlon” includes
five parts in which horse and rider compete in pursuit
of an overall championship. OPSU Equine Science students
will compete on the horses they have trained and cared
for since last August. The horses are provided by area
breeders and supporters of the program and students.
The versatility show is the culmination of eight months
of hard work.
The five individual events include
halter, pleasure, trail, cutting and cowhorse. Horses
are judged on cadence and carriage in the pleasure
class. In the halter portion, students groom and prepare
their horses and are judged on appearance and conformation.
During the trail class event, horses are guided through
an assortment of obstacles and are judged on the horses’ willingness
and obedience in maneuvering the course.
Two high-paced performance classes
round out the event. The cutting class requires contestants
to isolate or “cut” a
cow from the herd, and then they are required to pen
the cow in an allotted period of time. The most challenging
event, cowhorse, tests the trainability and athleticism
of the horse. The contest begins with the horse performing
a reining pattern to showcase discipline. A cow is then
released into the arena and the contestant must hold
or “box” the cow in a specific area. Then
the cow will be allowed to run down the fence as the
horse pursues, overtakes and turns the cow. After a few “fencing” runs,
the contestant will rope the cow to display the horse’s
ability to stop the cow.
The Ranch Versatility Show is but one of many events
taking place during Festival of the Horse. Watch for
more details about it in upcoming releases!
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