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Mark and Lee Bolender in Italy
then were off to Renzo’s place in Italy
again. We again held riding and judging
clinics plus added a clinic on how to build a Mountain Trail Course in twenty-five people attended. We now have over fifty certified judges in Italy. The president for 2018 is Ornella Tacconi whose daughter was an intern at Bolender Horse Park in 2015 for 6 months in order to learn the new discipline of Mountain Trail. Ornella Tacconi worked hard over this past year to organize the regional shows in which riders had to qualify for the National Championships.
My wife Lee and I arrived a few days before the National show in order to teach a judging clinic for twenty-three people and teach a riding clinic attended by twelve riders. Everywhere we traveled to we could feel the excitement for this new discipline and witnessed how hard the trainers and their students were working to prefect their skills.
Now, back to the riders and the quality of their rides at the National show. Both English and western and riders were represented along with many breeds. These were riders that could transition up and down into and out of obstacles. They were able to do 360’s on the rolling, suspension bridge and teeter totters but what really caught my eye was at the end of the open pattern, the horse and rider stepped upon the raised balance beam, walked to the end where they had to take a 90 degree right turn onto a 42-inch box and step off. A very difficult maneuver and skill for any type of horse yet over half of the riders were able to complete this maneuver in a manner that brought cheers from the crowd. My wife and I are very proud and excited to see how far Mountain trail has come and the road to the world games and Olympics remain a goal of IMTCA and the Federation of Italy.
Now, back to the riders and the quality of their rides at the National show. Both English and western and riders were represented along with many breeds. These were riders that could transition up and down into and out of obstacles. They were able to do 360’s on the rolling, suspension bridge and teeter totters but what really caught my eye was at the end of the open pattern, the horse and rider stepped upon the raised balance beam, walked to the end where they had to take a 90 degree right turn onto a 42-inch box and step off. A very difficult maneuver and skill for any type of horse yet over half of the riders were able to complete this maneuver in a manner that brought cheers from the crowd. My wife and I are very proud and excited to see how far Mountain trail has come and the road to the world games and Olympics remain a goal of IMTCA and the Federation of Italy.
We can indeed say that Italy has embraced IMTCA and the new discipline of Mountain Trail.