If I want my horse to:
- Stand tied at random places in the woods
- Tromp through the underbrush without stressing out
- Repeatedly circle trees they've circled before
- Walk while other groups trot/canter past us
- Trot/canter again but slide to a stop in 2 seconds
- Allow me to pause and take photos off the edge of a mountain
- Do all of this crap over and over, depending on the landscape and weather, in the 6 hours allotted
That's CMO.
10 comments:
Okay, I get the tree-circling as part of CMO training. But not endlessly, when you DON'T have a reason. Pick a different tree. Put something there, and then retrieve it the next time.
He gets no relief from giving you the "right answer" (go around the tree) so he is trying out different answers to see if you like those better.
Yes?
If this were Fiddle, she would work it into a routine: go up the hill, around the corner, go around the tree, go around it the other direction, go to a different tree...and she would pause at the "go around" tree every time, without a cue. That's how trail marking at Renegade is: she remembers which trees (on a 50 mile loop!) get ribbons stuck to them, and when we're just out scouting and clearing, she aims at the "marking" trees every time.
The difference is that Fiddle has been my mount for trail marking for 12 years. Mag is still trying to figure out why you would go around a tree more than once. Since you haven't done with a purpose (one that he understands) yet, he's confused and thinking that he isn't doing the right thing.
I think it's more of a "we're not familiar with this sport at all" situation. Can you explain the sport in more detail from an insider's view? <3 I'm genuinely interested. (And for anyone else reading, here is an overview of the sport: http://www.nacmo.org/introduction.php) The only two distance sports most of us are familiar with are endurance and competitive trail riding, and CMO states that they are different from both of those. The only other endurance rider blogger that I know of that has participated in CMO is Endurance Granny. There are only 8 chapters in the entire country; it took extra digging to find out that it *is* available on the East Coast. It includes DE, MD, NY, NJ and PA...but the East Coast chapter only has 181 members, so it's a very small sport.
Is CMO available in Germany? Are you planning to eventually compete Mag in CMO there?
Aarene, I'll devote a post to your comment. Unfortunately, it's not good news.
Saiph, Endurance would be the best horsey sport on Earth if CMO did not exist.
Keeping in mind I've only done 50s in endurance, CMO is the most fun I've ever had because it's so freaking hard, and so freaking rewarding if you can manage it. Their motto is "The Thinking Horse Sport" and that's fitting, but it also requires the uttermost discipline with your horse's training. This is the reason I decided to not try to host my own CMO here in Germany. Although I finally know enough people to do a short ride (with perhaps 5 people), the hard truth is none of those horses are disciplined enough to do it, combined with none of the riders having any experience.
Newbies should be paired with an experienced CMO rider the first time, that's not in the rule book but it's globally observed. It's just that hard. So your young horse can learn, and you can learn to mulitask like never before.
Since the community is so much smaller, it's that much friendlier and every single person in camp will invite you to their fire, or offer you coffee in the morning. If you're new, your welcome is even more intense. I never had the honor of knowing real cowyboys until I did CMO.
The only Paso Finos I've met were CMO horses. They did fine and their owners (breeders) had a very smooth ride.)
For me it was a clear choice. I had CMO in my own state, a mere 10 minutes from my barn sometimes. The farthest I'd have to haul for CMO was 6 hours. For endurance it was usually 9. Lucky when it was 3. And the price - I paid 8 bucks per event as a member. Of course I'm gonna do more CMO than endurance for 8 bucks. And they have rides every 2 weeks from February til October.
8 bucks? Well, there are no vets. Horses who cannot compete in endurance due to age, they can do a short course CMO no problem. It's up to you to do the right thing.
I've heard the CMO rides on the East coast are much different, because they ride in parks where the regulations won't allow you to leave the trail. To hide objectives, you pretty much need to go off trail, most of the time, otherwise it's too easy. So the East has its challenges.
Thanks for posting the CMO URL, I wish more people would try it - with good mentors of course - cuz then they'll be hooked. Unless you truly hate maps and compasses.
There is no CMO outside of America. I've been encouraged by our president to start it but I cannot see how it would work here. I guess I've got the East Coast problem! But mostly, I don't know enough people and all those I know have horses who have never stepped off the trail.
This will not stop me from dreaming of doing CMO with Mag someday! I WILL BE BACK: ) And Mag will ride that 747 with me just as Baasha did, but the opposite direction.
You all could meet Mag one day, cuz I do not plan to die here.
You could try TREC, probably more European chapters as it started in France.
ND, I looked into it. Indeed, they have it in France. And I found out they will allow you to skip the jumping parts entirely! Woo! But I know no one and live too far, with no trailer. How on earth did you hear about TREC?
They have Trec here in Quebec, Canada. The french connection :-)
I did it a few years ago with my other horse and did a few clinics. Learning to do a bank jump (up and down) was literally a screaming riot. People at my barn still laugh at my antics today. At most beginner levels you can walk over the jump (a small log).
ND, I'd love to read your blog. If you have so much to offer, you need a blog: )
Walking over jumps - story of my life with Arabian trail horses. NO stress, Christopher Reeve died on my birthday taking a horse over a jump. That was enough for me.
Do they really speak French there? Like at the grocery store?
I had an old travel blog I created for my family (essentially our mothers) to follow us on our globetrotting. There is so much good content out there, that I cant imagine it would be worth the effort to do anything public. I would rather be riding, cooking, teaching (at University) or travelling.
I did start a new blog last year as I made a huge transition to leave the corporate executive life to pursue my passion in teaching. The intent was to journal on my transition from DOing to BEing. But I never did anything past the first post. That said, Ive been doing a great job at BEing. Namaste.
PS Quebec is a french province. Especially at the corner store (depanneur).
I don't remember "training" for CMO, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing. I just kinda did it. Fiddle thought it was fun, and Story did fine (of course). CMO was Freya's first camping trip with Duana, they camped with us and we went out on the trail together--I think we found 3 plates? Who cares, we were just there to have fun.
Even with the Toad, who was confused at first, but then figured out that I had some weird purpose in mind, so he cooperated.
With that, could you have J or Ani hide some plates in the woods if you want something to give you "purpose"?
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