WHAT IS RAC?

As a way to encourage Curly Owners to get out and promote the breed, build a consistent 'riding ethic' and also inspire others, I decided to start a contest via Curly Horse Country, called RIDE-A-CURLY. I had no idea how it would be received, so I started by running just a 6 month contest to start. May 1- October 31, 2007.

It was the first of it's kind in that the focus was on working as a "TEAM" of promoters, inspiring each other and just having fun, rather than the "win." --- But like any contest, it is always fun to set some goals and have that ultimate prize as the driving force. ;-)

The RAC riders log daily and get points for time spent IN the saddle riding and also points for doing events as well. More details here.

Another really neat thing is, they were encouraged to share stories online via a page like this.

2007 RAC CHAMPIONS!

2007 RAC ADVENTURES

2008 winners to date!

This year, I have expanded the contest to 1 full year. Each participant was given a FREE Curly Tshirt with their entry fee of $30.00. They could pick any color they wanted and they had 2 design choices to choose from. They are encouraged to wear their Tshirts out in public as much as possible, to encourage conversation, promotion and also to give that "Team Spirit" feeling by pulling all the RAC riders together, no matter what Country, State, Providence or Town.

At the end of the year, riders turn in all the logs & points - these must be detailed and accurate. Prizes are awarded to 2 divisions: YOUTH & ADULT and to our RAC Grand Champion & Reserve Champion. (Prizes here)

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! Throughout the year, I will be holding 3 separate MINI contests to keep our RAC riders motivated! Those contests will be announced a bit later. Our first one will be in April.

In the meantime, encourage our riders by leaving a comment below. We hope their stories will inspire you to jump on the back of your horse and start promoting your curly as well!

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RAC Team Bloggers

(Email Denise to add your link)

Brie & Sage

Top O the Hill (Betsy & Zoe)

Creekside Curlies (Linda)

Cara & Sunny

Dreams on Curls Blog

ARCHIVED MONTHS

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

RAC RIDERS PROFILES

THE PATRIOTIC MONTH - JULY

Half way through the contest already! If you got a slow start, that's okay.....there is still plenty of great weather left! Looking forward to many wonderful stories this month!

(Harold & Rainee - Curls N' Horns Ranch) - Rainee and I found that when riding the trails in the North Dakota Badlands you never know when you will run into a lone buffalo - We ran into this old bull high up in the hills, not sure how he got there but I know he was blocking the trail - also - Wild horses we encountered while riding the badlands.

( Linda @ Creekside Curlies) This summer, I have been "mentoring" some high school gals Laura and Samantha , and their Mom, Becca, who have had interested in learning about and getting to ride horses. Laura has ridden some, on a well broke horse that her friend owns...Sam, had been on the horse twice in her life, once as a 2 year old, and once on a guided trail ride, and their mom, Becca, rode as a kid.....
I have slowly been working them up to riding, learning lots of ground work, and lots of the little things that make a successful riding relationship with a horse. Since I have no tried and true, well broke horses available at the moment, we have to start with a horse, a little less than experienced. This will further their education, and the horse's education. Breezy was my choice, as she does not have a foal on her, and she has such a kind attitude towards her rider. Breezy has come along way here, from shortly over a year ago, standing around in someone's pasture, not doing a thing, to carrying precious loads of cargo in a variety of experienced riders. Breezy is showing me what a great riding horse she is becoming. She is ever so careful, with the young girls, yet, when Becca or I ride her, she rises to our level of experience. That is one cool horse, not all horses have the mindset for that! So, we are putting training and time on Breezy, and having a blast doing it! Here are some pics of the process ;-) YEAH RAC...an outlet for news about curly owners doing curly rider things!

(Brie & Sage) Sage and I are enjoying the summer, and I am thankful for every ride on my now sound horse. Our biggest adventure lately has been the ongoing process of getting his barefoot treeless saddle all set up for him. Its been enough trial and error that I was starting to regret buying it, but the other night I tried saddling him in a treed saddle that *should* fit him and he basically tried to run away before I could get the saddle on his back. I brought out his barefoot right after and he stood stock still, not just for having it put on his back, but also for girthing and everything. That makes me feel better about buying it, as obviously it does make a big difference to him. Here's a picture of us from our ride the other day. Obviously the saddle is going uphill, and I'm in a bit of a 'chair seat' position. But we're making progress with the saddle, and I'm having a lot of fun teaching Sage to go in just a rope halter and 12' rope at the same time. Hope everyone else is having fun in this summer weather!

(Carol & Treat) Hey you know what they say...it is not if you fall off but when you fall off!! Okay, I have joined that elite group of riders(everybody I know who rides) and have learned a few lessons in the process. First....pay attention to your horse!! Horses are not shy about letting you know what is going on with them. On the day I was tossed, my horse, Dutch Treat telegraphed in every way short of text messaging me, that she was a bit cranky. Ears, feet, body language, head position, eye contact, longing manners, tacking up...every sign was there but I was going to ride the way I wanted to ride and she had just better straighten up!! Gads, I can be as bull headed as she can be!!! Anyway, second time around the round pen at a fast trot, a little crow hop from her and I felt myself sail through the air with

the greatest of ease, only to be slowed down by the plastic fence that surrounded the round pen, eventually meeting the ground up close and personal. Gads!!! Treat stopped looked at me as if to say, "I tried to let you know all I was up for was a walk but you wouldn't listen!!" Checking my body parts, several more rides around the pen to calm down, ice pack on my right leg, I spent the next week and one half recovering so I could again go out and ride.....hopefully, a wiser more in tune rider, I must say. Treat and I have another riding date on Monday. I always focus on what I can do differently to make the ride better, more confident and I have quite a list!! Here is a picture of me on Treat the week before I was tossed. She is doing so well and I know this Monday's ride will be the best!! I will let you know. Meanwhile, Phantom had a reprieve while I recovered for a week and a half. During that recovery time, we did ground work and one day we had a spa day.....cleaning, trimming hair, primping like we were getting ready for the prom. It was fun. When I rode her last Wednesday at riding class, we did absolutely awesome. She was stopping from a trot with just seat cues, her back legs up under her, keeping her nose in and her head and poll collected as she stopped, not pushing out at all. It was so pretty!!! I was not using the reins!!!! Too cool. I am so proud of the way we are growing together. She has taught me so much and likes hanging out with me. It is the best!!!

(Betsy @ Top O' the Hill Farm)I have been riding, just not sending in news. I don't think I have written in my blog in a month.. too much to do !! My trainer comes in the evenings now, so we go out together for a nice ride before she leaves. A few nights ago we had a great ride out with lots of cantering and twice we got in a gallop.. loads of fun ! On the way home we had to stop to let a HUGE snapping turtle cross the road. Not like coming upon a buffalo, but still quite a sight. Rats-- no camera -- it would have made a good photo, with the turtle all stretched out to hiss at us. Tonight-- I rode OYY Arcus for the second time. Look at his easy boots in red! :) so adorable. He's 11.2 hands, but forward and fun. After riding him, we went out on the trail me on my Keri, my trainer riding OYY Nimue-- another of my favorite mares. I only took one wrong turn.. pretty good for me, since I am definitely directionally challenged. I would have taken another mis-turn but Keri knew the way. What a gal !! Enjoy ~

(Brie & Sage) I had a really good ride on Sage the other night, and we practiced posting the trot in the new saddle...Sage stops dead as soon as I start posting so we need to practice this a lot! He's definitely getting better at lateral flexion as we continue our one rein riding. I'm working on teaching him to turn on the forehand and haunches, and we're also working on getting him more sensitive to leg pressure for moving over / steering. He's doing great and seemed quite happy to pack me around the pasture. He's one of those horses that really loves his 'job.' Towards the end of our ride one of the dogs came out into the pasture and Sage had great fun chasing her!! I had to put an end to that pretty quickly, but it was really funny how enthusiastic he was about it...maybe there's some cow pony way back in his pedigree? We're also working on some desensitization refreshers in preparation for some short trail rides...hopefully we'll be out on the trail soon!! (most likely with *two* reins...:P)

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