Turn & Burn Western Mounted Games

On my last trip to South Africa, a friend and I decided that something different was called for (her version of events may or may not match this…). A feed company local to her has an arena and various advertising for “Turn ‘n Burn, western mounted games”. Well, come on, how could we not try it out?

They don’t normally loan horses or do lessons as such, it’s a venue where the team trains, but they were very obliging when Jess went to chat to them.

“Can you both ride?” was the question. “Well, a bit” is my stock reply – you never know quite what you’re getting yourself into…

Off we trek, find the yard where we were introduced to our dancing partners – a lovely little Arab x quarter horse mare was my new friend – Quizzy. Stock bridles, curb bits, Aussie stock saddles in place, all set. Hopped on, trotted and cantered the grass verge to the big sand arena, had a little play to get know each other, and we’re off.

Fortunately we had a pro, Candice, to explain what we’d let ourselves in for and how to play the game.

There are 13 games, and each competitor can play some or all. These are…

• Barrel Racing
• Keyhole Race
• Hurry Scurry Race
• Pole bending - Poles 1 & 2
• Quadrangle Stake Race
• Bi-Rangle Stake Race
• Single Stake Race
• Fig 8 Flag Race
• Fig 8 Stake Race
• Speed Ball
• Big T
• Speed Barrels

So, in our arena she’d set out a few bits of equipment, which were to be our challenges for the afternoon – a line of bending poles, two drums with buckets of sand and flags, a loop of hose and a teeny tiny traffic cone. Now, I’m coming at this as someone who was hopeless at gymkhana as a kid, has tried polo and polo-crosse and just can’t, and has absolutely zero hand-eye co-ords…

We were trying (trying, not doing, I know my limitations…) 5 of the games, the ones that, in Candice’s opinion, needed most rider skill.

Now, all this time, Quizzy is being the professional athlete that she is – slightly aloof, tolerating my lack of western skills, but being very polite and obliging whenever I ask her a reasonable question. Typical mare, ears always slightly back in controlled irritation at being loaded with a games beginner, but, well, she’s a pro.

She sees the line of bending poles and…  yup. We aren’t speaking the same language as she tilts her nose out and runs the line, whips around the last one and heads back at speed. “Hmmm” thinks Quizzy. “Hmmm” says Candice. “You hit them with your knees” laughs Jess. “Phew I’m unfit” mutters me…

We moved to the flags…

“Practice in walk” was Candice’s sensible advice. If you fumble in walk, there is no point in going faster. The games are not about galloping like a jockey on a racehorse. The point is control, accuracy, the horse being balanced and on the aids, and not making mistakes. You’re better off being a second slower and playing the game correctly, than in galloping, dropping flags/poles etc and not entering a finishing score. So, we walked, then we jogged, we may even have broken into trot. Poor Quizzy. I did apologise most profusely. 

The keyhole – well, it literally looks like a keyhole on the ground. Think, 12m circle, with a passage going into it, just like a keyhole in your door. The point? Gallop – yes, well – into the circle, turn around and come out. That simple. It’s marked out by a length of rope with, what looks like fishing weights, or pool noodle attached. If the horse steps on it or over it, putting her hoof outside, you’re eliminated. 

Quizzy and I jog in. I’m all set to turn right. She goes left. Ah, ok. We go left. Let’s say that trainer A always spins his horses left. It’s his preferred way. Every horse he trains learns to go into the keyhole and spins left – the trainer has them set up that way. Horse A now trains her new rider – Horse prefers to go left, because it’s the way things work. Horse now trains rider B. This is true to every discipline – The first horse you ever rode may have dropped his right hip, meaning you always rode with the right hip down. As a trainer, all the horses go this way. It was always interesting when I used to do a lot of schooling for other riders, how much a rider with 3 or 4 horses would have them all going in a very similar way. So, Quizzy taught me how to do the spin left. Clever pony, this human takes a while.

We hit the final challenge, and oh my, did this play games with my head. Speed ball. Simple, says Candice. Ya, right. Start here, with a golf ball in your hand. Gallop, around 60m, approaching a traffic cone that is on your right. Turn, tight, around the cone, and as you are turning, just drop the little golf ball into the teeny tiny hole in the top of the traffic cone. That is about the height of your horse’s knee. Just like that. Go… The idea is that you go around the cone on a 10m circle arc, and as you are going, your horse tilts around like a wall-of-death motor bike rider, her hooves going wide, her wither dropping down and around, delivering her rider as close as possible to that teeny tiny hole in the top of the cone. Poor, poor Quizzy. I swear she’d have had her head in her hands if she could have. “Damn Bladdy human – I’ve got you there, I’ve turned the turn, I’ve delivered you to the spot…  JUST DROP the BALL…” We got there. In walk. And then at a jog. Only later did I find out that Speed Ball is Quizzy’s thing and that she’s 14^th fastest in the country.  I think I’d have broken her heart if she hadn’t been such a tough cookie and just been irritated by my ineffective bumbling.

Oh well. I had a blast. It’s always a good plan to swap saddles, swap disciplines, be a beginner and see a situation from another horse’s saddle. I’ll definitely be back for more – have you had a go at Western Mounted Games yet?

Massive thank you to Candice Gillespie, Jess Hodgkinson, Quizzy, and everyone at Turn & Burn Stud! 

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