AHA Distance Horse National Championships & Owl Hoot Spook

On Friday afternoon I drove up to Vinita to volunteer at the Arabian Horse Association Distance Horse National Championships. I had to work, so I missed that first day, arriving in the middle of the award ceremony. Just in time to catch the excellent dinner (food is always abundant at the Franks!) It had been raining for almost two days in Oklahoma by that time–at least, it had in Norman and Vinita.

I always park at the end of the big barn… this time I almost got stuck in the mud. Too many people driving over soft ground. Thank goodness I’ve got a Subaru.

On Saturday I (wo)manned (personned!) a gate. The trail led along dirt roads and then through said gate onto a cattle ranch. My duty was to keep cattle in (I saw no cattle) and direct the riders. My hosts feared that I would get bored, but it was a lot of fun, because I took pictures. I will share those here. (I also took pictures of vetting; I’ll upload those into a separate post, when I’ve got more time).
Here is the second post!

There is at least one picture of everyone who rode Saturday morning. Feel free to download! Sadly, my ISO was set for last week’s horse show… I did not notice until it got sunny. So these were all a bit overexposed, adding to the bleakness of the morning as it was. If you would like a large-sized image (sans watermark), let me know. You can fix them yourselves (I’ve just had time for a few adjustments). I upload small pictures anyway to avoid slowing down my site (having learned the hard way).

Along with the AHA Distance Horse National Championships, the ride included open Competitive Trail and AERC rides. If you are in any doubt, notice the jackets!