November 2020 Issue

Page 22 November 2020 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN By Lois Szymanski When Covid cancelled one of their popular annual events, employees at the Pennsylva- nia State University extension office put their heads together. Equine Extension Associate, Bethany Bickle took the lead, and a ride – of sorts - across the state of Pennsylvania was planned. The Keystone Challenge: Exploring Pennsylvania on Horseback “Due to Covid-19 we had to cancel our Competitive Trail Ride that we usually host every Septem- ber,” Bickle said. “While the Key- stone Challenge is not a replacement for that event, it has allowed our members an activity to participate in related to trail riding. Our initial goal was to see if participants could log enough miles to ‘ride across Pennsylvania.’They shattered that goal after only one week.” The challenge began on September 7, 2020, finishing on November 2. Individual partici- pants and those riding in teams are logging their miles throughout the week, with report totals made pub- lic on Mondays and Tuesdays, each hoping to ride 283 miles, the length of the state of Pennsylvania. “Our participants exceeded our expectations and logged over 622.78 miles during the first week, riding across Pennsylvania – east to west- two times!” Bickle said. By the end of September 937.49 miles had been logged with youth participants logging 200.06 miles, adults logging 83.66 miles and teams logging 653.72 miles. So far, over 90 riders of all ages have signed up to participate. “I decided to sign up because my best friend, Meghan Wert, is an endurance rider,” 15-year-old Sylvia Decker said. “We went on to assemble a team called Trail Blazers. Our team is made up of Meghan, her younger sister Ky- lie, and one of our good friends, Savannah [Sowers].” Sylvia isn’t the only 4-Her to join a team or participate. “I think that the idea of trying to ride across the state is a cool accomplishment,” said 16-year-old Jennifer Chichra, who is riding her 13-year-old Quarter horse, Skippy. Jennifer either rides inde- pendently, or with her mom, Linda on the trails around their residence in Butler County. They have plans to trailer to other loca- tions in the coming weeks. "I love nature and trail riding is a great way to explore it,” Linda said. “It gives me a chance to spend quality time with my daugh- ter. [My horse,] Zephyr loves it just as much as I do. He perks up when he is out on the trail". Jennifer said trail riding has been good for her and Skippy. “I find trail riding very peace- ful and relaxing for both the horse and rider,” she said. “My horse has become calmer and more fit through this trail challenge. I en- joy riding with my mom, too. We have formed a strong bond over our love of horses.” Leader of the Stride for Stride 4-H Saddle Club in Elk County, Brandy Hollobaugh has competed in the cancelled Com- petitive Trail Ride annually for the past four years. In lieu of its cancellation, she quickly signed up for the new challenge with her team, the Rocky Ridge Riders. “This would have been my fifth consecutive year as a com- petitor. The Keystone Challenge does not share many similarities to the CTR except that it is measured and reported in miles. Most horse riding activities get measured in hours - not miles. They both encourage trail riding, [but] the CTR is more of a fast pace style of riding, where this challenge does not need to [involve] speed.” Bickle said participants receive a weekly email with the mileage totals and current standings. After logging miles, participants are encouraged to share photos on social media with the hashtags #PA4HHorse, #RidingAcrosstheKeystoneState and #TheKeystoneChallenge. “We are trying to add an el- ement of fun to the emails,” said Bickle. “For example, [one] week we figured with the ‘total miles’ they would have reached Austin, Texas. So, within the email we included fun facts about Texas.” As an added educational component, Bickle said they of- fered webinars in September and October that relate to competitive trail riding, recreational riding, the health and management aspect of caring for a horse while on the trail, and how to prepare your horse for the trail. “Our hope is that those participating will learn more about competitive trail riding through the webinars we’re offering, along with how to condition and manage your horse's health during a trail ride,” she said. “It also serves as a way to help those that may be interested in our competitive trail ride that may not be ready for the 25 mile ride, but may be interested in the conditioning ride division that is only 12.5 miles in length.” How much you enjoy the ride depends on many variables, (Above) Dannilyn Geitner riding America Runs on Dunkin' (bay), Stephanie Keech riding Blazin' Chaos (pintaloosa), Helayna Hollobaugh riding My Pal Hal (palomino/pinto), and Brandy Hollobaugh riding Bucky (bay/pinto). (Right) Brandy Holobough on Bucky, followed by Helayna Hollobough on My Pal Hal. In the back are Dannilyn Geitner riding America Runs on Dunkin' and Stephanie Keech riding Blazin' Chaos. (Continued on page 25)