How to Ride the Gate Obstacle in Ranch Trail
By Bud Lyon with Nichole Chirico
Ranch Trail has quickly become one of the most popular events at today’s breed shows, putting real-world ranch skills to the test. And no matter the pattern, there’s one obstacle you can almost always count on seeing: the gate.
Ranch trail has quickly become one of the most popular events at today’s breed shows, putting real-world ranch skills to the test. And no matter the pattern, there’s one obstacle you can almost always count on seeing: the gate. In ranch trail, you’re always going to open a hinged gate. There are no rope gates in this class because the obstacle is meant to reflect the kind of ranch task your horse might face on the daily.
This means you might have to get creative with the type of gates you open when practicing at home. If you don’t have access to a hinged gate that you can set up in your arena within a pattern, like I have in these photos, you can practice on a pasture gate.
In this lesson, I’m going to work a right-handed gate, which means that I will be using my right hand to open and close the gate. However, there will be times that you’ll be asked to work a left-handed gate, so it’s best to practice both directions at home to be prepared for any scenario you might come across in the show pen.
Read the rest of the lesson on Horse & Rider Magazine!