Rimfire Does It Again!
The Morgan Horse Grand National and World Championship Horse Show - what an amazing show and what an incredible time we had there with Rimfire!
If you read our last blog post, you know that we traveled all the way from Massachusetts to Oklahoma (Oklahoma City to be exact) to compete at the “Worlds” last week. This was Rimfire’s last trip to Oklahoma, given that he’s nineteen years old. It’s a thirty-hour trip which is long for any horse, but especially for an older horse. Last year, Rimfire traveled better than any of the other fourteen horses on the trailer, and he did it again. He doesn’t know he’s getting older and certainly doesn’t want to slow down.
Road Hack is Rimfire’s favorite class. If you’ve never seen a road hack class, it requires more than just a walk, trot, and canter. In addition, the horse must “road trot” (a fast trot, but without losing collection/impulsion), and a hand-gallop (a bit faster than a canter, but not a full-out gallop). Finally, at any time during the class, the judge can call for a “halt” and then walk off on a loose rein. That’s the hardest part - right when your horse expects to pick up the canter, he’s asked to stand perfectly still instead. It’s quite a challenge. Last year, Rimfire was a star in this class at the Grand National and won the Grand National title. Could he pull off a win for a second time?
Last year, author Ellen Feld was paired with Rimfire for the win in the Road Hack class. For 2024, Ellen’s son Nicholas, who is the owner of Rimfire, took the reins. There were some excellent horses in the class, and the competition was stiff. With a three-judge system, there was no place on the rail to hide from the eyes of at least one judge. And when would the halt be called? Riders were told to halt immediately after cantering the first way of the ring. Then…drop the reins, walk, reverse, walk then halt. It was a tough class!
Rimfire had an almost perfect class (a few tiny trot steps at the end of the walk on a loose rein), and when the judges’ cards were turned in, Rimfire was announced as the Grand National Saddle Seat Road Hack Champion! Congratulations to both Rimfire and Nicholas. And yes, Ellen is working on a book about the true story of Rimfire.