Traverse City Trip Teaches Youngsters About Horse Shows as Career Choice
By Eric Fish

4-H Club members take a break from a Saturday, July 21 field trip to Horse Shows by the Bay in Traverse City. (Back row, from left) Seirra Kompsi, Rachel Spitzer, Layne Compton, Jodi Barna, Jessica Beaune, Morgan Brodeur-Bunker, Katy Penney, and Leanne Brodeur; (Front) Hannah Styburski, and Brandon Grumm. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Grumm)

The Mackinac 4-H Horse Club made a day-long excursion to the Traverse City area to view a special Horse Show by the Bay equestrian presentation Saturday, July 21. The event is a three-week festival held annually.

"It definitely was different from anything we see here on the Island," said Leanne Brodeur, 4-H leader and director of the Mackinac Horsemen's Association.

The main difference is the horses. Horse Shows by the Bay is a traveling circuit where the animals compete for cash prizes.

"They get so used to seeing the Island and horses, you kind of get immune to what else is out there in the world with horses," Ms. Brodeur said. "Horse showing is a big thing. These horse events we go to let them know that if they're interested in this as a career, that it is a big business and they can certainly find a job somewhere."

In past years, the 4-H members have gone to horse expos in Novi and at Michigan State University .

At Traverse City, the Mackinac Island group could see several events.

"We could take a look at the hunter division and how they show their horses and we could walk over and look at the jumper division and see the differences in the style of riding, the style of horse, the size of the jumps," Ms. Brodeur said.

Hunters are classes of horses that go through a controlled routine, leaping small fences in the course. Jumpers are classes that jump much larger, more challenging fences in a timed course.

Ms. Brodeur said the highlight of the day was when the children got a special demonstration into western reigning riding from Tom Pierson.

Western reigning is a popular style of riding that has recently been made into an Olympic event.

"Reigning is like the ice skating compulsory program," Ms. Brodeur said. "You do a certain pattern and certain parts of the pattern are judged. There are different movements that you have to do. There's a slow circle, a fast circle, a sliding stop, a spin to the left, a spin to the right."