One Pole for Trail Practice

When you're working with one pole in your arena, there's a lot you can do with it.

- WILL AND ELIZABETH KNABENSHUE & NICHOLE CHIRICO

Will and Elizabeth Knabenshue, Whitesboro, Texas, grew up showing horses on opposite coasts-Will in Virginia and Elizabeth in California. The two now train all-around horses, and coach amateur and youth riders. Will is an AQHA and NSBA judge. Elizabeth is an AQHA world champion and multiple All American Quarter Horse Congress champion. The couple has trained and coached numerous amateur and youth world champions.

You can practice maneuvers you might see in a trail class, like a sidepass, or you can work on body position, and approach and exit to a pole. It's also a great way to check in with your horse and test his responsiveness to your riding cues.

You can spend your entire session practicing pole work, or just take a couple of minutes at the end of your ride to test his ability; it's completely up to you. But remember, whatever you decide to do, make sure you give yourself enough time to go both directions.

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