Recreational Rider

RECREATIONAL RIDER

Congratulations to Ryan Richards for placing 2nd in the Pasos For Pleasure 2023 Top Ten.  Carol rode 490.75 hours.  

Camping with Pasos

Hey there! As your Recreational Rider Committee Chair, I’d like to encourage everyone to get involved in one of these programs. Each month I’ll be featuring the details of a different recreational rider program. I thought I’d start with the easiest one first, which is the Pasos for Pleasure Program.

Pasos For Pleasure is very simply a rider and driver incentive program that rewards you for the time you spend in the saddle or driving a Paso Fino outside of the competition ring. The Paso Fino does not have to be owned by you, but it must be registered. For example, when I went to a Horse Help Retreat last year, I was able to log the time spent riding Tito and Fandango, two of their registered Pasos.

Again, rewards are based on the time spent riding or driving. They are logged in 15 minute increments, so every minute counts! It’s super easy to log even those short little training sessions. Rewards, patches and prizes, are given out at the 50, 100, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1250, 1750, 2500, 3500, and 5000 hour levels. The program is capped at 5000 hours. You are welcome to continue to log your hours but currently, PFHA does not offer any incentives past that amount.

PFHA also awards an Annual High Hour Award each year. The year runs from September 1st to August 31st. If you’d like to be considered for the yearly award your logged hours must be postmarked by Sept. 5th.  The High Hour winner will be presented an award. The top 10 are asked to submit articles to be published in PFHA Horse World about their experiences riding and driving Paso Finos.  You can only receive this annual award once.

A one-time fee of $25 is required for enrollment and your PFHA membership must remain active.  If your membership lapses for any reason, hours logged during the lapse won’t count and you’ll have to pay the enrollment fee again. I learned that lesson the hard way. New enrollments will receive a patch and a log form to get you started.

So what counts?

  • Trail rides by yourself or with friends
  • Parades
  • Drill Teams
  • Expos/Breed demos
  • Arena time training or practicing for a show
  • All breed/open shows if that time isn’t being used to accrue points in another PFHA program, such as Sport Horse
  • Time spent training your horse for riding or driving
  • So basically, anytime your butt is in the saddle or seat and you’re not competing!

What does NOT count?

Any time spent when actually competing in…

  • PFHA pointed shows
  • Pleasure Long Distance Trail
  • Endurance Trail
  • Competitive Trail
  • All Breed classes for Sport Horse

Each time you ride, simply record the required information on the official PFHA log form. Once you’ve reached 50 hours send it in to PFHA. Keep adding to those hours and once you reach 100 hours, send it in. So on and so on for each milestone. It’s that easy! It’s best to record your time as soon as you do it but if you forget, I’ve used pictures and my calendar to help me jog my memory. I’ve also recently downloaded a free app called Equilab that helps me keep track of my time. It’s available for both Android and iPhones.

GW trail ride

Forms can be downloaded from the PFHA website at www.pfha.org or you’re welcome to reach out to me if you have any questions or need help. Post your accomplishments on Facebook and share them with the rest of Great Western so we can congratulate you and encourage each other to get out there and ride!

Michelle Sidun

sgmpasofinos@gmail.com

307-321-6715

Michelle and Solana

2017 RRC Handout

2019:  Carol DeNinno placed 4th within the PFHA 2019 Top Ten Pasos For Pleasure program!

2020:  Carol DeNinno placed 8th within the PFHA 2020 Top Ten Pasos For Pleasure program!

Check out all of the Recreational Rider programs offered through PFHA.

2020 Pasos For Pleasure Hours:

Linda Bean – 38 hours

The following horses have achieved Trail Horse Test status:

Junior Trail Horse
Annette Rowbery      Apple Valley Chayla 
Judi Bradbury           Cintas Sin Par
Judi Bradbury        Curioso Jorge
Linda Bean               Don Rayo de Fianza
Alan Conner La Otra Mujer
Linda Bean                        Magic Colors Jerico
Joan Nordgran          Neuro de Vison
Kristi Collins Quid Pro Quo Sin Par
Judi Bradbury        Regato del Prisa

Senior Trail Horse
Annette Rowbery Apple Valley Chayla
Judi Bradbury Cintas Sin Par
Judi Bradbury Curioso Jorge
Linda Bean Don Rayo de Fianza
Linda Bean Magic Colors Jerico
Judi Bradbury Regato del Prisa