Karen circles her horse and stops. She smiles and looks at the judge. The man dressed in western attire gives her a thumbs up. "Good ride." Her time is announced, and Karen walks out of the arena to the congratulations from her riding buddies.
Karen didn't win her single stake class that day, but winning isn't the whole point to the complex sport of gymkana.
What is gymkhana? Ask five horse people and two will be clueless, two will say it has something to do with barrels racing, and one will think it's a play day where anything goes. Why the misconception? Gymkhana has evolved from its early beginnings as games on horse back played by the military into a competitive sport of speed and skill.
Most people have seen rodeo barrel racing, but have never heard of the jumping event Hurry Scurry. Junior Rodeos offer Poles II a.k.a. Washington Poles event where a contestant races and weaves poles set twenty-one feet apart, but what about speed ball? Speed ball is an event where a rider must run down a hundred feet, ride around a cone twenty-four inches tall, and place a golf ball in the five inch opening, then race back. California Gymkhana Association (CGA) sanctions thirteen different events (see sidebar) or http://www.gymkhanarider.com/. CGA was formed in 1972 by a group of gymkhana enthusiasts to establish a standard set of rules and promote the sport. Today CGA has four thousand members through out California.
CGA Information Manual states, "gymkhana is the action packed, precision sport of the equestrian world." The manual also says a good gymkhana horse must have the speed of a racehorse, the turning ability of a cutting horse, and the control and responsiveness of a stock horse. Gymkhana horses are supreme athletes with superior training.
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