Horse agility is a fun and fast-paced sport where horses complete a course of obstacles either on the lead or at liberty, much like dog agility. It’s an alternative for horses who can’t be ridden due to physical or behavioural reasons, ponies who are too small for their adult handlers, horse owners who can’t or don’t want to ride, or simply for those who want to try something new. Best of all, it’s affordable and accessible – handlers from around the world compete against each other by submitting videos on-line.
Horse agility was started around 10 years ago in the United Kingdom by Vanessa Bee. There aren’t too many followers in New Zealand just yet, but Auckland-based trainer Claire Perilli is currently ranked second in the world in both on-lead and liberty with her miniature horses Vin and Enzo, and is holding clinics in the North Island for those keen to give it a go. Claire is quick to point out that it’s not just a sport for small ponies – in fact, she’s one of the few to compete with minis; there are many more large ponies and horses of varying breeds.
“Participating in this sport is one of my favourite activities with my horses. Our bond has deepened considerably, to the point that at times I think they can almost read my mind,” says Claire.
“Sometimes when I look at the new course at the beginning of the month, I wonder how we are ever going to be able to manage it, but with planning and practice, we achieve it. It is a thrill beyond compare.”
From dressage to minis
English-born Claire grew up in South Africa, where she competed in dressage up to Prix St Georges level, winning the Junior South African Dressage Championships. However, after her teenage years she had a lengthy break from horses due to her career and starting a family.
Claire and her husband Remo moved to New Zealand to raise their family, and now live on a small lifestyle block in Wainui, north of Auckland, with their children Georgia and Luca. Claire has no desire to ride any more, and their 1.5 acre section is much better suited to minis than large horses.
“I originally saw an ad in the local paper for a free miniature colt – that’s how it all started. And then I looked for a companion for him and I got little Vin (Sherwoods Unique Bay Boy), who I’ve won so much with. He’s not stunningly beautiful, but because of my training background he’s just been a superstar in the show ring,” says Claire.
Claire has competed at mini shows and also enjoys carriage driving, but discovered horse agility when she stumbled across a book called The Horse Agility Handbook in her local library, which was written by the sport’s founder, Vanessa Bee. Claire began competing about three years ago and progressed through the levels quickly, last year winning the Australasian championship. Although the sport is based in the UK, you can compete from anywhere in the world.
“At the start of every month, the Horse Agility organisation posts a course for each level that can easily be recreated at home. All you have to do is build the course, then video yourself completing it. Once you have submitted your video via YouTube, it is judged with all the other entries at the end of the month. The results and scoresheets are sent to all competitors as well as being published on the website, and beautiful rosettes are posted out,” explains Claire.
“There are 10 obstacles each month and it has really improved my horsemanship skills because of the way it is judged. Each obstacle is marked out of 10, with five marks based on how the horse negotiates the obstacle and five marks for your horsemanship skills. There is supposed to be a ‘smile’ in your leadrope – a tight leadrope loses you a mark. It’s taught me a lot about body language.”
There are different levels, beginning at Starter through to Advanced. Besides on-lead and liberty, there are also walk-only classes and ‘Equ-agility’, where horse and handler complete an obstacle course in hand and then do the same course ridden. The obstacles are measured in horse-lengths, rather than metres, so they are relative to the size of the horse.
The ultimate aim of horse agility is to work the horse loose over the obstacles, just like in dog agility. No whips are allowed. “People change mentally when they’ve got a whip in their hand, because they can ‘make’ their horse do it. But agility is more about positive encouragement,” explains Claire.
The sport is growing in popularity: the Facebook page has 3000 followers and there are up to 120 competitors each month. “I think people are realising there are other things you can do with your horse besides riding.”
Claire is an accredited trainer and is working at the top (Advanced) level, where her horses are cantering over obstacles. She competes in the on-lead section with Vin and in the liberty classes with Enzo (Arcadia Farm Lorenzo). The two minis are similar in height but quite different in character. “Vin is my soulmate. He’d probably be an accountant if he were a person – he’s very serious and sensible.” The four-year-old Enzo is 50% American Shetland, which is nothing like the British counterpart, says Claire. “They are more like an Arab: hot, unpredictable and flighty. I have to watch my energy very carefully with him, because if I’m feeling uptight, he picks up on it and gets anxious.”
Claire feels her dressage background is an asset when it comes to agility. “To ride at Prix St Georges level, you know how much work you need to put in to be successful,” she says. She works Vin six days a week and Enzo four days, due to his young age.
“People often ask me, ‘Don’t you want to ride again?’ Actually, I don’t. We only have a small property and I would not be content hacking down the road. I am competitive and I like to have something to work for, so agility suits me and my minis wonderfully.”
Unusual objects
Most of the obstacles in the courses can be built at home fairly easily and inexpensively, says Claire. Initially, she spent $30 to $40 a month buying materials, but now she doesn’t need to spend so much, as many things are reusable. “It’s quite flexible. It’s not about having beautiful, perfect obstacles. I’ve got $5 curtains from an op shop,” she says.
A typical agility obstacle is ‘the narrow gap’, where the handler will ask the horse to wait while they go through a small space and then invite the horse to follow them afterwards. Claire has also had to teach her horses to push through pool noodles, go through very tight S-bends, walk over tarps, lift a foot up on a wooden box, have an umbrella opened above them and go down a scary corridor of feed sacks – which are all extra-challenging when your horse isn’t on a lead and is at liberty to go wherever he likes!
“You’d think after three years of doing horse agility I’d have seen it all before, but no: there is always something new I have to teach my horse every month, without fail. I’ve learnt to just set up a few things at a time, because Vin is so smart that he anticipates the course and doesn’t always wait for me. It’s better if you don’t constantly practice all 10 obstacles,” she says.
“I would put all horses through agility – they learn so much. If you’re out hacking and you have to walk over a bridge, or go through a narrow gate, they are not going to freak out.”
Claire admits some of the obstacles initially have her scratching her head as to how she is going to achieve them, but with patience she usually does succeed. “This month, we have weaving at a trot through cones, with the handler behind the horse. When you watch stallions and mares in the wild, they lead from behind, so it is possible. I’ve learned that when I use my body and lean in one direction, my horse will go that way.”
Claire has used clicker training with Enzo to teach him the liberty work, but she says during the course you aren’t supposed to stop between obstacles and reward the horse too frequently, as it should be flowing. “That’s been something I’ve had to work on, but Enzo and I have a close bond. He really loves liberty work, probably more than on the lead. He’s very good at reading my body language. When I want him to stop, I just lower the energy level. And then when I pick up the energy, off we go. Cantering from a halt is hard though!”
Claire says that no matter how many times she practises the course, when the camera is turned on to film her for competition, she does get a bit nervous. Her husband and children are given the job of videoing – and she admits she does have to pay them, after initially driving them mad with her perfectionist tendencies.
“Because I’m competitive, I went through a phase where it was taking two or three hours to video the course. The family sat me down and told me it doesn’t have to perfect – it just has to be good enough. I’m much improved now,” she laughs.
Claire won’t let her competitiveness compromise her relationship with her horses, however. “Last month we had to do a very tight S-bend in trot, which Vin really struggled with, as he just can’t turn that sharply on himself. In the end I decided it was causing him stress, so we just walked it. I knew I was going to lose some marks, but it’s all about him wanting to do it for me the next time.”
- For more information on horse agility, go to the website www.thehorseagilityclub.com. You can watch one of Claire’s Advanced on-line courses here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hce4IgNLmgE or visit her Facebook page ‘Claire’s horses – IQ Equine’.
The Horse Agility Handbook is available from the NZ Horse & Pony bookshop, visit www.horseandponymag.com
- This article was first published in the August 2019 issue of NZ Horse & Pony
