tethered goose

This tip is intended to provide the practical advice one sees so rarely in our competitive world these days. Take the NTRAC trials for example. This organization sponsors trail rides of 10 to 12 miles which must be completed in a workman like time frame, say 3 or 4 hours, and contestants are judged by stalker types lying, hidden, at the scene of typical obstacles which the modern, properly accutred trail horse and his/her nicely turned out rider must negotiate in a "cool" fashion: "sure, you see the writhing ball of serpents under your horses feet but you're not going to work up a lather over it" kind of attitude.

One such obstacle is a white goose tethered by the leg to a log adjacent to the trail on which you must pass(wheew!). The politically attuned rider should indicate appreciation of this ingenuity with some apparent display: a gentleman might sit deeper, square his shoulders and show the whitened knuckles of one hand on the horn of his saddle; the lady might sing out in a tremulous contralto "LAWD BLESS MA HEAVIN BOSOM" and show a resolute smile applied with a good grade of garish lipstick.

As to horses: if you're on a QH it's adviseable to nudge the goose with your foot so your horse pricks up his/her ears thus indicating he/she has indeed seen the goose and his/her good behavior is training and not physical deficiencies. Now the rider of an Appaloosa should control the mouth of his mount because Apps are noted by the tendency to grasp the goose neckwise and pull it down the trail for further inspection. This is bad form and will be penalized accordingly (plus you'll be assessed damages for the damge). Despite the widely acknowledged serenity of our favorite breed, it is *highly recommended by this author that the rider of an Arabian NOT kick the goose "en passant"!