Hanaeleh Winter Olympics: Let The Games Begin!

While people all over the world have been following the Winter Olympics, we decided to have our own version of the Olympics at Hanaeleh!

This past Saturday the volunteers competed with a horse of their choice and worked through various obstacles. The volunteers have been practicing over the past month on various different events, including a relay, weaving through cones, keyhole and barrel racing.

The most difficult event for the handlers seemed to be the barrels- even though we put arrows on the barrels, they were still uncertain which way to run. Some horses ran faster than their handler, and some horses were not as enthusiastic and had to be coaxed to finish (Mr. Darcy felt that the games were quite beneath him and participated a bit unwillingly).

Several volunteers were concerned about the event with the cones, but the horses did very well and were quite agile through the obstacles. Some of the horses showed off their nimble footwork, and some just plowed through. A few cones sadly gave their lives for the event, but besides a few flattened cones, everyone did well and finished the course.

The relay race was more of a physical event for the handler, as they had to run back and forth between buckets and put elements from one bucket to the other- they were quite winded by the end of the event!

Finally, we had the speed race which was the keyhole event. Again, some of the horses were faster than their handlers, but everyone got through the event on their feet.

After the events were completed, we had lunch and a special medal ceremony for the fastest times. The volunteers got to stand on the podium and show off their bling!

While some people got to walk away with a medal, the goal (as always) was to have fun and engage more with the horses. We congratulate all of the participants of the Hanaeleh Winter Olympics!