Top Trail Team 2018 NEW
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Continued...
EQUINE Lifestyle
to a
Level
Taking
TTRRAAIILL RRIIDDIINNGG
Do you know someone who likes to ride? I mean—really,
really ride? Well I do and her name is Robin Morris and her
partner on the trail is her beloved mule, Beau.
Robin joined the Top Trail family in late 2015. Top Trail is an
online ride program designed primarily for trail riders. Right
from the start Robin and her mule, Beau, started winning
Top Trail Challenges. To date Beau has won Top Trail Horse
Division 1 challenges 20 times and Robin has won Top Trail
Rider Division 1 five times. They are Top Trail Horse and Rider
of the Year 2018 just as they were in 2017. To earn that
honor, together they logged over 2000 miles on the trail in
2018 and we could not be more proud and honored that
they are part of Top Trail.
We have hundreds of riders and their equines in Top
Trail competing for the top spots each month and each
quarter. Robin and Beau, because of their consistent high
mileage, have always been competitive in what has been
called “Division 1” but is now the “Competitor Division.” It’s
safe to say we all look at Robin as a role model and great
motivator to get out there and ride.
Riding Year Round In Montana
You would think that living in Montana equates to your
riding time being rather limited in the winter months, well
that would be the case for me, but not for Robin and
Beau. Robin tells us, “Since Beau came into my life, I ride 12
months out of the year. After all, I am a firm believer that
warm clothes allow us to enjoy the beauty that only winter
has to offer.”
Finding the Right Partner is Critical
How did this dynamic duo come to be, you ask? After several
years of some sad and disappointing attempts to raise
a great trail partner, Robin found Beau through an auction
in 2014 and after a nail biting round of bidding against 4
other potential owners, Beau belonged to Robin.
Mileage & Time = Strong Bonds
Can you imagine, after a journey of over 9900 overall
(7400 of them on Top Trail) in about 4-1/2 years, what your
relationship with your equine would be like? Robin shares,
“My partnership with Beau took time. While I chose him
because of his calm and quiet demeanor and exceedingly
good looks, we have had our moments. I had issues
with him and I am sure, if asked, he had issues with me. But
I believe if you have a kind animal that can all be worked
out with consistency and time. I expose him to as much
as possible. If there is something that he is hesitant about, I
never avoid it.”
Robin explains her philosophy, “I think it’s important for his
‘continuing education’ to overcome, or at least tolerate,
anything that appears scary. It’s called life. He has come
so far, and I am proud of him. His flight distance used to exceed
a 1/10th of a mile – a very fast tenth of a mile. Now,
he seldom offers more than three side-passes away from
the subject of his fear.
“Recently some friendly cows ran towards him, stopped
by the fence, and he was sure they had his number. I
decided it was time to stop and share lunch with him, right
next to the fence line with the cows. By the way, we share
a packet of peanut butter crackers on each ride. He gets
three and I get three.”
I asked Robin how she goes about bonding with and
developing a fantastic trail partner, because it’s quite apparent
that she knows how to do it right: “Try camping with
them. The first time I took him camping in the Wilderness for
8 days — wow — we grew as a team. While I “camped” in
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