Unicorn, equine flamenco dancer and more entertain at Mudslingers Horse Show

BONSALL – The riding club “CGA Mudslingers”, a Bonsall-based district (#22) of the California Gymkhana Association (CGA), doubled in size at the start of its second season and featured a now-annual tradition of a costume contest to start its October show.

Riders got creative, with participants in the early-morning costume parade including a Pony Express pony, a unicorn, a flamenco dancer and a bucket of buttered popcorn. A couple of riders chose to keep their mounts’ costumes on during the day of competition, adding some flair to the increasingly popular sport of gymkhana (games on horseback).

The October show consisted of several difficult skill patterns, including speed ball (dropping a golf ball into an orange cone while the horse is moving and turning) and Figure 8 Flags (requiring the rider to round a barrel and deposit one flag into a bucket of sand and remove another).

Nearly 60 riders competed, with four performing strongly enough to advance a division. Alexandra Kidd-Dragula of Fallbrook bumped to Division AA on Diamond in the Clear; Luke Benton of Bonsall bumped to Division AA on L’il Miss Dottie the Hottie; Marlene Friebe of Bonsall bumped to Division A on I Am Icy Hot; and Mia Iveson of Oceanside bumped to Division A on Bellatrix Lestrange.

Complete results are below. The next Mudslingers show is a two-day event on Nov. 10-11 at Green Acres Ranch in Temecula. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Saturday of the show, the Mudslingers will host a series of vendors showcasing Western wear, sand-blasted keepsake items, leather-making goods and more.

Results:

Division AAA

First: Brett Hansen on Skipta Miss Max

Second: Avielle Lehman on Juliet

Third: Romy Linglet on Felicia

Division AA

First: Bella McKenna on Mystify Me Cowgirl

Second: Traci Ross on Maestro

Third: Jennifer Jungkunz on Ruger

Division A

First: Bentley Thurman on Prize

Second: Danielle Garside on Poquito Picante

Third: Jennifer Byrd on Jule

Division FC

First: Tamson Greenwood on Arrow

Second: Amanda Martin on Footloose

Third: Brianna Simon on Tinkerbell