Equine lovers gather in Belton

By JULIET BRISKIN | Country World Central Texas

June 14, 2001 -- An equestrian odyssey was the theme at this year's Texas Equestrian Trail Riders Association (TETRA) third annual meeting in Belton. All disciplines of the equestrian world were featured and the meeting was held in conjunction with The United Mounted Peace Officers of Texas' (TUMPOT) fourth annual conference.

The joint conference included exhibits, clinics and TETRA/TUMPOT educational and entertainment activities. During the first two full days of the conference TUMPOT hosted an equine desensitization course led by certified trainers.

TUMPOT is a non-profit organization that provides standardized training to mounted patrols, search and rescue teams, law enforcement groups and sheriff's posses. Their programs include horse desensitization, obstacle course training, crowd control, human tracking, wilderness medicine and CPR, natural horsemanship, and round pen horse training.

Captain Nancy Robichaux, president of TUMPOT, founded the organization six years ago. "As an officer I saw a lack of standardized training in Texas," said Robichaux. "Now if I go on the range in Corpus Christi or Dallas or Fort Worth, everything I do is standardized."

Randy Myrick, a police officer with the city of Houston's Mounted Patrol Division, and his horse Joe, were on hand to help lead the desensitization course. According to Myrick horsemanship is horsemanship and all horses and riders can benefit from this type of obstacle course training. "We try not to teach just one theory," said Myrick. "We have discovered that there is good in every theory so we try to take a bit from each to create this program."

Melissa Neil, TETRA member, and her thre-year-old horse Kenya, participated in the desensitization course. "Kenya is so young and impressionable that this is a good age to really work with his brain," said Neil. "You work with their physical status all their life, but when the horse is young this type of training is so good for their brain."

Jody Henderson, manager of the Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Horse Identification Program, spoke about the increase in horse theft across Texas and the HIP program. According to Henderson the program works to identify stolen horses through computer chips, freeze branding, and photos. Horse owners can register their horse with TSCRA and in the event of a theft, the organization will work with local law enforcement in an attempt to recover the animal.

Eddie Foreman, a TSCRA field inspector and certified peace officer, also discussed horse theft. "In Texas, theft of livestock is defined in the penal code as a state jail felony," said Foreman. According to him registering horses is a benefit to law enforcement because if an individual cannot positively identify their horse there is not much a peace officer can do. "You have to be able to make a positive identification," said Foreman. "If not there is nothing I can do."

In addition to all the "horse talk" there were mules, donkeys and miniature donkeys on hand. Dr. Suzanne Burnham, a veterinarian from Graham, spoke about mules and their contribution to the equine world. "Mules are much more hearty than horses," said Burnham. "They survive on much less food and their digestive track is more efficient. That is why they were used in the 20-mule teams, the Calvary, and as pack animals."

After all the educational programs and clinics convention members were treated to a horse drill team competition on Friday evening and the "Mane Event" on Saturday night. The Sweethearts of Texas Drill Team won the competition and performed their award winning routine at the "Mane Event." Other acts included trick riders, dressage quadrilles and driving races. For more information about TETRA visit their web site at www.tetratrails.com.