How do Horses Celebrate Christmas?

On December 15th, Hillview Arena opened its doors for the first Cowboy Christmas Party.
Riders met at noon atop horses decked out in glitter, ribbons, lights, santa hats, and enough
tinsel to leave shiny trails wherever they walked. Some of the riders even matched their horse
by donning sweaters and tinsel around their hats. The arena, Hillview Arena located in Helena
was decorated with tinsel and old lasso’s adorned with sprigs of holly. Thirty five people
attended the event throughout the day.

The first event was trail. Obstacles included a gate, cones to weave between, a trot circle, a
box, an L of poles to back through, and a tarp made to look like water. Each rider took turns
going through the course. Some breezed through it and made it look easy, warranting cheers
and whoops from the crowd when they finished. Others were on young or inexperienced horses
who needed a bit of coaxing. Eventually though, everyone had completed the course and it was
time for the next event. A small Christmas tree was strapped to the top of a barrel, one on each
side, and everyone was split into two teams. The objective was to grab an ornament, race down
on your horse, place the ornament on the tree, and race back. The team that finished first won.
Riders sat anxiously at the starting line and raced forward when given the signal. Once down at
the tree though, they faced a new challenge. Some horses hated the tree and didn’t want to get
within five feet of it. Others wanted to eat the tree. Some people raced around the tree,
mimicking a barrel racer, and dropped their ornaments in their haste. In the end, the team on
the right of the arena won. After the tree decorating, everyone was given spoons, and the teams
were divided again, with five at the start, and five down at the Christmas tree. An ornament was
placed on the spoon and riders had to carefully transport the “egg” back and forth until everyone
on their team had gone.

After the events involving ornaments, lunch was called and everyone raced down the arena to
tie their horses. The whole arena echoed with the sound of bells, tied on tack, horses, and
riders, as people jogged over to the food. The lunch tables were pressed against the far side of
the arena and sat underneath a large Christmas tree made of lights woven between the rafters
of the indoor arena. Lunch was a culmination of everyone’s meals. Sloppy Joes, soup, chicken,
and salads were all available and everyone welcomed the hot food as they sat on straw bales
by the fire. The horses were left tied at the trailer while the riders huddled around the fire. About
halfway through lunch, snowflakes began to fall, and people pulled hoods and hats tighter over
their heads. Occasionally another log was added to the fire and people would smile through the
smoke as they told stories about their horses and the crazy things they’d done.

Once everyone was warm and full of good food, they grabbed their horses, put bridles back on,
and walked back into the arena. A few people stood quietly waiting for the next event while
others jogged and cantered circles around the obstacles to warm their horses back up. The first
event was team trail. Riders completed the same trail course as before, but this time they held a
rope with a partner and had to configure the obstacles side by side. Some people moved in
sync right next to each other, while some got more creative. One team, when faced with a box
that instructs riders to spin inside, decided to introduce a little ballet. One team member held the
rope over his head while the other spun around, then they switched places. Someone from the
crowd shouted, “They’re pirouetting!” followed by some whistles and hollers as the crowd
laughed. Once team trail was done, a backing competition was held. Riders started in a line and
backed their horses across the arena until there horses hindquarters touched the wall, then they
raced forward to the finish. Some horses backed halfway, then stopped in their tracks, refusing
to do anymore. Some backed speedily to the end and cantered gracefully to the finish. Some
riders even pulled a few spins to get their sticky horses unstuck. In the end, nobody knew who
won because everyone was cheering and laughing too hard to time anything.

With the events done, the arena was opened up for free riding. Some people trotted and
cantered their horses around, working on skills they struggled with during the competitions.
Some parents plopped their kids on their tired horses who happily plodded around the arena for
their tiny riders. Around 4:00 p.m., the arena was nearly empty and everyone headed out to
their trailers to take care of their horses by unsaddling, grooming, and throwing on blankets to
ward off the chill that was starting to settle in. A few people, after loading their horses back onto
their trailers, sat back down by the fire and picked at the leftovers from lunch as they talked.

We talked to the owner of Hillview, Rena Christian Carlson, to learn more about the event. “​I
love Christmas and this was a fun way to get people to come together during the stressful
holiday season to have a good time and forget about everything else and enjoy our horses.
Also, it's a great way for me to promote my indoor arena,” she said.

“There were three of us that got together on a Sunday afternoon and came up with games and
ideas for the party. I went shopping for decorations and reached out to my Facebook friends
who gave me the ropes that I made into Christmas wreaths.”

Carlson has big plans for next year. “I feel it was a great success and the feedback I received
from many of the participants was that I needed to make this an annual event! Some even want
something monthly. Next year I hope to make it bigger and better. I will plan to have more fun
relay games that don't take up as much time as the trail course did. The relays seem to keep
people more engaged and they get to ride more often.”

If you’re interested in more horseback riding events, Hillview is hosting Taylor Pattern the first
Sunday of every month for cavaletti classes, starting January 4th. The cost is $25 per rider for
an hour, with a $10 arena fee.