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September 14,2009- Frederick Post 


 
Riding instructor and trainer uses natural methods
Originally published September 14, 2009


By Karen Gardner
News-Post Staff
Photo by Bill Green


Betsy Ayers teaches and trains horses using the animal's sense of trust and and the rider's sense of balance. She is shown training Dinah, 9, who has seldom been ridden, by leading her around a ring on a halter and lead.
ROCKY RIDGE -- The methods Betsy Ayers uses to teach horseback riding and train equines are grounded in common sense.

Ayers, who works in Rocky Ridge and Boonsboro, teaches and trains using the animal's sense of trust and the rider's sense of balance and focus.

No student gets on the back of a horse without being able to control it from the ground, using a lunge line.

"If you can't do it on the ground, you have no business being on the horse," Ayers said.

That's not the way she learned it. Ayers grew up, horse crazy, in Mechanicsburg, Pa. She couldn't afford lessons, however, and her passion was limited to books and pony rides at carnivals.

After she graduated from high school, she bought a horse, a well-trained Morgan, and taught herself to ride. Or rather, her horse taught her to ride. She won't say how old she is, but she did say that helmets weren't in fashion when she started riding.

Now she won't let her students on a horse without proper equipment, which includes a helmet, riding boots and jeans or riding pants.

"I rode my first horse in shorts and sneakers, and I still have the scars where my legs rubbed," she said.

One of her first dates with the man who became her husband was a horseback ride. Her children, now young adults, grew up around her horses.

She attended riding clinics and learned what she could about riding. She took on training jobs. "I would hop on anyone's horse," she said.

Ayers and her husband moved to Smithsburg from near York, Pa., earlier this year to take care of his mother. Ayers began teaching and training for Julie Bolton of Groff's Content Farm in Rocky Ridge. Bolton once gave lessons at the farm, but is now concentrating on her organic farming business.

Ayers is training 9-year-old Dinah, a paint horse who has seldom been ridden. Dinah prefers eating grass and sleeping over carrying riders. She's unlikely to run off, and will make an ideal lesson horse for beginners, Ayers said.

She's training Dinah to keep her head down, to make it more comfortable for her to walk.

"Horses are meant to drive from the back legs to the front," she said. That doesn't come naturally, however, so Ayers encourages her, using an overhead lunge line with gentle pressure and kissing noises. Dinah responds quickly.

"She trusts me," Ayers said. "You have to be the alpha mare."

Even kids can learn this, and do, Ayers said.

Brie Trevorrow, 13, of Thurmont , has been taking riding lessons for three summers. From Ayers, she is learning to look in the direction she wants the horse to go. That's a technique essential for many sports, which sounds easy but is often one of the hardest concepts to learn.

Brie starts each lesson picking the feet of her horse, then saddling her horse. While going from the walk to the trot to the canter, Ayers reminded her to look where she wants the horse to go, especially when she's turning in quick circles to step over bars placed on the ground.

The horse picks up on those subtle body cues, feeling the rider's slight shifts.

"They can feel you twist and turn," Ayers said. This method worked for Brie. Each time she turned, her horse quickly followed Brie's commands.

"Balance is the only thing that's going to keep you in the saddle," Ayers said. "Your position is your ear, your shoulder, your hip and your ankles in a straight line. That's what helps you keep your center of gravity."

The stomach should be tucked in, allowing the rider to use core strength to stay on the horse.

She is taking certification classes by trainer Richard Shrake, and plans to hold a Shrake clinic in the spring. In the meantime, she uses Shrake's resistance-free methods.

"In the horse business, you never stop learning about horses," she said.

Ayers calls her riding business Tombetsthefarm, after her husband, Tom, and her own first name, Betsy.

 

Pennsylvania

Youth horse show opens Franklin County Fair

By C.J. LOVELACE
August 15, 2010
Staff Correspondent

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Ten youngsters took part in the youth horse show Sunday at the Franklin County Fair, but a brother and sister duo stole the show.

Nathan Pugh, 15, and Abigail Pugh, 11, of Greencastle, Pa., earned first- or second-place ribbons in just about every category they entered, combining for a total of 19. Nathan took firsts in seven categories and seconds in two more, while Abigail took eight first-place ribbons.

Although the Pughs did so well, the show itself was all about family fun, according to judge Betsy Ayers.

“I thought it was really nice,” said Ayers, who judged the event for the first time, although she is not new to judging horse shows. “It was a fun show compared to some of the shows that I judge that are really hard-core. This was just people out there for fun. It didn’t matter who won. Everybody cheered everybody on and I thought that was really a great thing to see.”

The kids, ranging in age from 4 to 17, competed in a variety of events, including Costume, Bare Back Dollar, Walk Trot, English Pleasure, Western Pleasure, Break & Out, Egg & Spoon, Trail Class, Open End Barrel, Barrel Race and Ride & Run.

Completing the slate of categories, those in attendance who were 19 and older got to compete in the Jack Benny class, which was won by Andrew Pugh. Competitors 13 and younger were grouped in the junior class and those 14 to 18 were part of the senior class.

Debbie Pugh, Nathan and Abigail’s mother, said the kids get to practice on a family farm in Greencastle.

“I think they did really well,” said Debbie Pugh. “They do practice, especially Abigail.”

A junior class competitor, Abigail said it felt “very good” to win eight ribbons Sunday. Her favorite event was the Egg & Spoon, in which riders must hold an egg on a spoon while riding and obeying commands from the judge.

“It’s challenging,” said Abigail, who has been riding since she was about 3 months old.

Nathan, who participated in the senior class, said his favorite event was the Ride & Run because “I can go really fast.” And that he did, winning the class by more than four seconds over runner-up Julia Miles.

He doesn’t remember when he started riding, but he guesses he was about 5 years old. When he’s not riding horses, Nathan enjoys riding four-wheelers and working with his dad, Bryce.

The costume competition featured horses and riders dressed up in matching outfits. With his Shaggy and Scooby-Doo outfit, Matthew Hahn, 8, won the junior division and Miles, 17, took the senior class with her American Indian outfit.

Ian Landis, the youngest in the show at age 4, took second in the junior division with his elephant and clown circus costume. Other costumes sported by competitors were a dinosaur, lamb, Tinker Bell, and a princess and a frog.

The Franklin County Fair runs until Saturday at the Chambersburg Rod and Gun Club grounds off Pa. 995.

Horse show results

Jr. Costume: 1. Matthew Hahn 2. Ian Landis 3. Rachel Pugh 4. Janice Hahn 5. Maeve Stewart; Sr. Costume: 1. Julia Miles 2. Nathan Pugh

Jr. Bare Back Dollar: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Rachel Clark; Sr. Bare Back Dollar: 1. Paige Henry 2. Nathan Pugh 3. Julia Miles

Walk Trot: 1. Rachel Pugh 2. Janice Hahn 3. Matthew Hahn 4. Ian Landis

Jr. English Pleasure: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Rachel Clark; Sr. English Pleasure: 1. Nathan Pugh 2. Julia Miles

Jr. Western Pleasure: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Rachel Clark; Sr. Western Pleasure: 1. Nathan Pugh

Jr. Break & Out: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Rachel Clark; Sr. Break & Out: 1. Nathan Pugh 2. Julia Miles

Walk Trot Egg & Spoon: 1. Janice Hahn 2. Rachel Pugh 3. Ian Landis 4. Matthew Hahn; Jr. Egg & Spoon: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Rachel Clark; Sr. Egg & Spoon: 1. Nathan Pugh 2. Julia Miles 3. Paige Henry

Walk Trot Trail Class: 1. Janice Hahn 2. Rachel Pugh 3. Ian Landis

Jr. Open End Barrel: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Rachel Clark 3. Matthew Hahn 4. Rachel Pugh; Sr. Open End Barrel: 1. Nathan Pugh 2. Paige Henry

Jr. Barrel Race: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Rachel Clark 3. Rachel Pugh 4. Janice Hahn; Sr. Barrel Race: 1. Nathan Pugh 2. Paige Henry 3. Julia Miles

10 & Younger Ride & Run: 1. Rachel Clark 2. Rachel Pugh 3. Matthew Hahn 4. Ian Landis; Jr. Ride & Run: 1. Abigail Pugh 2. Janice Hahn; Sr. Ride & Run: 1. Nathan Pugh 2. Julia Miles 3. Paige Henry

If you go ...

What: Franklin County Fair

Where: Chambersburg Rod & Gun Club grounds, Pa. 995, west of Chambersburg, Pa.

Cost: $5 for ages 13 and older; $3 for ages 5 to 12; free for those 4 and younger

More information: www.franklincountyfair.org

Today at the fair:

4 p.m. — Youth rabbit show

6 p.m. — 4-H rabbit showmanship

5:30 p.m. — Franklin County Fair Little Miss Contest

7 p.m. — Princess contest

8:30 p.m. — Queen contest

By Colleen McGrath |

Ian Landis, 4, left, rides Buddy, who is dressed like a circus elephant, and Matthew Hahn, 8, dresses as Shaggy and Coco the horse is dressed as Scooby-Doo during the costume contest portion of the horse show Sunday at the Franklin County Fair in Chambersburg, Pa.

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By Colleen McGrath |

Rachel Pugh, 5, dresses as Mary and horse Ebeny is her little lamb Sunday during the costume contest portion of the horse show at the Franklin County Fair in Chambersburg, Pa.

Purchase this photo