The 2010 Amateur Trail finals pattern was a doozy.
Tim “The Trail Man” Kimura is known for his challenging AQHA World Championship Show patterns. But he certainly outdid himself with his design for the 2010 amateur trail finals.
If this is what Tim threw at the amateurs, the professionals should be afraid of what he might set up for them in the open finals next week.
“As a course designer, especially at this high level … I say to myself first, ‘What test am I looking for here, for the contestants?’” Tim told the Journal after the finals. “You know, when you get to this level, you’re going to have 15 good horses.”
Tim wants a course that riders can’t do perfectly so they feel challenged and want to ride again, to do it better. He pointed out that in this finals pattern, no one part of the course was a challenge for everyone; riders found it challenging in different places depending on their individual strengths and weaknesses.
From the tight jog serpentine at the beginning to the tangled bridge walkover at the end, Tim didn’t give the amateurs much time to think: a double-gate back-through, elevated lopeovers, lead changes and a sidepass chute combination.
Sarah Yaglowski and Zip It By Me, third in the finals go, sure looked pretty on the way to earning their first world championship.
“I really hate the backthrough,” Sarah said. “I don’t ever practice it, because the more I practice it, the worse I get. I just kind of close my eyes and let him take me through it. The sidepass was really tricky, too.
“I just wanted to do every obstacle one piece at a time. My trainer (AQHA Professional Horseman Gene Spagnola) always tells me, ‘You have to finish one obstacle before you start the next one and start looking ahead.’ I just tried to keep thinking about that.”
