Blazing a trail at Horse Expo

Trot up a gravel slope and back down again. Step over big logs, wobbly poles and rock piles that are strewn all over your path. Climb down into, through, and out of a deep trench in the ground. Maintain your balance while stepping across a narrow balance-beam bridge, then spin all the way around while standing on a “rolling bridge” that slides back and forth underfoot. Keep doing complete 360s while climbing a flight of stairs, then step backward down those stairs without looking behind you. Speed your way through a couple of shallow, muddy puddles before wading through a really deep one.

Then, wipe your feet.

Doing all that on your own two legs is tough enough. If you can do it on horseback, Mark Bolender believes, you deserve a chance at Olympic bling.

That’s the open secret behind the equine Mountain Trail challenge that Bolender designed for this weekend’s Washington State Horse Expo at the Clark County Event Center: He’s working to build equine Mountain Trail, a trek across an artificial landscape packed with obstacles and tests, into an official Olympic sport.

Bolender and his wife, Lee, are the owner-operators of Bolender Horse Park in Silver Creek, northeast of Kelso; they’re also the president and vice president of the International Mountain Trail Challenge Association, which is popularizing and standardizing the sport all around the world, he said.

“About five years ago, we set out to create a new discipline, globally,” he said. “Mountain Trail brings together everything we’ve learned, all in one place. It creates a bond, a partnership between horse and rider unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”

During the Horse Expo, Bolender himself will lead clinics aimed at helping horses and owners develop the skills essential to overcoming all those tricky obstacles — not just strength and agility but teamwork.

“It’s a beautiful discipline,” he said. “The horses love it.”

Skills and magic

People love it, too. Thousands show up annually for the Washington State Horse Expo, which offers three full days of national experts and clinics, vendors and souvenirs, kid activities and entertainment for horse fans of every stripe.

For active horse owners who want to build or sharpen their skills, there are sessions on safety, overcoming fears, getting to know your horse’s personality, five essential horse exercises and horse health and wellness. The topics get more serious from there: There’s the mash-up discipline of “working equitation,” rebuilding your confidence after a mishap and taking your skills to the next level. Windhaven Therapeutic Riding, a La Center nonprofit that provides riding lessons and bonding between horses and veterans whose wounds may or may not be visible, will make several presentations about its work.

Meanwhile, horse worshippers who just want to feel the magic can enjoy mounted-horseback archers, mini horses, Eugene, Ore., resident Endo the Blind Horse, “Teens and Mustangs” and the charming lovey-dovey pair Spanky and Dally — an inseparable miniature horse and a Jack Russell terrier who gained fame on National Geographic and “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Finally, there’s the BlackPearl Friesan Dance Troupe, featuring costumed riders and truly grand horses performing choreographed musical numbers briefly on March 3 and again as part of the separate Saturday Night Equine Extravaganza, a veritable variety show of horse entertainment — which does cost an extra $10 at the door.

Many of the Expo’s skilled clinicians will show off their best tricks and moves during the Saturday Night Equine Extravaganza. Among them will be Jim Anderson, the 2016 Calgary Stampede Cowboy Up Challenge winner.

Throughout all of this, a vendors’ marketplace will feature farm equipment, educational materials, tack and accessories, clothing and lots more.