WAYNESVILLE, Ohio — It’s called the Confidence Course Showdown. To horse enthusiasts this may be comparable to football’s “sports bowls,” an event which tests both the horse and rider.

Seventeen riders from throughout southwestern Ohio and their mounts converged on the grounds at Cross Creek Stables in Waynesville last month to test horse maneuvering skills over a four-acre course filled with unusual and not-so-easy challenges. Spearheading this competition was renowned horse trainer Helge Buflod of Waynesville.

“I like competition, and it makes people strive a little bit,” Buflod said. “I want to push these riders out of their comfort zone.”

Buflod held several training clinics throughout the 2014 season and invited participants to compete over a timed obstacle course, testing not only the ability of horses to complete each obstacle but the riders’ ability to instill that trust in the horses.

Horse and rider begin inside a square box. Upon departing the box the clock is running and the two are given 10 minutes to successfully handle each obstacle along the course. Points are deducted for not completing each task or for skipping an obstacle altogether.

First on the list of to-dos is taking a hoop from a rack and depositing it on an overhang, while taking one’s mount through an array of hanging vines. Rider then pivots a board 180 degrees while on horseback. The fourth step is gently riding the horse through a large, dark culvert pipe.

Next up is a slow walk forward and backward between parallel beams without touching a board. This is followed by a trip to a mailbox to retrieve Halloween candy. The mailbox lid makes noises and bulbs light up in an attempt to scare the horse and rider.

Maneuvering a pair of large railroad ties adorned by a few balloons is perhaps the easiest obstacle on the four-acre course, only to challenge the pair to enter and close a gate while on horseback right after that. The horse and rider then make their way through a small pool of water and a “black hole” – a small, empty crevasse that most horses back away from.

If time remains, the rider has to dip water from a trough, traverse a large hill and deposit the water in a bucket on the other side of the hill. Points are awarded for not spilling any water.

“Part of the instruction is to get the horse’s confidence up by getting them to go through some pretty challenging obstacles. It’s also a test to see how much trust the horses have in the riders to accept these scary stops,” Holly Buflod said.

The entry fee was just $35 and riders got a chance to win gift certificates, halters or belt buckles. But prizes were not the lure for these competitors.

“It’s not the competition, it’s just being with all the other horse people and getting your horse’s confidence up to do these things,” said Mindy Pendery of Loveland, Ohio.

Four categories of competition included the Classic (for riders over 50), Open Class, Renegade Division (for returning champions) and Bridle-less class (riders using neck ropes or training sticks).