Twin Rivers International Horse Trials and Festival took place Sept. 28-30 at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles. This was the first ever Three Star event to be held in the Western U.S. Eleven riders competed in the Olympic qualifying Three Star class, two of which are from the local area. Gina Miles from Creston and Andrea Baxter from Paso Robles took first and second places respectively. The other Three Star riders came from parts of California, Idaho, Arizona, and two from Canada.



Miles took an early lead on Friday after performing a nearly flawless dressage test, while other competitors were close behind. Saturday’s cross country course proved to be very challenging with no double clear rounds (no jump or time faults). Miles incurred a large chuck of time faults but was able to maintain a narrow lead over Baxter, who had the fastest ride of the day to move into third position. Sunday’s show jumping was yet another demanding course that only Baxter and her homebred mare, Estrella, could execute with no penalties, moving them into second place after Jennifer Wooten of Ramona, took a single rail down.
Miles and McKinlaigh jumped clear but took their time over the course and incurred a time fault. However, their substantial lead in the dressage left them to still win the Three Star class with 4.5 points in hand over Baxter and Estrella.
The event also featured classes from Novice to Intermediate, with a total of 357 horses competing in the event. Volunteers, spectators and sponsors flocked to the event to be a part of the excitement. The trade fair flourished with food, clothing, horse supplies and jewelry vendors.
Saturday afternoon finished off with the 4th annual Dog Costume Contest in which dogs and some of their owners dressed to impress the judges. Dogs pranced about the stage to appropriate music and some even performed tricks! Some of the costumes included a box of Corona, a rosta man, little angels, lady bugs, and a dragon to name just a few!
Sunday’s International competition was welcomed by the SLO county’s mounted Sherriff Posse presenting the color guard and National Anthem.
Report provided by Twin Rivers Ranch. For more information on future events at Twin Rivers Ranch, visit the website at www.twinriversranch.us or call 805-467-3585.