A 24 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 20, 2002
Equine Education Program Keeps Ring
Busy During Ag Progress Days
MICHELLE KUNJAPPU
Lancaster Farming Staff
ROCKSPRING (Centre Co.)
It’s time to head to Rockspring
again for the annual display of
new agricultural programs, old
time farm machinery, education
Victoria, 7, and Nathan, 8, and their mother, Jodi Lentz,
Lebanon, meet Morgan horse “Sammy,” held by Tina Hig
ginbottom of the New Bolton Center, where “Sammy,” a
donated horse, was once a long-term patient.
Horse Rides, Field Demos
At This Year’s Ag Progress
(Continued from Page A 1)
ucational programs at several
other venues. He noted that the
riding program at Ag Progress
Days will be geared for novices
and the general public. Between
400 and 600 people are expected
to take the opportunity to ride a
horse during the course of the
three days.
New field demonstrations
scheduled this year will showcase
tillage equipment for compacted
soils and and the latest innova
tions in herbicide and pesticide
sprayers.
To provide opportunity for
companies to show off tillage
equipment specially designed for
working up tight soil, certain
areas of the demonstration field
will be compacted prior to Ag
Progress Days. This will be done
by driving heavy equipment on
the fields under wet conditions.
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al demonstrations, and farm
equipment exhibits... otherwise
known as Ag Progress Days.
Events in the horse arena dur
ing last year’s Ag Progress Days
included something to pique ev
eryone’s interest. From dressage
Oberheim said. Several compa
nies will then demonstrate their
tillage equipment’s ability to
work this precompacted soil.
Another new demonstration
will allow crowds to witness the
latest spray technologies for ap
plying herbicides and pesticides.
According to Oberheim, at least
four or five different companies
will be operating their sprayers in
the field.
The diverse lineup of machin
ery scheduled to operate through
out the three days includes bale
handlers, ag baggers, forage mix
ers, and loaders, plus “an assort
ment of field equipment,” Ober
heim said.
Altogether, about 350 commer
cial exhibitors will be on hand.
Ag Progress Days also features a
host of educational programs
provided by public agencies and
Penn State University.
exhibitions to mounted police
presentations, horse handling
clinics, and breed profiles, horses
took center stage in the arena at
the top of Main Street.
Morgans entered the ring in
high style, pulling a carriage
driven by Bruce Rappoport, New
Bolton Center. The American
breed is a natural driving horse,
said Rappoport. “They’re very
willing.” Rappoport gave several
demonstrations of the animals
during Ag Progress Days. He ex
plained the animals’ training to
compete in driving exhibitions.
The animals not only have to
be physically fit but also level
headed and used to noise, confu
sion, and distractions. Rappoport
usually does not take the animals
on the same training route twice.
Mounted Police Program
Pennsylvania State Police Cpl.
Wade Crimbring and trooper
Kenny Brown rode their police
horses into the ring to speak to
the crowd about the mounted po
lice program.
The program employs three
full-time and one part-time
troopers. They train the state po
lice horses and riders to serve in
Pennsylvania and surrounding
states and ride in the events. Be
sides the trainers, 25 field riders,
made up of troopers in various
offices in their police depart
ments, ride the 30 horses on de
tail.
The state police department
has utilized horses since 1905, but
the herd decreased in size since
then. Horsemanship competitions
between police troops gave rise to
a rodeo/exhibition tour that was
used as a recruitment tool until
1976.
Approximately 13 years ago a
riding program designed to train
horses and riders for a tactical
mounted unit began. “Our pri
mary responsibility is crowd con
trol or VIP security,” said
Crimbring. “We had 19 horses in
Washington, D.C. for the inaugu
ration.” Additionally, another
group of horses will travel to
D.C. for a convention this fall.
Demand for the horses has in
creased from 30 days on detail, or
on assignment, to 250 days on de
tail per year.
All of the animals are donated.
Although requirements are not
breed-specific, the animals must
have the temperament for the
job, be sound, and be large
enough (16 hands or taller) to be
accepted. “The selection process
is strict,” said Crimbring.
Trainers have 90 days to de
cide whether or not to keep the
animal, based on the animal’s
progress in training and person
ality displayed.
Since the animals are run in a
herd, the academy uses only geld
ings in the program.
Most horses take a year to be
come “crowd safe,” said Crimbr
ing. The training program starts
with groundwork such as lung
ing, then progresses to riding.
After a month trainers test the
horse’s tolerance by introducing a
stress or something frightening to
the animal and noting their re
action.
“After we see what their usual
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