A touch of rain on Saturday didn't take away from the Crowfoot Dodge Cochrane Horse Trials, June 24-25, at the Cochrane and District Ag Society grounds.

Head organizer Julie Smard says the two-day trials went off without a hitch as about 150 riders competed in dressage, show jump and cross-country events.

"We had a few showers, but that's okay, we can handle quite a bit of rain," says Simard. "We prefer the sun, but not too hot is always better when the horses are involved."

Dressage and show jump was staged on the lower grounds of the Ag Society on June 24 and delighted both the spectators allowed to roam relatively freely on the grounds and motorists travelling Hwy. 1A. Sunday was a hotter day and was held above on the cross-country course that offers a spectatular view of the mountains and Cochrane valley. It was even breathtaking for Simard who caught a glimpse here and there.

"It's so pretty with all the jumps and people everywhere," she says. "I took a minute to take in the view and it looked really nice. It was peaceful and everyone was happy and there was no crisis of any sort. It was really nice."

The higher the calibre, the longer and more difficult the course and those riders go first Sunday morning. For those competitiors it's about 3 km course with 20 to 25 jumps, she explains. Vets are on hand to check the health of the horses and there's always plenty of water available.

Staging the event takes around 70 volunteers and while many are experienced, new people are always welcome to come assist.

"We usually can take people that have no idea of what we're about and we still allow them to help out and have a good day with it, too."

Coming out on top after two days of competition were: Leah Breakey with Master King II, preliminary open; Kylie Strate with Whiskey Whisper, training open; Brooklyn Green with Tango Papa, pre-training open; Kendyl Holt with Sky Hawk, pre-training regular A; Shawna Nevdoff with Milly, pre-training regular B; Hallie Gahan with A Sanfte Mohn, entry open; Laura Hornung with Major Mito Azur, entry regular A;  Jenae Roehl with Baywatch, entry regular B; Morgan Martin wih Alberta's Northern Lights, pre-entry open; Brooklyn Holt with Rayna Dawn, pre-entry regular; and Brooklyn Solomon with Pikkolo Player, starter open.

The next horse trials at the Cochrane Ag Grounds is an one-day event on Aug. 5 that includes the same three stages. Given the tight time schedule, the number of participants is capped between 80 and 100. A clinic follows, Aug. 6