How to set up a basic Tim Kimura trail course

If you do not have all the twelve foot poles, put smaller ones together end to end. 

They can be too long, but not too short.

If you do not have enough poles at home to set up the whole pattern,

use what you have to set up one element, practicing until you have it. 

Then rearrange your poles and practice another element.

Tim Kimura gave his permission for Saddle Mule News readers

to use this copyrighted Trail Sample. Basic Trail Sample #1 - A Tim Kimura copyright © 1997

Necessities:

• 22-twelve foot poles

• 7-eight foot poles

• a bridge - a piece of plywood works

• a gate - a rope gate made with jump standards is the easiest to move around

• 7 cones

• paint and brushes

Select a theme to your liking that uses 3-4 colors. Select only 2 colors per pole, and paint 2 foot wide stripes, alternating the 2 colors. For example a 12-foot pole, using red and white paint, would have 3-two foot wide red stripes and 3-two foot wide white stripes. The stripes are not for looks, but important practice tools. You group like colors at each obstacle. This helps you to easily identify each obstacle within the pattern, and helps you to memorize the order of

the obstacles.

I urge our readers who are showing their mules to make an effort to set up Tim’s basic trail pattern. It will be well worth the effort. We always need new challenges and a new direction to go. The result will be twofold - a well-trained mule and greatly improved riding skills. This new challenge will inspire both of you, and it will be fun. What better goal could you have for this winter, in preparation for next years show circuits? Just do it, and be ready for this new style of trail pattern when it appears at a major mule show in the future.

REMEMBER!  Measure, Measure, Measure.

Get those tape measures and colored markers out and start practicing!