We invite you to participate, challenge others to participate, and enter to win!

​

Opt Out October is back again and we are excited to see YOU participate! Each week we invite you to share your progress with us along with a video or photo. Here's how it works:

 

1. REGISTER - This year we are asking members to register. The cost is $25 and everyone who registers will receive an Opt Out October t-shirt. Please include your t-shirt size when you register. (CLICK the registration button in this email or on hdhja.com)
    

2. PARTICIPATE - There are four weeks in this year's challenge. We encourage you to try to complete each challenge each week. Weekly challenges are listed below.
    

3. LOG TIME & FUNDS - Once you complete your challenge, we ask that you send us the total number of minutes that you rode without stirrups and the total amount of funds you raised. You can send us this information each week or at the end of the month. 
    

4. SHARE YOUR PHOTOS/VIDEO - Take pictures or video of you completing your challenge (or a portion of it), share on social and tag #HDHJA. Photos or video are highly encouraged. We want to see how you are doing and share clips at the awards banquet. 
    

5. GET SPONSORED OR DONATE - The final piece of the challenge is to encourage friends and family to sponsor your challenges OR for you to sponsor your fellow equestrians. There is no required dollar amount. This is the competitive portion of the challenge that requires investment. Let's say you want to challenge a friend or instructor to a specific challenge, like doing a course without stirrups. You would challenge them, take a photo or video, and then donate whatever amount you promised. 

 

WEEKLY CHALLENGES
 

There are a total of 4 weeks in this year's challenge. We encourage you to build your minutes up each week, demonstrating improvement in strength as the weeks go by! At the end of the month, we tally everyone's hard work and will award some fun prizes.

 

Week 1 - 10/4 - 10/10

RIDE WITHOUT YOUR STIRRUPS FOR 10 CONSECUTIVE MINUTES

We challenge you to spend some time this week riding without your stirrups. This is your warm up challenge. Let's get stronger by working our way up to riding consecutively without our stirrups for a full 10 minutes.

 

Week 2 - 10/11 - 10/17
RIDE THE CIRCLE OF DEATH

This week's challenge is to attempt the "circle of death" without your stirrups. This is a fun riding exercise using four poles or jumps organized in a circle with the center of each pole set 48' from the center of the next one. (The distances may be adapted to suit different arenas and different horses/ponies).

 

Week 3 - 10/18 - 10/24

EQUITATION TESTS - CHOOSE 5 TO COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE

This week's challenge is to complete 5 of the equitation tests without stirrups. While a judge would normally choose your tests - we encourage you to select your own five tests. You can also have a friend, trainer or family member select your tests. The idea is to pick five tests from the guidelines listed below and to complete them without your stirrups. Please take some video or pictures to share if you can!

 

Week 4 - 10/25 - 10/31

RIDE A GYMNASTIC WITHOUT STIRRUPS - AT YOUR LEVEL

Our final challenge is to ride a gymnastic at your level without stirrups. This can be anything from a pole gymnastic to a combination of heights. Please take some video or pictures to share if you can!

 

​

 

Opt Out October is a fun, community-driven fundraiser where HDHJA riders challenge themselves to ride without stirrups throughout the month of October while raising money to support the association. Participants log their no-stirrup riding time, complete weekly riding challenges, and invite friends and family to sponsor their efforts. 

The goal is to improve balance, strength, and horsemanship while bringing the HDHJA community together to raise funds for programs like horse shows, scholarships, clinics, and educational opportunities. Join the challenge, share your progress, and help support HDHJA—one stirrup-free ride at a time!

We offer prizes for the most minutes ridden without stirrups and for the most money raised.