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It’s an event for the everyman. Or is that everyhorse? When it comes to the National Western Stock Show’s Horseman’s Challenge, it’s both and the egalitarian approach is part of the appeal.

Now in its second year at the National Western, the Horseman’s Challenge invites riders of all skill levels to come out on any sort of horse — mustang, draft horse, pony, mule, you name it — and ride through a series of stations meant to test their bond with the animal and skills in the saddle. Think of it like a dog show obstacle course, only big enough for a horse and rider to navigate. There are gates to ride through, balance beams to traverse, even a rocking bridge to cross.

On Monday morning, the 60 horse-and-rider pairs competing in this year’s challenge got their first chance to walk the course, set out on the same Denver Coliseum floor that hosts the Stock Show’s professional rodeo events. Beginners rode Monday afternoon. Tuesday will see intermediate and advanced riders compete and on Wednesday will bring team and speed challenges.

The everyman horseman’s event comes after an opening weekend where the National Western Stock Show saw a record crowd of 53,806 for opening Saturday and celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza on Sunday.

“We will keep an eye on horsemanship,” Rhoda Rein, the event’s superintendent, told the competitors before warm-ups. “We want you to hustle. The fastest time wins. But you will have penalty points.”

Time penalties can be assessed if a horse uses the wrong gait, (a walk instead of a trot, for instance) eats or otherwise disrupts an obstacle or goes through the course out of order, among other infractions. Laura Boldt, the event’s horsemanship judge, said she would keep a close eye on how relaxed horses are with their riders as well as how smooth and in control each rider is.

The challenge started in 2018 after National Western’s horse show manager, Kendra McConnell, and other stock show veterans went to the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Canada, to watch the elite-level horsemanship contest, the Cowboy Up Challenge. National Western’s version is “surface level” compared to Calgary’s invitational, but McConnell said the stock show wanted to hold an event that appealed to people from all corners of the horse world. The slots for the 2019 contest filled up in 36 hours, she said.

“We have an awesome equestrian community in Colorado, and this is an event to involve all our local equestrians,” she said.

Count Jim Goff among those who are happy to see the challenge take off. Aside from competing in the intermediate class this year, Goff also provided about half of the obstacles for the course, brought down from his private horse park in the Morrison area where he routinely hosts horsemanship clinics.

“What’s great about it is it can be for beginners,” Goff said. “There are some equestrian disciplines that are done at high-speed and maybe not everyone is confident at high speed. You can walk over these obstacles.”

After winning both the beginner and speed competitions last year, Margaret Blaha and her paint horse, Sonny, were set to take on tougher competition in 2019. Blaha didn’t grow up on a ranch but she loves horses. She is the barn manager for a horse rescue. She sees the Horseman’s Challenge as the perfect way for urban and suburban horse lovers to compete with one another. They may not have experience roping steers from the saddle or riding around barrels at speed, but they know how to navigate trail terrain.

“This is kind of the next phase of horsemanship, in my opinion, for city people who don’t have ranches,” she said.

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