09/09/2026
🧭🗺️📍🏇Competitive Mounted Orienteering
Last May I met a lady during one of my camping trips that told me about Competitive Mounted Orienteering (CMO). Ever since that day I have been wanting to try it and I finally got the opportunity to do so this weekend.
The sport:
CMO is essentially a scavenger hunt on horseback. The goal is to locate as many "plates" as possible, and in the fastest time. Plates are literally paper plates hidden off the trail with a code written on them to confirm you found them. At the starting line you receive a map with locations circled. For each circled area you are provided two landmark clues to look for and a compass bearing for each landmark. Once you locate the two landmarks you will use the compass bearing to find the location of the plate. The clues are located along the trail, but the plates will be located off the trail so one of your riders will ride off trail to find the plate. The plate can be on the back of a tree or object, or they can be on the ground buried in the grass, or they can be a "sky plate" hung up in a tree. When you locate the plate there will be letters written on it that you need to write down to turn in at the finish line to prove you found the correct location. You can compete solo or as a team, and can choose between a short course (about 5 plates) or a long course (about 10 plates). The team that locates the most plates in the fastest time wins! You and your horse can earn points through NACMO National Association for Competitive Mounted Orienteering.
The event:
MN/WI Competitive Mounted Orienteering hosted this event on Labor Day weekend at Eau Galle Equestrian Trails - Highland Ridge Equestrian Campground in Spring Valley, WI. The whole campground was reserved Friday-Sunday for this event, and we sure packed the place. On Friday night there was a Poker Run for fun. Saturday morning we had a riders meeting at 9:00am and then we drew cards to find out our order. If you were a newbie like us they had a box full of compasses to borrow, and they did a short practice to show us how to use the compass and locate a plate. Teams rode out of camp to start the course every ten minutes beginning at 10:00. Saturday evening we had a pot luck meal and the awards were announced. There was a sign up sheet for time slots on Sunday. Once all riders were done on Sunday the winners were announced. Those of us that chose to stay another night opted to order pizza from a local establishment and enjoyed dinner together before we started another campfire.
The community:
When we arrived my campsite neighbors were so welcoming. They helped direct me as I backed into the campsite, then guided Casper as I unloaded to make sure he didn't bump into their trailer. The wife offered to hold Casper while he hand grazed while the two gentleman took my cords and worked to get my electricity hooked up. I was able to setup Caspers corral and get him settled so quick and smooth with everyone's generous help. I instantly felt like part of their community. Thank you Amy, Bryce, and Roland for your assistance. Throughout the weekend many members offered to pickup supplies from town when they were running to get something. When it was time to ride, John, a gentleman that has been competing for many years rode with us for the first half of our competition on Saturday to show us the ropes and guide us to make sure we had a good first experience. The camaraderie and banter between this group quickly showed how amazing everyone at this event was. The event hosts were so nice and inclusive, we played Spinners (a domino game) with most of them throughout the weekend. I felt so welcome and included, and I couldn't ask for a better group of people to spend the weekend with.
The results:
Angie and I named our team "Lady Bosses". We competed in the long course on Saturday. We found 6 plates (1 by ourselves and 5 with John), and came in 9th place out of 9 teams. 😆. On Sunday we decided to do the short course, and we were able to locate all 4 plates. We took 3rd place! We won't mention the fact that there were only 3 teams in that division! 🤣. Despite taking last place both days, we really enjoyed the time riding our horses, scavenger hunting, land navigation, camping and spending time with friends and great people. If you enjoy all of these things then I highly recommend trying out a CMO competition sometime. There are still a few events coming up this fall for you to try your hand at CMO!
