Western riding (horse show)

Last updated
A western riding pattern WesternRidingPattern.png
A western riding pattern

Western Riding is a competitive event at American horse shows, particularly those for stock horse breeds such as the American Quarter Horse. It is not to be confused with the general term "western riding," referring to the many forms of equestrianism where riders use a western saddle; instead, it refers to a particular class where the horse and rider complete a pattern that incorporates elements of both reining and trail classes, but requiring horses to perform in a quiet style akin to that of a Western pleasure class. Horses are evaluated on “quality of gaits, lead changes at the lope, response to the rider, manners and disposition." [1] While all three gaits are required, most of the pattern is performed at a lope. Emphasis is placed on the horse's smoothness, even cadence, and precise, clean flying lead changes.

Contents

Procedure

Each horse performs individually. There are usually four patterns from which a judge may choose, all containing a walk, a jog, a jog over a log, a lope, a lope over a log, a jog to lope transition, a large serpentine with four "crossing lead" changes, a shallow serpentine with 3-4 line lead changes, a halt and a rein back. All lead changes are required to be completed within the designated lead change area.

Lead Changes

Lead changes are the most important part of competition, though they are not all that the horse is judged on. All lead changes are to be precise, performed in the center of the markers in the designated lead change area, switching both front and hind leads simultaneously while maintaining frame and composure. The horse is to be responsive and quiet.

Example of a Pattern

Pattern One from the AQHA Hand Book Show Rules 453B Western Riding can be described as follows: The horse enters the ring at a walk. It passes the starting cone and continues walking a few strides before jogging. It is traveling down a long side of the arena. Once it jogs, it jogs over the log, which has cones placed to either side of it. Once it has crossed the log and all four feet are on the second side of the log the horse picks up a lope. It lopes around the short end of the arena passing a cone on its left. Now the horse is moving down the second long side of the arena. Once it has passed the cone, it moves left switching its lead to the right lead. The horse passes the next cone on its right and starts shifting right switching its lead to the left. The horse will continue on this shallow serpentine through the cones for four loops completing the four line changes.

Effectively about half of the pattern is completed. Next, the horse will continue on his left lead down the second short end of the arena turning at another cone for a 180-degree turn at a lope. It will cross the arena completely making a lead change in the middle between the last cone and the next cone. Passing this cone on its right the horse will do another 180-degree at a lope continuing this large serpentine pattern around the cones for a total of four lead changes all completed around the centerline of the arena. During the large serpentine, the horse will lope over the log while loping around the cone. Once the horse has completed all the lead changes, it will pass its last cone on the left. Now it will do a 270-degree circle loping up the centerline of the arena. It will halt in line with the cones at the center of the pattern backing.

Scoring

The scoring method is very similar to that of reining. The scores will be on a scale of 0–100 with a 70 being an average score basis. Points are added or subtracted based on credits or faults observed. [2]

occur: One-half (1/2) point

to front)

One point

center point and between the markers

feet) at the lope

Three points

stopping when called for in the pattern, within 10 feet (3.0 meters) of the designated area

change area or out of lead at or after the marker after the designated change area

when correcting an extra change or incorrect lead)

30 feet (9.1 meters) after crossing the log at the jog

Five points

(note: failures to change, including cross-cantering. Two consecutive failures to change would result in two five point penalties). 175

bucking and rearing Disqualified - 0 score

steps with front legs

change leads

(11) Faults, which will be cause for disqualification, except in novice amateur or novice youth classes, which shall be faults scored according to severity:

consistently)

the nose is carried behind the vertical consistently.

should be judged accordingly in maneuver scores

nose is carried behind the vertical

Credit is given for

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dressage</span> Equestrian sport and art

Dressage is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by the International Equestrian Federation, dressage is described as "the highest expression of horse training" where "horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse gait</span> Ways of movement of equines

Horses can use various gaits during locomotion across solid ground, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reining</span> Type of western horse riding competition

Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope, or the gallop. Originating from working cattle, reining requires the horse to be responsive and in tune with its rider, whose aids should not be easily seen, and judges the horse on its ability to perform a set pattern of movements. The horse should be willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance and dictated to completely. A horse that pins his ears, conveys a threat to his rider, refuses to go forward, runs sideways, bounces his rear, wrings his tail in irritation, or displays an overall poor attitude is not being guided willingly, and is judged accordingly.If a horse jogs or breaks gait it is a 0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equitation</span> Art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship

Equitation is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trot</span>

The trot is a two-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about 13 kilometres per hour (8.1 mph). A very slow trot is sometimes referred to as a jog. An extremely fast trot has no special name, but in harness racing, the trot of a Standardbred is faster than the gallop of the average non-racehorse, and has been clocked at over 30 miles per hour (48 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canter and gallop</span> Equine gait

The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait possessed by all horses, faster than most horses' trot, or ambling gaits. The gallop is the fastest gait of the horse, averaging about 40 to 48 kilometres per hour. The speed of the canter varies between 16 and 27 kilometres per hour depending on the length of the horse's stride. A variation of the canter, seen in western riding, is called a lope, and is generally quite slow, no more than 13–19 kilometres per hour (8–12 mph).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western pleasure</span>

Western pleasure is a western style competition at horse shows that evaluates horses on manners and suitability of the horse for a relaxed and slow but collected gait cadence, along with calm and responsive disposition. The horse is to appear to be a "pleasure" to ride, smooth-moving and very comfortable. Most light horse breeds in the United States and Canada may compete in western pleasure classes, either in open competition or at shows limited to a single breed. However, horse conformation and temperament play a role in this event, and hence animals of stock horse breeds that are calm, quiet, have collected, soft gaits and the strong muscling required to sustain slow, controlled movement are the most competitive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equine conformation</span> Evaluation of a horses bone and muscle structure

Equine conformation evaluates a horse's bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other. Undesirable conformation can limit the ability to perform a specific task. Although there are several faults with universal disadvantages, a horse's conformation is usually judged by what its intended use may be. Thus "form to function" is one of the first set of traits considered in judging conformation. A horse with poor form for a Grand Prix show jumper could have excellent conformation for a World Champion cutting horse, or to be a champion draft horse. Every horse has good and bad points of its conformation and many horses excel even with conformation faults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Show hunter</span> Type of competition horse

The Hunter division is a branch of horse show competition that is judged on the horse's performance, soundness and when indicated, conformation, suitability or manners. A "show hunter" is a horse that competes in this division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambling gait</span> Horse gait

An ambling gait or amble is any of several four-beat intermediate horse gaits, all of which are faster than a walk but usually slower than a canter and always slower than a gallop. Horses that amble are sometimes referred to as "gaited", particularly in the United States. Ambling gaits are smoother for a rider than either the two-beat trot or pace and most can be sustained for relatively long periods, making them particularly desirable for trail riding and other tasks where a rider must spend long periods in the saddle. Historically, horses able to amble were highly desired for riding long distances on poor roads. Once roads improved and carriage travel became popular, their use declined in Europe but continued in popularity in the Americas, particularly in areas where plantation agriculture was practiced and the inspection of fields and crops necessitated long daily rides.

The gait of a dog is its quality of movement. It is given a great deal of importance in the breed standard of some breeds, of lesser importance in other standards, and in some breeds gait is not described in the standard at all. A dog's gait is similar to a horse's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riding figures</span> Equestrian training aid

Riding figures are prescribed paths a horse is ridden on in a riding arena, usually for training purposes. Figures may also be performed out in a field or other open area, but a riding arena provides markers that can help indicate the correctness in the size or shape of a figure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western riding</span> Style of horseback riding which evolved from the ranching and warfare traditions

Western riding is considered a style of horse riding which has evolved from the ranching and welfare traditions which were brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, as well as both equipment and riding style which evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West. At the time, American cowboys had to work long hours in the saddle and often over rough terrain, sometimes having to rope a cattle using a lariat, also known as a lasso. Because of the necessity to control the horse with one hand and use a lariat with the other, western horses were trained to neck rein, that is, to change direction with light pressure of a rein against the horse's neck. Horses were also trained to exercise a certain degree of independence in using their natural instincts to follow the movements of a cow, thus a riding style developed that emphasized a deep, secure seat, and training methods encouraged a horse to be responsive on very light rein contact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Working cow horse</span> A Western-style equestrian competition event

Working cow horse or reined cow horse is a type of Western riding competition in which horse and rider are tested for ability to work cattle. It is organised by the National Reined Cow Horse Association in North America, and by the European Reined Cow Horse Association in Europe. Horses are judged on accuracy, timing, and responsiveness.

The half-halt is a specific riding aid given by an equestrian to his horse, in which the driving aids and restraining aids are applied in quick succession. It is sometimes thought of as an "almost halt," asking the horse to prepare to halt in balance, before pushing it onward to continue in its gait.

Trail is a competitive class at horse shows where horses and riders in western-style attire and horse tack navigate a series of obstacles. Contestants ride the course one at a time. Originally designed to resemble situations a horse and rider might actually encounter when on a trail in a natural habitat, modern trail classes now tend to focus more heavily on agility and manners, with courses bearing very little resemblance to real-world natural trails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lead (leg)</span>

Lead refers to which set of legs, left or right, leads or advances forward to a greater extent when a quadruped animal is cantering, galloping, or leaping. The feet on the leading side touch the ground forward of its partner. On the "left lead", the animal's left legs lead. The choice of lead is of special interest in horse riding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of equestrian terms</span> List of definitions of terms and concepts related to horses

This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical terminology and jargon developed over the centuries for horses and other equidae, as well as various horse-related concepts. Where noted, some terms are used only in American English (US), only in British English (UK), or are regional to a particular part of the world, such as Australia (AU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western dressage</span> Dressage riding in western tack

Western dressage is an equestrian sport that combines the principles of dressage riding and the use of western tack. Riders typically wear western attire, such as button-up shirts, cowboy boots and jeans. All horse breeds are permitted to compete in western dressage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Brizendine</span> American horseman and professional trainer

Jack David Brizendine was an American horseman and professional trainer of American Quarter Horses, most notable for having earned 7 world champion titles in 3 different breed associations, and also for having trained or sold 22 world champions. A member of the American Quarter Horse Association, Brizendine began his horse show career competing in stock horse competitions and arena performance events including working cow horse, reining, western riding and western pleasure. He trained horses on his ranch in Lincoln, California.

References

  1. AQHA Handbook, Show Rules, 453B Western Riding (a)).
  2. AQHA Hand Book Show Rules 453B Western Riding