The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to 44 mph (70.8 km/h). The development of the Quarter Horse traces to the 1600s.
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships in a given discipline or breed. Most shows consist of a series of different performances, called classes, wherein a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.
Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. Reining is also considered to be a lot like figure skating. All work is done at the lope, or the gallop. Originating from working cattle, reining is often described as a Western form of dressage riding, as it 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, conveying 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.
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.
Cutting is a western-style equestrian competition in which a horse and rider work together before a judge or panel of judges to demonstrate the horse's athleticism and ability to handle cattle. Modern competition utilizes a 2+1⁄2 minute performance, called a "run." Each contestant is assisted by four helpers: two are designated as turnback riders, who help to keep cattle from running off to the back of the arena, the other two are designated as herd holders to keep the cattle bunched together and prevent potential strays from escaping into the work area. Cutting cattle are typically young steers and heifers that customarily range in size from 400 to 650 lb. They usually are of Angus or Hereford lineage though may be a mix of crossbred beef cattle, including Charolais or Brahman lineage.
Western riding is considered a style of horse riding which has evolved from the ranching and welfare traditions which were brought to the Americans 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.
The Canadian Cutting Horse Association (CCHA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the equestrian sport of cutting in Canada. Founded in 1954, it regulates a sport that began in the mid-1880s and became popular in Canada in the 1940s and 1950s. The CCHA maintains a Hall of Fame to honour members who have made outstanding contributions to the sport. The CCHA's patron is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Cutting is a sport based on ranchwork that began in the early 19th century, cutting cattle out of herds. Horses and riders are judged on how well they work to remove a single steer from a herd and keep it from returning. The CCHA promotes a type of horse called the Canadian cutting horse; this type is made up of many breeds with a common stock horse background.
The National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA) is an equestrian organization in the United States that began by promoting and staging Western Pleasure events in 1983. Since then, focus has expanded to promoting the show horse at every level across multiple disciplines. The association is currently headquartered in Gurnee, Illinois, United States. The NSBA has a partnership with seven alliance breed organizations, including the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), American Paint Horse Association (APHA), American Buckskin Registry Association (ABRA), Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC), International Buckskin Horse Association (IBHA) Palomino Horse Breeders of America (PHBA) and Pony of the Americas Club, Inc. (POAC) in order that associations can benefit from the many rules and regulations they have in common.
The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote the reining horse.
The American Paint Horse Association (APHA) is a breed registry for the American Paint Horse. It is currently headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1965 with the merging of two different color breed registries that had been formed to register pinto-colored horses of Quarter Horse bloodlines. One of these organizations was the American Paint Quarter Horse Association and the other was the American Paint Stock Horse Association.
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.
Ranch sorting is a western-style equestrian sport that evolved from the common ranch work of separating cattle into pens for branding, doctoring, or transport. Ranch Sorting is an event that pits a team of two riders on horseback against the clock. Teamwork is the key with both riders working in harmony to cut out the correct cattle and drive them to the pen while keeping the wrong numbered cattle back. There are several variations of ranch sorting with one, two or three riders on the team, but all require sorting the cattle from one pen to the other in the correct order.
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." 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.
Dual Peppy is a 1992 sorrel stallion registered with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). He is sired by Peppy San Badger, and out of the mare Miss Dual Doc by Doc's Remedy. Dual Peppy qualified for the AQHA World Show during the 1997-1998 show season, and earned the title "1998 AQHA Reserve World Champion Senior Cutting Horse". In 1998-1999, he competed as a novice horse in National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) events and earned the title "NCHA World Champion $10,000 Novice Cutting Horse." Dual Peppy, bred by the late Greg Ward, is the second of four full brothers in the Dual Pep line, which also includes Dual Pep, Mister Dual Pep and Dually Pep, all of whom have been successful horses in their own right. Ward broke, trained and showed Dual Peppy until he was sold in January 1998 to Rick and Sherry Brunzell of the Dual Peppy Partnership located in Colorado.
The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many competitive events and maintains the official registry. The organization also houses the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum and sponsors educational programs. The organization was founded in 1940 in Fort Worth, Texas, and now has nearly 234,627 members, over 32,000 of whom are international.
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.
The National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) is an equestrian organization in Pilot Point, Texas, United States, that began by promoting and staging Working cow horse events.
This List of National Reined Cow Horse Association Hall of Fame Inductees was created by the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) for the NRCHA Hall of Fame to recognize extraordinary athletes, individuals, riders, and horses in the equestrian sport of Working cow horse. The organization is headquartered in Pilot Point, Texas.
Carol Rose is a champion horsewoman. She is a world-class show woman and breeder. She became a leader during a time when men dominated the field.
Al Dunning is an American horse trainer specializing in western performance horses. He has trained multiple world champions in reining, cutting, working cow horse, halter, and all-around. His most famous horse was Expensive Hobby. He was inducted into the Arizona Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2016.
