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Western Events

Perfect Your Reining and Working Cow Horse Turns
Perfect Your Reining and Working Cow Horse Turns

November 29, 2023

To compete in reining or working cow horse competitions, your horse will need to turn quickly in response to your cues. In reining, the move is a “turnaround,” or spin—the horse moves forward around a pivot foot and continues the move until directed to stop. For cow horse classes, your...
Using Horsemanship Skills in Barrel Racing
Using Horsemanship Skills in Barrel Racing

September 1, 2023

Barrel racing isn’t only about going fast. To round the three barrels in a barrel racing pattern with precision as well as a fast time, classical horsemanship skills apply. If you’ve ever wanted to enter a barrel race at a fun day or gymkhana, you’ll find that your horsemanship skills...
Perfect Your Western Lead Change
Perfect Your Western Lead Change

July 28, 2023

In reining or working cow horse competitions, you’ll need to show that your horse can change leads on command while keeping a steady loping cadence. To score well in these western classes, you’ll need to perform lead changes as you lope to the center of the arena. Your body position...
Master the Long Trot for Ranch Riding
Master the Long Trot for Ranch Riding

May 8, 2023

“The extended trot, or the long trot, is the signature move of ranch riding,” says trainer and showman Aaron Ralston. “No other western show event requires your horse to stay in a long trot instead of a lope.” In the popular American Quarter Horse Association ranch riding class, judges want...
Mastering Split Reins
Mastering Split Reins

February 11, 2023

Split reins are by far the most versatile type of reins used in western riding, but they can be a bit challenging to master. The two separate reins can get tangled, dropped, or become uneven while riders struggle to properly manipulate them. Improper use can also disqualify you from your...
Ace Your Western Riding Pattern
Ace Your Western Riding Pattern

January 14, 2023

Marked by fluid lead changes around a cone-marked course, western riding is a challenging class for all-around competitors. But with skill, preparation and careful navigation, you can guide your horse to a penalty-free score. Here, trainer Bruce Vickery shares his advice to confidently tackle the western riding class. The Goal...
Making a Career Out of Trick Riding
Making a Career Out of Trick Riding

January 8, 2023

Developing a special partnership with a horse takes equal parts hard work, perseverance, and passion, but once formed, such a bond can last a lifetime. For Japanese-American cowgirl Miko Moriuchi McFarland and her American Paint Horse, Sparkle Grady One Eye (“Bandit”), an unshakable relationship has helped them stand out from...
Teach Your Horse to Drag a Log
Teach Your Horse to Drag a Log

January 4, 2023

A versatile ranch horse can do anything his rider asks—including pulling gear or livestock with a rope connected to the saddle horn. Versatility ranch horse competitions mirror real-life ranch tasks that include a rope-drag obstacle in the ranch trail class. Adult ranch trail riders must pull an object by rope...
Ranch Riding Downward Transitions
Ranch Riding Downward Transitions

July 7, 2022

Of all the ranch versatility events, ranch riding has gained the most popularity; it’s also become the most competitive. If you’re on a quest to achieve high marks in ranch riding, three-time American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Versatility Ranch Horse World Champion Mike Major says you’ll want to perfect your...
Wally the Western Dressage Horse
Wally the Western Dressage Horse

June 4, 2022

If anyone could be labeled a hunter princess, it was me. For nearly four decades I strove for the perfect hunter round and learned to maintain a semblance of grace during an equitation class. Yet I would eventually end up embracing the world of western dressage, all thanks to my...