To score well in horse show trail classes, you must pay attention to details. Glancing in the wrong direction or allowing your horse to take an extra step between carefully measured poles can cost precious points. Top trainer Shaun Gloude of Franktown, Colo., understands how important it is to learn and practice western trail class rules. She helps her amateur and youth clients prepare for and succeed at high-level American Quarter Horse Association shows.

Here, she discusses the trail class mistakes she sees frequently. When it comes to stepping over poles, backing, and loping your horse over poles and into a box, she’ll show you what to do—and what to avoid.

Trail Mistake 1: Backing Position

If your pattern calls for backing your horse with a turn, make sure that your posture and position don’t cause your horse to shift his weight and back in a crooked line.

The Right Move: As you back, keep your shoulders square. If you’re backing in an L-shape, glance down at the rails with as little head tilt as possible. Make sure to look to the side of the continuous rail (if you’re turning to the right, look to the right).

Don’t Do It: If you lean far to the side to see where your horse’s hooves will go, you will cause your horse to shift his weight away from the straight line.

Trail Mistake 2: Too Many Steps

Walking or trotting over poles is a common trail class addition. While the move seems easy, you must know when to allow your horse to step one or two hooves between the poles. Poles are set at 24- or 36-inch distances.

If the space between two poles is 24 inches, allow your horse to place one front hoof in the space. If the space is 36 inches, your horse may place two front hooves before moving on.

The Right Move: In this four-pole pattern, you must step over the first pole, help your horse place two steps in the first opening, then allow only one step in the smallest pole opening.

Don’t Do It: That small distance between the second and third poles isn’t enough space for two steps. Move your horse on and don’t allow him to place two front hooves in that smallest opening. If your horse takes two steps in that space, you’ll get a 1-point penalty.

Trail Mistake 3: Stopping Too Late

Loping into a box  in the western trail class shows off your ability to stop on command. Look ahead and know how soon to cue your horse for the halt so that you don’t overshoot the box.

The Right Move: Lope your horse over one side of the box, then cue him to stop right away. Practice, practice, practice until you can stop while your horse keeps all his hooves inside the box.

Don’t Do It: You’ll incur a penalty if your horse stops with a foot outside the box.

Trail Mistake 4: Turning Wide

Once you’re in the box, make a 360-degree turn. If your turn is too wide, your horse will step out of the box, incurring a penalty.

The Right Move: Keep your horse’s hooves inside the box. Use your leg cues to show your horse that you need a sharp turn. Look in the direction you want to go and allow your horse enough rein to put his head down so that he can navigate the box.

Don’t Do It: If you allow your horse to move forward into a wide turn, you’ll step out of the box.

Each of these maneuvers takes practice to master. Work on maneuvers until your horse gets it right, then move on to practice something else when you’ve achieved success. Your horse will learn what’s expected of him, and you’ll learn how to cue for your horse’s individual movements when you spend time practicing together—but always ending on a good note.

Thanks to Megan Worley and Set To Blaze (aka “Rodney”) for modeling.

This article about western trail class dos and don’ts appeared in the August 2020 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Western Trail Class Dos and Don’ts appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

If the idea of guiding your horse through a series of obstacles sounds fun, you’ll probably enjoy trying a trail course. The obstacles were originally based on things you’d encounter while trail riding, but they’ve evolved into an event that challenges riders and horses to work together as they tackle the pattern set in an arena. Professional trainer Bruce Vickery has some tips to help you get started on this fun event.

Bruce says the judges for this event are looking for a smooth, correct pattern just as it’s written.

“Trail is judged on how you do the maneuvers, and they’re scored on the precision, accuracy and quality of how the horse and rider negotiates each maneuver,” he says. “Penalties are incurred based on each obstacle, like knocking over a pole or missing a mark in your pattern.”

It helps to learn on a trained horse that has experience with the trail course, says Bruce. That’s because your horse needs to know how to see and negotiate distances between obstacles, have good footwork over poles, know how to move his body laterally (both front and back end), and be easily guided by one hand on the reins.

When you’re starting out, Bruce says to place a single pole on the ground and begin with walking, trotting and loping over it, then adding a couple more.

“This will help you see the spot where you need to point your horse,” Bruce says. “Build from there. You don’t need to start with an entire pattern—start with one obstacle at a time and build your confidence.”

Practice makes perfect, says Bruce. So does observation.

“If you’re really interested in this class, you need to practice a lot,” he says. “As you practice, you’ll just get better and better. And anytime you can sit back and watch the class—watch riders you admire—I think that will be super helpful. Don’t be afraid to ask somebody a question about how they ride their course.”

Here are some trail course obstacles to start with.

Poles

You can do a lot with basic logs laid out on the ground. Walk-overs, trot-overs and lope-overs can all be practiced in a variety of layouts, such as a straight line, serpentines, pinwheels and more. Bruce recommends setting out a 12×12-foot box made of poles to trot and lope through and loop around.

Set up a walk-over with four poles parallel, in a row, each 18 inches to 2 feet apart. Jog-overs with two to four poles should be 3 feet apart. Lope-overs should be 6 feet apart. Focus on guiding your horse straight through (not at an angle), with good cadence.

“You don’t want to do a lot of stop-and-go pace over poles,” Bruce says. “That will break up your horse’s rhythm.”

Back-Through

There are a couple of ways to set up a backing obstacle. You can do two poles parallel, a horse width apart. You can make an “L” with four poles. Or you can set up three cones to weave through.

The key is to take your time with each step, says Bruce. Don’t rush the trail course maneuver.

“This is a patience obstacle,” he says. “Teach your horse to take one step at a time.”

Backing obstacles are great to do at the end of a riding session, after you’ve been riding for a while, and need to stop for a break. Don’t overcorrect if your horse takes a step out of place. Gently move his hips or shoulders back to the proper spot.

Gate

The gate can be challenging, also requiring patience. Bruce says you’ll want to move one step at a time, beginning with lining your horse up parallel to the latch and standing next to it.

You may be using a rope gate strung between two jump standards—with or without a pole on the ground between them—or a solid gate.

“Pick up the latch, back up a step, negotiate through the opening, and back up again to re-latch it,” he says. “You need to stay patient and slow, and make sure your horse has cleared the opening before turning to close the gate.”

Bridge

Although it’s not as popular as it once was, the bridge is still seen at many major shows as part of a trail course. Bruce says this obstacle serves as a balance challenge for the horse, and much like the walk-over poles, you’ll want to stay steady as your go over it. This is an obstacle you definitely want to practice at home.

“Your horse needs to learn how to step onto the bridge, keeping at the same pace—not a stop-and-go,” he says. “It’s an even, balanced, cadenced walk over obstacle.”

This article about how to tackle a trail course originally appeared in the July/August 2019 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Tackle the Trail Course appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.