What is Working Equitation?

WE was developed in Europe in the mid-1990s as a fun pastime as well as a means of preserving the equestrian traditions in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France, where Iberian horses and other breeds served as hardy, nimble, brave mounts to work cattle. The horses’ ability to collect also made them natural choices for classical dressage.

“I describe [WE] as dressage with obstacles, or a trail course with dressage,” says Taylor Lindsten, of Taylor Made Sport Horses in Scottsdale, Ariz. Primarily a dressage trainer, Lindsten is a newer WE enthusiast—and her success proves that some horses can excel in both sports: A current mount, the Georgian Grande stallion Wallace G, not only notches wins in WE, but also competes at the FEI levels in dressage, earning the Intermediate I Open championship title at the 2023 U.S. Dressage Finals.

As Lindsten explains, WE consists of three “trials”: dressage, ease of handling, and speed, typically ridden all in one day. An optional fourth element, the cattle trial, is mandatory in more advanced competition, and entails working with other horse/rider combinations as a team to cut a designated cow from the herd and move it to a holding pen.

The Three Trials

Dressage

Modeled after the U.S. Equestrian/U.S. Dressage Federation’s tests and competition structure, WE dressage is ridden in a small dressage arena measuring 20×40 meters, the size often used for dressage tests in lower-level eventing (regulation size for dressage and upper-level eventing dressage tests is 20×60 meters).

The seven tests range in difficulty from Introductory (walk, trot, halt, and rein-back) to Masters (a test executed to music that includes canter work, pirouettes, extended gaits, and flying lead changes—all ridden one-handed!). Tests are judged using the established 0-10 scale of marks.

Ease of Handling

Horse and rider navigate an obstacle course that combines elements of several disciplines, including crossing a bridge, opening and closing a gate, hopping over a small jump, sidepassing over a pole, bending around poles or barrels, reining back through an “L,” and others.

Elements and required gaits increase in number and difficulty through the levels, and judges want to see competitors negotiate the obstacles “in a stylish and organized way,” Lindsten says.

Speed

The clock is the only thing that matters on this final obstacle course. Like jumping faults, riders are penalized for such errors as going off course, refusals, or even switching the hand used to handle an obstacle. In a nod to the sport’s origins, WE obstacle courses require riders to spear a ring with a long pole—shades of the garrocha that vaqueros use to maneuver cattle.

The Ideal Horse for Working Equitation

Dressage basics underlie WE, but the sport “develops a horse that is extremely versatile,” says USA Working Equitation (USAWE) Professional Instructor, technical delegate, and “L” judge Emily Kemp, who operates Kemp Horsemanship in Newton, Wisc.

A “smaller, handier” mount may have an advantage given the speed and agility requirements—Kemp successfully showed a 14.2-hand Haflinger, which she calls “an ideal size”—but all breeds are welcome. Even gaited horses may participate, substituting their gait for the trot. But a dressage background remains a competitive advantage because “balance is huge,” she says.

The reverse may also hold true: As Lindsten discovered, WE can actually be a boon to dressage training. While teaching Wallace G the flying changes a few years ago, she found that “he had a lot more interest in his work when we were working with the obstacles.”

She rode turns around barrels and poles to help teach him to bend and yield to her leg aids, and the obstacles provided “a purpose in what I was asking him to do, and a purpose for the lead changes.”

Who Can Ride It?

In WE, rider backgrounds are similarly varied. Kemp’s wheelhouses are natural horsemanship, cutting, and reining.

Competitors may show in any discipline’s tack and apparel: Kemp goes western, while Lindsten enters at A in full dressage garb. (Just don’t mix and match, Lindsten says; ride in the apparel that your tack denotes.)

Riders with physical disabilities may apply for dispensations to compete using adaptive equipment or allowances, as well.

Kemp says that most U.S. WE enthusiasts are adults, but USAWE is “trying to grow youth participation” by reaching out to Pony Club members and other youth-oriented groups. Currently “especially popular” in California and the Pacific Northwest, the sport is working to expand nationwide, she says.

Ambitious competitors may strive to reach the sport’s international levels. The World Association of Working Equitation, the sport’s international federation, holds a World Championships every four years. The U.S. hopes to send a team in 2026—and Lindsten, for one, hopes to be on it.

Ready to Try Working Equitation?

Want to learn more about WE? Both Lindsten and Kemp recommend starting out by watching shows or clinics in your area. Find a calendar of events, rules, dressage tests, and a directory of instructors and officials on the USAWE’s website.

Kemp enthuses about the “great show environment” at WE competitions. Besides the friendly people, WE “has a way of leveling the playing field. You just keep competing until it’s done.”

The variety of skills required “takes out that super-competitive edge” found in some singular disciplines, Kemp adds, and the WE arena is one in which all breeds can compete as equals.

This article about working equitation appeared in the July 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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There is often a misconception among jumping riders that in order for a practice course to be interesting or beneficial, it needs to be a lengthy, complicated track. While it’s important to test yourself and your horse in this way, it’s also important to take time to return to basics and use practice tracks for jumping. By using a course that is easy to remember, it frees your mind up to focus on the details. This course is also a great idea for anyone that is making do with a limited number of jumps or a smaller riding area.

The jumps are to be set up as pictured in Figure 1. The jumps can be any height that you and your horse are comfortable with, even if that is just ground poles. Feel free to switch up the order and direction in which you ride the jumps, but for the sake of our discussion, I will be using the course described in Figure 1.

Ride a Practice Course Three Ways

There are three different styles in which to ride this jumping practice track: hunter, equitation, or jumper. When practicing more of a hunter-style course, your goal should be to establish a tempo and then stay on that tempo with only tiny adjustments.

Your inside leg should be used to create an inside bend and to push your horse out into every turn, going all the way to the rail. Use your corners to re-evaluate your rhythm and make sure you are not slowing down nor speeding up. It is easy to gain momentum after the first one or two jumps!

Next is the equitation style practice track. If possible, give yourself markers of some kind. Place the markers as shown in Figure 1. Now the goal is to execute the same track in a tighter space, turning just outside the markers for all of the turns during the course, including before the first jump and after the final jump. Now your organization skills are starting to be put to the test as the questions arise faster due to a shorter time between jumps.

The last track to try out is the jumper practice track. This time you will be turning before your markers from the equitation track, or you have the option to move them in closer to the jumps to challenge yourself. Your focus should now be on the responsiveness of your horse as you move through a tighter track with a faster rhythm. Remember not to cut your corners so tightly that you sacrifice straightness. Your horse should be straight for the last two to three strides before the jump in order to give him time to properly prepare for takeoff.

Other Points to Address

This exercise can also be used to address problems specific to certain horses and riders. If your horse tends to rush toward the jump or immediately after, the practice track allows for halting after each jump.

Horses that can be wary of new or different jumps can be acclimated by placing different fillers underneath the jumps. Because the track is simple, it is easier for the horse to negotiate the potentially scary obstacle in front of them rather than also dealing with a prescribed distance in a line or a tight turn before or after the jump in question.

Because of the simplicity of the track, this is also a great time to experiment with how small changes in your body affect your horse. Examples include shifting your weight slightly in the air to help your horse land on the correct lead, adjusting the timing of your half-halt in the turn, and experimenting with the strength of your leg and rein aids while turning.

If you or your horse already prefer a certain style of riding over the others, I encourage you to branch out. Not only will it contribute to your growth as a rider, but your horse will also benefit from doing something different.

When riding your jumper on the hunter track, they will start to soften in the corners and refrain from rushing as they realize they aren’t being asked to turn quickly and find the next jump. This softness will greatly improve your ability to adjust your horse’s stride length.

While riding your hunter on the equitation or jumper practice track, your horse will start to become more responsive to the aids as the turns come up quicker, which comes in handy when you need to make small, invisible adjustments on course.

After riding all three jumping practice courses, it is very likely that you come across something that you or your horse find difficult. This creates a great opportunity to select future exercises that specifically target these problem areas.

This article about jumping practice courses appeared in the June 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Working equitation has been popular since the 1990s in countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy and France, but it’s only recently caught the attention of American riders. Within the last few years, three different organizations promoting the sport have sprung up in the U.S., and working equitation shows are being held around the country.

The purpose of working equitation is to showcase the equestrian techniques of different countries that use horses to work cattle in the field, and the sport aims to preserve the traditions, riding attire and tack that are part of those countries’ cultures. Consequently, riders are expected to dress according to their style of riding, whether it is western, dressage, hunt seat or traditional Spanish style.

There are four phases, or trials: dressage, ease of handling (an obstacle course), speed (a timed obstacle course) and cattle handling. Riders at the lower levels of the sport are only required to compete in the dressage, ease of handling and sometimes speed. These three phases are the mandatory trials required at a working equitation event. Cow trials are held at shows featuring higher level riders and are a team event.

Four Phases

The four phases offered at working equitation events highlight the functional skills of a horse and rider team.

Dressage: The Dressage Trial is similar to a traditional dressage test.

Ease of Handling: The Ease of Handling Trial requires horse and rider to negotiate an obstacle course. The obstacles are set up to simulate the kind of challenges the horse and rider might find in the field.

Each obstacle is given a numerical score, and collective marks are given for transitions, gaits, impulsion, submission, rider position and presentation. The horse and rider team is expected to negotiate the obstacles with accuracy, ease and smoothness. Obstacles are numbered and ridden in order.

Some examples include riding a figure-eight between barrels, skewering a ring with a pole, backing up in an “L,” jumping over bales of straw, and riding through a water-filled ditch.

Speed: The Speed Trial is also an obstacle course, but one that is negotiated at a faster pace. The goal is to negotiate the obstacles in the correct order without making any mistakes. Scores are calculated based on the elapsed time it takes to get through the obstacles plus time penalties.

Cow: The Cow Trial is currently rare in U.S. events because the sport of working equitation is so new. Most often seen in international competitions, the Cow Trial tests the ability of horse and rider to work cattle individually and as a team. The trial is performed with three or four riders, and the objective is to individually sort, cut and herd a pre-selected cow into a designated pen. The event is timed, and penalties are given for course errors.

Getting Started

Watch videos online of horses and riders competing in working equitation and you might think you need an Andalusian and fancy Spanish tack to participate. While this is how the sport looks in Europe, it is much more low-key in the U.S. Any breed of horse can participate, and any style of tack is acceptable, as long as the rider’s apparel matches the discipline of the tack.

To compete in the lowest introductory level, called L1, a horse needs to know how to walk, trot, halt and back. The horse must also have the confidence to maneuver through the obstacles in the Ease of Handling trial.

“The L1 working dressage test includes the walk, trot, halt and reinback,” says Susan Watkins, executive director of the United States Working Equitation Association. “It includes a halt from trot, 20-meter circles, and 5- and 10-meter half-circles. The L1 Ease of Handling courses include 14 of the 19 international obstacles, including a gate, bridge and numerous obstacles that require the rider to walk, halt, reinback, move a cup or jug, and carry a garrocha pole.”

Horses and rider in the L1 introductory level do not compete in the Speed phase, according to Watkins. This makes it easier for a new horse and rider team to participate in the sport with just a dressage test and an obstacle course.

Once a horse and rider team has had a chance to gain experience and advance through the introductory level, adding the Speed Trial to the repertoire will come naturally.

Working Equitation Resources

For more information about working equitation in the U.S., visit the following associations.

• Working equitation United: www.weunited.us
• United States Working Equitation Association: www.wswea.memberlodge.org
• USA Confederation for Working Equitation: www.confederationwe.us

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