Currently, I like to compete in Western Pleasure classes and Trail classes in Class A Arabian horse shows. Trail class is my favorite because you win based on your individual performance. I also find jogging and loping over poles is fun and adds variety to my daily riding routine. Now my trainer wants me to try amateur reining classes. She feels that reining will help my lazy mare learn how to move out and feels Valerie may be good at it.
Many of my friends like the idea of competing in reining and were trying to convince me to try it. I resisted it for a while because I didn’t understand what it was all about. I thought it was similar to the Stock Horse class that was popular in the 1960’s. In addition, I was a little afraid of letting my horse run full speed around an arena. However, after reading about reining, practising it at home with my trainer, and entering my first two reining classes last week at an Arabian horse show, I have decided I enjoy it. Why the change? Well, its fun and my horse likes it!
Reining History
The site Reining Pros says that reining originated on working cattle ranches. On the ranch, a cowboy needed a horse that was quick and agile to move, hold, and gather cattle. The horse would need to perform spins, rollbacks and quick stops, all movements used in reining. Because cowboys valued their horses, challenges often arose as to who had the best horse. Each cowboy would demonstrate to the audience their horse’s maneuverability and the crowd would decide who the winner was.
In 1966 the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), an organization dedicated to the promotion of the reining horse, formed and the first futurity was held. Since then reining has become big business attracting a lot of pros because of the large purse sizes. In 2006, the NRHA paid out over 10 million dollars to participants.
Reining continues to grow in popularity both here in the United States and internationally. There are reining competitions in Europe, Canada, and Australia. Reining is now the first Western Discipline of the United States Equestrian Team (USET), which means we will someday see reining in the Olympics.
What is Reining?
According to the NRHA, ”Reining is a judged event designed to show the athletic ability of a ranch type horse within the confines of a show arena.” Reining is much like trail class in that you perform individually, follow a pattern, and receive a score for your performance. NRHA patterns are scored on a numeric scale with 70, being an average performance.
There are ten approved patterns in the NRHA handbook. Each pattern consists of small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, roll backs over the hocks, 360 degree spins done in place, and sliding stops. (Here is a link to these patterns.)
How to Get Started
Some people call reining “cowboy dressage” because it requires a high-level of skill from both the rider and horse. The rider must have a good balanced seat that does not interfere with the horse’s maneuvers. The horse must have the physical ability and training to perform sliding stops, spins, and rollbacks correctly. If you want to see an amazing exhibition of reining performed beautifully, watch Stacy Westfall’s championship run at the 2006 All American Quarter Horse Congress. The video shows her winning performance in a freestyle reining class. In the class, not only did she perform while riding without a bridle but also without a saddle!
If you are interested in reining, I would start by watching some shows and or videos to see how patterns are performed. Then I would find a good trainer to help you teach you and your horse the maneuvers. In addition, I would look for local reining organizations or breed organizations. (Yes, there are reining classes for other breeds besides Quarter Horses!)
For more information, go to the National Reining Horse Association website.
Let me know if you are a reiner or want to be. Thanks!
