by Christine Sweet
After watching Gary Putman’s reining demonstration at The Mane Event in Red Deer April 27 to 29 and talking to him about the sport, I am hooked!
Gary Putman has done a lot for the reining world. He is a founding member and has served on the board of the National Reining Breeders Classic. He’s an accomplished trainer and competitor in reining, working cow horse, heading, heeling, and tie-down roping. He is also an accredited judge for the National Reining Horse Association and the National Reined Cow Horse Association.
Putman’s demonstration horse at The Mane Event was a spectacular palomino stallion named Steady Trade, owned by Bob and Mary Delong of BMD Livestock in Olds, AB. Putman and Steady Trade demonstrated various training methods including loping the large circle, fence training for rollbacks and sliding stops, and positioning the horse for correct spins.
The Mane Event organizers made an excellent choice in bringing such an accomplished reiner to educate greenhorns and experts alike. Putman not only demonstrated his training techniques but also took the time during and after his clinic to answer questions from spectators.
Putman’s willingness to share his knowledge went beyond the demonstration ring. One such instant was when a spectator approached him with a question on lead changes, while he was on the way back to the barn. Putman stopped and took the time to answer her question.
Not only did he explain how she could try to get the lead change, but he also got back up on Steady Trade, demonstrated what her horse was likely doing to evade the lead change, and then showed her what she needed to do to get the horse in a position to take the new lead.
Back in the ring, Putman talked a lot about how he keeps his horses working calmly, and the importance of that. When the horse is in a calm mindset then it is more apt to work with the rider and try what it is being asked, as opposed to when a horse starts to get frustrated or confused. When that happens, it’s time to stop and let the horse think about what is being asked. It is also time for the rider to take stock of how they are asking.
Ensuring that the horse is loping circles correctly is where to start. If the horse cannot carry himself around the large circle at the lope, then asking for lead changes, let alone rollbacks and spins, will do nothing but cause frustration to both the horse and the rider.
Putman made a really good point that translates to any riding discipline. He pointed out that to be an effective reining rider, you need to know where your horse’s feet are. When you ask the horse to complete a maneuver knowing that the horse is in the correct position, or repositioning the horse so that he is in the correct position, will make it possible for the horse to do what he is being asked.
For example, when asking the horse to do a proper spin, the horse needs to step sideways not backwards. If the rider is not aware that the horse backed into the spin then the rider also won’t be aware that they need to make that correction. The result will be penalty points in the show ring.
After Putman’s clinic I had the opportunity to ask him a couple questions about his thoughts on the sport of reining. One of those questions was what he thought of how FEI has changed the sport of reining. He answered that he is impressed with what has happened to reining since it became a part of FEI.
The fact that Italy won the bronze medal in reining at the World Equestrian Games last year was a pretty good indication that reining has not only become a worldwide sport, but is also developing very successful horses and riders worldwide.
It is my hope that The Mane Event returns to Red Deer in 2008 so that riders and horse enthusiasts have the opportunity to learn from some of the most reputable professionals in the horse industry.
It is also my hope that Gary Putman will be one of those trainers. His approach to training the reining horse has definitely got me interested in trying out his methods on my own horse, and getting into the sport.
