by Marcia King
In many equine classes, achieving championship status, at least partially, relies on having a costly, exceptional horse, where the dedication and skills of the rider are secondary to the quality of the horseflesh beneath.
Not so for Western horsemanship. Western horsemanship judges the rider as opposed to the horse, says Holly Hover, an AQHA judge, competitor, clinician, and Phoenix-based Youth and Amateur All Around trainer.
“The event benefits people that don’t have the opportunity to purchase the really fancy, expensive horses. It’s an event where people can practice and gain momentum through their own hard work and be awarded for efforts in the arena; it’s the rider’s skill that earns a placing in the arena.”
Horsemanship Defined
The Western horsemanship pattern may include a variety of different maneuvers, many of which mimic elements of Western pleasure, reining, Western riding, and trail classes. “There are a lot of straight lines and a lot of circles, arcs, and turn-arounds, and there’s always a stop and a back, says Hover.
“Judges can ask for circles, spins, quarter-turns, half-turns, a turn-and-a-half, or any combination of turning on the haunches or forehand, and side-passing. Extending the gait to a hand gallop or extending the trot is very popular now. You’ll commonly see straight-line patterns where the exhibitor is asked to maneuver up and down the arena in a straight line, adding different, difficult maneuvers.”
The difficulty of the pattern varies according to the class. For novices, the patterns are simpler, and may consist of some variety of walking to a marker, jogging a circle, and loping a straight line to the end of the arena.
For upper-level classes, the patterns are much quicker and tougher, Hover says. “Maybe four or five quick maneuvers such as jog to a marker, spin to the right, extend the trot, roll back left, lope an arc around to the next marker. Quick patterns in and out utilizing a challenging variety of maneuvers.”
The judge scores on each element plus the overall impression. In evaluating the quality of a rider’s performance in the pattern, judges look for smoothness of transition, flow, and finesse. Mistakes such as missed transitions, wrong leads, etc. subtract from the rider’s score.
“Normally for a novice rider, a middle-of-the-road score will win the class – a fault-free, no-mistakes pattern,” Hover says. “But when you get to the world-class level, an average no-mistakes pattern won’t win. You’ve got to be fancy. You must step up and attack the pattern.”
The Groundwork
Although beginning riders can compete in novice classes, before entering a competition, riders and horses should have a good, working knowledge of basic horsemanship.
“They should understand leads, the arc the horse can perform, how to make a horse go on a straight line, and upward and downward transitions,” says Hover. “The horse and rider should be able to perform at home all the maneuvers that may be asked for at the show.”
Movement and way-of-going are also important. “The horse needs to be a soft mover. A rough horse tends to make the rider look weak.
“We try to get horses that are extremely good lopers, although we can give a little on the quality of the jog. It is much easier, through training, to enhance the jog, but rarely can you improve a poor loper.”
As far as conformation, Hover says that for her training program, but not necessarily from a judge’s point of view, she prefers horses between 15.2 to 16.1 hh. Large horses have difficulty with a lot of the Western maneuvers such as spins and lead changes, while smaller horses can’t impart the look necessary for making a rider appear taller and bolder.
Age range for competitive horses is wide. “At the world level, you’ll see horses between the ages of 4 and 15,” says Hover. “But some horses for the little kids are in their 20s and are still good horses.”
Hover emphasizes teamwork between horse and rider. “It’s important that the rider and horse are prepared as a team and not individually,” she says.
“There seems to be better timing when a rider and horse have prepared together a lot, as opposed to the trainer getting on the horse, fixing it, and then the rider following the trainer.
“In addition, the rider that understands and knows the horse, who can prevent or cover up mistakes the horse makes is probably the rider that’s going to win as opposed to a rider that comes in and get on a trainer’s horse and goes to show.”
This teamwork is created through plenty of exercises and drills. Many of Hover’s students ride at least five times a week. “We work on exercises to strengthen the rider,” she says. “Different calisthetics and balancing exercises such as riding their horses without stirrups, standing in their stirrups, etc. This enhances the strength of a correct seat and feet.”
The team also practices the parts of the various maneuvers, including spinning, lead changes, riding with and without contact in the bridle, and so forth.
Show Day
Once a horse and rider understands the maneuvers that will be asked for at their level, they’re ready to show. On show day, the judge posts the pattern that he or she has devised a minimum of one hour before the class.
“Normally, all those maneuvers are ones that we’ve worked on at home, but in a different order,” says Hover. “As far as having a lot of prior knowledge of the exact pattern, we don’t: That’s what makes it fun!”
The pattern is copied down and then discussed and analyzed for its “pattern psychology,” explains Hover. “A lot of times judges depict the pattern using heavy adjectives and adverbs; anytime a judge is specific about things, we try to read into the pattern what the judge is looking for.
“Also, almost every judge has one pet peeve or one maneuver that he or she is really wanting to see done well. So we go through the pattern with the exhibitors, trying to decide where the ‘meat’ of the pattern is, and really work on getting that portrayed to the judge.”
At the same time, Hover warns about putting so much emphasis on the meat of the pattern that the exhibitor gets sloppy with basic elements such as the straight lines, smooth transitions, etc. “The judge marks on each element, so the rider really needs the whole package, not just the meat.”
When riding the pattern, riders should concentrate on the elements that their horse is good at and not dwell on the parts of the pattern where the horse is weak. “The biggest mistake is when riders try to enhance a maneuver that they know their horse isn’t really good at,” Hover cautions.
In trying to punch up a weak maneuver, many riders end up spurring the horse or getting anxious or angry. “The judge can really pick up on that. You end up having a rough maneuver or maybe an abusive look, and you’ll lose more points than you’ll ever gain.
“Instead, where you’re not so strong, just try to get by as best as possible. And remember that judges mark each and every manuever, so spotlight your pattern where you’re good.
“For instance, where your horse is a beautiful mover but hasn’t quite mastered the 360-degree turn, in a pattern that would call for a spin, the rider should ease through the turns and then show off the rest of the pattern. Be bold and show.”
Keep in mind that one of the most important keys to putting together a winning pattern is striving for the whole package, rather than just certain parts. Maintain correct – but relaxed – feet, leg, arm, and seat positions and strive for a flowing ride, avoiding jerky movements from maneuver to maneuver.
Greener riders should aim for nothing more than a good, clean, safe pattern, says Hover, while advanced competitors need to be fancier in their maneuvers and step up and attack the pattern.
“Never make a judge wait,” advises Hover. “Be up and ready when the judge calls for you to perform. This exudes confidence. Assess your pattern and ride boldly through the maneuvers you know you have mastered.
“At the end of the pattern, turn and acknowledge the judge with a nod and retire to the end of the arena as directed by the judge. A smile of confidence is a subliminal sign that you have succeeded.”
But perhaps the real key to winning is the attitude and resolve the rider develops at home. Hover is convinced that through hard work and practice, anyone who is determined can become a winner in Western horsemanship.
“It’s really important that people sit down at the beginning of the year and say, ‘This is what I want to do. How can I get there? How much will I need to spend? How hard do I need to work?’ I’ve never had one person who has had long-range goals and stuck to them not get done what they wanted to get done.
“And that’s what’s fun about this event: If you stick with it and work and knock it out, you’re going to find success.”
