The origin of western-style riding can be traced to the Spanish Conquests of the 16th and 17th centuries, and more particularly to the Spanish settlers who brought cattle ranching to the Americas. With them came an age-old horse culture, as well as a distinctive system of saddlery and briding.
Western-riding
For a lot of people, the attraction of „riding Western“ lies in its seemingly relaxed informality, and this is especially true of vacation riding, which forms a notable part of the US tourist industry. In this context, riding Western is, indeed, relaxed and informal and it is a a great pleasure to ride a calm and responsive horse with smooth, confortable paces.
Trail riding is very popular and American shows include trail-riding classes designed to test and encourage the allround ability of the trail horse.
At more advanced levels, particularly in the show classes, western-riding has its own strictly observed conventions and it can achieve a formality and attention to detail.
Western horsemanship at its highest level requires skill, dedication and devotion to basic training principles. Indeed, it may come closer to the classical ideal in its insistence on the purity of the paces and in obtaining in the highly schooled Western horse a perfectly balanced self-carriage with minimal rein support.
Lightness, obedience, relaxation in movement, and the maintenance of a supple, fluid balance are the objectives of this disciplin. Its practical goal is to produce an allround working horse against the background of handling cattle.
Dressage rider versus Western rider
The dressage rider uses a more or less continual mix of driving aids, applied through the legs and seat; and halting aids, made through the seat again, combined with a slight backward inclination of the trunk, and both hands, connected in advanced competition to the obligatory double bride. In this manner, the rider seeks to encourage the propulsive engagement of the hocks beneath the body to maintain the rhythm and fix the outline within the frame imposed by leg and hand.
The Western horse is no less balanced. The hocks are just as much engaged and the topline as softly rounded, but the outline differs since head and neck are held lower and more extended. The finished Western horse is ridden with one hand, although in the training progression both hands are used to emphasize the changes of direction that are required. For the rider, the principal „aids“ are made through the disposition of the seat and bodyweight, little reliance being placed on the legs. The influence through the reins is so subtle that in the trained horse it is virtually imperceptible.
The Western work
The regularity and quality of the paces is central to the training of the Western horse. The definitive Western paces are the jog and lope, taught from the basis of an established working trot and canter, of which they are essentially scaled-down versions with a somewhat shorter stride. Both require great suppleness and strength and the necessary powerful engagement of the quarters.
The paces should be flat and smooth to give a comfortable ride and preclude any lift in the knee and hock action.
Basic requirements are the ability to rein-back, move sideways, and execute turns on the quarters as well as on the forehand.
Advanced work calls for lead changes, i.e :
-the roll-back: the horse turns on the pivot of the haunches through 180° with its head lowered. It is followed immediatly by a swift roll-back from which the horse goes away in lope in the opposite direction.
-the flying change of leg at canter
-the western spin: it is a pirouette carried out at speed on the pivot of the inside hind leg, with the horse maintaining a rounded back and crossing the forelegs with smooth fluency. It must be executed in balance, with the inside shoulder kept high
-the sliding stop: the movement is carried out with light rein contact and with hind legs fully engaged under the body
Western show classes
The Western-trained horse can compete in a variety of show classes. Most come under the overall aegis of the American Quarter Horse Association. However, show-class events are not limited solely to the Quarter Horse breed, and there are also specialist associations such as the National Reining Horse Association, controlling their respective sports. All the Western-ridden show classes are based on the practical use of the working horse. Consequently, exhibitors turn out in correct Western clothes that evolved as the cowboy´s working dress.
The western classes include:
-the Western Pleasure: it is one of the most popular class in the show program and probably the one best suited to the beginner because of its laid-back style. Indeed, the horse shows, that he is a pleasure to ride at all paces. It is ridden in both directions at walk, jog and lope and is required to rein-back. The reins are held in one hand and are reasonably loose (with exceptions for young horses).
-the trail-riding classes: they are highly competitive and represent a comprehensive test of the horse´s training and calm acceptance of unusual situations. It is a demanding test of horse and rider. The tests are ridden with one hand and competitors are required to complete a course that includes 3 mandatory obstacles. These are:
*a gate to be opened, passed through, and closed again
*a grid of at least four logs, which may be set in a straight line or on a curve or zigzag, and which may be raised off the ground by as much as 12 in (30cm)
*an obstacle constructed for the horse to back through or around in L-,V- or U-shaped patterns
*three markers set in line or on a triangle to be backed through and around
*the wine-glass shape with an overall of 16ft (4.88m)
Other tests may involve :
*a wooden bridge or a water hazard which has to be calmly negotiated.
*Exhibitors may also be asked to carry an article over a stipulated length of the arena.
*Another practical test involves putting on and taking off a waterproof coat from the saddle.
*Horses are expected to move sideways, sometimes over a 12-in (30cm) high obstacle, to rein back through a series of poles, and in a particular test of handiness, to step into a square of poles laid on the ground, perform a 360° turn within the square, and then step quietly out again.
*Hobbling or ground-tying the horse might also be required and at the other end of the scale, there is usually mail to be posted in a box.
The horses are judged on their overall way of going, on their performance at the obstacles, on the correctness of the paces and on the style in which the test is performed.
-the horsemanship class: the rider must be able to perform a prescribed set of maneuvers with a high degree of precision, while demonstrating correctness of seat and the subtle application of the cues. A course may include work at walk, jog and lop on circles, curves, or serpentines; back-ups; a stop; leg-yielding; and even flying change of leg.
-the reining classes: it is the Western horseman´s equivalent of the dressage test. It employs set „patterns“ of varying degrees of difficulty ridden at speed and subject to judging criteria of particular severity. Like the advanced dressage tests, the reining classes show a very high level of training calling for great accuracy and fluency. Tension, lack of accuracy and resistance of any sort are penalized. The patterns are ridden in an arena set with 3 markers at either side which are placed on the center line at least 50ft (15m) from each end of the arena.
Each pattern is required to be ridden one-handed and with virtually imperceptible cues on the part of the rider. The patterns are performed at the lope with variations of speed and include spins, roll-back, fast and slow circles, lead changes and the sliding stop.
The Cutting
It is controlled by the National Cutting Horse Association. In the arena, rider and horse approach the herd quietly, while the rider selects the calf to be cut out. Once the choice is made, he is not allowed to change to another. As on the range, he cuts out the calf without upsetting the herd, and it is driven to the middle of the arena. The „turnback“ men push the calf back towards the Cutting Horse. Without touching the rein or otherwise „cueing“ his horse, the rider must then allow the horse to control the calf on his own initiative and prevent it returning to the herd. If the calf escapes or the horse misjudges and turns away from it, penalties are incurred. More than one calf may be cut, but the rider has just 2,5mn to show the skill and lightning-quick reactions of his horse.
Of course, the Cutting Horse must be trained for the work, but no amount of training will make up for the inherent cow sense found in some horses. The conformation and the innate intelligence and cow sense of the Quarter Horse, make the breed an ideal choice for this sport. However, if the horse does not „show cow“ at an early stage, it would not be worth persevering with the training. A natural Cutting Horse, just like a sheepdog, works instinctively and has the capability to out-think and out-maneuver a calf far quicker and far more effectively than its rider.
Western riding
