In order for a reining horse to perform well, consideration must be given to the position of his head, neck, back and hip. Without this frame being correct nothing else will work. The smooth stop, the fast spin, the pretty circles will not be possible. The question that plagues many amateurs is what should this frame be, and how do we achieve it.

Western horse show disciplines for senior horses are to be ridden one handed. The rule book allows the use of only one hand to guide your horse. A big problem for some people........ and some horses.

The Western Riding horse needs to be trained to do much more than just change leads. The correct movement and position not only in the walk, jog and lope, but also within the lead change, while guiding, and while negotiating the log must all be taught. A straight stop and back is also required. If the rider omits any of these points in the training program the horse is not going to be competitive at the horse show.

After having had success in training and showing horses in about every western event people often watch me ride or take my clinics in the hope of learning some of the secrets of training and showing a horse. There are no secrets. You must simply understand a little of the natural behavior of a horse, understand what the judges want to see, and be confident in what you want to do.

All training programs eventually come to an end. Maybe the horse gets old and is not ridden any more, is sold, achieves all of the goals that the owner wants, or gets soured out and becomes impossible to train.

Horse show people make the same mistakes all around the world.
I was flying back home from having judged a horse show in Italy and was thinking that people do poorly at horse shows all over the world for many the same reasons.  Riders make the same mistakes in every country.  Whether it’s an AQHA show in Italy a 4-H show Canada or a NRHA show in Australia, competent riders make the mistake of simply practicing the wrong things.