New Cows

New Cows

You might have noticed at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions this year that it was a little more difficult in the fence work to get a new cow. It has always been a controversial call with many feeling there was no rhyme or reason to who deserved and got a new cow and who didn’t.

My observations at this show were that if you didn’t try to work the cow you got like it was the only one you were going to get AND you were in the right place at the right time to control it, you weren’t going to get the toot-toot for a new cow. The rider also had to be behind a soft, slower cow really trying to drive it to legitimize getting a new one. If the judge felt you could mark a 70 on the one you got, then it was yours.

It is and always has been “the luck of the draw” regarding the fence cattle, but over the course of time we seem to have become more lenient with new cows causing some people to feel that there have been some unfair calls.

This was an attempt to simplify the process and, to the best of my knowledge and observations, there were very few complaints. It also simplifies the judge’s job to decide if a new cow is warranted and frees them up to focus on judging.

I personally think this tightening down is a good move. Back in “the day”, there were no new cows given at all. What you drew was what you worked. Then in trying to make it more fair for everyone, it loosened up. Now I think we might have hit a good compromise that is fair.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Circles for Credit

Circles for Credit

Circles

Reining circles demonstrate control, willingness to guide and degree of difficulty in speed and speed changes. Circles must at all times be run in the geographical area of the arena specified in the pattern description and must have a common center point. There must be a clearly defined difference in the speed and size of a small, slow circle and a large, fast circle; also the
speed and size of the circles should be the mirror image on the second side of the pattern.

For credit earning circles they must:

Be accurate – meaning the pattern placement must be correct beyond just being mirror images from side to side, but also the slow down should be within the middle three strides (meaning one stride before, one stride dead center and one stride after the center). That goes for the lead change too. And, as if that’s not hard enough the circles should intersect within a few feet
of dead center.

Have degree of difficulty – The speed should be challenged with the big fast being big and fast and the transition to the small slow taking place smoothly with no resistance, within the middle few strides.

Have a smooth lead change – within that box (a stride before center, at center and one stride after), and within the same stride front and back change and again with no resistance.

Usually, a judge scores each circle in their head (for instance big fast + transition to small slow, then small slow + transition to big fast circle, then the big fast circle + lead change). Let’s say the first big fast and transition is +1/2, the small slow isn’t quite accurate for a 0. Then, the next big fast and lead change is a +1/2. That set of circles would be marked +1/2.

The more accurate you are and the higher degree of difficulty you perform them at, the higher your score for that maneuver.

Here are a few tips for credit earning circles:

  1. Have a Plan

It’s very important to pick landmarks out in the arena. Before you show your horse, plan where in the arena you are going to go.
While looking at the arena, pick out four points on each side of the arena you are going to try to hit when showing to ensure you execute the pattern accurately. For instance say to yourself, “when I lope off, I’ve got to go from this point to that banner right there to the back gate over there and then to that banner on the other side.”

You know exactly where you are at, and you’re always looking where you’re going.

  1. Look Up

To maintain the same size circles, you must be aware of the arena while you’re showing.

Remember a rider looking up is the sign of a confident rider. It will make you feel confident as well as show the judge that you are.

It will also help you navigate and hit your marks.

  1. Know Your Horse

Check in with your horse using subtle movements (closing your fingers around the reins or minute bumps on the bridle) to check and make sure your horse is listening to you. The best way to know whether a horse is dialed in or not is if his ear is perking back on you every now and then.

You’ll be surprised what those ears will tell you. Your horse will tell you if he is listening or not.

If you have a horse that is a little on the hot side, don’t challenge your speed too much. Go a medium speed. Keep him where he is comfortable and don’t push it. If you’ve got a horse you know you can run, then go ahead and show him off and ask for more speed.

Everyone has a certain way they like to sit for going fast and slowing down. Do whatever is comfortable for you and that helps your horse respond well.

Judges don’t have a preference. They want to see you show your horse. So, do what works for you. One thing that really helps me is to exhale audibly for my slow down for a few reasons. My horse can hear it, so it’s another subtle cue. It makes my body relax down into my horse (another subtle cue). And, it forces me to breathe and stay calm.

  1. Pick Your Speed

The circles should always start slow and controlled with you checking in with your horse as you move up in speed to be sure they’re listening to you.

However, sometimes when you lope off, you don’t have that feeling. Then you want to back off a little until you feel your horse come back to you and relax. Also, if you have a seasoned horse that anticipates, you’ve got to be able to adapt. If in that right circle, he gets excited and wants to take off, you need to back off a little. Get through that maneuver, and you can go a little faster on the other side.

I think non-pros are better off going a nice medium speed, a speed that they can master and feel comfortable. There’s nothing worse than seeing somebody trying to go 100 miles an hour when they aren’t comfortable with it.

  1. Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice your circles every day. You learn to run circles mostly from feel and practicing. So, you need to practice circles a lot.

Don’t be scared to practice those fast circles.

You can’t run away from any of the maneuvers, including circles. You’ve got to practice all of them.

Excessive Herd Help

Excessive Herd Help

It seems like after every major event, the topic of excessive herd help comes up. It was covered really well in Dec at the NRCHA Judge’s Seminar, so I thought before the Celebration of Champions, I’d recap what is allowed to do without consequence to the exhibitor vs what will result in a reduction of their score.

The herd holder’s duty is to contain the herd giving the cutter the opportunity to demonstrate their horse’s ability to cut a cow cleanly with little or no disturbance to the herd and to drive the cow up out of the herd to the middle of the working area. They then should make sure all the cattle are back in the herd and move to the side where they can control the herd yet not distract from the run.

Any excessive action by the herd holder can result in a reduction of the score for that run. For instance, if the action of the herd holder “saves” the contestant from incurring a major penalty (such as losing a cow or getting a back fence), or the herd holder cuts down the width of the pen, or in fresh cattle, drives the herd out for the cutter, a penalty may be applied.

Here are a few examples of what can and can’t be done without penalty.

  • If the exhibitor is ready to get off, but the cow won’t turn away 1) as the cow approaches the side of the arena and the exhibitor is in position, the herd holder can move up and turn the cow away without penalty. However, if the exhibitor is behind and has lost control, and the herd holder turns the cow away thus saving the exhibitor from losing the cow, a penalty should be applied.
  • If the exhibitor loses control while making a cut and the herd holder prevents the cow from being lost, a penalty should be applied.
  • After the cut has been made, if the herd holder doesn’t move over to the wall causing the cow being worked to be influenced by his presence, a penalty may be applied
  • If the herd holder is sitting in the corner as the cow approaches the corner, the herd holder moves slightly, no penalty. If he comes out of the corner and obviously attempts to stop or turn the cow, the run content should be reduced.

The general rule of thumb is when a major penalty is saved by the action of the herd holder, the judge can deduct up to ½ the value of the penalty that was going to be incurred. So, for a back fence, it would result in a 1.5 point deduction. For a loss, it would be 2.5 points. This is taken over on the far-right side of the judge’s card and is deducted from that particular cow’s score, not subtracted at the end like a back fence or a loss would be.

All that said, the job of the herd holder is to help the exhibitor, and we’d all rather lose 2.5 points instead of 5 points. The key is to stay in the position of control and if you’re not, don’t be surprised if you see an excessive herd help penalty on your card.

See the score card below for clarification:

They need to know the answer before you ask the question… and want to say yes!

They need to know the answer before you ask the question… and want to say yes!

A thoughtful horse trainer understands how horses think and prepares them thoroughly to be able to “know the answer before you ask the question”.

This was highlighted on my recent trip to Australia. There was a particularly good rider with a very nice horse who had never been able to do flying changes on him. I explained to her how a horse has to be able to move their front end separate from their back end, in essence rub their tummy while patting their head, to change leads correctly. I asked her to do a few simple exercises that help get a horse really good at that. For those of you that took Barb’s and my Lead Changing webinar a couple of months ago, you should be familiar with those! For those of you who missed it, it’s still available though it won’t be live but it’s all there (you can access it here: Unlocking Lead Changes). Anyway, I’ve always been a firm believer in educating my horses by teaching them how to move all their body parts the way they’ll need to to perform a maneuver.

Then, I teach them any corrections that I might use if they need some extra
reinforcement. All of this before I even think about asking for the maneuver.
This way they know how to “answer/respond” correctly to my cues before I ever ask. They are planning to say “yes”, because they already know how. They’re like a kid in school who is well prepared and when the teacher asks the question, can hardly wait to volunteer the answer.

This method has never failed me, and I really feel like it helps to develop a confident horse who always knows that no matter what is asked, there is a correct answer followed immediately by reward.

Back to my story though. We prepared this horse thoroughly with lateral moves, good lead departures, counter cantering, collection etc, then put it all together and presto! We had several pretty flawless lead changes! It was seamless, stress free and just old-fashion gimmick-free, good, schooling.

I encourage all of you to harken back to your school days and remember what it was like to be thoroughly prepared and confident vs full of dread and anxiety when you weren’t. Which way helped you learn better? Were those the teachers that you liked better and felt like they had your back and made you want to try harder for them? Me too! I believe horses are no different to us in that regard.

Please share your thoughts with me about this!

Doug Williamson

Doug Williamson

This week I wanted to give a big shout out to one of the finest horsemen, great
showman, kind and resilient, yet tougher than nails, and cowboy extraordinaire. If
you’ve never met Doug Williamson, just go right up and introduce yourself! He’s
one of the most friendly and approachable trainers in the NRCHA. I could on and
on, but no one could say it better than Lindsey Stornetta of Platinum
Performance. Please take a minute to read this article about him and then make it
a point to meet him. You’ll be glad you did!


Doug Williamson | Reined Cow Horses (platinumperformance.com)