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From the Judge’s Chair
I was looking back on some past articles that Bill Enk (NRCHA Director of Judges and teller of great stories) has written for the NRCHA magazine and saw this. It’s so well written about the importance of reading a cow, that I thought I’d share it.
From the Judge’s Chair May 2022
Bill Enk on reading a cow
Everyone has their strengths and weakness when it comes to showing reined cow horses. Reading a cow accurately is a must. Sometimes luck is involved by drawing a perfect cow, but when that doesn’t happen, the showman that reads the cow the best has a definite advantage.
In the herd work, most people pick the cattle they want to work before they walk down to the herd. They have watched the cattle when the herd was settled and usually watch each rider before them cut so they know which cattle have been used and which are still fresh. Having a good idea about the behavior of the cattle to be cut goes a long way toward earning a good score.
Cutting in the center of the pen and staying even on both sides of a cow are a must for credit to be earned. How far to go by the cow to control and turn him is part of reading a cow accurately. Go too far, you might lose working advantage: don’t go far enough, the cow might not set up and turn, causing your help or the fence to turn him- no credit there.
The exhibitors that read the cow best know when they can play offense and when to play defense. If the cow is aggressively trying to get back to the herd, it’s time to be on the defensive. If the animal lets you control him in the middle of the pen, it’s time to play offense.
When the cow enters the arena during the cow work, the experienced showman starts sizing up the animal immediately. Some cattle head better than others, some are numb and won’t head at all, and some are a combination of both. The idea while boxing is to get on both sides of the cow to stop and turn it so when you get to the head on the fence, the animal will honor your horse and turn.
How long the animal is boxed has a lot to do with how the rest of the fence work plays out. Boxing too long takes too much juice out of the cow and the finish of the run is weakened. If you don’t box enough on an active animal, you risk not being able to catch and turn it on the fence and have a tough time finishing in control on the circles.
The #1 priority when judging the cow work is: Did the horse have position and control during the entire work? If they did, and had at least an average degree of difficulty, they should earn a good score. Reading the cow accurately allows the exhibitor to be consistent throughout the work and finish strong. Remember, using good judgement on a cow always gives you a fighting chance.
Thank you Bill Enk!
NRCHA Dir of Judges
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NCHA Rein Adjusting Rules
The NCHA is a little more forgiving than the other associations regarding adjusting your reins while showing, but also a bit more complex. Here goes:
3 point penalties are assessed if:
If the rider uses 2 hands to turn his horse around with the cow.
If 2 hands are used on the bridle reins to stop the horse then the rider allows the horse to turn on its own.
If 2 hands are used on the bridle reins while stopping the horse for a legal quit.
After quitting a cow legally, the rider uses 2 hands on the reins to turn his horse around or does so while in the herd.
If the cutter drops a bridle rein and uses his free hand to retrieve it while cutting the cow or working the cow it’s also a 3 pt penalty.
No penalty:
However, if the rider uses his free hand to retrieve the rein after legally quitting the cow and stopped their horse, there is no penalty.
The rider can untangle the reins with no penalty if it’s done after a legal quit and before entering the body of the herd, or while riding through the herd, the rider can place a second hand on the reins, behind the rein hand, to straighten them.
If after the rider turns to make a cut and stops in the body of the herd, a second hand can also be used to straighten the reins with no penalty.
Cheating the reins (ie making one shorter while only having the index finger between them) while cutting a cow is common practice and legal.
Be sure to practice adjusting your reins correctly at home until you get very dexterous with them!
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Rein Adjusting Rules Clarification for split reins NRHA and AQHA in the straight reining
There was an NRHA rule change in 2017, which allows the rein slack – the excess rein not between the bit and rein hand – to be rearranged while the horse is moving on the pattern, not only when stopped within the pattern as was previously demanded. As an NRHA alliance partner, the change was also adopted by AQHA.
Before the rein rule was modified, the old rule stated that the horse had to be sitting still anywhere on the pattern before you could fix your reins.
You can only fix the slack by reaching behind your rein hand. The correcting/free hand can have no contact with the reins between the bridle bit and rein hand. However, you can move behind by reaching under or over the hand holding your reins.
This was changed because some horses won’t run straight to a stop or won’t stay in the circles if your reins aren’t adjusted correctly. Rein ends don’t weigh enough to always stay where they should be during a reining run, but they do weigh enough to send mixed messages to a horse when out of place.
If a rein flips and creates a kink where it attaches to the bit, the only solution is a quick prayer and a shake of the rein hand. Riders are still not allowed to touch the rein between the hand and the bit, because that is considered 2 hands on the reins.
We should all practice reinsmanship at home so we have the confidence to make flawless, covert corrections while on pattern in the show pen.
One of the most common issues riders experience is the ability to adjust their rein length with split reins. With only the index finger between the reins, loosening the hand and feeding additional rein will extend the rein length. To shorten the reins, the rider must creep the fingers (hand down) towards the horse’s head (both are legal).
You can’t pull slack with your off hand when showing with split reins. (ie you can straighten the slack end of the reins, but you can’t hold it and pull to adjust rein length.)
Make sure your reins are short enough that your horse can’t step on them, because if your reins are dragging the ground, to the point where it is dangerous and a horse could step on the slack, you can be scored a zero.
A good rule of thumb is when the rider lifts the rein hand toward their body connection can be made with the horse’s mouth. But when your hand is down, there is a comfortable loose slack.
“Cheating” the inside rein or making it shorter is a showmanship trick to help a horse who doesn’t steer as well as you’d like and is legal as long as only the index finger is between the reins.
Another NRHA rule involves dropping a rein. A rein dropped while in motion is scored zero and the judges excuse the exhibitor from the arena.
If the rein is dropped and the horse is standing still, however, the rider can pick up the rein with the rein hand only with no penalty.
Be sure to practice adjusting your reins correctly at home until you get very dexterous with them!
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Rein Adjusting Rules
I get asked frequently to clarify adjusting reins legally while showing in romal reins vs split reins, since the current rulings in NRHA, NCHA and NRCHA are different, I’ll cover each in the next 3 articles.