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Here’s an article that Barb’s and my friend Warwick Schiller did for Horse and Rider magazine in 2019. It was just republished and is still so very true that I wanted to share it with all of you. It’s about collection and an intriguing way to achieve it. It’s an...

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....

Do you ever come across someone who oozes self-confidence? In today’s post, we are going to talk about what mentally strong people do and what they don’t do. They seem to have this incredible mental strength that sets them apart from the rest. But what gives them that...

Rate is not just for the fence. (It’s even essential in the reined work circles and rundowns). In my last article I talked about judging with Bobby Ingersoll and how he broke down the fence work into the simplicity of “stop-rate-turn.” It inspired me to go a step...

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...

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.Rein Adjusting Rules Clarification when using a romal in the...

I received a lot of good feedback after I did the 1-point reining penalties article, so I thought I’d cover the 2-point reining penalties in this article. If there’s a lot of interest, I’ll continue with penalties in the other events. It’s a 2-point penalty for...

The NRCHA uses the NRHA penalty system with an exception for the “scotch” on the approach to the stop. The NRCHA has this penalty, but the NRHA doesn’t. Horses are required to be on the correct lead throughout the circle maneuvers. Circles are divided into 4 equal...

During the run down the fence, if your cow tries to come off it and you are right there, it probably won’t try again. Whatever a cow gets away with once, it will usually try again. Also try to make the first run down a long one to give you plenty of time to set up...

Position and control are the most important elements in a cow horse event. You want to be the mirror image while working. If you draw a wild one you are in the right place at the right time trying to control it, and the cow doesn’t honor you, you should be awarded a...