Howdy Cowboy 🤠
It’s time to dust off your Stetsons and fancy competition shirts because Western Horsemanship is here again!
“But western team, what’s the difference between Western Horsemanship, and the Western Riding class last year?”
Western Riding focuses on the basics of the western discipline: working gaits, steering, lead changes and backups. The main focus of evaluation is the quality and precision of the performed manoeuvres, so for example the posture of the rider is not considered.
Riding fundamentals are evaluated during the railwork-section of the Western Horsemanship class, however the individual performance acts as the true test of rider skill. Depending on the level of the class, the pattern features more complex routes, yields, extensions of gaits and turns of the forehand/haunches to name a few examples.
Another specialty of the Horsemanship-class is the forementioned railwork-section that is ridden simultaneously by all competitors. During this section competitors ride along the perimeter of the arena in a gait dictated by the judge, going through all three gaits in at least one direction. During the line-up that concludes the railwork-section, the judge may ask riders to individually perform a backup from a standstill.
Along with the quality of gaits and the precision of performed manoeuvres the evaluation also covers the overall appearance of the horse and rider team. The judge pays attention to the proportions of the team, cohesiveness of tack, the rider’s show attire and the horse, the posture of the rider and usage of cues during the performance.
In a nutshell, Western Riding focuses on the basic principles of the western discipline, which makes it a great choice for those just getting into competitive western classes. Western Horsemanship in turn extends on the basics with more complicated manoeuvres that help lay a solid foundation for the skills required in other Western Performance disciplines.
Catch you ringside!
