Sometimes, no matter what the discipline, a show horse hits a brick wall in the training process and just fails to perform at the level expected. There are many potential reasons for the change – stress, horse show burnout, a change in rider or discipline. The first thing that needs to happen is that any […]
Competition in the pattern classes at top breed shows and futurities has improved so much in the past decade that course designers have had to add maneuvers and to the degree of difficulty just to keep up and make the classes challenging. Some of today’s Showmanship Horsemanship, Equitation, Trail and Ranch patterns can get extremely […]
Western Pleasure. In terms of entries, it’s traditionally been one of the most popular classes at American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and American Paint Horse Association (APHA) and other breed association events. Large purses and prestigious titles have traditionally drawn big numbers to the pen to be evaluated on quality of movement. The National Snaffle […]
We’ve all seen it – those competitors in a Showmanship class who “run funny.” Maybe they stick their behind out too far. Maybe they resemble a duck. Or maybe they are just running on their toes and their stride appears off. Many times, this is happening unfortunately because handlers simply don’t know the correct way […]
The fashion world has gone western. Even GQ magazine contributor Chris Black said in a recent column that although he grew up in Georgia he never wanted to rock a big belt buckle and boots – until now! He wrote….“In the world that I inhabit today, however, nothing is cooler than dressing like a cowboy. […]