GD Performance Horses

Home    Trainer    Training    Showing    Horses    for sale    Boarding    Gallery

About reining

From the ranch to the Olympics Reining is a fast, exciting sport based on maneuvers that working ranch horses perform, and is growing rapidly in popularity. With an established international following, reining is expected to be part of the Olympics in the near future.

In 1998, reining became the first western riding discipline to be recognized by the United States Equestrian Team. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has also approved competitive reining, and it first appeared at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. Reining is expected to take its place as an Olympic equestrian sport starting with the summer Olympics in either 2008 or 2012.

Athleticism, talent, speed, and technical accuracy A variety of set patterns showcase the athletic ability of a reining horse through required elements at different speeds. As well as showing talent and athleticism, the horse must be highly responsive, obedient, willing, and accurate. The pattern elements must flow from one to another: large circles at a fast lope, small circles at a slow lope, flying lead changes into new directions, fast 360 degree spins in both directions, sliding stops, rollbacks, and backing up in a straight line.

In the sliding stop -- the specialty of a reining horse --  the horse drops down into a “sitting” position from full speed and locks its hind legs, while still paddling its front legs so that it slides many yards in a straight line.

Each competitor performs a set pattern incorporating all these elements, in different order depending on the pattern, at a fast or slow lope with the exception of the spins and back-ups. Starting from a baseline of 70 points, the judge or judges give plus or minus points and penalties for each element of the pattern. Going “off pattern” will result in an overall score of 0; the highest score wins. For more information, please visit the National Reining Horse Association's web site at www.nrha.com

Gabe Davide GD Performance Horses 7622 Santa Maria Ct., Gilroy, CA 95020 408.499.2475   gdavide99@yahoo.com