Steering Your Way To A Ribbon
(This article first appeared in Equestrian Network Magazine, April 2007)

Every reining pattern has them: the large fast circles, the small slow ones. They look easy, but it's hard to steer through them. Your horse drifts in or out, goes too fast, or doesn't slow down when you hit the transition into the small circle. So how do you set up your horse for a correct, willing ride in the show pen - and how do you troubleshoot when your horse doesn't quite do what you want under the judge's eye?

It's important to remember is that schooling is schooling, and showing is showing. The only time to "show" your horse is in the show pen. Don't try to do a run-through of a pattern as if you were showing, even in the warm-up pen. And you don't want to school your horse in front of the judge.

A circle is really an octagon First, let's consider the large fast circle. If you try to ride a circle, you'll run into trouble. Your horse will drop his shoulder and fall in or out.

Your goal is to have your horse stay under your hand. You can achieve this by thinking of your circle as an octagon: straight line, slight turn, straight line, slight turn. Because you're always riding your horse straight, he won't fall in or out.

Here's what to work on at the barn.

Before you lope off, position yourself in the middle of the arena with your horse on a straight line. His hips should be slightly to the inside, with his shoulder straight. His nose should also be slightly to the inside, so that you can just see the corner of his eye.

Pick up your hand and walk your horse into it, then release and lope him off straight, on the correct lead. After a couple of strides on your straight line, turn your horse slightly, onto the next straight line of your octagon. As soon as you're comfortable that the horse is staying under your hand, move it up his neck a few inches to ask for the speed you want.

Look up and straight. Looking across or out of the circle will cause your horse to follow your head and drift off the line.

If your horse goes too fast, pick him up and bring him back until he is at the pace you want.

When you move your hand up his neck again, he should stay at that pace. If he speeds up again when you release, repeat the correction. If you have to do it a third time, stop him, back him up until he is off your hand (right picture), then start the lope and circle again.

If your horse starts to drop a shoulder or drift in or out, pick up your hand and ride him into it on your straight line. Then release him and continue to ride your octagon.

If you've done your homework, when you lope your big circle in the show pen, your horse should be willing, stay straight under your hand, and stay at the speed you ask.

But he's a horse, so sometimes you'll have to correct him while showing - and if possible, you want to do that without being obvious. Remember the judge doesn't know your horse or exactly what you're asking.

So if the horse starts moving too fast, move your hand back down his neck a little and take your leg off - not very noticeable, but often enough to tell the horse "slow down."

When he does, release him, again without a big movement. (If your horse is really inclined to speed up, you can also teach him a soft voice command - a hum, for example - that the judge won't hear but that the horse understands means slow down.)

If he drifts in or out, this is the one time it's useful to look into or out of your circle - whichever way you need him to move - instead of picking him up and making an obvious move to get him straight.

The show pen is the only place that you want to make these little corrections. At all other times, you want to make sure the horse understands that it's easy when he gets it right, and it's hard when he doesn't.

From fast to slow. So now your horse is performing the way you want on the large fast circles and you want to move into the small slow circles.

Here's what to do at the barn. As you approach the middle of the arena on your large fast circle, put your hand in the middle so the horse stays straight, sit back down on your pockets, and release your leg. He should slow down and you can make your small circle - another octagon. If he doesn't slow down, stop him, back him up until he's off your hand, and then go back into your small slow circle.

Next time around, move into the large fast circle and as you come through the middle of the arena, ask him to slow down into the small circle again. If by the third time, he is still not slowing down, take the reins in two hands. Lope a circle about one-quarter of the large one. Stop and back him up until he's off your hands. Do this a couple of times and once you feel he has the idea, go back to one hand, start over, and repeat the large fast into the small slow. When he gets it right, reward him - break to walk and finish the small circle in a walk.

Working on these things at home and in the warm-up pen will teach your horse what you want him to do - and to do them when you want. And when you enter the show pen, youÕll feel confident that your octagon will look like a circle. Good luck at your next show!

Gabe Davide
GD Performance Horses
7622 Santa Maria Ct., Gilroy, CA 95020
408 499 2475 gdavide99@yahoo.com