Riding Disciplines
Welcome to Riding Disciplines which covers every English and Western riding style! The English riding covers Dressage, a ballet on horseback, Driving which features both the beautiful horses and the carriages they pull, Foxhunting, Eventing, Jumping, Saddle Seat, and even the sport of Polo.
The Western riding category includes Pleasure, Reining and all Rodeo events involving a horse, so look for Barrel Racing, Bronc Riding, Chuck Wagon Racing, Cutting, Pole Bending and Roping.
Want to know the date of your favorite horse show or rodeo? Don’t miss it! Dates and locations are included in the in both the Calendar of Events for English Riding and the Calendar of Events for Western Riding. Are we missing a category or event? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!
Hey Riders: Are You “Shapers” or “Shapees”?
How to Correctly Use the Aids to Prepare Your Horse for Action
Admit it: We’ve all fumbled with a half-halt from time to time or created a misshapen mount with our confusing aids for shoulder-fore. The aids for riding, as simple as they can seem at their most basic, are a complex language that requires an acquired fluency as our riding goals graduate from simple transitions to lateral movements and beyond.
In her best selling book When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics, trainer and long-time technical editor for Dressage Today magazine Beth Baumert demystifies the use of aids to help ensure clear communication between horse and rider. Here’s a glimpse of the insight her years of experience interviewing and writing about the very best riders and trainers in the world provides.
by Bonnie Marlewski-Probert
Show season is once again upon us! Below are three secrets to help increase your show ring success while you also have more fun!
Tip # 1 – Ask yourself; are going to the show to COMPETE or to COMPLETE? – If your horse is barely picking up the left lead and you have never managed to load him into your trailer in less than two hours, you aren’t ready to Compete; however, as a part of Completing your training process, you might be ready to go to several horse shows to school both you and your horse. When you go with the intention of schooling and familiarizing your horse with all the elements involved in showing, you won’t be signing up for any classes. This will allow you to focus instead on the dozens of often-overlooked pieces of the puzzle when it comes to winning in the show ring, without the added stress of competing. The goal is to identify and master all of these pieces and then work on them at home.
Written by: Leslie McDonald, USDF Gold, Silver and Bronze medalist & author
As the old saying goes, “All roads lead to Rome.” Unfortunately, that adage doesn’t necessarily apply to the myriad of philosophies that have evolved over the centuries to guide the journey of dedicated horsemen in their training pursuits. While some theories are spot on, not all are compatible with logic. Although many evolved from proven classical concepts, some bubble up from new age hocus pocus.
Throughout my years in the horse industry, I was fortunate to benefit from the expertise and inspiration of many gifted instructors. My quest for knowledge led me down a variety of aisles forged by each trainer from their own hard learned studies in the aisles of their respective mentors. Each bestowed on me their personal training philosophies in the “pass-it-on” tradition as I learned my way into the fraternity of instructors.
Photo courtesy of Specialized Saddles
Ranch horse competitions have been exploding in popularity, and in an effort to help more riders develop the partnership these events require, North American Western Dressage (NAWD) is pleased to introduce Ranch Horse Western Dressage. This exciting new program celebrates the athletic abilities of the working ranch horse while demonstrating the benefits that can be gleaned from Western dressage training.
Inspired by the ranch riding classes so popular in stock horse associations, Ranch Horse Western Dressage combines dressage training-scale values with maneuvers used by the working ranch horse, including hesitations, sidepassing, rollbacks and more. Horse and rider must work together to complete a prescribed pattern of maneuvers while showcasing calmness, relaxation, balance, precision, obedience and self-carriage.
Read more: North American Western Dressage gets punchy with Ranch Horse Western Dressage tests
- Mario Dino Di Salvo at the Saratoga Polo Club
- Exercises for Horses That Are Beginning Pole Bending
- Zara Phillips targets Olympic gold with baby Mia by her side
- OMR Sisters Gallop to Glory
- Horse Carriage Driving Enthusiasts Compete on Brean Beach
- Navajo Barrel Racer Is Saluted With ‘Kassidy Dennison Day’ in New Mexico
- Reining: Boemil Twin Robotop - the only Appaloosa in the Individual Finals
- Boyd Martin Sets Record at Jersey Fresh International Three Day Event
