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!
by Marion E. Altieri
And America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred is...Old Tavern, a Thoroughbred filly who epitomizes the very best of her breed, and elegantly shows the heart and versatility of horses who aren’t meant for careers on race tracks.
Thoroughbreds have gotten a bum rap for many years. Many people think that—because yes, the breed was created by humans—that the breed is rife with genetically-determined skittishness. They’re deemed to be, “hothouse flowers,” because—for all their tremendous size and strength—a few nervous horses set the pace for human prejudice.
Thoroughbreds are more-often-than-not, judged to possess the emotional constitution of an over the top, hysterical drama queens. Yes: too many humans, even those who work regularly with Thoroughbreds, see their horses through the lens of culturally-imposed bias. (e.g., Someone’s Uncle Joe said that all Thoroughbreds are emotionally frail, or terrified of their own shadows—and so, it must be so.) But culturally-inherited information isn’t necessarily the Truth.
Thoroughbreds like Old Tavern, daughter of Peak Dancer and Modern Madame, is living proof that her breed not only is agile, swift and eager-to-please—but also, tough and ready for action. The action of polo, no less.
Old Tavern, you see, was bred to become a race horse. Her name, registered with the Jockey Club, was, Taberna. Her breeder and owner, Larry Curtis, had sent her off to train for the races—but then decided not to pursue that path for his homebred. Being a conscientious breeder—he sought other avenues for Taberna. He knew what everyone involved in the Retired Racehorse Project knows—that Taberna had value, just by existing.
However, he also knew that she should have a job—also, that, Thoroughbreds being intelligent beings—she shouldn’t simply retire from the training barn to spend the next 20 years hanging out in a meadow somewhere. She, like all Thoroughbreds—are happiest when their minds and bodies are occupied, and exercised.
Read more: America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred, Old Tavern, a Brave Polo Pony with Nerves of Steel
By Alessandra Deerinck
I am always open something new, and even more if it is about horses.
Throughout my life I competed in jumping, flat racing, dressage and trail, and in 2009 I rode in my first endurance ride, a fifty-mile ride in Warner Springs on an Arabian stallion. At the same time I was working with a client who needed a horse with a smooth gait because he had lost part of a leg in an accident. He loved trail riding, and in searching for a horse breed that suited him I came across the Mangalarga Marchador.
Marchador was, indeed, the name of the first one I have met. The horse’s white coat immediately captured my eye. He was as lively as an Arabian and as graceful as a Spanish horse. His gait piqued my curiosity; it was fast and smooth, but very unusual, almost on a horizontal line, lacking of vertical movement. He was almost hovering above the ground, looking like a real Pegasus. This beautiful gait was natural, and his other gaits were also worth noticing. Marchador was truly a horse with another gear! I have never ridden him, but shortly after learning about the breed, I started to work with Jacob Martinez and his wife, Dr. Teresa Longo, owners of Rancho de Los Cielos, a Mangalarga Marchador breeding farm in Riverside, California.
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.
- North American Western Dressage gets punchy with Ranch Horse Western Dressage tests
- Jennifer Malott Kotylo - Movement & Body Awareness Specials for Equestrians, Introductory Video (1:33)
- 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
