Reining is an exciting equine sport that’s taken off in popularity, both in the U.S. and abroad. While the electrifying spins, dramatic flying lead changes, and breathtaking sliding stops are definite crowd-pleasers, they have humble origins in the livestock-herding moves of the working cowhorse. Modern competitive reining showcases the best of human and equine, and getting your own best reining score is possible with some study and a little sweat equity.

Smooth Moves

Today, reining is sometimes referred to as “western dressage,” referencing the similarities between the two disciplines in regards to the overall objectives of obedience, athleticism, correctness, and harmony between horse and rider while performing a prescribed routine. A reining rider communicates through nearly invisible cues, relying upon seat, leg, and weight to direct the horse as a dressage rider does.

Although rooted in cattle management, today’s stylized reining movements, or maneuvers, are executed and judged against an ideal standard that says a reining horse should be “willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance,” and demonstrate positive attitude, finesse, and smoothness of movement in an authoritative performance. Fairness rules, and judges are asked to give each horse and rider their unbiased, undivided attention the moment they enter the ring.

That credo is at the core of reining horse evaluations, and it’s a philosophy that Richard “Ollie” Griffith lives and breathes daily, both in his work with the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), and at home in Plain City, Ohio, with wife Debbie at their Autumn Rose Farm.

Getting It Right

As chair of the Judges Committee, Griffith is responsible for all aspects of judge selection, training, and oversight for sanctioned NRHA events; at Autumn Rose Farm, he’s coached multiple NRHA World Champions, reserve world, and Top 10 finishers. A multi-carded judge himself, Griffith exhibits a quiet passion about the sport of reining, and the role of judging in creating an exhilarating event with excellence and objectivity as its hallmarks.

He points out that judging reining used to be an imprecise process at best; now, everything is systematized and quantified, with the industry ideal as the gold standard. “We spend a lot of time training our judges, then keeping them up to speed. We look for people that want to get it right, then we train them using video as well as live judging exercises,” he says. In Griffith’s view, a reining judge is a trained observer, upholding the NRHA rules not to disqualify riders, but to create a level playing field.

Under Pressure

It’s not an easy role; the pressure to judge every horse and rider fairly, accurately, and with the ideal standard in mind, in a day filled with thousands of decisions made about a hundred or more horses, takes its toll.

“A judge needs to be ready to judge on the very first run, giving every exhibitor the same chance whether they go first or last,” says Griffith. The level of competition can often make for difficult decisions, one of the reasons the judging is against a standard rather than assessing competitors against one another. “It’s hard when you look at a maneuver and ask, it is good, or very good? That’s when you’ll see some naturally-occurring differences in scores between judges,” says Griffith.

That’s why, with NRHA events such as the Derby and Futurity, they’ll have five judges. “We’ll kick out the bottom and top scores, in the hope that the remaining three will be representative of the industry standard. We’re striving to get everyone as close to that ideal as possible. We’re always working to get, and keep, everyone on the same page,” he says.

Know Thy Horse

How can riders improve their reining scores? Griffith says you need to consider your horse’s abilities when you’re deciding how to ride a pattern. “Professional riders know the limitations of their horse. If he has a good turnaround, they’re going to push the envelope to try and get a plus-half on that maneuver,” he says.

For a horse that might only be able to get a zero at a certain maneuver, Griffith says a pro rider will hold back, striving for a “correct” maneuver. Pushing a horse could annoy or fluster him, resulting in a maneuver reduction (a maneuver score of less than zero; see sidebar for scoring details) or even a penalty, and that can significantly drop a score. “If a horse isn’t athletically capable of a maneuver, a pro won’t push him to do something he can’t do well. That’s an area where a non-pro might overshow and lose possible points,” he says.

Eliminating anticipatory action is another area where riders can work to improve their scores; an independent movement by a horse could lead to a maneuver reduction or penalty. According to Griffith, varying your patterns and maneuvers in schooling, and riding at a suitable intensity at home, will help keep a horse fresh, and his attitude good, for the show pen.

Griffith also feels it’s vital to provide horses with a positive show experience. “To be able to show a horse successfully over a long time, my personal opinion is that the show needs to be a good experience for the horse,” he says.

He points out that if horses are ridden harder at the show than at home, or if shows are stressful experiences, horses might take action in the ring so they can wrap up early and go home, possibly affecting your final score. “Many people ride softly at home, then turn up the intensity when they’re at a show. I advise people to ride their horse at home like they would at a show,” says Griffith.

It’s The Little Things That Count

While performance is the main criteria in reining, equipment is also evaluated and penalties apply for infractions. The NRHA handbook spells out allowable tack, with an emphasis on the gentle and humane. As for rider attire, it’s typically very simple, but the overall picture should be neat and “pleasing to an audience,” as stated in the NRHA handbook.

For the serious competitor, Griffith’s recommendations can add up to an improvement in your reining scores:

·       Read the NRHA handbook and know the rules

·       Learn how judges score reining, and if possible, attend an NRHA seminar (see sidebar)

·       School your horse at the same intensity at home and at the show, and

·       Make shows an enjoyable experiences for your horse

Griffith points out that with today’s stiff competition, every little bit helps when it comes to the judge’s scorecard. “Half a point is half a point,” he chuckles. Scores are relative to the competition on any particular day, but knowing where points can come from and how a judge will award them can help you and your horse move into “plus-score” territory.

It’s Easy When You Know The Score

By Lisa Kemp

Understanding competitive reining scores might seem daunting, until you’ve learned the basics.

There are ten possible pattern variations sanctioned by the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), each one composed of either seven or eight maneuvers. Maneuvers include rollbacks, sliding stops, spins, and lead changes, among others. As with any competitive event, there’s an “ideal” to strive for, and NRHA judges are trained to evaluate each horse/rider pair against the ideal rather than against other pairs.

When each horse and rider enter the ring for their “run,” they begin with an “average” score of 70, which will either go up or down depending on their performance.

A correctly executed maneuver can receive a neutral “0” on the judge’s scorecard. However, judges also have the ability to award points in half-point increments, within a three-point spread, if a maneuver is better or worse than the ideal; these points are either added to or subtracted from the initial score of 70.

+1.5 = excellent

+1 = very good

+.5 = good

0 = correctly performed

-.5 = poor

-1 = very poor

-1.5 = extremely poor

For example, a really outstanding run might get several +1 and +1.5 scores for an eight maneuver pattern: 70 + .5 + 1.5 + 0 + 1 + .5 + 1.5 + 0 + 1 = 76 points.

An extremely poor run, with maneuver reductions, would result in fewer than 70 points: 70 – 1.5 – 1 – 1.5 - .5 – 1.5 – 1 – 1 – 1 = 61 points.

“Penalties” can further decrease a pair’s score and are based on nuances in performance, obedience, or equipment. Depending on the infraction’s severity, a penalty may be deducted in increments such as .5, 1, 2, or 5 points.

Still seem confusing? Help is available through the NRHA. If reining seems like a sport you might want to try, you can attend one of their reining seminars, which are open to the public. Competitors, reining judge hopefuls, and the curious are all welcome to pay a $50 fee and attend; in fact, the NRHA encourages competitors to learn about scoring and the ideal standards in order to improve their performances.

Those wishing to become a judge pay an additional test fee; a passing score is required to move on to Judges School, and judges are required to re-test every two years.

To find an upcoming seminar near you, visit the NRHA website at www.nrha.com and click on the “Programs” link to find Judges Schools and Seminars.