HORSE RIDING LESSONS

 Classical dressage evolved from Calvary movements and training for the battlefield, and has since developed into the competitive dressage seen today. Classical riding is the art of riding in harmony with, rather than against, the horse. 

 Correct classical riding only occurs when the rider has a good seat and a correct and well-balanced body position, moves with the horse's motion, and applies and times the aids correctly. 

 Western Dressage provides riders with a plan of progression. The tests are designed to start you at the very beginning in a walk-jog test and then build off of one another until you reach the highest level of test where you perform pirouettes, flying changes on a serpentine, and 8 meter jog circles. Even if you or your riders don’t want to enter a show arena, it gives you a training guide and things to work on with your equine partner. 

 Trail was designed to confront a horse with obstacles and tasks likely to be encountered when trail riding, such as:  opening a gate, riding through it and closing it, riding over a bridge, negotiating over poles,
However, today's, trail horse is finely-tuned to the rider's cues, and move away from the rider's legs to side pass, etc. Judges want to see a horse that displays brains and skill, the capability to negotiate on his own the obstacles of the western trail class. 

 Jumpers is where the horse and rider memorize a course of jumps and a jump-off course. Jumpers are judged by how quickly a horse can complete a course of jumps with the fewest errors, called faults. 

 Hunters is where the horse and rider jump a course of natural looking obstacles and the judging is based on accuracy, grace, and elegance, of both horse and Rider.

 Eventing is an event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three phases of horse riding Jumpers, Dressage and Cross Country. 

 Cutting competition in which a horse and rider work together before a judge or panel of judges to demonstrate the horse's athleticism and ability to handle cattle. Modern competition utilizes a ​2 1⁄2 minute performance, called a "run."

 Barrel racing is an event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset Barrels in the fastest time. Though both sexes can compete at amateur and youth levels, it is usually a rodeo event for women. It combines the horse's athletic ability and the horsemanship skills of a rider in order to safely and successfully maneuver the horse around three barrels placed in a triangle pattern within a large arena.

Team penning is a western sport that evolved from the common Farm work of separating cattle into pens for branding, doctoring, or transport.

Today it is a fast-paced event that gives a team of two riders on horseback from 60 to 90 seconds  to separate three specifically identified cattle from a herd of 30, and put them into a 16' x 24' pen through a 10' opening, at the opposite end of the arena

 Reining is a judged event designed to show the athletic ability of a ranch type horse within the confines of a show arena.  Each pattern includes small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, roll backs over the hocks, 360 degree spins done in place, and exciting sliding stops that are the hallmark of the reining horse.

The western horsemanship class is designed to evaluate the rider's ability to execute, in concert with their horse, a set of maneuvers prescribed by the judge with precision and smoothness while exhibiting poise and confidence, and maintaining a balanced, functional and fundamentally correct body position

 The basic idea is to show a horse that is a pleasure to ride, The horse should show behavior and moves that would assure a pleasurable ride if one were to go from A to B, or just take a leisure ride across country. Competitors show their horses on a reasonably loose rein for the relaxed "pleasure to ride" appearance.