“Many times people have this image in their minds of what they think they should do, and often it’s very different from what the judges want to see,” says Dave Moore, an ApHC and NRHA judge. “People assume speed is the priority, but that is absolutely not the case. The key term is ‘willfully guided.’ We want the horse to be extremely obedient and pleasing to watch. If you can do everything correctly—the lead changes, the circles, the stops, the turns and the changes of speed—you can go a little faster.”
Reining is scored on each individual maneuver, with individual points and penalties adding up to a final score, with an average of 70. Here Dave takes you through ApHC/NRHA pattern 2, and explains what he’s looking for as a judge.

Pattern 2

Pattern 2 runs fast, which is why it’s a favorite of show managers, Dave explains. But there’s no reason to get in a hurry. His best advice is to take your time and perform each maneuver to the best of your horse’s ability.

This pattern is called a walk-in, which means the horse and rider walk into the pen and start from a halt or a walk. Failing to halt or walk before beginning the pattern will result in a 2-point penalty. “As you enter the pen, take a moment to look around and find the center of the pen,” Dave recommends.
By michelle anderson

Start with three lope circles to the right, beginning with a small slow circle followed by two large and fast circles. “It’s important to begin with a well-placed, appropriately sized small circle,” says Dave. Otherwise, you’ll end up with misplaced large circles that aren’t much bigger than the first. “You’ll end up with the whole pattern out of whack, and it’s almost impossible to start with a positive score.”

After the right lope circles, change to the left lead. “This is a relatively complicated maneuver, because you have to transition to a slower speed while changing leads,” Dave points out. Aim to place the speed transition as close to the lead change as possible. Then complete one small slow circle followed by two large and fast circles.

After completing all three circles, change back to the right lead in the center of the arena and continue half way around the circle to the right before turning right, cutting the arena in half lengthwise. Then begin accelerating into a sliding stop. “The key to a really good stop is to build speed,” Dave says. And again, it’s important to place your turn at the top of the circle, he adds, to avoid misplacing the second half of the pattern.

The second half

From the stop, move into a rollback to the right with no hesitation. Accelerate again, completing a second stop followed by a left-hand rollback with no hesitation. Stops have three components: assuming the position of stop (which must take place after the marker), the actual stop and the rollback. Each portion makes up one-third of the maneuver’s score. “Performing a conservative stop with a precise rollback will mark a better score than a huge stop and poor rollback,” Dave says.

The next step is to run past the center markers and complete a sliding stop. Follow the stop by backing up to the center of the arena, at least 10 feet, as it stipulates in the rulebook. Hesitate. Dave recommends using this moment of hesitation to breathe and gather yourself and your horse. Then complete four spins to the right, hesitating before completing four spins to the left. Hesitate again at the end of the last spin, which signals the judge that you’ve finished the pattern.

“Make sure you stop and signal to the judge before you reach forward and pet your horse or grab the horn,” Dave says. Failing to do so can result in penalties.

716.B. To rein a horse is not only to guide him but also to control his every movement. The best reined horse should be willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance and dictated to completely. Any movement on his own must be considered a lack of or temporary loss of control and therefore faulted according to severity of deviation. Credit will be given for smoothness, finesse, attitude, quickness and authority in performing the various maneuvers will using controlled speed.

From the rulebook

716.C.1. The scoring will be on the basis of 0 to infinity, with 70 denoting an average performance. The individual maneuvers are scored in 1/2 point increments, from a low of -1 1/2 to
a high of +1 1/2, with a score of 0 denoting a maneuver that is correct with no degree of difficulty. Scores will be announced after each horse works.

By Michelle Anderson

To receive an info-packed Appaloosa Journal each month, subscribe now!