Reining Patterns and Manouevres

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 ... Jim Willoughby, IN, NRHA handbook : By-Laws, Rules and Regulations : Judges guide. Rules for judging : A. General, p.67.

WALK-IN

The walk in brings the horse from the gate to the centre of the arena to begin it's pattern. the horse should appear relaxed and confident. Any action which may create the appearance of intimidation, including starting and stopping, or checking is a fault, which shall be marked down according to the severity in the first manoeuver score.

STOPS

Stops are the act of slowing the horse from a lope to a stop position by bringing the hind legs under the horse in a locked position sliding on the hind feet. The horse should enter the stop position by bending the back, bringing the hind legs further under the body while maintaining forward motion and ground contact and cadence with the front legs. Throughout the stop, the horse should continue in a straight line while maintaining ground contact with the hind feet.

SPINS

Spins are a series of 360 degree turns, executed over a stationary (inside) hind leg. Propulsion for the spin is supplied by the outside rear leg and front legs, contact should be made with the ground by the front legs. The location of the hindquarters should be fixed at the start of the spin and maintained throughout the spins. It is helpful for a judge to watch for the horse to remain in the same location, rather than watching for a stationary inside leg. This allows for easier focus on other elements of the spin(ie. cadence, attitude, smoothness, finesse and speed

ROLLBACKS

Rollbacks are the 180 degree reversal of forward motion completed by running to a stop, rolling (turning) the shoulders back to the opposite direction over the hocks and departing in a canter, as one continuous motion. The handbook states no hesitation. However, a slight pause to regain footing or balance should not be deemed hesitation. The horse should not step ahead or backup prior to rolling back

CIRCLES

Circles are manoeuvers at a lope, of designated size and speed, which demonstrate control, willingness to guide, and degree of difficulty in speed and speed changes. Circles must at all times be run in the geographical of the arena specified in the pattern description and must have a common centre point. There must be a clearly defined difference in the speed and size of a small, slow circle, and a large, fast circle, also the speed and size of small RIGHT circles should be similar to the small, slow LEFT circles, and the speed and size of large RIGHT circles should be similar to the large, fast LEFT circles

BACKUPS

A backup is a manouver requiring the horse to be moved in a reverse motion in a straight line requiring distance: at least ten feet

HESITATE

To hesitate is the act of demonstrating the horse's ability to stand in a relaxed manner at a designated time in a pattern. In a hesitation, the horse is required to remain motionless and relaxed. All NRHA patterns require a hesitation at the end of patterns to demonstrate to the judge(s) the completion of the pattern

LEAD CHANGE

Lead changes are the act of changing the LEADing legs of the front and rear pairs of legs at a lope, when changing the direction traveled. The LEAD change must be executed at a lope with no change in gait or speed and be performed in the exact geographical position in the arena specified in the pattern description. The chang of front and rear LEADs must take place within the same stride to avoid penalty

RUN DOWNS and RUN AROUNDS

Run downs are runs through the middle of the arena, and runs along the side and ends of the arena. Run downs and run-arounds should demonstrate control and gradual increase in speed to the stop