Ride

The equestrian sport of ‘cutting’ emerged from the open ranges of the American West.  Ranchers hired cowboys to work their cattle herds, and the job included separating from a herd (‘cutting’ from the herd) cows that were in need of branding or veterinary care or that had wandered and become mingled in a herd of neighboring ranches.  The cowboys used their best ‘cow smart’ horses for the task, a western cross-breed descendant from the horses brought to North America by Conquistadors with an instinctive ability to anticipate a cow’s movement.

In 1898, the first cutting horse competition was held in Haskell, Texas, and it’s become an international sport with sanctioned professional, amateur and open events offering prize money and awards.  In competition, a horse and rider work as a team to demonstrate the horse’s skills during a  2½ minute performance, called a “run”.  The horse/rider contestant must make at least two cuts of cows from the herd during a run, one from deep inside the herd while others can be peeled from the edges.  After the selected cow has been separated from the herd, it’s up to the horse to defend and hold the cow, except that a rider may use leg cues to prevent the cow from returning to the herd.  Judges score a run on a scale from 60 to 80, with 70 being an average score. Cutting horse competition is primarily governed by the rules and regulations established by the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA), founded in 1948.  ‘Limited Age Events (LAE)’ are restricted to young horses in a specific age group.  A ‘futurity’ is for late 3-year or early 4-year old horses;  a ‘derby’ is for mid to late 4-year olds; and a ‘classic’, or classic/challenge, is for 5 and 6-year old horses.  (See Spectator’s Guide→ HERE and 2017 NCHA Rule Book Here)

Information/Resources:
National Cutting Horse Association
Wikipedia:  Cutting (sport)

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It’s a chance to see the world’s best compete!   The 2019 Crazy Mountain Cutting competition is live streaming May 24-26, starting Friday, May 24 at 9am EDT  

Programming Note:  Sometimes it happens — scheduling changes, breaks in competition, or technical interruptions in the live broadcast.  Please check back for live action updates, and take a look at the Live Stream Program Guide for more On2In2™ streaming info.

 

 

 

FREE To WATCH Horse Reining competition –  live action and video recordings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Beat the Bull – A champion bull rider reveals his secrets to success

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Feature photo is courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels CC0

 

Before fences began to appear in previously open fields as a result of a series of laws creating legal property rights and boundaries to land, it wasn’t necessary for horses to do a lot of jumping over obstacles. The sport of show jumping developed from these expanded equestrian challenges, with fences showing up in sport arenas during 19^th century equestrian competitions in Europe (known at the time as ‘Lepping’ or ‘horse leaping’).  An early form of show jumping competition was included at the 1900 Paris Olympic Games.  The sport was then included in its current format at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, and has continued to evolve and gain in popularity as a spectator sport.

 

Courage, Control and Technique 

Grand Prix is the highest level of show jumping competition, and one of the most exciting sports to watch.  Held under International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) jumping rules, the horse must jump a course of 10 to 16 obstacles, with heights up to 1.6 meters (5’3”) spread out up to 2 meters (6’7”).

A horse must have courage to jump fences as well as athletic ability and skillful technique to handle the sharp turns and bursts of speed necessary to navigate difficult show jumping courses.  Different breeds of horses have been successful show jumpers, and while most are tall (over 16 hands, 145cm/57in), there’s no correlation between size and athletic ability, and tall horses don’t necessarily have an advantage in jumping competitions.  In fact, pony-sized horses may sometimes compete in open competition with adult riders. The most famous example is Stroller (1950-1986), a cross-bred who was only 14.1 hands, but won 61 international competitions and an Individual silver medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics, jumping one of the only two clear rounds in the individual competition.

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It’s some of the best riding you’ll ever see!

Reining is a western horse riding sport competition that developed from historical traditions of herding livestock through open ranges within the Americas, Australia and Argentina, and it’s gained popularity worldwide because spectators enjoy a great show of skills as riders guide their horses through precise patterns of circles, spins, and stops.

Information/Resources:National Reining Horse Association

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If you missed the live stream broadcast of Yellowstone Reining Horse Association Slide II event from Anderson Training Stables, Wilsall, Montana (July 12-14), there’s still time to watch a video recording.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓

 

If you missed the live broadcast of the 2018 The Classic by WRHA (May 31 – June 3), there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition.  Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button or select from the video posts located on the media player below ↓ The Classic schedule can be found at the Washington State Reining Horse Association website → here

 

Cutting is another western riding competition that evolved from a rancher’s need to manage cattle by horseback.  WATCH a Cutting Horse Competition — it’s incredible what a good cutting horse can do.

 

 

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Feature photos credit: Flicker user Edward Dalmulder CC BY 2.0