| History of Reining | |
| Dating back to the early Spanish settlers, ranchers needed to manage cattle from horseback. A good cowboy needed a quick and nimble horse that could change directions quickly, stop quickly, and sprint after a cow. The horse needed to be controlled mostly by legs and weight, ridden with only one hand and a light touch on the reins, so the cowboy's attention could also be on other tasks. Demonstrations of these characteristics amongst ranch cowboys evolved into the sport of reining. |  |
| A Reining Event |
| In this event a horse and rider has to perform a complex pattern of large, fast circles, small, slow circles, rundowns, sliding stops, rollbacks, flying lead changes, and spins. A rundown is when the horse gallops down the long side of the arena. A rundown is a required movement prior to a sliding stop or a rollback. Sliding stops are stops when the horse gets his hind end under him, stops, and slids with his hind end. Roll backs is when the horse stops, turns around then lopes back the other direction in one smooth movement. Flying lead changes is where the horse changes its leading front and hind legs at the lope mid-stride. The horse shouldn't break gait or change speed. Spins is were the horse turns around piviting on a hind leg as fast as it can. In the early reining events, the rider would tie a thread tied between the bit and the reins to see who's horse could perform without breaking the thread. |
| Scoring |
| The horse and rider begins with a score of 70, with a theoretical range of scores considered to be from 60 to 80. Points are added or subtracted by 1/2, 1, and 1-1/2 point increments for each of the 7 to 8 maneuvers in the designated pattern. Each part of the pattern is judged on precision, smoothness, and the difficulty of most movements. A score of 70 is considered an average score. A score below 70 reflects deductions for incorrectly performed movements or misbehavior of the horse, a score above 70 reflects that some or all movements were above average. Significant errors, such as an overspin will result in a "zero score". Awards are given to the top three, five, six or ten competitiors, depending on the type of competition and sanctioning organization. Major mistakes, such as a rider going off-pattern, result in disqualification also known as a "no score." |
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