Sweetwater Ranch Antelope Valley

02/27/2025

It is hard to ride well in a saddle that doesn’t suit your own personal anatomy. Well, this poster gives a generalized overview of male versus female realize that every person is different. Sit in a lot of saddles before you buy one.

Credits to Naomi Tavian for this one.

02/25/2025

To all our riders who might be interested in showing at HIDHA here is how to pre-enter

02/13/2025

Did you know this is what the inside of your horse’s mouth looks like? The left side of the image is the incisors. the row of teeth in the foreground are the molars - notice that first molar has a horrendous hook on it! can you imagine that poor horse wearing a bit?

Professional equine dentistry is essential for your horse’s well-being and his good manners while being ridden!

Sweetwater ranch in Eastside Lancaster Ca will be hosting an Equine dental clinic with DLT Dentistry on February 18 and 19th. I’m posting now because we have about four slots still available if someone would like to have their horses teeth done by a certified equine dentist.

Call me at 661-902-9892 or text that same number and we’ll see if we can fit your horse in so he doesn’t have to put up with teeth like this (please do not ask for an appointment on this message. I might not see it.)

I cannot estimate what the cost for your horses dental care will be. I can tell you most of my horses cost between 200 and $300 but if your horse has never had proper dentistry or if they need a lot of extractions, it could be more and still it is 100% worth it 

02/07/2025

💥𝐒𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐃𝐨 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠?💥
🔻🔻𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐🔻🔻
Here are some key things to know so you can be successful in the fastest growing sport in the Western Industry! In this article, we’ll be going over 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, and 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐞 to go kick some butt in the show-pen!

💥𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁
The initial goal in Ranch Horse is to scrape by, not incurring penalties and staying safe from negative scores. Once achieved, the rider should aim to increase their scores and actually acquire “credit” on their maneuvers. Earning credit is easy so long as the rider always remembers that correctness trumps all. Being cool, having loose reins, blending maneuvers, and showing off the horse mean nothing if correctness is not the top priority.

Once the horse is correct, the rider may now “show off” for the judge. There are only really two ways to show off a horse:

1. Highlight the Horse’s Strengths
2. Increase Degree of Difficulty

When choosing Option 1, the rider must know their horse and their individual strengths. A few quality people should watch and note the horse’s strengths and weaknesses for the rider. A fish doesn’t know its wet. Some horses have wonderful extensions and some have terrible walks. Some horses are overall pretty good, and others are very balanced. Nomatter the strength, the rider must find it and exploit it for the judge.

When choosing Option 2, the rider must understand what is a higher degree of difficulty and what just looks cool. A good example of raised difficulty can be seen in the spinbox. A higher degree of difficulty is to walk in, continue walking, and spin without ever stopping or interrupting cadence. Something that just looks cool is a stop and rollback being performed like 1970s reiners. Sure, that is exceptional riding…but it's not exact in the footwork nor is it considered the modern standard. It is too powerful, too fast, and too imperfect. Ranch Riding is a sport being carefully judged on a scorecard, keeping the footwork straight to the point and practical will get better scores. A balanced stop with a nice, elevated, calm rollback on the correct lead is the best way to perform that maneuver.

𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀
This section is highly personal and dependent upon thorough practice and self awareness. How does one even know what gambles to take? Usually gambles are taken if the risk to reward is pretty high. Gambles should be taken on maneuvers that separate the good from the great, things like drags, extended lope to extended trot transitions, ground ties, and perhaps gates. Gamble on things that actually create some spread in the judge’s scorecard! Don’t gamble on something everyone does well like a walk or 180 spin, that's poor strategy.

The thing with gambles, is that they are precisely that…a GAMBLE. Sometimes the Rider will lose, and that's fine. If this is the case, consider it a schooling run and keep going. Never quit or say “damn it” in a run. Save the curses for the parking lot.

The way to get through Gambles and actually win is to put the horse through the ringer at home. Ride him cold backed through a course, give him a day off and ride a pattern, take him to a new place and ride a pattern, go track cattle to get him amped and run a course, feed him sugar feed and do a pattern, ride without spurs and do a pattern, handicap yourself and ride with only reins or only legs and ride a pattern, use scary objects such as tarps and noodles on your pattern…and run your pattern…good diverse practice will create comfort and Gambles won’t be so daunting. And regarding patterns, an original Ranch Riding pattern is easy to find on google and even easier to pull out of your butt once you’ve ran a few. Just get creative and be sure to keep it different so as to prevent anticipation.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The discipline of Ranch Horse judges the horse, not the rider. Many people just sit back and enjoy the ride after hearing this. Equitation, the way the rider sits and cues his horse, can be the difference between a blue ribbon and wasted entry fees. Good Equitation affects how the cues are administered to the horse and partially dictates how the horse will receive them. Poor equitation will lead to poor cueing which can easily p**s off a horse and stifle cadence, create brace, etc.
Riding and cueing can be likened to “talking” to the horse…in what tone do you wish to speak?

Energetic equitation can create illusions of extension and compensate for the horse’s lack of experience, skill, or otherwise. Calm equitation can help to drive LESS attention to a mess up in the course. There are a wide variety of ways that equitation can help show the horse in Ranch Riding…do not overlook it!

💥𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
All disciplines have their “thing” Ranch Horse has transitions. A skilled Ranch Horse should be able to freely switch between each gait in a calm, and balanced fashion. There should be no cut dirt or any theatrics, just realistic, working transitions. They ought to demonstrate to the judge that they're both a good taxi on the ranch, and a very controllable tool to be used in various jobs. It shouldn’t look like stopping a freight train, nor should it look like you’re spurring a donkey.

𝗖𝘂𝗲𝘀
Everything should have multiple cues, for transitions there should be three:
1. Verbal 2. Seat 3. Rein

In a perfect world, a horse should operate almost exclusively off Verbal and/or Seat cues. Rein cues can be used, but should be treated as a secondary resort…not the main cue.

𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘂𝗲𝘀

Verbal
For verbal cues, I find that working with simple corrections and gradually moving to overcorrections tends to yield the best result. It's easier to tone down the horse’s reaction if they get a little choppy or become overachiever. It's quite difficult to do the inverse and suddenly ask for more discipline.

Seat
For these, I find that exercises that make the horse “want” to slow down work best. This produces a unique result whereby the rider waits for the horse to “hand it over”. Because the horse wants to slow down, their demeanor remains bright and the maneuver is generally pretty weightless and pleasant to watch.

Rein
For rein cues, I find basic corrections to work best when training. Overcorrections can risk making the horse gun-shy and their head tossing around. It's generally not a good idea to overcorrect the bridle too often… hands make the horse hard, it's the legs that keep them soft.

A smart rider adapts each of these cues to the horse they ride, for example: a lazy horse does not need much work on body cues, a hot horse does. Adaptability will save wasted time and energy. Horses are individuals, their training programs should reflect this fact.

𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘂𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀
Real Ranch Horses need to be useful in a working setting, they should be able to rope, cut cattle, break colts, and effectively get their rider through various tasks. Despite what ignorant critics say, Ranch training produces VERY broke mounts.
A good Ranch Horse should demonstrate effective footwork, never wasting their steps.

A nice quick spin that takes almost no time to accelerate is great to have. Weightless sidepasses and the ability to back circles will help in the maneuverability required for gates and returning drags. Short square stops and elevated rollbacks make for good scores. Hip control will make backing L patterns easier and serve to earn credit in lead departures and changes. Actual work experience having dragged heavy stuff and seen cattle will create the confidence needed to perform. Not all broke horses win championships, but all championships are won by broke horses.
There is never too much for a Ranch Horse to Learn, as we’ll see in this next section.

💥𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀
Ranch Horse is unique in how there really isn’t a right or wrong way to train for it. There are a few constants and a general idea of what the finished product should look like, but it is by comparison, very inclusive. Being that this sport celebrates east coast cowpunchers and west coast bridlemen equally, there is a wide spectrum of talent and skill to be observed.

There is a lot of room to integrate other discipline’s attributes to create a unique edge in your competition. Here are some examples:

🔻Pirouettes from Dressage can help in foot placement in the spinbox, helping the rider to perfectly center the hind feet and create a well placed spin. They also teach the horse a great deal about impulsion and slowing down their stride. In a sport that often asks for transitions, pirouettes can act as the epitome of slowing down the stride at the lope.

🔻Posting like English riders can support the trot and serve to keep the horse from breaking gait if they’re hot or squeezing out the last bit of juice if they're lazy. It can also help to smoothen the transition between trot to lope if done on the correct diagonal. Lastly, the fitness benefits of real posting…not lazy twerking in the saddle as most western riders do, is wonderful.
Feel the burn!

🔻Setting up your loop like the Team Ropers will demonstrate keen rope handling and can act as a way to show the judge your horse can be on autopilot. Real Ranch horses should be able to compensate for their rider like this. Doing so will keep the pattern moving and serve to create a wonderful, authentic picture for the judge.

🔻Different loops, used by Vaquero Big-Loop Ropers can make the obstacle flow in the pattern more. Sometimes the rider needs to adjust and fiddle-faddle the horse’s feet a lot before they can get in the position they need to, relative to the rope dummy. Maybe the approach to the dummy is at an angle or something to that effect. Knowing how to throw a houlihan, backhand, and over the shoulder shot can help to smoothen a poor setup. Ranch Riding is about efficiency, if throwing a slightly fancy shot saves 10 stupid little steps…do it. The judge cares little if you can rope like Buck Brannaman, but if it shows efficient handling and the horse is a good wing-man for it…credit could very well be awarded.

🔻Maneuverability from Cowhorses will create fluid backups, sidepasses, spins, and gates. Those horses are arguably the most maneuverable in all the western sports. They’re the most slick and effective, getting from point A to point B like they have 8 legs…so weightless! Having a horse who can draw and turn with cattle means they will get the obstacles and maneuvers done in the best, most effective, most realistic way. All about flow.

🔻Speed Horses may be tricky to work with, but once that back is round and that head goes down, they are very effective at their job. The line between rushing a maneuver and getting it done quickly and effectively is a thin one…but one that can be the difference between a -½ and +1 ½. That gamble is worth it with a little training.

𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

As this series continues, Part 3 will dive into:
💥Creating a Complete Program
💥Out-Learning the Competition
💥Out-Performing the Competition

Thank you for reading, you are why I post these. Now go and get riding!

If you’ve any ideas to continue this series, please private message
Johnny Flores Horses we'd love to hear em

🤩 Read Part 1 Here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1102761371648648&id=100057443859179&mibextid=Nif5oz

Written by AQHA Professional Horseman Johnny Flores
818-939-1338

02/04/2025

I believe we have a couple of our young students who are starting to look for a first horse. This might be a very good choice.

This is Roanie. She was unceremoniously discarded at auction after she worked as a ranch horse for all her life. She is gaining weight with us and is enjoying retirement from hard work. She is as sweet as they can get! We’d absolutely would love to see her in a home where she could teach someone’s children or grandchildren to be around a horse. Roanie is around 15-18 years old and is 14.3h/15h tall.

02/03/2025

🔻𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞🔻
🥵𝗔 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗽𝗲𝗻🥵
In this article, we’ll go over some tips for putting together a nice outfit for the Ranch Rider. We’ll go through each section of clothing, recommended styles, and how to turn heads in the showpen!

𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿
Bright colors draw attention and highlight
Dark colors take attention away and hide

If you’ve got a nice upper body and would like to show it off to feel handsome or sexy, wear a light shirt.

If you are perhaps riding a smaller horse, overweight, or wish to hide an insecure body figure, consider a darker shirt.

𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆
🔴Red: Can evoke passion, love, anger, and excitement
🟠Orange: Can evoke joy, enthusiasm, creativity, and warmth
🟡Yellow: Can evoke happiness, optimism, hope, and energy
🟢Green: Can evoke nature, peace, calmness, and growth
🔵Blue: Can evoke trust, loyalty, intelligence, and sadness
🟣Purple: Can evoke luxury, mystery, creativity, and wisdom
🌸Pink: Can evoke love, romance, femininity, and gentleness
⚪️White: can evoke feelings of comfort, serenity, and mental clarity
Pick out a color that is true to your identity and how you ride. I have a theory that personality traits in people tend to reflect in their training style. Wear a shirt that fits your personality, or fits the traits you’d best like to emulate.

I have friends who are quite loud who wear red and some who are very girly that love pink. My mom, a professional ballerina, wears orange often…perhaps linked to her creative background as an artist. My dad tends to wear blue, as a christian businessman he always tries to look out for his clients best interests and is constantly paying it forward. A good friend of mine, who’s got an ego the size of texas…well he wears purple.

𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻
Race

Though it may be controversial, consider your race and color when picking out a color. Suits are an excellent example. Steve Harvey can pull off a cream suit and look great as a black man. A white man would likely end up looking terribly pink.

Hair

Understand how your hair will match too… black hair looks good with light gray shirts and not so good with yellow shirts. Blonde hair looks good with navy shirts and not so good with dark brown. Gray hair looks good with maroon and poor with green. Find colors that look good with your hair.
Eye color and finding something to make one’s eyes pop may be a stretch as most trainers have sunglasses or use real glasses…and are several hundred feet from a judge. But it's not a bad idea to find something to make those eyes POP!

𝗟𝗲𝗴 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗿

Pants

If you decide to compete without some form of Legging, that's fine…but please wear nice jeans. Nice well fitted jeans with adequate length always look good. A little starch and a crease would look good too…but above all else, please don’t reveal your boot shaft. You could sn**ch every blue ribbon in the whole show but you’ll still look stupid with short pants.

The only exception to this rule is with fancy boot shafts, usually worn by Ropers. Tucking one's pants in those can look pretty darn cool!

Legging

Shotgun Chaps, Chinnks, Armitas, and Batwings are the most common forms of legging. Generally speaking, men tend to wear shotgun chaps in the show pen and ladies tend to wear chinnks.

Shotgun chaps are nice and sleek while still offering a real ranch feel, they are the easiest to look good in. Fit Men and Women look wonderful and people with a keg-on-stilts build will look good too. Particularly muscular or thick legs can run the risk of looking too bulky.

Chinnks work great for women and seem to compliment their figure better than men. They look great on shorter, older ladies (who primarily make up the non-pro classes). Chinnks either look like a costume or very ranchy…they have no inbetween, be careful to avoid looking like a re-enactment character. Real leather with visible grain and scars never fails to look good.

Armitas are not commonly seen as they are usually worn by real cowboys outside the showpen, or Vaquero trainers with little interest in showing beyond Pro-am roping and branding pens. Their larger square cut looks wonderful on men and can be a little large for shorter ladies. Tall gals and most men look great in them.

Batwings are not usually seen in ranch events with the exception of Versatility, where legitimate ranchers compete in the cowboy class. They are big and cumbersome and tend to look good on skinny cowboys or cutters. A big guy with batwings on a little horse will look like the ass that Jesus rode into town with…not good for a horse show. Batwings can look like a spirit halloween costume, so be sure to pick a pair that look real and have a real grain look. A few cow boogers and conchos never hurt too!

𝗛𝗮𝘁
Don’t just buy a cattleman because it's available at the boot barn, shape the dang thing! Various face shapes fit various hats. Skinny white cowboys in the midwest look stellar in cattleman hats with high tilted brims. Round faced latinos in the southwest look stellar in round, flat crown hats. Putting a vaquero hat on a pointy faced cowboy may make him look like a cartoon character and putting a cattleman hat on a round faced cowboy will make his cheeks look like a baby.
Get a hat that works for your face shape->Then get that hat shaped for what you’re doing. Reiners have higher crowned hats than Ropers. Vaqueros have wider brims than most disciplines. Show Horse and Judge’s hats tend to be very curved up and taco-like in shape. Find a good shape that fits.

Crown

There are plenty of good crowns to choose from besides flat
crowns and cattlemen, experiment a little!

Gus- this crown slopes down in the front. Looks exceptional on older cowboys.

Cool Hand Luke- this crown looks great on rodeo cowboys and people with a strong jaw

Gambler Crown- looks wonderful on Buckaroo Riders

Telescoping Crown- the worker equivalent to the Gambler, looks legit and is more conservative

Fedora- a classic shape, tends to look good on skinny faces

Brick or BullDogger- a wider version of the cattleman, fits great for stronger jaws

Find a hat that looks good and fits your overall picture.

𝐕𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐬𝐭?
If you’re a portly individual, a button up vest may result in looking like a tied up thanksgiving turkey while a soft shell vest works better to create a nice silhouette. If you’re fit, consider a dress vest that has only 2-3 buttons to show off your chest. Whether you’re a man or woman, if you’re fit…you’ll want to show off that chest.

Vaquero style vests with 4-5 buttons can run the risk of looking too hot and layered. Sometimes, the higher cut also fails to accentuate the chest of the rider and results in them looking skinny-fat. We don't want that.
Vests are tricky to pull off, and are not required…so if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work! No need to force it.

𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀
If you use a Wild Rag, tie it for real. They look stupid when tied long and loose as a fashion statement. Tied like that, it will choke you out if it gets caught in a dally on the ranch. Tie them tightly and consider their use in hiding wrinkles and giving the appearance of a “tighter throatlatch” for the rider…

𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗿
Boots
Brown leather boots are the best. Black can be tricky to keep clean and often looks out of place as most saddles and bridles are brown. Match as much of the leather work as possible. Boots to belt, saddle to bridle, etc.
Beyond color, as long as they are comfortable and fit well…use them.

Spurs
Find a spur that works for your leg length and horse’s temperament. Shorter ladies tend to have longer shanks on their spurs while tall men tend to have medium to small shanks with larger rowels. Spend some money and get a nice pair that will last, they don’t need to have silver and gold…but a little engraving is always nice. If that's too much, then get better and go win some! There is nothing like wearing your trophies.

𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀
Don’t. Just don’t. It's Ranch Horse, not a runway. Keep it simple and look legit.

𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
Now that you’ve got a wardrobe picked out, ask yourself this one final questions:
“Would a group of real cowboys in the bunkhouse make fun of me if I showed up to work today?”

If the answer is no, then you’ve got your outfit and are ready to show!

02/02/2025

We will be attending this show in two weeks. Everyone needs to sign up so we can arrange trailer spaces.

01/29/2025

Really excellent and useful information here. Thanks, Johnny.

𝐒𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐃𝐨 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠?

Here are some key things to know so you can be successful in the fastest-growing sport in the Western Industry! In this article, we’ll be going over 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, and 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 to get started in this awesome sport!

𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴
The judging is done on a 70 point system where everyone starts at 70 and goes up or down from there. Each maneuver or obstacle in the case of Ranch Trail (sidepass, walk, trot, poles, bridges, drag, etc) will be judged -1 ½ to +1 ½ . The simplest way to understand what that scoring system means is to assign words to each score:
Excellent +1 ½

Very Good +1

Good +½

Average 0

Poor -½

Very Poor -1

Extremely Poor -1 ½

At the end of the run, these scores are tallied against the 70. If a person were to get three -1 ½ point scores, they’d have a score of 65 ½ and if they had three +1 scores, they’d have a 73.

When starting out in Ranch Horse, shoot for 0 scores. Do not take gambles until comfortable and somewhat consistent. Correctness trumps all. A good rule of thumb is to shoot for a 70 score at first, then work up from there. In Ranch Horse, if one can stay out of the penalty box…they are generally going to walk out with a decent placing. Another good rule of thumb is to stay consistent, the best riders do not have a couple +1 ½ scores, they have consistent +1 scores and a couple +½ scores. A +1 ½ score is great, but if it's followed by a 0, you are now below the guy that got two +1 scores. Consistency wins.

𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀
Penalties are generally outlined in the judge’s sheets and they are tallied against the 70 point just the same as maneuver scores. Priority #1 in Ranch Horse: stay out of the penalty box.

Penalties:
Too slow 1pt
Overbridled 1pt
Break of Gate 2 strides or less 1pt

Break of Gate More than 2 Strides 3pt
Wrong Lead More Than 2 Strides 3pt
Draped Rein 3pt
Cross Firing More Than 2 Strides in A Lead Change 3pt
Trotting More Than 3 Strides in Simple Lead Change or Out of Rollback 3pt
Severe Disturbance of Any Obstacle 3pt

Blatant Disobedience 5pt

Understand that a 1 point penalty is not the end of the world, but it would be nice to avoid if possible. Usually the 1 and 3 point penalties can be made back by a skilled rider, but more than three penalty points is almost impossible to make back and still have a respectable score. Depending on the show, schooling may be more socially accepted. All horses should show with intent to school in their performance program to keep things sharp.

𝗢𝗳𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻
This is the worst place to be…essentially it means no matter how good you did, the act that OP’ed your horse will place you below everyone who did the pattern correctly, regardless of score.

Ways to Get an OP or Off Pattern:
- Eliminates or Adds Maneuver
- Incomplete Maneuver
- Repeated Blatant Disobedience
- Use of Two Hands except in Snaffle or Hackamore on Junior/Level 1 horses
- More than 1 Finger Between Split Reins (in bridle)
- Any Fingers Between Romal Reins (except in a two rein for that year)

Let's say you do a pattern and it's a 74 score. If you put your fingers between the Romal Reins and your horse is not in a two rein, you’re OP’ed. The next rider who competed got three penalties and had a tough time but got the course done technically correctly with a 68 score. They will still beat you, because they did the course as drawn and written. Penalty points and negative maneuver scores have no bearing on OP except in the case of placing multiple OP riders. If two riders have OP’ed, they will be placed high to low, same as any other placing.

𝗗𝗤
It's pretty hard to get Disqualified in Ranch Horse

Ways to Get DQ
Illegal equipment
Lameness
Disrespect or Misconduct
Willful Abuse
Leave Working Area Before Pattern Is Complete
Improper Western Attire
Fall of Horse or Rider
For equipment, find a bridle that's pretty universally acceptable in order to remain safe from any scrutiny. A nice simple shanked bit with a solid or correction mouth and leather or single flat chain curb is a great choice. Reins must be leather split or leather/rawhide romal, simple as that. No barrel or roping reins. Snaffles and Hackamores are pretty hard to mess up, and the two rein must be fitted appropriately and not in such a way where it looks like a glorified cavesson. This is all to avoid any harassment from the judge. Stick with the usual stuff…not the weird contraptions marketed on discount tack websites.

Don't show a lame horse, that's just mean. Disrespect and misconduct is easy to avoid, be polite and don’t curse in the arena when your horse hits a pole. Willful abuse is easy to avoid too, just get off, take a moment, and count to ten. Leaving the working area is rather straightforward. For western attire, wear an appropriately fitted western button down shirt with or without a vest, wear blue jeans that fit with some stack and have western boots on. A belt and spurs should be worn too. A helmet or cowboy hat is to be worn, whether it's a vaquero or reining style hat doesn’t matter, but it must look like a cowboy hat. Don’t go in dressed like Roy Rogers, this is RANCH horse…do not look like the guy that’ll get made fun of by macho cowboys in the bunkhouse. If you fall, it's a given you’ll be DQed…go see a doctor and a vet to be sure everyone is all right.

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴

Ranch Horse associations all have their own mission statements but the guiding force is a desire to preserve the natural movement and working ability of true ranch horses. Judges don’t want to see pleasure ponies with 2 inch strides or dressage horses with unreal impulsion. Judges want to see a horse who can work comfortably and effectively over a long period of time in a wide variety of terrain and jobs.

Frame
Usually, because Ranch Horse is an American sport, the ideal horse and frame is that of a quarter horse. A good rule of thumb is keep the head at or above the withers within 3 inches or so. Anything higher tends to be on the high headed side of things which can be tricky to deal with and show effectively. Anything lower will start to resemble a reiner, which is an easy way to get written off the scorecards. These horses need to be on a ranch trotting around for hours at a time, working cattle, and roping in between. If their head is in the air they’ll hollow their back, get sore, and miss their cow. If their head is too low, their face will be yanked into the ground when they go to rope a stubborn cow. Ranch Horse seeks a realistic, natural headset that can handle all these jobs relatively well…and that's at or slightly above the withers.

Consistency
Ranch Horse is big on transitions and showing the horse as an effective means of transportation to, from, and through jobs. In these maneuvers, a consistent frame is a wonderful thing to show off for the judges. If your horse is stunning at the walk and trot but lopes like a llama on cocaine…that is not good. If they can carry a nice, natural frame for the whole run, rarely picking up their head besides naturally elevating shoulders…the judge will be giving better scores out.

This consistency also translates to how the horse pays attention to the cues and demonstrates their softness. When pulled, the Ranch Horse should give with his nose. If the horse is pulled and backs up with a soft body but a stiff jaw, he is not earning as much credit on the scorecard as the horse who willingly gives his head and backs up slightly slower. Ranch Horse judging focuses on the horse, not the rider..use this to your advantage and set up your horse for success.

Realism
Everything done in the Ranch Riding or Trail course should be done in a fashion that a horse could easily do that maneuver 30x in a day without getting hurt. Spins should be done swiftly and calmly, but engaged enough to get the job done in a timely manner. Stops are always done at most from a lope, never a rundown like reining. Long slides are not as well liked as a short, engaged stop. Back-ups should be fast but the horse is not rewarded if he scrambles his feet. There is a difference between haste and speed. Transitions are not opportunities to cut up the dirt, they are transitions between the gaits…understand that. A judge will reward a calm, easy…but quick transition from one gait to the next. A judge will not reward the transition that kicks up a cloud with the horse’s butt puckering at the rider’s vocal cue. On a real ranch, with a wide variety of ground quality, all subpar to that of an arena, that horse would be lame on day 1.

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 + 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀

Horse
Even though Ranch Horse is a realistic sport that aims to keep true to tradition, its still a show. Good equitation, though not important on paper, will help immensely in the cueing and showing of the horse. A judge is not immune to seeing something they think is pretty, and good equitation always looks pretty. Nobody likes to see a monkey on a donkey. When selecting tack to put on the horse, stay away from overly showy tack. Silver in the case of a Spade Bit or some conchos on the saddle is fine, but do not adorn the horse. Ranch Horse does not look kindly on saddles with silver on the skirt or pommel, a horn cap is alright but even then might push it depending on the flashiness. Good leather tooling and braidwork will be what you “show off”, not silver and gold.

Rider
Dress and ride in accordance with traditionally “western” norms. Do not try to ride with cartoonish batwing chaps looking like a looney toons drawing or a humongous charro hat. Ranch Horse celebrates the different cowboys in America, but a good western hat with a 5 inch or shorter brim and shotgun chaps or armitas/chinks are just fine. Furthermore, understand your body type and what may need slimming, what is “pretty” or “sexy” to show off and how legwear may fit you. Generally armitas and shotgun chaps look great on men while chinnks look great on women. Know how best to dress and how best to get the horse ready.

Judges are human and due to this, they are not immune to liking a good picture. Dress and tack up the horse in a way that is pleasant to look at as a whole.

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐆𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐭

“Do what is written, not what is drawn”
The drawn pattern may need to be tweaked in order to show off your horse’s strengths. Watch others and determine if a creative liberty should be taken, and do so conservatively. Laying down a pattern well can be the difference between a 69 score and a 74.

“Act like its an interview to work on the judge’s ranch”
Do not hesitate like a reiner, sipping tea and reading poetry between each maneuver…knock it out with purpose. If I were to hire you, I want jobs done effectively and I want them done timely. Do not be the reason the boss can’t have dinner with his wife. Do not be that guy that needs his work checked over again.

“Have three cues”
For transitions, have a body and vocal cue that are used in that order. If those do not work, hone in on rein cues to have a last resort. In a perfect world, the horse relies only on body cues.

“Get off the fence”
Ranch Riding should feel “real” and that kind of riding is done in the open, so get off the fence in the patterns. The other reason to get off the fence is so that the judge can see you.

“Use your senses for memorization”
I have a ritual I do for pattern memory: read the pattern, trace the pattern with my eyes, trace it with my finger, walk it with my horse as if to “mark” our choreography, repeat, ask someone to quiz me (usually my mom or dad). If I feel like I'm forgetting, I’ll get myself quizzed by a gate person right before going in or look at the map. And the second to last person before I go, I watch their run. I never watch the run before me because I’m usually rewalking the pattern or doing one last transition down ( I have a hot horse, and that's my way to combat her energy). So I’ve used touch, sight, and hearing to hone in my understanding of the pattern…and usually I don’t forget. If I do forget the pattern, it's because I missed one of these steps or was dealing with an outside force that I couldn’t control i.e. depression, insomnia, etc.

“Practice with the same intensity”
How ridiculous is it to expect the utmost discipline at a show if it's not asked for at home. That's unfair to the horse. Practice at home should be intense and particular, just the same as the showpen. The warmup should be similar, the grooming, the rider’s dress…all of it should be the same if not very similar. I tend to show in shotgun chaps, so I often practice with shotgun chaps. Make it consistent and you’ll be amazed how much better the horse will get seemingly overnight.

Closing
I hope this has been helpful in your start to Ranch Riding...now quit reading, go and sign up to compete!

Written by AQHA Professional Horseman, Johnny Flores

🔻🔻🔻𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟐 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐖!🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻
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