Quality rein-backs in Reining?

[RLastInstallment]

Hello from H/J World! I was watching some on-demand footage of the Kentucky Reining Cup on USEFnetwork, and was curious to know what constitutes a “quality” rein back in reining - mostly regarding head and neck carriage. Does the way the horse carries his head/neck make a difference in the score at all? Is it even considered, or are they looking at the responsiveness/willingness of the horse?

I noticed that Flarida’s horse dropped his head/neck, Fappani’s horse took it a step further and curled his chin in, while Mandy McCutcheon’s horse came above the bit a few times (which I imagine would be less desireable than dropping the head?)

So, would the judges rather see the horse keep a consistent head carriage, or is dropping the head and neck acceptable?

As for the rest, diagonal pairs and responsive, right? Can you get dinged for backing TOO quickly?

I’ve only ever ridden one reining horse, so know very little about it. Thanks!

[RLastInstallment]

I have another question. On Craig Schmersal’s go, the commentator said “First stop came in, really good run, didn’t quite hold the ground very nice.”

What does he mean by “hold the ground?”

[UrbanHennery]

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[UrbanHennery]

I’m not going to do a great job describing this, but here goes.

Rein-backs (called a Roll-back):
You’re looking for the horse to go back out on the track it came in on. Ideally it will make that pivot as a single smooth move. Head/neck carriage is not as important as whether the horse looks “willfully guided” and is showing no resistance. Head/chin flinging up is not good.

From the NRHA Judges Guide:
“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 NRHA 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.”

Holding the Ground:
When you stop you want the horse’s hind feet to hold the ground and then continuing stepping in front. Basically that means that the hind feet shouldn’t pop back out and then in, but rather make one long smooth powerful track. The tracks should look like a pair of parallel marks || without any missing bits.

From the NRHA Judges Guide:
“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 furtherunder the body while maintaining forward motion and ground contact and cadence with front legs. Throughout the stop, the horse should continue in a straight line while maintaining ground contact with the hind feet.”

Backing-up:
You can’t really back up too fast. But if it looks frantic, you probably won’t get a plus score for it.

[RLastInstallment]

Very helpful, thank you!

When I said “rein-back” I actually meant backing up, so I guess there’s a difference of terminology!

It was helpful being able to listen to the commentator, but he didn’t delve into quality of the movements very much. Occasionally he said a certain score would probably be a +1, but otherwise didn’t say much.

[Fillabeana]

Urbanhennery, a rein-back in dressage or hunter/jumper corresponds to the backup in reining.

A rollback is something else entirely, as you described so well.

I am not well versed in the reining discipline.
But I do know that a really fast backup will get a good score. Even if you sacrifice the rhythm of diagonal pairs of legs.

Lead changes are considered ‘clean’ if the horse changes in front first, then behind right away.

[UrbanHennery]

Ha! I did have a moment where I thought, huh, wonder if we’re talking rollback or backing up.

I agree with Fillabeana that rhythm doesn’t matter that much - going fast and in a straight line with your hand in a fairly neutral position will get you a better score, but only if it doesn’t look frantic.

I amend my earlier statement to say that Flarida and Fappani would have scored better (I watched all the runs, but they’ve now run together in my head). Head/chin up is usually viewed as a sign of resistance by the judge - especially in stops, spins, and backing up.

As for lead changes - usually if the change behind happens within one stride, you won’t get a 1/2 or 1 point penalty (although not always at the higher levels). Technically you’re expected to execute it with both pairs changing at the same time. If you ride with a good trainer, you spend A LOT of time working on clean, straight changes.

From the Judges Guide:
The lead change must be executed at a lope with no change of gait or speed and be performed in the exact geographical position in the arena specified in the pattern description. The change of front and rear leads must take place within the same stride to avoid penalty.

[RLastInstallment]

Thank you!

@Fillabeana;7554952

But I do know that a really fast backup will get a good score. Even if you sacrifice the rhythm of diagonal pairs of legs.

I have to say, this is surprising to me! I would have assumed that the quality of gait would be an important factor.

So really they’re looking for the level of submission… how well the horse can do the movement as soon as he’s called upon to do it? Or is that over-simplifying it?

[bugsynskeeter]

Horses are to be willingly guided. The back is part of the maneuver…not the maneuver in its entirety.

A. GENERAL
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 control. All deviations
from the exact written pattern must be considered a lack
of/or temporary loss of control and therefore a fault that
must be marked down according to severity of deviation.
After deducting all faults, set here within, against execution
of the pattern and the horse’s overall performance, credit
should be given for smoothness, finesse, attitude, quickness
and authority of performing various maneuvers, while using
controlled speed which raises the difficulty level and makes
him more exciting and pleasing to watch to an audience.
The official guideline for the application for the rules for
judging shall be as specified in the NRHA Judges Guide.

[Bluey]

You already had good information in other posts.

In reining, way of going is not judged, a horse can move choppy or smoothly, be a free runner, more loose or tighter wound, the head higher as bridled horses do, or the new fad of super supple and overbent.

As long as the movements are correct and the horse shows to be very compliant and soft, not resisting, not needing to be guided too much, that will count first.

If you want to educate your eye to what is required in reining, here are some videos that explain it:

http://insidereining.com/store.php

[RLastInstallment]

Thank you, everyone. Very helpful, indeed! And thank you for the link, Bluey!