Does anybody compete in Ranch Riding? I think I might try competing in it next year (at Arab shows).
I’m hoping that it’ll be introduced at some of the Morgan shows next year. I have a Paint friend at the barn who has gotten in to it and done very well. Looks like a lot of fun!
We did that for about 4-5 years --Granddaughter had a horse that was quite good and she worked hard with him. He seemed to win there way more than he ever did in horsemanship and pleasure. The “tricky” part I found with Ranch Horse being offered in venues where it hadn’t been done before is finding judges who know what to look for. For instance, Roping. The rules (in 2016) ask for the rider to build a loop and cast at a dummy cow. NO POINTS are awarded for actually roping the cow head --you can miss it completely. The points --all of them --go to the horse if it stands still during the entire loop building and casting. We had fun with it. Granddaughter is out of horses now, and I have that nice horse parked in my pasture. Not sure what to do with him . . .he’s a bit too old to sell, he’s been a great horse for us, but I don’t show. Still, I do enjoy riding him now and then, so I guess I’ll keep him. Like all horse endeavors --thoroughly read your rule book.
I don’t think Ranch Riding I am thinking of has roping?!?
I show in the ranch classes on my Paints. In the Ranch Trail classes you may have to throw a rope. It’s correct that the horse is being judged on whether or not he can stand still while the rider throws his rope. The Ranch Riding classes may ask you to carry a rope but I’ve not seen a pattern that has you actually rope something. Quarter Horse shows don’t yet offer Trail but other associations do. The Ranch Riding classes are really fun. Lots of interesting patterns are starting to be used which is making them more challenging.
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Saddleup…my horse would also have to learn to stand still while I wacked it in the head with the rope. I am very uncoordinated. I watched some video last night with the judge voice over. Very interesting. It sounds like a fun class.
I read the Arabian rules, but they don’t go into a tonne of detail.
Goals for next spring!
Roping horses learn to ignore the rope hitting them here and there, once they know is the rope and doesn’t mean anything, like something purposefully aiming at them would be.
The basics of swinging and throwing a rope around are very, very simple, even little kids catch on easily, long before they are very coordinated.
Try it just for fun, have someone help you handle the rope right, hold it, swing it properly and throw it at any target, even an upturned bucket or short chair back works.
You don’t have to ever throw it at a live calf, just learn to swing and throw, is fun.
We have more fun with the roping dummy than real roping, you can keep throwing time and again, way more times than in real roping.
Warning, it is addicting, once you try it, you will want to try again.
A bit like pulling the handle in a one armed bandit gambling machine, you know your next try may be good and it is not as easy as it looks to catch consistently.
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I suppose it depends exactly what “Ranch Riding” classes you were looking at.
Some are just a pattern.
Others are more of a trail course; with a pattern.
Some have cattle work.
I have done several ranch riding events at the local level.
I’ve done Ranch Horse Challenges. The way this particular show did it, is you entered in the challenge, but it consisted of a (1) Ranch Horse Halter class (2) Ranch Trail and (3) Ranch Riding pattern. They announced placings for each subcategory, and then placings for the overall challenge. The halter class, of course, was a halter class. Of course, your horse sported a rope halter instead of a silver halter. The Trail class had a variety of obstacles including loading into a trailer, roping a dummy, putting a rain slicker on/off, crossing a bridge, etc and other “normal” trail obstacles. The pattern was a mixture of walk, slow trot, extended trot, slow lope, and extended lope, along with a few “spins” and backing.
I’ve also done Ranch Horse Competitions. The way this show did it, is you had a time limit to complete both a trail pattern and a riding pattern. The trail pattern usually had a water obstacle, roping a dummy, dragging a log, loading into a trailer, working a gate, and other things you might do “on the ranch”. The pattern was usually an easy-style reining pattern.
And I’ve also done simple Ranch Horse Riding, where you simply complete a pattern on your horse (walk, slow trot, extended trot, slow lope, extended lope, “spins” and backing).
I have not done them but I know some shows also incorporate boxing after the pattern, where you work a cow at the end of the arena.
I quite enjoy them because I’m not real big into the slow western pleasure gaits, and I just like a good trained horse. I do also enjoy reining and I would say a lot of the components in the patterns cross over.
They are a lot of fun, in my opinion!
Beau159, the Arabian shows just offer the Ranch Horse Riding. No cattle! Logs can also included apparently: side pass over them, and jog/lope over them.
I saw a gate included on some of the youtube videos, but I didn’t see that listed on the Arabian rules.
What had me a little puzzled was the riders leaning way forward over the horn in the extensions. Looked awkward.
I see riders doing this at the breed shows too. I am a bit puzzled by it too. No one in the real ranch world will lean forward THAT far.
But that’s what wins so that’s what people do. I will lean forward when asking for the faster gait, but not drastically so; just what I would naturally do anyway.
Anywho, if you have a show in mind that you think you might want to do it, you could try to go watch first and see what sort of obstacles they do have to do.
They probably lean forward and really stand up because the extended trot just isn’t easy to sit. For AQHA you can sit, post,or stand for the extended trot and grabbing the horn is acceptable in that maneuver.
Im sorry I’m not as familiar with the Arab show world but I would guess it would be similar to AQHA where it is a pattern class and a ton of fun. I’m aiming my mustang mare to be able to do some ranch riding
I guess I was referring to (and thought the OP was too) about the OVER-leaning forward that some of them do (but not all, I suppose). Leaning forward as if you were trying to look at the ground in front of your horse, sort of thing. Way more than the average person would if you actually were out and about riding an extended trot. I think most people would choose to post, rather than the lean forward. At least that’s what I’m doing when I’m out checking cows at a good-paced trot.
This video, to me, shows the extended trot looking very natural. The rider is posting and looks like she could carry that on all day, as if she actually were out checking cows. (referring to about 14 seconds into the video)
Whereas this video, looks very unnatural to me on the rider postion for the extended trot. No way I am going to cover acres out in the pasture leaning forward like that, with my arm way out in the arm. That would kill my back, leaning forward like that. And my arm would probably get tired pretty quick too. (referring to about 50 second into the video)
But, both of these runs were winning runs at the AQHA level so neither is wrong or better. I guess I just tend to think of what is easier and more natural for me. I know showing is never going to be the same as “real life” but that first video was much more true to real ranch riding, in my opinion.
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Ahh yes I see now! The totally throwing away the reins, hand up by the poll, I got ya! I agree that you can show the horse is being guided willingly and without much contact without reaching your arm straight out
I did several ARHA (American Ranch Horse Association) shows back when they first started more than a decade ago on a borrowed old-school AQHA pleasure horse. At that time, the organization didn’t allow Arabs/Arab crosses, so my Half Arabian gelding wasn’t welcome. I heard, though, that the policy has been changed for next year. Great news considering that my hopes for my next Half Arabian is to compete in ranch riding and maybe some reining or even working cow horse if I get brave enough.
Anyway…I found the shows to be a lot of fun. We were required to throw a rope at a dummy in the trail class. I roped my horse’s head. He gave me a very much “not amused” look but otherwise took it like a champ, bless his old soul. I still miss that horse, even though he’s been gone for quite some time now. He taught me A LOT and is one of the reasons I’ve migrated from hunters to the “dark side” full time.
Maybe we will run into one another at an Arab show one day! It’ll be a while for me (my “next” horse is due April 2018), but I hope that the ranch division will be strong and still growing at that point. 
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