Page 30 • FEBRUARY 2011 • PACIFIC COAST JOURNAL Ride and Slide with Bill


the mistake then make my correction. I will set up the situation again and again as much as I need and time permits, hopefully to get the horse to perform how I would want him to as if I was really showing. The other situation we school our


Every time we handle or ride our


horses, no matter what we do, we are training them. Even if we are just lead- ing them from the barn to the turnout, we are teaching them to walk calmly and how we want. If they misbehave on the way and we don’t correct them then we are teaching them it is ok to behave that way. It is the same when we show our horses. If we always make them be correct outside the show pen but then don’t correct mistakes, disrespect or poor performance in the show arena the horse will learn that it is okay to behave that way while show- ing.


Now we can train our horses all we


want at home but how a horse performs in the show arena sometimes depends on the horses personality. Some horses are just good show horses and stay rel- atively honest in the show arena and some horses will try to cheat you from the first time they get shown. Most horses are in between somewhere. Now this being the start of the show season for the year, it is a good time to discuss some things we can do to help our horses stay more true and honest in the show arena.


Schooling Now there are usually two situa-


tions we use to school our horses, paid warm ups and actual classes. I will use both, depending on the shows schedule and my horse. Warm ups are great to use where I


have a specific problem I would like to fix. I have full flexibility to do what I want and focus on the issue. I will have usually between five and ten minutes. I will enter the arena as though I am actually showing but begin working on my problem area. I let my horse make


horses is in an actual class. One of the major things to keep in consideration here is the judge, show management and other competitors. While you want to make the corrections to your horse, all must be respected in doing so. You have less leeway in schooling whilst in an actual class but with the correct tools in place from you training at home, corrections can be made while respecting the time and protocol of all involved. Sometimes it may be neces- sary to go off pattern to get a correction made, such as five spins, but major deviations from the pattern should be avoided. Corrections should mostly be made within appropriate time and pat- tern constraints. Schooling doesn’t necessarily


mean just loping our horse through. Know your horse and know the areas you need to work on. Some problems only arise when we speed things up so therefor sometimes you need to school at that faster show speed in order to fix the issues.


Don’t wait for a problem For me I don’t like to wait until I


have a problem before I fix it. Whether it be the first show for the year or the horses first show I will take the horse in the show pen and ride him normally. I will soften my horses face, make him wait for me, be correct and generally ride him similar to how I would if I was outside the show arena. Once my three year old are broke and able to consis- tently join maneuvers together at home I will take them to a show and lope them through a class. I wont run hard and fast but just join it together to see how they behave in the show situation and also establish from their first time that the showpen is not different to any- where else. It is not a place to run hard, a pressure cooker or anything bad. Just another arena we are riding in and hap- pen to be alone in. If they are not absolutely perfect I will make my nec- essary corrections, and probably han- dle them some anyway, just so it is just another ride. Once we start competing on them seriously it is just another ride


Bill Norwood grew up showing all around horses in his native Australia. Competing in classes ranging from halter to reining and everything in between, he won 10 National Championships. He came to America in the late 90's to ride reining horses. Success has followed with NRHA Limited Open Futurity Championship, NRHA Open Futurity finalist, NRHA Intermediate Open Derby Res. Championship, NRBC Intermediate Open Finalist and numerous other titles. His NRHA earning exceed $72,000. He operates Norwood Performance Horses in Murrieta California with his wife Kelli and children Austin and Ella. For more information go to www.norwoodperformancehorses.com


in the arena. With older show horses it is a con-


stant mix of schooling and showing. We don’t just show, show, show until something isn’t working good then try to fix it. We pick and choose our class- es and shows. There are classes that are important that we are trying to win and then we can always find a class that it really doesn’t matter. That is our schooling class. If you have a really cool, say, derby horse, there is no point running him hard in a ten dollar ribbon class. School him there so when you are running for a serious prize he is more correct and honest, increasing your chances of success.


Showing and Schooling If we have done our homework


and have our horse broke, we can make some small corrections while showing, staying on pattern and getting a respectable score. Picking up and soft- ening your horses face is not a crime. At smaller shows, if the horse is respectful about it should have minimal affect on the score. It lets the horse know that you can handle him while showing and he just cant just do what he wants. If the horse is not respectful about it then it will affect your score but you needed to make the correction and future runs will benefit from it. There are several things you can


do during your run that wont affect your score at all but will help maintain a good show horse. Where the pattern calls for a hesi-


tation, like between spins, take you time and hesitate. Let you horse relax and realize he does not have to rush. When you go to lope off for your cir- cles, walk him forward first. Once your horse is walking forward and soft in the face, letting you set him up for the lead departure, then lope off. If he is being resistant or rushing, wait until he is correct before loping off. If he is good straight off you will help main- tain a good lead departure, if he isn’t then you will help improve your horses lead departure. Some patterns require the stops to


be past the middle marker, some require them past the end marker. One


common fault of older show horses is to not run true to their stop. They blast off then start to shut down before the stops. I always make my horse wait after I come around the corner and pointing down the arena to make sure he is with me. I then proceed to speed up my horse making sure he is with me. Even for the middle marker stop I will run long near or past the end marker. I am still correct. I am past the middle marker and helping teach my horse to stay honest in his run downs. If you stop him just past the middle marker they often start to then want to stop ear- lier and earlier and soon are scotching before the marker, affecting the maneu- ver and picking up penalties. I will often when schooling handle


my horse on the circle when coming through the middle of the arena. I don’t want my horse thinking the only time I move in the middle of the pen is when asking for a lead change. I want them ready for the change but not beat- ing me to it. In addition if when I set him up for the change I feel they are tight and too ready I may counter can- ter onto the other circle and change them when they are relaxed. This will definitely affect my score but so will developing a bad lead change or addi- tional lead changes by not teaching my horse to wait for me.


The long run


Schooling is an integral part of devel- oping and maintaining a good show horse. It helps prevent overshown and show sour horses. Making the show arena not always a high pressure situa- tion and making it be just another place we ride will provide more fun runs in the long term. You may end up with a couple of low scores along the way but a correction early before a habit devel- ops will help prevent a lot of low scores down the road. A good schooling is never a wasted entry buy money well spent. I would like to wish everyone a fun and successful show year and until next time, ride, slide and have fun.


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