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Texas, exhibitors only need to show to three AQHA VRH judges during the calendar year. By offering four judges across two Southern California shows, WCRH makes it possible to meet the judge requirement close to home —reducing expensive travel, missed work and time away from home. The series included both
AQHA competition for regis- tered American Quarter Horses and WCRH All Breed VRH class- es, opening the experience to a wider range of ranch horse enthusiasts.
VRH consists of six classes,
each testing a different aspect of the horse’s versatility. Ranch Riding is a patern class demonstrating smooth, effi- cient movement similar to what would be expected from a horse working on a ranch. Paterns may include transitions, extend- ed gaits, lead changes, turns, stops and backing. Judges reward forward, ground-cover- ing movement and a horse that is willing and easy to guide. Ranch Trail tests a horse’s
ability to negotiate obstacles that might be encountered during ranch work. Exhibitors may be asked to open a gate, drag a log, cross a bridge, side- pass, back through an obstacle or carry an object. Confidence, correctness, efficiency and will- ingness are all important. Ranch Reining measures the
horse’s ability to perform essen- tial handling maneuvers such as circles, lead changes, stops, roll- backs and turns. Unlike special- ized reining, the emphasis is on a useful, willingly guided ranch horse rather than highly styl- ized maneuvers or exceptionally long sliding stops. Ranch Cuting showcases
natural cow sense and is very similar to herd work in NRCHA competition. The horse-and- rider team enters the herd, sep- arates two cows in two minutes demonstrating the horse’s abil- ity to hold cows away from the herd. Ranch Cow Work evaluates
the team’s ability to control a single cow, with requirements progressing by division. Rookie
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