COVID-19 Schooling Survival Guide- Ranch Riding

By: Brittany Bevis

Over the past few weeks, our COVID-19 Schooling Survival Guide has been a big hit! We’ve covered disciplines like Over Fences, Showmanship, Equitation, Horsemanship, and Trail. Click on the links below to view them all.

• Hunt Seat Equitation with Lainie DeBoer/Video
• Horsemanship with Arturo Maestas/Video
• Jumping with Lainie DeBoer/Video
• Showmanship with Jenny Frid
• Hunt Seat Equitation with Shannon McCulloch Bacon/Video
• Showmanship with Shannon Vroegh

But we didn’t want to leave out one of the fastest growing disciplines- Ranch Riding! So, we sought out the expertise of Congress Champion trainer, Steve Meadows, who offered to help our readers with one of the biggest problem areas he sees in many Ranch Riding patterns today- the lead change.

Ranch Riding shares many similarities with another Western discipline- Western Riding- in that there are many different patterns that may be used. Because these patterns all share the same types of elements, that can provide both an opportunity for riders to practice perfecting their skills, but also a trap for their horses to learn the bad habit of anticipation. One area where this often occurs is the lead change that’s typically located across the center of the arena.

Horses thrive on repetition. That is, in fact, how they learn the best. So, it stands to reason that we are effectively teaching them to anticipate when we drill a certain maneuver in a specific manner, over and over again. But, never fear, Steve Meadows has a schooling method that will help to prevent this problem from becoming an issue in the first place.

“One of the big issues with the Ranch Riding patterns is the lead change through the center of the arena,” he says. “Horses tend to anticipate the lead change, and there are a couple of exercises that we do that give us the opportunity to keep our horses honest and waiting on us for the lead change.”

Steve works on the lead change in two ways- simple and flying. The great thing about Ranch Riding is that you can choose to perform either. However, don’t think that a flying lead change will automatically earn you bonus points. “Sometimes, a good, simple, lead change will outscore a flying lead change. You always want to keep that in mind if your horse is better at the simple change.”

For the simple change, Steve likes to break the process down into three, distinct steps. First, he asks his horse to slow down when he approaches the change zone. Second, he asks his horse to pick up the trot. Third, he asks his horse to pick up the other lead. By thinking about the simple lead change in three steps, this helps a rider to avoid the tendency to rush through the change, resulting in a sloppy, non-credit earning maneuver.

One of the ways Steve keeps his horses honest in the flying lead change, when coming straight across the arena, like in a figure eight, or at a diagonal, is to utilize the counter canter as a schooling technique.

“I ride though the center and never change leads, but instead go into the counter canter. Then, I canter a half a lap, and then, depending on when my horse gets comfortable, I ask for the flying lead change off the counter canter.”

“I’m going to keep my horse on the same lead through the turn and hold that counter canter until he feels relaxed and then I will ask for the change.”

The bottom line is that, when schooling, where the lead change occurs is inconsequential. The location only matters when competing. The more important aspect, however, is making sure that the horse stays relaxed and performs the change exactly where it is asked for, regardless of location.

Which discipline would you like to see featured next? Email B.Bevis@EquineChronicle.com with suggestions.