David Deptford on Snippers Heirogance, whose grandchildren are carrying on the good workWhat makes the perfect Western horse? Carolyn Henderson asks the experts.
Western riding is enjoying a huge boom in popularity, with reining —sometimes described as “high-speed dressage” — tipped as the next Olympic sport.
You don’t need a specially bred horse to enjoy non-competitive Western-style riding: at Studland Stables in Dorset, the two Western horses in greatest demand are Thoroughbred mares. Owners Helen Spreadborough and her husband Stuart also have an Appaloosa, a palomino pony and a part-bred Quarter Horse who can be ridden English- or Western-style.
But while most horses can be trained Western-style, the Quarter Horse literally reins supreme in competition. More than 150 years of specialised breeding has resulted in fast, agile and amenable horse.
“They have unbeatable temperaments,” says Lita Pocock, owner of Nottinghamshire breeding and training centre Oakridge Quarter Horses. “They’re adaptable, clever and very people oriented. If you look at what they were originally bred for, their temperament was a matter of life and death. If you were working stock miles from anywhere, came off and your horse ran away, you’d die."
Int he USA, Quarter Horses are used for everything from driving and showjumping to dressage, as well as Western disciplines. Here, they're found predominantly in Western competition.
“Pleasure horses tend to be taller, with finer frames,” says Lita. “Halter horses are more of a ‘bulldog’ type and reiners are smaller and more barrel- shaped.” If you need a quick translation, pleasure classes require a horse to show slower paces and confident and obedient, while halter classes equate to in-hand showing. Reining showcases the speed, agility and obedience needed to manoeuvre stock, and trail classes – to which Trec owes a debt – include obstacles such as gates to open and close and other manoeuvrability tests.
Reining horses are the ultimate athletes and top riders have stringent requirements. Lee Rutter, a member of Britain’s team at the World Equestrian Games, is based at Oakridge and rides Lita’s stallion Santa Cruz Whiz. “You look at form for function,” he says. “When we talk about conformation, we’re looking at a performance horse. I look at the overall balance – for instance, you don’t want a long back or long neck. “You must look at bone and muscle structure. You don’t want a horse that’s upright in its neck and carries its head high and you need a powerful backend. I also want good bone and joints and I’d rather see the hind feet set under a bit than straight hindlegs. Although it’s a personal thing, I like a pretty horse. If a horse is good looking, the judge sits up and pays attention.”
Although most top reining horses are stallions or geldings, Lee also trains mares for all disciplines and tailors his approach. “I wouldn’t say it’s foolproof,” he cautions, “but you have to ask a mare; if you tell them, they sometimes get their own back! You have to tell geldings, obviously in a nice way and they can be very honest riding horses.” Although he loves training and competing a good stallion, Lee doesn’t want what he calls “studiness”. “We’re very lucky with the ones we have here,” he says. “They don’t feel the need to neigh every five minutes. Sometimes, a stallion will go wooden and not want to move off your leg. You need a horse to listen and act and react willingly”. Not every rider wants to specialise and many Western aficionados like to try more than one discipline. Lee says that with the right horse, this isn’t a problem. He points to one of his clients, whose reining horse is elegant enough to be successful in other areas. “But a lot of training has gone into it,” he adds.
David Deptford of Sovereign Quarter Horses in Cambridgeshire is another expert with stringent requirements. He and his wife, Sarah, breed, train and compete and regularly hold shows at their centre. Like Lita Pocock, they pride themselves on being able to match horse and rider at any level and in any sphere of western riding. David’s own speciality is reining and conformation is paramount. “I want a horse that carries its head level and in natural carriage from poll to wither.” He says. “I also want a strong hip and good angles and in the hindlegs. If you stand a horse square behind and the hock’s slightly behind the hip, it’s not even worth looking at as a reining horse. “I want big, strong hocks, a big gaskin and good joints. Reining horses are small but strong and they’ve also got to be strong in the loin area”. Reining competitors often talk about a horse having a “good stop”, meaning that it must engage behind and stop from the backend. “If a horse can’t stop, you can’t train,” says David. In a Western horse, explains David, good movement means not too much knee action. “It must move freely from the knee and hock,” explains David. “Everything has to be smooth – I don’t want to see ‘quick legs’”.
Temperament is vital. “A horse has to be trainable and temperament is what trains it,” says David. “I’d rather have a horse that’s quiet and even a bit dull; with quick, sharp one you have to be twice as easy going, twice as sympathetic and it takes twice as long to train.” David pays close attention to bloodlines. “Our stallion Jays Smokin Story’s stock all have a great stop – they want to do it,” he said. “They also change leads easily because they’re so naturally balanced. “Our old stallion, Snoopers Heirogance, is 22 and still ridden and breeding. I can spot his grandchildren; they’re like peas in a pod. That tells me he’s a real stud horse because he’s done it through two generations.”
David believes that the mare is equally important. While he likes broodmares to have performed, he says this isn’t vital. “A mare with good balance, conformation and pedigree will produce what you want,” he says. “I’ve some who’ve performed and some who haven’t, perhaps because of injury. But their children do.”