Reining is a Western horseback riding competition. Early in American history, the American stockman didn't have many resources to manage his cattle. The cattle were moved and worked--branded, doctored, sorted, or herded--without benefit of fences, barns or other means of holding the animals. A good cattle hand needed a good horse--one that could change directions quickly, stop on a dime, and accelerate quickly after an errant cow. The cowboy had to be able to handle this animal with a light touch on the reins, so that the cowboy's attention could also be on handling the lariat (to rope the cattle).

The demonstration of these ideal characteristics evolved into the sport of reining, where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the canter (or "lope" or "run" in Western parlance). The patterns consist of small slow circles, large fast circles, spins, rapid changes of directions, and flying lead changes. (The canter or lope is a three-beat gait (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_gait#Canter) in which either the the left or right foreleg leads; the horse can with training switch leads in the air.)

There are two major organizations that put on reining competitions in the United States: the National Reining Horse Association and The American Quarter Horse Association. The United States Equestrian Foundation is the National Governing Body. From being a riding discipline restricted to the American West, interest in reining has grown internationally. International equestrian competitions are governed by the Federation Equestre Internationale, the Reining is one of the world's fastest growing horse sports. Its popularity has spread to Europe and beyond. People who enjoy it say that reining combines the artistic appeal of dressage plus the crowd appeal of rodeo.

(More equestrian competitions: /Horses#The_traditional_competitions_of_Europe.)

External links

• National Reining Horse Association (http://www.nrha.com/defaulta.asp)
• The American Quarter Horse Association (http://www.aqha.com/).
• sample reining pattern (http://www.calreining.com/nrhapat1.html)
• United States Equestrian Federation (http://www.usef.org/)
• FEI (http://62.2.231.126/).