DRY WORK
Known as the reining pattern, the dry work includes circles, lead changes and runs terminating in well-balanced stops, turns and a back-up with slight hesitations denoting each maneuver.

The Reined Work demonstrates the horse's obedience and willingness to respond to it's rider. This event also shows the horse's athletic abilities to perform the demanding cow work.
 

COW WORK
Cow work includes three elements which must be completed in order. Boxing, which proves the ability of the horse to hold the cow. Turning on the fence at least once in each direction, with the rider being close enough to the cow to be the cause of the turn. And circling, or maneuvering the cow 360 degrees in each direction without interference from the fence.

Herd work, as seen in our 4 Year Old Futurity, illustrates the methods used to separate individual cows from the herd to take care of doctoring, branding, etc. You can practically imagine cowboys working the great herds of cattle that used to roam the West.

Fence Work is the most exciting part of the show! This event demonstrates the horse's capacity to control and subdue a wild cow.

HISTORY OF THE REINED COW HORSE
For more than two hundred years, since the first great Spanish herds of longhorn cattle were driven from Mexico to California, a unique relationship between man, horse and cow was established. In California, with it's vast acres of range land, and with cattle herds numbering in the thousands, this relationship saw it's finest days with the development of the California reined cow horse. The great horsemanship practiced by their riders, know as Vaqueros, was based on the training of the Spanish Light Cavalry, which was said to be the best the world has ever known. The horses they rode had been introduced by the Moors during their invasion around 800 AD. The entire culture of the western horse and western riding equipment descended from these Vaqueros and it was the original purpose of the California Reined Cow Horse Association to preserve these traditions and to prevent them from becoming an obscure page in the history books.

The NRCHA has developed certain standards for training a working cow horse. This training technique does not involve any shortcuts, but rather, requires long and patient training on the part of both horse and rider to produce the final finished product. Most young horses are started as two-year olds in the snaffle bit. After about a year in the snaffle bit, they progress to the hackamore. Then, after a year or two in the hackamore, the horse is introduced to the bridle in the two-rein setup of both a hackamore and a bridle. The horse then progresses from the two-rein setup to being ridden "Straight up in the Bridle", the final phase of training for a reined cow horse. Due to the dedication of many hard working individuals, the very essence of the reined cow horse remains unchanged as you see him today.