Horse Training Articles :A Winning Performance In the Ring

This is how I feel about showmanship - I feel that how I show is totally dependent on how I prepare both mentally and physically. Even as much as I've shown I don't just click into automatic pilot; I need to refresh and organize my mind to make sure I'm at my best.

Physical showmanship is about presentation - the aura that I present in the show pen. Remember that the results of a judged class are going to be subjective. No matter who the judge is or how they have been schooled in judge's school there still is the human element of emotion.

We want the judge to want us to win. When we trot into the arena (in a reined cow horse class anyway) we want the judge to say, "Wow, that's really a nice picture". We want to wake the judge up. Judges spend all day watching horses and riders do the same patterns over and over so it's important to get their attention right away.

This is a horse show whether it's cutting, reining, or a working cow horse event. I was brought up in the tradition of the Californio reined cow horse and part of that is taking a lot of pride in the condition of my horse, as I think everyone should. By condition I mean, is he blooming? Is he poor? Or is he overweight? Is my horse well-groomed, does he have a well-groomed, pretty mane and long tail?

Some horses just won't grow a good tail but there are remedies for that. You can buy a false tail or you can do like we do; we buy the horse hair (we know a guy that makes horse-hair ropes) and use a hot-glue gun to attach the false hair to a segment of real tail hair. This will last for quite a long time; up close, it might not look quite as nice as the false tail but for the judge's view, it works great.

The next thing we need to think about is our tack. You will occasionally see even really good riders in the show pen who look like they just came in off the Chisholm Trail, the saddle is dirty and looks badly in need of some oil and their silver plates or conchos are tarnished.

This is something I'm really picky about because I grew up in the silver industry with the family business and now create my own bits and spurs for Les Vogt Performax & Les Vogt's Californio Classics. Silver is a precious metal; to see dirty horse jewelry on a saddle or headstall, is to me, a reflection of that person's values.

I want to look as good as I can when I walk in the ring. My horse should look healthy and well cared for, and my tack and apparel will be spotless. To me it shows that I made the trip for a reason - to win!

One of my earliest memories at the Cow Palace is of Harry Rose, who was certainly a star at that time. Harry was colorful but the thing that struck me was that Harry always had starched shirts and pants and his saddle was immaculate.

I'd never had a saddle with silver corner plates and conchos and I can remember how the lights at the Cow Palace sparkled on that silver; it just glistened. Harry was riding a famous mare of the time called Janie Bar and somebody yelled out, "Harry, will she turn around?" and he answered back, "Darn right she will"! And he spun her around about three times and trotted off. That moment made something happen inside me, I wanted to be like that.

I'm very meticulous about my equipment; I like to take care of it. In fact, if you asked me whether I'd rather lose my car or my equipment I'd say take the car! I'll go into my tack room and polish all my silver, soap and oil all the leather because I like to. Will clean tack and polished silver win a class for you? Of course not, BUT if there are two of you just the same and you have the look and the other competitor doesn't then you'll probably be the winner.

In many shows, you don't have to worry about the silver part but there's no reason that all your equipment shouldn't be cleaned and oiled. Take pride in your appearance and the appearance of your horse.

I also want to touch on personal physical conditioning. I know how it is because I have been in denial myself. Maybe I'll think, 'So I'm 10 or 20 pounds over my best weight, I can still ride.' Or maybe I tell myself that it's okay not to be as fit at certain times of year. That's just not true.
Being fit, personal physical conditioning clears your mind and lets your body function to its full capacity. You think more clearly, you're more relaxed, and you're stronger so you ride better.

You want to get the judges' attention and you also want to appeal to the audience. They will pick their favorites and that can affect the judging to some degree.

In the working cow horse event, we usually enter at a trot and then halt in the middle of the arena before we make our departure into the pattern. You will see some competitors enter the arena in a long, unbalanced trot; kind of bumping along in the saddle and you'll see others come in with their horse beautifully in the bridle in a nice collected trot; the package is there and the judge knows it. That rider is presenting him or herself as a winner.

So, trot into the arena in that soft, collected trot we have been working on in so many of our exercises, glance at the judge and look pleasant. It can take some courage the first time but it makes a statement, you are here to win. You have to sell yourself to the judge.

On occasion, I have come into the show pen and seen that the judge is talking to the scribe or looking down at his tablet, not paying attention to me. I won't start; I will look at him and just wait there until he looks up. This is my statement that I'm here to win and I want to show the judge how good I am.

If you come into the arena timid, in a disorganized trot with dirty tack and a horse that's not tidy, you are also a statement to the judge, but probably not one that you want to make. From where I see it, it's insulting to the judge and the show management.

So our equipment looks beautiful, our horse is blooming and we are ready to face the judge. How do we do our best? This is where mental imagery comes in.

Today we hear a lot about visualization in sports but I'll tell you when I first learned about it. Greg Ward (who owned the great mare Filinic) and I were on our way to a horse show back in the 60's with our horses in one of those old cattle trucks. We're driving down the highway when Greg pulls over to the side of the road, doesn't say a word, gets out and goes back behind the truck. I figure it's a call of nature or maybe he wanted to check something back there so I wait...and I wait.

After a little while, I get out to see what's going on back there and when I get to the back of the truck, I see Greg walking in a figure eight and after each circle, he'd kind of jump sideways and go the other way. I said, "Greg, are you all right"? He said, "Yeah". I said, "What are you doing"? Greg looked up and he said to me, "I'm just changing leads on Filinic"! When we got back in the truck I said, "How do you change leads on Filinic back there behind the truck?" He said, "Visualization. You've got to visualize".

Visualization is a short-cut to success: it's a method to improve your skills without using up your horse. Your mind doesn't differentiate between you actually riding the pattern or just visualizing it. And while mental imagery doesn't replace actual riding it does hone your performance, it reduces stress and anxiety, and makes you a more confident rider.

This is how I use visualization: I will call the show secretary before the horse show and ask what the pattern will be. They usually have this information a week or so before the show and I can usually find out. You may not always be able to find out the pattern ahead of time so it is a good idea to at least be familiar with the different ones so that you don't have to memorize it right on the spot as this adds a lot of stress.

I know most of the arenas that I will be going to and I want to visualize my ride in the arena I will be showing in if at all possible. The size of the arena makes a difference in how the pattern rides - if you are doing a lead change across a big arena then you will probably go almost straight across it but in a smaller one you would go more diagonally.

Once I know the pattern and the arena, I go out behind the barn or in a room where I can lock the door, or sometimes even in the back of the horse trailer – any where I can be completely alone and not be interrupted. It doesn't have to be a big space but I have to be by myself.

I walk the pattern on foot, visualizing exactly what I will do from my trot into the arena to when I finish my pattern.

Here's how it works: I've trotted in, halted and acknowledged the judge with a glance. Now we'll say our pattern starts off with a departure to a left circle, I'm going to go through my cues for the departure and they're going to go perfectly.

Then I'll ride that particular horse around the left circle, making sure I have achieved my desired speed in the first quarter of the circle, that I look ahead and hit the markers dead center, that I am prepared to catch my horse's mistakes before they happen. The key to any maneuver is in a perfect approach to it, and then it can be perfect. Then on to the second big circle and I make sure I'm right on my previous tracks. I'll go on and on like this through the entire pattern.

I have to be completely concentrated; so if I get about halfway around my circle and start to think about getting a hair cut then I have to start all over again. I have to be in a bubble and there is nothing else in there except me and my horse.

Even as much as I've shown and used visual imagery, I still have to run through the pattern 50 to 100 times at first before I can get through it without making a mistake or allowing any external thoughts to interrupt my concentration.

Sometimes I will be riding two or three horses in the same class and each horse is different to show. I will do this exercise with each horse changing the imagery for each horse's abilities and difficulties.
As I've said this has to be repeated over and over, but finally after numerous repetitions you'll nail a perfectly executed pattern. It's a great feeling because now your mind knows you can do it. The feeling of security, comfort and relaxation you will have at a show is just incredible.

Once you get the hang of this, you may even imagine you and your horse doing something so well that you lose your train of thought and forget which way you should go next. This can happen in the show pen as well so it is really important not to 'Wow!' yourself. Stay in the moment in your mind and in the arena. Perfection is concentrating on concentration.

As you get to the point where you can mentally repeat this perfect ride you will find that your confidence grows to the point where you no longer wonder what your performance will be like. You know what your performance will be like; you've got it together. This helps with that presentation - that aura - that we talked about earlier. Now when you go into the arena it's kind of a "been there - done that feeling."

I've also found that motivational books can be helpful and Vince Lombardi is one of my favorites. Here's an example of how this can work: When I had Non-Pros and Juniors riding with me, some of them - especially the Junior riders - had inexpensive horses and they were horses that I didn't particularly like. I knew they had major holes in them however, we, as a team, wanted to win.

If I got on some of those horses for a tune-up or to school them they wouldn't perform for me, they wouldn't stop well, they might turn a cow sometimes for me but not all the time. They just weren't special horses.

The oddest thing was - and I did this many times - that if I could convince that naive Non-Pro or Junior rider that their horse was wonderful and they would believe in me and that horse, that horse would stop for them and turn a cow for them like a champ. Since they didn't know the holes in their horses and I didn't tell them, the holes didn't exist.

Now here's an example of the opposite effect: There was a guy riding with me - a Non-Pro named Dale Putnam - he had a mare and he was having some unbelievable runs on her. So I decided I'd take her to the Cow Palace and show her, she looks like she had a big open run in her. I was never so embarrassed in my life; I knew all the holes in her and boy were they exaggerated when I rode her!

Sandy - who was my wife at the time - had a horse called Bill. Sandy loved Bill, she thought he was magic, Sandy had never shown before and she wanted to start showing him. She told me she wanted to take him to Salinas (you just don't start showing there because they are professional Non-Pros) I told her it would be embarrassing and I wouldn't go. Sandy and Bill went to Salinas and they were second. And they didn't come back home; she goes on to another show in Monterey and she wins it! That put her in the lead for the Novice Non-Pro for the year.

Sandy and Bill won and won and I couldn't figure out how they were doing it, but I left her alone because it was working for her. Finally, they were at a show in Paso Robles and Sandy went off course. I said, "Sandy how come you went off course"? She said, "I didn't, Bill did". She said this with a straight face. "Don't you know you're not supposed to turn away from the cow"? Her reply, "I know, but Bill forgot"!

She honestly believed what she said and after that, she and Bill completely fell apart.

A good presentation, practicing perfect visualization, and belief in your horse are all things that I think help make a winner. And sometimes, ignorance is bliss!

Winning is also directly related to your commitment. You have to convince yourself that the decision to win is yours. That means being motivated, and at higher showing levels, somewhat obsessive and having the inner desire to give that second effort.

If you have a bad day, do you carry that to the next class or show? No! You have to have some mental toughness; get yourself by the bootstraps and re-design your emotions so that the negative thought of that not-so-good day doesn't exist.

When this happens to me, I don't like to even talk about it; although I will certainly analyze what went wrong. I won't let it in because I would rather deal with positive stuff. I'm not a happy loser and I don't think winners are. I don't kick the dog or anything, but I'm probably not the guy you want to take to dinner that night.

We need to define what a bad day is. For me, it used to be when I didn't win first and I still like to win today, but my ideals have changed a little over time. Now, a bad day is when I rode my horse in such a way that I robbed him, I didn't give my horse all the advantages that he deserved. I rode worse than my horse was - he wanted to be better than I let him be. That's a bad day.

A good day is when I showed my horse to his best - I covered up his inadequacies - even if I only get second or third. I had a clean ride and I feel good about it.

Winners don't become discouraged by losing, they get better. They learn from their mistakes but they don't dwell on them.

You also need to have dedication and perseverance of course and a certain amount of competitive drive. If you have all these things then you will probably get to the show grounds early - if you can - so you'll have plenty of time to warm up and get your thoughts right before you go into the arena.

Everybody is a little bit different at a show. When I am at a show I don't socialize at all, I don't really want to be around anybody at a major event. If I've got a live-in trailer, I'll be in there by myself just lying down and relaxing. I am at the show to win if I can and I want to program myself to do my best.

You can create a blueprint for winning; believe it or not winning is a habit. Once you have followed your plan and been successful, you need to utilize that tool before every show. Consistently putting in bad performances is also a habit and one that you want to break. If things are not going well and you don't do anything differently, then losing becomes a habit. You need to analyze where your preparation is going wrong and change it.

One thing that can help is to hang around with the people who are having success. See how they prepare, see how they warm their horses up, see what makes them winners and then try to emulate that. You will usually find that they are quite helpful and friendly if they know that you are sincere.

I don't feel compelled at this time in my life to protect the winner's position as I did earlier in my career. I'm in a different world now, I'm not down the road competing every weekend and trying to win World Championships. Now, I get my thrills by showing up three or four times a year, and if I can win the big event and make the usual winners scratch their heads and think how glad they are I don't show every weekend then I'm happy. It's more fun for me now.

There are usually three questions your friends will ask you when you arrive on the show grounds: When did you get here? Where are you stabled? What's the dirt like? This last question is a big, big deal to reining and working cow competitors - what the dirt is like.

Usually the dirt hasn't been worked up the day before the show but you still see everybody out there schooling in it anyway. You're just getting ready to unload your horse and right away you hear, "The dirt's terrible. It's really heavy". So now, you have a pre-conceived idea, before you've even unloaded your horse, that the dirt is bad. This can happen with the judging if you get there after the show has already started and hear, "The judging is really bad". You will be starting the show in a negative frame of mind.

Another thing that can be intimidating in this scenario is that you have just arrived from a long drive, unloaded and bedded your horses and now you look up and see everybody headed for the practice pen. You're dying to saddle up and get out there instead of heading over to your motel and kicking back.

Look, you brought a horse that's ready to show so he doesn't need to go in there and school. He also doesn't need to go in there and learn where the out gate is, where his friends back at the barn are - these are things he can use to cheat you. Almost every horse will feel the magnetic pull of the out gate.

There's no point in taking him into some tough dirt and making him work either. Say he's really been stopping well at home - what's the point in discouraging him or making him sore in an arena that hasn't been prepared?

Going to watch the schooling isn't a good idea either because this can lure you into getting out there. Make a plan and then stick to it no matter what anybody else is doing.

You may also run into some of your competitive 'friends' who like to bring up your past, such as - "Did you ever get that left lead problem fixed"? In other words, they bring back the dead, things that you've already killed off in your mind. They like to insinuate that you or your horse is going to have a problem. Don't let them intimidate you, stick to your plan.

If you really feel your horse needs to get in the pen because he's young and inexperienced or maybe a little spooky in a new place, it's better to get up early in the morning when everything is quiet and let him have a look around. Make sure you take him in one gate and out another gate if at all possible.

I like making horses because I have complete control over it. If I don't like what I'm getting, I can change things. I can change strategy, methods, or programs. I can't make a great horse out of just a nice horse, but I can maximize that nice horse to his full potential. At some level, we can all create perfection with our horses. We need to think in that way - let's create perfection at the level that we are capable of today, and then take that perfection with us as we learn more and improve our skills.

In my mind I visualize a perfect run, with perfect form, that's how I can get it. Nothing takes me by surprise in a run because I've already thought through every scenario.