Western Pleasure Horse Competitions

From Wikipedia: “Western Pleasure is a western style competition at horse shows that evaluates horses on manners and suitability of the horse for a relaxed but collected gait cadence and relatively slow speed of gait, along with calm and responsive disposition. The horse is to appear to be a “pleasure” to ride and very comfortable, while being very smooth. Most light horse breeds in the United States and Canada may compete in western pleasure classes, either in open competition or at shows limited to a single breed. However, horse conformation and temperament play a role in this event, and hence animals that are calm, quiet, have collected, soft gaits and the strong muscling required to sustain slow, controlled movement are the most competitive. Nearly any breed can be exhibited in western pleasure classes.

“The riders compete as a group at the same time, traveling around the outer edge of the arena. All contestants, at the command of the event’s judge, are asked to have their horse walk, jog (a slow trot), and lope both directions in an arena, as well as to stand quietly and back up readily. In addition, many judges will ask for extended gaits, particularly an extended jog and, in some breeds, the hand gallop. Winning horses are decided on their quality of movement, proper behavior, form in motion, and calm manner.”

The rider’s attire can be as simple as jeans over western boots, long-sleeved shirt, tie and western hat but ladies usually wear fancy shirts, vests or jackets. Shotgun (fitted) chaps are usually worn. The horses appearance is very important so grooming is a big focus as well as tack. There are probably more rules in western pleasure than any other form of horse competition but it also draws bigger crowds. Anyplace you can find horses a nearby town will probably have western pleasure trainers and competitions.