Vol 3 No 6

Letter from the Editor

Dear Golden State Members and Friends,

Six amazing competitors will represent the West Coast at the AQHA World Show in Guthrie, OK, June 23-26. Cheer them on! In this issue, we present “Sandy Collier Wisdom, The Rest of the Story.” Lots of opportunities for showing in July-check it out. Great weather and a full house, made for a great show in Carmel Valley-get the results here.

We’re building our membership by introducing versatility through clinics-read about the most recent given by Sarah Clifford and Kathy Torres in Milpitas. As if showing isn’t expensive enough, the CDFA is raising fees! Is there anything you can do about it? Read on. Our “Quote of the Month,” is for June “The Picture of the Month.” You’ll see why. Caption needed!

Thank all of you for your support of our club and this newsletter. I’d love to have comments/pictures/ideas for articles, etc. from you.

Dawn Poston

Editor

Send comments, concerns, & ideas to [email protected]

Sandy Collier Wisdom

The Rest of the Story

In our last newsletter, Sandy talked about some general ways to make a positive impression on the judge and specific information about circles/changes. She continues this month with more specifics.

How about the rundown? Do you know how many people at a weekend show don’t make their markers? That’s one of the only parts of the run you have complete control over! Or, turning the corner and bolting down the arena instead of a long gradually building run? Even if your horse is an average stopper, do a long pretty run, past your markers and you might be surprised when he stops better, and you credit the maneuver.

Your spins should be accurate and cadenced. If your horse isn’t a great spinner, don’t try to +1 the spin and end up getting a minus because it gets sloppy and lacks cadence. Train your horse at home to stay between your reins and start your spin and shut it off accurately. Soon, you’ll be building to a faster speed because speed follows form not the other way around. You don’t want to spin faster wronger! And don’t cost yourself points with a sloppy shut off. Be accurate, crisp, and precise.

When working a cow (let’s take boxing) step right up with confidence. “Time worked” is one of the boxes you can earn credit for regardless of your horse’s ability. So, no dawdling about. Step right up and feel for the cow’s “bubble”. When the cow starts to break off, draw back, smartly pivot and go stop your cow. This is worth a lot. Your horse doesn’t have to throw down, but it’s worth a lot if he’s accurate and stopping his cow vs going back and forth across the pen. I used to always tell my non pros it was a 2-point penalty to bore the judge! If you cover your cow left and right, you’ll magically find a rhythm that’s got a lot of eye appeal and mesmerizes a cow. Now it’ll be easier to be smooth, deadly accurate and control the cow. Add to that, stepping up during any lull to create some degree of difficulty, courage and time worked. And yes, those boxes all go up together too.

Pretty soon you’ll no longer be in the 69-70 average run scores. Just by incorporating those elements that you have control of, you’ll credit those boxes and be at a 72+ before you know it.

Judges are all looking for the same things no matter what performance event you’re showing in. We want to see a well-trained horse, that looks like he enjoys his job, challenging the event with accuracy, smoothness, and eye appeal. He doesn’t have to be a supremely talented athlete to mark a 72, he can just be well trained and shown with finesse, precision and courage and watch your score go up.

Thank you, Sandy, for your generous advice and wisdom.