Trainer of Champions, cont’d attention elsewhere and drop their score accordingly. We talked about peripheral vision in previous installments, and it is very important to be aware of it on the rail as well. Keep your eyes up, feel your horse with your hands and legs, and do not look down. Feel his mouth with your rein fingers and know that he is loping and trotting properly on the rail, as well as in your individual work. Another area that most exhibitors do not notice what they are doing is readjusting in the saddle between maneuvers. After a stop or turn, I will notice that they will instinctively shift their legs or readjust in the saddle before the next maneuver. This is usually because they are out of position and need to get back to their comfortable spot again. This usually happens with the novice and younger riders, but I still see it at the advanced levels. It usually happens
HCBC 2010 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
without most riders even being aware that they are doing it. This is why it is so important to have a friend fi lm your rides at the horse shows and watch them over and over. You will be your best critic. Sometimes this will happen due to the saddle not being properly tightened, and it will shift to the left or right after turns, lead changes, circling, or stops and backs. Properly adjusting the saddle and cinching up correctly is extremely necessary to keep the saddle from shifting. This does not mean to tighten it up so much that it is making your horse uncomfortable. It just means to always have someone check your cinch before you go in the arena, just as you would have someone finish up the fly spray, final brushing and clean up before entering the arena. Keep up to date with all of the installments on my website, and look for
further tips in the months ahead. I have tons of information to share and feel free to e-mail me anytime with thoughts and questions. Ride safe and always practice good horsemanship. Mark Sheridan has been operating his training stable and producing winning all around show horses for over 28 years in Cave Creek, Arizona. He trains Quarter Horses for all around events in open, amateur, and youth competition and has a passion for teaching. He has trained and coached four reserve youth world champions in horsemanship, trail, hunter under saddle, and hunt seat equitation. He enjoys the class of western riding and makes it his specialty. Mark has been an AQHA (AAAA ranked) and NSBA (Category 1 ranked) judge since 1992. He is a past president of the Arizona Quarter Horse Association, a member of AQHA Professional Horsemen’s Association, and was awarded Arizona’s Most Valuable Professional Horseman in 2008. More information can be found at his website, www.marksheridanqh.com.
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