Taranaki Western Riding upcoming Have-A-Go day | Taranaki Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Taranaki

The Taranaki Western Riding Club will be holding a 'have-a-go' day on Sunday October 14, commencing 10am at the Stratford A&P; grounds.

Western riding has seen a huge surge of interest of late with Taranaki membership numbers increasing monthly.

Western riding is a discipline of its own with specialist disciplines within the main umbrella. A brief outline of these is detailed below (taken from the American Quarter Horse Journal, July 2006).

Western horsemanship

This is judged on the horsemanship abilities of the rider and divided into two divisions. Individually, riders must first follow a prescribed pattern. Riders could be asked to walk, jog or lope their horses in a straight line, curve or combination. Finalists from the first section of the class are then asked to show their horses on the rail. The judge pays close attention to the rider's body position, how they sit and their ability to control the horse.

Western pleasure

One of the most popular classes, top western pleasure horses should be, as the name implies, a pleasure to ride.

Contestants compete simultaneously, travelling around the perimeter of the arena. Horses are judged on free-flowing stride of reasonable length in keeping with their combination.

Trail

Trail horses must be obedient and confident in tackling a multitude of obstacles, eg passing through gates and crossing bridges. Scoring is based on the horse's willingness, ease and pace in negotiating the course.

The have-a-go day is just that. It allows anyone on any breed of horse in any (safe) gear to have a go. All we ask is that your gear is tidy and safe, however TWRC have the right to refuse any rider if they feel the horse/rider may be in danger in any way.

The idea is fun and an opportunity to give western events a go - without the pressure of being in a full show situation.

Each event will be showcased/run through by TWRC members initially with on-the-rail explanations as they go. Once these members have completed their runs then the have-a-go participants will compete, again with coaching from a senior club member. As well as western horsemanship, pleasure and trail there will be reining, open break and out, barrel race and keyhole race.

At the end of the day TWRC have a small trophy to be given to the have-a-go horse/rider that has shown willingness and had a great day; not necessarily the most successful.

For more information please contact Lisa Knowles 06 765 4081 or Lynley Ladd 06 762 7879.