Lyle Lovett adds star power to reining event

The article below was taken from the following site:

http://www.kentucky.com/2011/04/30/1725111/lovett-adds-star-power-to-reining.htm

PICTURE: Lyle Lovett riding Smart and Shiney, Photo by Pablo Alcala

At the Kentucky Horse Park on Friday night, a gutsy group of amateur reining riders competed against some of the top professionals in the sport in the 2011 Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup.

They held their own, and they said they loved the chance to ride with the best.

Four-time Grammy Award winner Lyle Lovett said riding in the Alltech Arena was a thrill. This was the first year that reining was included in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

"I was here for the World Equestrian Games, and when I was invited to ride in the Rolex, nothing was keeping me from doing that," said Lovett, who rode his horse Smart and Shiney on the Ariat corporate team.

With a busy music schedule, Lovett said he doesn't get to ride "nearly enough. But I ride every chance I get." He performs a show in North Carolina on Saturday night.

Also on the team were Canadian rider Lisa Coulter, who rode in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, and Shawn Flarida, a member of the gold medal reining team at WEG. The Ariat Team finished fourth in the team competition.

Another amateur, Mandy McCutcheon, competes occasionally against pros, but not often against the likes of her husband, Tom McCutcheon, and her father, Tom McQuay, both of whom rode in Friday night's competition.

Both men were on the gold medal reining team at WEG.

With sassy charm, Mandy McCutcheon said of women competing against top-flight men, "Anything they can do, we can do better, right?" She finished fourth among the 20 contestants, riding Don Julio Whiz. She had ridden the horse only twice before, both times earlier this week.

Mandy was on the first-place Clark Oil team with her father and Sam Smith.

Flarida finished as the top individual rider, winning $50,000 in prize money. He rode KR Lil Conquistador, a horse with career earnings of $440,000.

Flarida, who lives outside of Dayton, Ohio, is one of reining's top money winners with $4 million in prize money in his career.

In a media conference after the awards ceremony, Tom McCutcheon said the publicity WEG brought reining has been a boost for the sport.

"We are growing and getting a new group of people interested in reining," he said.

In the audience Friday night were Gov. Steve Beshear and his wife, Jane, an accomplished rider who took a reining lesson last fall during WEG, and Wil James, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing's plant in Georgetown.

Reining results

Individual results, with rider, horse and score:

1 Shawn Flarida, KR Lil Conquistador 226.5

2 Craig Schmersal, Miss Lil Addy Tude 225.0

3 Craig Schmersal, Mister Montana Nic 224.5

4 Mandy McCutcheon, Don Julio Whiz 223.0

5 Tom McCutcheon, Chic Olena Starbuck222.5

6 Tim McQuay, Rudy Dun It 221.0

7 Casey Hinton, Play Dual Rey 220.5

8 Craig Schmersal, Dancer Nic 220.5

9 Shane Brown, Houston Shine 220.0

10 Mandy McCutcheon, Chexy Dunit 218.5

11 Sam Smith, Paid By Corona 218.0

12 Jose Vazquez, Wound By Juice 218.0

13 Mathew Palmer , Whale Of A Whiz 217.0

14 Lisa Coulter , Western Whiz 217.0

15 Pete Kyle, Whizs Bronze Star 215.5

16 Jared Leclair , Electric Code 215.0

17 Lisa Coulter, Hollywood Aces 215.0

18 Cynthia M. Bearden, High Roller Rooster214.5

19 Marilyn Farley, She Supreme Chic 209.5

20 Lyle Lovett, Smart And Shiney 207.5

Randy Ophus Reining Clinic

Pictures (All taken from Randy's web page)

Randy Ophus of Ophus Performance Horses in Vanderhoof, BC, will be coming to Williams Lake to do a reining clinic, June 11, 12th. Visit Randy's website for more information or to contact him about participating in this clinic.

Overcoming Obstacles

We had a very successful clinic this past weekend, and those of us that participated came away with new knowledge and renewed commitment to continue to work on becoming better horsemen/women, and developing a positive relationship with our horses. This is the fourth clinic in 3 years that we, as a club have offered in the 100 Mile area. When talking with people, there always seems to be a lot of initial interest in participating in horsemanship clinics, and a level of excitement about bring outside talent to our small town. But once the plans are in place, the enthusiasm seems to wane....and the excuses start to come....my horse is out of shape, I"M out of shape, my trailer isn't working, I'm not good enough, MY horse isn't good enough, I can't afford it...you get the picture...
I have been pondering this for a while. Why do we put road blocks n our own way, and look for reasons to NOT participate? Is it a lack of confidence? Is it apathy? Is it the fear of the unknown?

I was reading an article by world renowned personal performance coach, Barbra Schultz, and I really liked what she had to say on the topic. The following is an exerpt from her article entitled "Arguing For Your Limitations":

"...Without disciplining ourselves to replace negative thoughts about feared outcomes with their positive counterparts (from all the physical details to the feeling of it), we get random to poor results. Our natural tendencies can be: · To see things as they were today, or were yesterday. · To actually ARGUE for our weaknesses by giving a million reasons why things won't get better. · To feel safe talking about future events as not working out because there is no failure if we never expect to succeed. · To blind ourselves of our own gifts and gorgeous personal potential as if we are deeply asleep to all the good in ourselves (and sometimes in our horses) ... someone needs to tell us to "Wake Up"! · To feel badly or frustrated or angry and then perpetuate a cycle of negativity until it becomes the way we think. But here's the great news. If you can relate to any of the above points, you CAN break out of those patterns and visualize an outcome you desire by telling a powerful story of your greatness. I know that might sound corny, but it is absolutely true for you and everyone. It's right there inside of you. It's your choice. It's up to you. Have fun with it! Friends and family can be supportive, but ultimately it's the story you tell about yourself and your horse that determines your future success."

Now how many of us have felt like that??
I give HUGE kudos to the individuals that could have SO EASILY found a good reason to "Argue for their Limitations" and not taken part in Gus's clinic this past weekend. Consider the following participant(s) that TOOK PART and were:
a) 5 months pregnant
b) hard of hearing (how do you work with a clinician when you can't hear what he is saying?)
c) recovering physically and emotionally from a serious fall off her horse
d) suffering from severe rhumatoid arthritis
e) financially strapped
f) needing a horse to ride because hers was lame
g) worried because she had never done arena riding before

So, if you have ever Argued for YOUR limitations, try to consider the alternative. As Barbara says you can break that pattern and visualize an outcome that will tell a story of you and your greatness!

The Reininthesun committee is bringing Barbara to the Armstrong Fairgrounds, May 14th and 15th. There are 30 spots available to attend-15 for reiners and 15 for cutters. Check out the web page for more information if you are ready to move past your (self imposed) limitations and tell a story about your greatness!

Gus Clinic Follow Up

Last weekend, we had the extreme good fortune to work with reining trainer and AQHA horseman, Gus Evangelopoulos, at the beautiful Easy Go ranch in Lac la Hache.


Gus was quickly able to hone in on each participants individual needs and work with each horse rider combination to help them achieve their goals for the weekend.

Nicola & Bart

Nicola brought Bart the first night in the hopes that Gus would be able to work with him to make him a more willing and responsive partner for her on the trail. By the time Gus was finished with him on Friday night, we were teasing Gus that Bart was ready to be his next reining horse prospect!! Under our noses, and almost without us realizing what was happening, Gus was able to get Bart into a willing frame of mind, going from being aggressive and pushy to being light and responsive. The next day, Nicola rode Bart and was able to get him into a walk, trot and lope on a loose rein, as well as picking up some riding tips from Gus.

Don and

Don came to the clinic hoping to build on his horsemanship skills. Gus was able to give him a few subtle tips that helped to transform his relationship with his mare, again, making her more light, willing and responsive. Don was impressed by how a few minor adjustments could make such a big difference in how his mare responded to him.

Val and

After watching Gus work with everyone on Friday, Val made the decision to come out and ride on Saturday. After recovering from a serious accident, Val was hoping to rebuild her confidence on the back of a horse. Gus was more than impressed with Val's courage, and reaffirmed that she is indeed a good rider and with a lot of skills and knowledge.

Casandra & Cee

Always happy to take the opportunity to ride with Gus, Casandra made the trip up from Kamloops and was more than happy to put a ride on "Cee", Don's young filly, that she put some time on last spring. Gus has been a strong supporter of Casandra over the years and she was glad to spend some quality "horse time" with him again.

Tanya and Monty

Tanya came to the clinic with the hopes of learning the skills to be able to get her gelding, Monty to pick up the correct lead going to the left. Her continued persistence paid off, and by the end of the weekend, she, most importantly, had the knowledge to be able to continue to work on Monty to help him become more consistent. Those of us on the ground were able to watch and learn as well, and will hopefully be able to support Tanya, as she continues to work with Monty.

Tiffany and Gypsy

Tiffany came to the clinic with her newly acquired gelding, Gypsy,which she hopes to show this year in reining and working cow. Gus reaffirmed for her that she "has a lot of horse". Her gelding is an incredible athlete with a big motor. Tiffany came away from the clinic with some tools to help keep him calm and quiet. We are all looking forward to seeing them in the show pen!!

Mandy & Frenchy

Mandy brought her up and coming 3 year old prospect looking for some tips and ideas to move forward with her training. Gus was impressed with the work that Mandy had accomplished so far with the filly, and was able to give Mandy some tools to help her to get to the next level with Frenchy.

Dawnna & Moke

Dawnna and Moke? Well, lets just say they had some "issues" to work through. Gus's belief that you face issues and work through them, ending up with a better partnership with your horse, proved to be a philosophy that we were all able to embrace by the end of the weekend. Dawnna and Moke persevered, and by Sunday, you could see that they are a going to be strong contenders in the show pen this season!

Bella & Chico

And that leaves..me. After realizing that my own horse Jewel was still lame and I was not going to be able to ride her, I was extremely grateful to the numerous individuals who made me offers of horses I could ride in her place. I ended up riding Chico, Mandy's lovely gelding. It turned out to be the right horse for me for the weekend. Being the perfect gentleman, Chico allowed me to focus on my own riding and horsemanship skills. Riding without a sturrip, and without rein contact, trying to find my balance, Chico never took a wrong step. I'm not quite ready for a bridleless, saddleless freestyle yet, but hopefully I came away with a better feel and a better seat, and as a result will be a more confident, balanced rider.

On behalf of all the participants, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gus for coming to the Cariboo, and sharing his skill and knowledge with us. We all came away with some new knowledge and skills and that is the ultimate accomplishment for any clinic.
For any of the participants, I would welcome your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below!
I would also like to thank Pete Mclennan for taking all the great pictures. I have CD's of ALL your pictures for each participant.

100 Mile Slilders proudly present a Gus Evangelopoulos Reining Clinic/Schooling Show

There are still a few spots available for our upcoming Gus Evangelopoulos Reining/Horsemanship clinic, April 15/16 at Easy Go Ranch in Lac la Hache. Cost to Sliders members is 200.00 and 250.00 for non members. The clinic will be followed on Sunday with a beginner reining schooling show. No need for fancy gear, you can ride 2 handed in beginner reining patterns-no lead changes.
If you are unable to attend the clinic you can come out to participate in the schooling show, with 15.00 entry fee per class.
For more information or to book your spot in the clinic, please contact Mandy at 250-397-2960 or email at mpincott@live.com

STALLION SPOTLIGHT # 3-Colonels Smoking Gun (aka "Gunner)

I couldn't do a stallion Spotlight without including at least one APHA stallion. "Gunner" made a name for himself in the APHA world before he hit the big time. He was double registered as an AQHA stud when the white rules were relaxed, and was registered with AQHA as Colonels Smoking Gun. It was there that he hit the big time taking the NRHA circuit by storm. The following information is taken from his website, where he currently stands at McQuay Stables, in Texas. Click on the image for a larger view. Note his 2011 stud fee: 8,500.00!!

This is another sire that has proven his worth by out producing himself. He puts his stamp on his babies that are often recognizable by their big white face, and "floppy" ears. Gunner was deaf, and despite this genetic flaw, which he frequently passes on to his offspring, his babies are still highly in demand in the reining world.

This is a You Tube Clip of Gunner in his semi final run at the USET semi finals.

We are lucky to have a Gunner son standing in our midst, as Jill Hamming of our WCRA Kamloops Chapter is currently standing BH Gunners Enterpriz, aka 'Rex", an own son of Gunner.

Jill and "Rex"

According to Jill's Facebook page, "Rex" is a proud father of 4 2011 fillies, all with the splashy paint color, passed down through those strong Gunner genes!! Be sure to look for Jill and Rex at all the WCRA/NRHA sanctioned shows!

Sliders Executive Change

The 100 Mile Sliders would like to thank Randy Brodaway, for his service to the club as he will be stepping down as our Vice President. Randy has been instrumental in getting the Sliders started, and has been an active member since it's inception. We wish Randy all the best, and look forward to his ongoing involvement with the Sliders.

(Randy with cutting trainer Dale Shel, 2010 Horse Bazaar)

Tiffany Vaughn will step into the role of Vice President for the remainder of the 2011 year. Tiffany has also been involved with the Sliders from the beginning, and we look forward to having her take on a leadership role with the Sliders.

Tiffany and Sliders president, Dawnna, 100 Mile Horse Bazaar, 2010

Tiffany and Bandit, WCRA's 2009 "Riverslide"

For Sale

PR DOUBLE EAGLE is a 1995 APHA reg. homozygous tobiano paint stallion. He has sired 50-50 colts and fillies, is sound and broke to ride. You can hand breed with him or field cover, he has had 100 % conception to date.

He is easy to catch , halter and work with. Offered with semi herd dispersal for sale, for more info or pics e-mail mailto:paintedrose@telus.net or call 250 397 2897

Test Your Juding Ability

Here is the latest installment of "You Be the Judge". How would you score this spin??

Carl Woods Clinic Follow Up

The success of the Carl Woods Clinic at Easy Go is easily seen, when he is already almost fully booked to come back on June 11-12th! Carl's easy going manner, and ability to focus in on the individual needs of each rider, is proving to be a winning combination. Many thanks to Easy Go Ranch for bringing Carl to the Cariboo! And a special thanks from me (to Easy Go) for giving me a stand in horse to ride, as my mare Jewel, has come up lame :(

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BOOK A SPOT IN CARL'S NEXT CLINIC AT EASY GO, CONTACT ELLIE AT 250-396-7556

Photos- My Apologies for the poor quality...My camera doesn't like indoor arenas...

Amber Crutchley and her lovely gelding...

Ellie checking out the flag

Kim McDonald, riding a mare brought up by Carl

Tina Chestnut, and Roo? (by Genuine Jeepers) getting some pointers from Carl.

Laura Sperling and her new mare, Gypsy

Rockslide Entry Forms Now Posted

CANCELED...SEE BELOW...

Entry forms for ROCKSLIDE, the first in the WCRA's high point series shows are now available on the WCRA website. This show is always recognized for it's fun, relaxed and supportive atmosphere. There are new beginner classes slated for this year, a silent auction, and a full slate of NRHA classes. It's a long way for us folks upcountry to travel, so if anyone is planning to attend, why not get together and save on gas/ferry prices? Use the comment section below to connect with others...
ENTRY DEADLINE IS APRIL 27th

UPDATE...

We had our Peninsula Reining club Rockslide meeting.. and have decided to cancel Rockslide 2011.

We feel with the lack of riders coming this year, the Prince George show on the same weekend and the economy, it is in our best interest to do so.

We look forward to Rockslide 2012!

Thank you ,

Wilma Yule

Fraser Valley Reining Club Schooling Show

The Fraser Valley Reining Club (WCRA Chapter) are holding a Reining Schooling Show, SUNDAY, APRIL 17 (the same day as our Sliders Schooling Show). Here is another opportunity to get out and try a reining pattern on your horse in a low stress environment, and at a low cost. You can download the class list from their newly revamped website.

PGRHA "Spring Slide" Entry Forms Now Available!

Entry forms can now be downloaded for the Prince George Reining Horse Association's first of 3 shows. ENTRY DEADLINE IS APRIL 20th. SPRING SLIDE 2011 has a full slate of NRHA classes, as well as beginner classes, and COW HORSE classes on the Thursday. Not many shows hold cow horse classes any more due to the expense involved, so if you are wanting to watch or show in a cow horse class this is an excellent opportunity!!

STALLION SPOTLIGHT # 2-SMART SPOOK

This is the second in a series of stallion spot light posts that I will be making. Smart Spook is still competing, and his offspring are just starting to enter the show pen. There are a number of his babies in Western Canada, and we should start to see them in the upcoming show season. Like a true champion sire, his babies are showing his classic good looks and by all accounts he is passing on his amazing talent.

PICTURES: SMART SPOOK (Taken from Google Images)

The following information is taken from Smart Spooks Website, where he stands at the Sterling Ranch, in Pilot Point, Texas.

Smart Spook is the leading money earning son of NRHA Hall Of Fame Stallion, Smart Chic Olena, who has sired earners of over $10 Million in Reining, Cutting and Cowhorse.

Smart Spook's dam is Sugarplum Spook by Grays Starlight. She is the producer of 9 money earners, winning over $447,622 and 335 AQHA points. She is also the full sister to NCHA Open Superstakes Champion, A Little Starlight who has won $205,000.

Smart Spook has very strong performance genetics on both sides of his pedigree, as well as great conformation and attitude, making him one of the best qualified and most exciting performance stallions of the new millennium. During 2004 Smart Spook earned over $190,000 culminating in his winning the 2004 NRHA Open Futurity. In 2005 he became the first horse in history to win back to back, the NRHA Open Futurity and then the NRHA Open Derby and finished up his year winning the AQHA Junior Reining World Championship. Smart Spook is also the leading earner of FEI Reining money and is the winner of the Open and Restricted World Reining Masters Gold medals in 2007, 2008 and 2009. This incredible performance horse is still showing at selected events and his earnings are now in excess of $390,000.

Here is a You Tube clip of Smart Spook's futurity run

Smart Spooks, 2011 Breeding fee is a cool 5,000.00!!

Problems With Reining Horse Training Few People Understand

I am on trainer Larry Trocha's e mail list and get regular mail outs from him on various topics. I particularly liked what he had to say in his last e mail, and thought it appropriate to share here. I have edited some of the total content but have included some of his most salient points here:

The last couple weeks, I've received a few emails and even a couple visits to my barn, from people wanting to get involved in reining competition.

Without exception, every one of these people were relying on the help of a horse trainer who had never competed in reining.

As a consequence, these folks are going to go terribly WRONG.

Unfortunately, the two who visited my barn, already had. Why?

Because they don't understand there is a whole boat-load of problems and pot-holes that are "reining" specific.And unless you have trained and competed in reining competition, you have NO IDEA what they are.What owners don't realize is that ignorance about this could literally RUIN their competition reining horse or reining prospect.

I'm not kidding. It's that serious.

If you plan on competing in a SPECIFIC event, you need a trainer with EXPERIENCE in that event.

Other wise, he's not going to know how to head-off potential problems.

Here is a partial list of things about reining horses that "non-reiners" simply don't know...

The more you show a reining horse, the WORSE he gets.

The horse gets worse because if he is even half-way intelligent, he will learn the reining pattern and begin to anticipate the maneuvers.

They'll usually start anticipating within just a few shows.

In the show arena, he'll get antsy when asked to stand still, knowing a spin or lead departure is coming.

He'll charge the run-down and SCOTCH the stop.

When executing circles, he'll drop his shoulder and try to change leads whenever he lopes across the center of the arena.

If this pattern anticipation isn't addressed and managed, it will get so bad the horse will become literally "un-showable".

This form of show ring anticipation is called "show smart".

If you are going to buy a trained reining horse, you better find out just how show smart he is or risk buying a reining horse that you can't get through a run.

I had an out-of-state customer who purchased a mare for $30,000. She was a good horse and could really win. However, the owner soon discovered she couldn't make it through a run clean, without three consecutive "schooling" runs prior to the "competition" run. (Throw away 3 entry fees before every run that actually counted)

If you plan on TRAINING a reining horse from scratch, you have to know how to manage the pit-falls to KEEP that horse from turning into something bad.

Below is another big misconception about reining horses.

THIS IS WHAT I HEAR PEOPLE SAY ALL THE TIME...

"I want to do reining but the horse I have now is too much of a DEAD-HEAD".

"I need to buy something with some get up and go".

When I hear that, I know that person has ZERO experience with reining horses.

They don't savvy a reining horse has to be able to go from a big, FAST circle... down to a small, SLOW circle... and he has to do it without the rider using much bit pressure. Only a quiet, laid-back kind of horse is going to do that. If the horse is "hot", once he gets running, he isn't going to want to slow down. Bottom line... you won't win anything.

Here's another point...

It is flat-out EASY to wake a quiet horse up. It is extremely DIFFICULT to slow a hot horse down. My suggestion to you... go with the naturally laid-back horse and learn how to wake him up.

HERE'S ANOTHER BIGGIE...

This one thing has ruined more non-pro reining horses than anything else I can think of. The culprit...

SPURRING THE HORSE THROUGH THE LEAD CHANGE.

When I was doing a lot of reining (I mostly show cutters now), I had quite a few non-pros. No matter how hard I tried to get those non-pros to trust their horse would change leads... they NEVER would trust him. They were so afraid of him not changing... they would use their spur and HARPOON the poor horse whenever a lead change was wanted. Do that at 3 or 4 shows in a row and at the 5th show... as soon as the horse realizes the lead change is coming... he'll grab his butt and CHARGE through the lead change like a freight train. Once the horse starts doing this, it's really tough to fix.

Okay, let's go over some more points SPECIFIC TO REINING.

In most cases, it's best to put the spin on your horse BEFORE you put the hard stop on him. If you don't, he'll be sucking back so much you'll have a tough time teaching him to cross-over in front. He'll be crossing under... banging his legs together and never learn to spin right.

FEW people understand just how SUPPLE and LIGHT a horse has to be to learn to rein. It is an absolute "must" and there is no getting around it. I see countless riders unknowingly TORTURE their horse trying to teach him to rein before he has any foundation. As a matter of fact, it's a common practice with many horse owners.

Here's my best advice...

Learn about training and horsemanship BEFORE you make all the common mistakes that make your horse's life miserable.

If you plan on training your horse for the performance events, learn how to do it right so you don't ruin him before you even get started.

SO-COMMENTS ANYONE?

I just took my 3 year old mare, Twister back to Sherri for training, for many of the reasons Larry has stated above.

Twister getting introduced to..Twister

Back to Work...

I am NOT a trainer, and I want her started right. I figure the best I can do, is to become as knowledgeable as possible and to become the best rider I can. I can only do that by working with trainers that TRAIN reining horses and compete at reining themselves. I feel fortunate to have a trainer I have worked with for years, and who I know and trust with my my animals. It is WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD!

I am SO PLEASED that we have a strong core group of dedicated and enthusiastic people in our club that WANT to learn and are WILLING to commit themselves both personally and financially by attending clinics and meeting regularly in a collegial and supportive manner.

So if you are a beginner, come out and take advantage of the collective knowledge of this dedicated group. We are all learning together, and becoming better and stronger as a result...And if you have the knowledge and skills to pass on, please leave your ego at the door, and come out and share!

100 Mile Horse Bazaar

PICTURES:
TOP- Ellie putting Dodge into a spin...Nice crossover!
MIDDLE- Ellie-the "Queen" wave
BOTTOM- Sliders members hard at work behind the Sliders booth

Congratulations to Ellie Meinhert, of Easy Go Ranch, and 100 Mile Slider Member, for doing such a wonderful job of promoting the sport of reining, and promoting our Sliders Club, in a demo she did at the 100 Mile Horse Bazaar, with her great gelding "Dodge". Ellie had a fantastic season least year in the reining pen and is a great example of the quality of reining in 100 Mile.
Also a big thank you to all Sliders members who came out and manned the tack sale booth, and Sliders table at the Horse Bazaar. It is your commitment and passion to the club that makes us strong.