Trail- Professor Daniels- Erica Fitzgerald
Education and Clinics creates a supportive learning environment, in addition to our respectfully competitive shows. Overall the event is focused on improving each participants horsemanship skills. With multiple local clinicians working together during the event, the Clinician Team helps to demonstrate and promote ASHA’s philosophy and rules. With more than one clinician, the exhibitor will be exposed to different techniques and teaching styles. This gives the participant the option to pick and choose what fits them and their horse.
Through the clinics, participants build camaraderie and friendship with the clinicians and other exhibitors. This raises each riders comfort level and eliminates the stigma of horse shows. Learning in a fun and supportive environment creates a platform for exhibitors to have a strong foundation in the rules, training practices, how to get a horse shown, exposure to information that judges are being taught, and in seeing it through the judges eyes. This brings back a level of social camaraderie that has disappeared from horse shows, and with this comes fun and enjoyment.
Affordability is encouraged by ASHA to show producers and affiliates. Keeping clinics and show fees affordable is an opportunity to bring the entire family to show.
Four Classes listed below are offered by ASHA and act as a leveling agent for exhibitors:
Stock Horse Pleasure is the cornerstone class of ASHA and has distinct differences from other associations. First, this class runs one horse at a time with signs in the arena to represent the vicinity of where the transition should take place. This is not an equitation class. Simply, the horse is being judged on how it moves. Judges are encouraged to credit forward motion, and will pick the horse that they would want to ride to check 5 miles of fence line. This will be a horse that is well-broke, relaxed, quiet, and has smooth transitions.
Stock Horse Trail class measures the horse’s ability to handle everyday situations and encounters. Obstacles are natural and what you would see in an everyday ranch environment. The pattern is intended to be simple and straight forward, not to scare or confuse horse and rider. There is plenty of content to judge without adding artificial tricks or movements to the class.
Stock Horse Reining class measures the ability of the stock horse to perform many basic handling or usable maneuvers, while being willfully guided. Reining maneuvers such as stopping on the haunches, correct spin, controlled and deliberate back up, snappy over the hock roll backs, and nice circles. Smoothness, willingness, and correctness demonstrate the horse’s ability to complete the pattern.
Stock Horse Working Cow Horse classes are designed to demonstrate and measure the horse’s ability to work a cow. Three levels are offered and listed below.
Novice and Youth Working Cow Horse Class was developed as an entry-level cow class and consists of a warm up dry work pattern and boxing for one minute. The dry work simulates the same moves that the horse will do while controlling the cow. This is not an equitation pattern and the judge wants to see you make maneuvers as if working a cow.
Green Horse and Limited Non-Pro Working Cow Horse Class has no dry work prior to working the cow and is developed as an intermediate level cow horse class. Horse and rider will box the cow, drive the cow down the fence and then box the cow at the opposite end of the arena. The horse demonstrates control of the cow for two minutes. This class is a stepping stone up or down for exhibitors. Novice riders can expand their boxing skills by building confidence from boxing and controlling the cow at the opposite end of the arena, without the fast paced fence turn found in the full cow horse pattern.
Exhibitors that have competed in the full cow horse class may have a new horse or reach an age that they are unable to compete in the full cow horse pattern. This class gives them a place to step back and build confidence with their horse.
Open and Non-Pro Working Cow Horse Class is the full pattern where the horse boxes the cow, completes fence turns in each direction, and then the rider makes the decision whether they want to circle the cow each way once or rope and stop the cow. During this class the rider has three minutes to complete the required maneuvers, but it may be completed in less time.
ASHA Judging is very unique to the horse industry. Scoring is based on a positive scale, with a score of 1-10 given for each maneuver. A maneuver score of 6-7 is considered correct, and the scores will go up and down from there. Credits and deductions are used to adjust the score, based on the content and quality of the maneuver. ASHA maintains a comment box instead of a penalty box, including a translation key on the scorecard that communicates to the exhibitor deductions and also credits. This helps the participant decipher their scores for each maneuver.
Scoring is positive and straight forward, which will encourage growth and improvement while enhancing the experience for the exhibitor. Maneuver scores give the rider a truer benchmark for their skill sets. And the most exciting news is that there is only three ways to receive a zero score for a class: lameness, illegal equipment and disrespectful and/or abusive behavior. Please note that riding two hands on a curb bit is not a zero score, but a two point deduction per occurrence.
If the horse and rider make an attempt at a maneuver, they will get a score. If they forget, add in or bypass a maneuver then they will receive a zero score for that particular maneuver only. For example, if the rider completes five spins in a reining class when the pattern calls for four spins, a two point deduction will be assessed for that maneuver. The exhibitor will still receive a score and is eligible to place.
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