Several weeks ago, I watched the Working Equitation Cow Clinic in El Reno, OK. Because I did not participate in the clinic (I had come for the show the following day), I took pictures. And I watched and learned many things, including:
- I thought I knew nothing about cattle. I was wrong. Growing up in cattle country apparently allowed a lot of information to seep in, despite my lack of interest in the “Western” style horsemanship prevalent in my hometown.
- Most people haven’t ever been around cattle, and for them, this cow clinic was not only good, it was essential. If they are planning on participating in Working Equitation with the Cow Trial component, they need to have a basic understanding of how cattle think, not to mention being able to work with them horseback.
- The WE Cow Trial looks really fun. It doesn’t require any great expertise with cattle, or any specific breed of horse. A cowy horse is always going to be more fun–but you can do it with any horse. And cowy horses come in all breeds.
- It’s fun for the horses too. A lot of WE competitors come from traditional dressage backgrounds. The obstacle component of WE is one draw (it’s why I wanted to try it!). The Cow Trial is another. Horses love having a clear purpose to work. Obstacles and, better yet, livestock, make it clear to them that the rider is asking for certain moves with a reason.
- and chasing calves around is just plain fun–for horse and rider!
The Working Equitation Cow Trial
Let me start by saying that I don’t have a lot of experience with WE. My friend Melissa starting doing it a few years ago. She set up most of the obstacles (used in the Ease of Handling trial) in her pasture, so of course I starting using them as training aides. Again, horses love to have a clear reason to do things, so practicing leg yielding, etc., with obstacles makes a lot more sense to them.
It’s also fun for the rider! So although I probably won’t do a lot of WE in the future, I did want to do one show.
At the moment, the Cow Trial is not part of the shows in this region (Oklahoma and surrounding state). WE organizers would like to include it, but first, competitors must be trained. They need to know how to do it (not easy when people have little access to cattle). They also need to be prepared to pay for it. Cattle are not cheap.
The first step is teaching people about cows. I don’t know but I would guess that cow clinics are also designed to be a hook. It’s fun, and once people know that, they will be more willing to pay entries for something that involves cattle.
She kept her eye on this one constantly.
What does the Working Equitation Cow Trial involve?
It’s fairly simple, compared with cutting or sorting/penning, to both of which I had had some exposure.
Participants work in groups of three or four. Each person has to cut one designated cow from the herd and move it to a holding pen on the other side of the arena. The other competitors help, first by holding the herd together in the “containment” or herd zone, while the first cuts the cow. Once the designated competitor has the cow out of the containment zone, the others can help move the cow to the holding pen. They cannot remain in the herd zone (and the judged rider will be disqualified). If they cross into the herd zone and move back out, the judged rider will receive a penalty.
Penalties are also given if a herd cow “escapes” the herd zone. I am not sure if the cut cow “escaping” back into the herd zone results in a penalty. The rider can keep working it until the three minutes are up though.
The Cow Trial is a timed event, and must be done in three minutes. Once the judge rings the bell, the rider has 60 seconds to salute and cross the start or “foul line” that delimits the containment area. The timer starts 60 seconds after the judge has rung the bell, or when the horse’s nose crosses the foul line. It stops when the designated cow is in the holding pen with the rider/horse outside the pen, and the rest of the herd within the containment zone.
Failure to pen the cow results in a zero time score. The fastest time (after adding any penalties) wins. (Description on Official WE page.)
The Cow Clinic
The purpose of the WE Cow Clinic is to familiarize riders with cows and prepare them for competing in the Cow Trials. In El Reno, clinic participants had been grouped by level of cow experience. The first group had spent very little time around cattle, so the clinician (Jill Barron) focused on basics.
Ground work
Everybody got off her horse and “worked” the calves on foot. They learned basic body language: the calf’s, and how to use their own to move the calf around. It seemed obvious to me, but then, I have been around livestock. Cows are not all that different from horses. Anyone who has put a halter on a horse that has never been haltered, or even taught a horse to lunge, should be able to move a calf around. Of course, many people have only dealt with trained horses.
It was fun to watch. I noticed that people have a hard time STOPPING. They crowd the calves without meaning to do so. I would not have been surprised to see a calf try to jump the fence (or the person).
Back in the saddle
Once Jill was satisfied with their ground work, she had everyone get back on their horses. Depending on their level, participants got to do more or less work with the cows. Everyone got to move a calf around.
The more advanced riders worked on gathering the herd and walking through it.
Finally, they practiced cutting a calf from the herd and moving it to the other side of the arena, where the pen would be. The other riders tried to help the one that was on the cow, as they would in a Cow Trial.
I wanted to include a video of the Cow Trial, but youtube was sadly lacking in offerings. Here is a success:
These horses are obviously trained in the Spanish vaquera tradition. It’s the basis of Working Equitation, and yet so completely different from what we see in working cow horses here in the States. It’s really difficult for me to understand how it can possibly be better to have that much hold of a horse’s face. I much prefer cutting–where the horse, once trained, is allowed to think for itself.
But there is no doubt that these Spanish-style horses are phenomenal in Ease of Handling. I’ll cover that in another blog post!
More information:
US Working Equitation Facebook page
WE Rules.
For much better photography by Melissa Campbell, go to Lass Campbell Photography or her Facebook page.
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