The 2021 IEA Western National Finals in Fort Worth, Texas this season will include HORSEMANSHIP PATTERNS as part of the INDIVIDUAL and TEAM Horsemanship Classes for:
- Varsity Open Horsemanship
- Varsity Intermediate Horsemanship
- JV Novice Horsemanship
- Future Intermediate Horsemanship
- Future Novice Horsemanship
Riders will be judged on rail work first (per usual) and then in an individual pattern within their Horsemanship class level. Horsemanship Patterns can be found in the IEA Western Addendum on the Rules and Policies page of the IEA website.
Note: All Horsemanship patterns in the Western Addendum are listed as Novice patterns, however, they can be used for any level as they include a wide range of difficulty.
Specific class patterns for National Finals will be announced when the Prize List is released later in the season.
Coaches, Riders, and Show Hosts are encouraged to begin/continue practicing these patterns at home and incorporating them into your horse shows (as appropriate and depending upon horse availability). Horsemanship patterns are not a requirement at your regular season shows, but very strongly encouraged to be used at Regional Finals as practice for National Finals.
Remember, patterns used for any level can be very simple and should be level appropriate. The idea of incorporating individual patterns for the upper three levels is to give riders additional opportunities to show off skills, ensure that each rider is being seen equally by the judge, while also enabling lower level riders a stepping stone introduction to reining patterns.
Questions? Contact IEA Western Zone Administrator, Tammy Braham.
[email protected] | (724) 967-5501