by Julie Alonzo
As a former gymkhana, NATRC (competitive trail), and endurance racing competitor as well as a lifelong horseperson, I
have to admit that I was intrigued by Working Equitation the first time I heard about it, almost a decade ago now. At the
time, I was serving on the Andalusian/Lusitano committee for the United States Equestrian Federation, and we were
tasked with drafting rules to bring the sport to this country. The process of helping to draft, edit, revise, and re-draft
rules for working equitation was not always fun, but it was consistently rewarding. Many, many people have contributed to the effort to introduce the sport to the United States, and, it’s great to see all the hard work paying off now, as
Working Equitation continues to increase in popularity all across the US, as well as internationally.
With its foundation firmly centered in the classical horsemanship approaches so prevalent in the equestrian communities in the four Southern European nations where the sport was invented (Portugal, Italy, France, and Spain)
and an eye on making the sport enjoyable for horses, human competitors, and spectators alike, Working Equitation offers something for just about anyone. And, unlike most equestrian sports in the United States, Working
Equitation welcomes a variety of tack and attire. So long as the horse’s tack and the rider’s attire are from a single tradition, they can be working western, dressage, hunt seat, traditional Portuguese or Spanish, Australian
stock horse, Charro, etc. Competitors show in the same tack/attire in all phases of the competition.
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Competitions begin with a Dressage trial (called Functionality in the USEF AL rules), where horse and rider are judged on
the quality with which they complete a series of specified movements, including riding straight lines and circles at all three
gaits, halting squarely, and reining back without resistance, and (in levels beyond the most basic) performing lateral movements such as leg yields and half passes, as well as flying lead changes and canter pirouettes.
The second phase, Ease of Handling, requires horse and rider to maneuver around and through a variety of obstacles,
demonstrating the quality of their gaits, transitions, symmetry, and balance. In particular, the horse should demonstrate collection, impulsion, and a willingness to move forward while maintaining calmness and responding to the rider’s cues without resistance.
Obstacles are also used in the third phase: Speed. The key difference between the Ease of Handling and the Speed phase
is what is judged. Whereas style and way of going are of paramount importance in Ease of Handling, the Speed phase is a
timed event, with the fastest time placing highest.
In team competitions, a fourth phase, the Cow Trial, is added. In this phase, teams of three to four move cattle, one at a time,
from a holding area, across the arena, and into a secondary pen . Like the Speed phase, the Cow Trial is a timed event.
The growing popularity of the sport, of course, comes with some challenges. One of the biggest challenges someone new to
the sport faces is keeping track of the slight variations that exist in the rules used by the different groups offering working
equitation competitions. In time, it is likely that we will see more unification across the different groups (as we saw earlier this year when WE-USA announced the decision to merge with
WEIAUSA, with WEIAUSA agreeing to honor the legacy of WE-USA membership and carry
on the Florida-based group’s good work in promoting the sport). For now, however, competitors should be sure to ask what rules a given competition is being run under, and they
should study those rules to be sure they are familiar with the nuances.
Although the basics behind each set of rules are largely the same, some obstacles allowed
under the USEF AL and USFWE rules (such as lasso a target, drag an object, and move
a sack) are not used in either the WEIAUSA or WAWE rules. There are also some differences in the terms used for the different levels of competition and in the specific
patterns used for the dressage/ functionality phase. Again, these are more surface-level
differences, really. As you read through the different sets of rules, you will find that
there are much more similarities than there are differences.
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