About Us

The Association's desire is to showcase stock horses of all breeds and their riders. We offer 5 sanctioned shows each year. Contestants qualify for year end awards by competing in three or more sanctioned shows during the show year. ECSHA offers Open, Amateur, Limited Amateur, Rookie Amateur, Youth, and Greenhorn classes at every show.

All riders in any ECSHA class must have current ECSHA membership.

Divisions

  • The Open Division is open to any professional, amateur, or youth ECSHA member with any horse.

  • There are three amateur divisions: Amateur, Limited Amateur, and Rookie Amateur. Riders may NOT cross enter amateur classes at the same show. To be eligible for any of the amateur divisions: a) The rider may not have received payment directly or indirectly for riding, training, assisting in training, or showing horse(s) at any time during the past three years. b) The rider has not received payment directly or indirectly for instructing another person or conducting a seminar in riding, training, driving or showing a horse any time during the past three years. c) The rider has not had any expenses (including lodging, transportation, mileage, etc.) paid by someone other than family members.

    Amateur - This division is open to any ECSHA member that qualifies as an Amateur competitor with any horse. In the Cow Work class this division will box the cow, drive it down the fence completing a turn in both directions. The rider may choose to complete the run by either roping and stopping the cow or by circling the cow both directions.

    Limited Amateur - The Limited division is designed for riders with moderate riding and showing experience that prefer not to turn a cow on the fence and circle/rope. Riders may choose to ride in this division based on limitations of either the horse or the rider. Limited riders will box on one end of the arena, drive the cow to the opposite end of the arena, box it again and then drive it down the same fence past center within a minute and a forty five second time limit.

    Rookie Amateur - The Rookie division is designed for riders with limited riding and showing experience. A rider may not have more than 10 points in any breed association or $500 in a national organization in any western performance discipline. The cow work class will be boxing only for 50 seconds. Simple lead changes are allowed in the reining class. Rookie will not drag in the trail class.

  • Exhibitors in the Youth division must be aged 8 through 18 as of January 1 of the current year. Exhibitors may ride any horse. The cow work class will be boxing only for 50 seconds.

  • For riders with very limited riding and showing experience, or that are not comfortable in the lope. Rider may ride any horse. No cross-entering any other division. Rider may not have more than 10 points in any breed association or $500 in a national organization.

Class Descriptions

Ranch Riding

The Ranch Riding horse should reflect the versatility, attitude, and movement of a working horse. The horse’s performance should simulate a horse riding outside the confines of an arena and that of a working ranch horse, with light contact or on a relatively loose rein. Horses shall be shown individually, performing the required maneuvers that include the walk, trot, and lope both directions; the extended trot and extended lope in at least one direction; as well as stopping and backing. The ranch riding horse should make timely transitions in a smooth and correct manner, as well as display quality of the movement. Greenhorn division will not lope.

Ranch Trail

The Ranch Trail class contains a course with 6-9 obstacles and is designed to show a horse’s ability and willingness to perform several tasks that might be asked of him during a normal day’s ranch work. It is mandatory that the horse be asked to walk, trot and lope during the course. Optional obstacles may include ride overs at the walk, trot, or lope (usually logs), working a gate, bridge, backing obstacle, side-pass, and drag (open and amateur/limited amateur only, rookie and youth will not drag).  Greenhorn division will not lope or drag.

Ranch Reining

Ranch Reining maneuvers should reflect those performed on a ranch during normal work. The ranch reining horse should be willfully guided with no apparent resistance. Each maneuver may receive plus points or penalty points. All deviations from the exact written pattern must be considered a lack of control and therefore a fault that must be marked down according to severity. Performance should be credited for smoothness, finesse, attitude, quickness and authority of performing various maneuvers. Maneuvers include circles, lead changes, spins, and stops.

Ranch Cutting

The purpose of the ranch cutting class is to demonstrate the ranch horse’s ability to separate a single cow from the herd and control the cow ideally in the center of the arena with minimal disturbance to the herd. Exhibitor will cut two cows from the herd and work the cows with the assistance of two turn back riders and two herd holders. For all divisions, there will be a two minute time limit. Each exhibitor must work two head and has the option of ending their run before the two minute limit or working the full two minutes. There is no penalty for reining.

Cow Work

All of the cow work classes are intended to display the working ability of a horse suitable for cow work. Exhibitors in the open and amateur divisions are allotted three minutes to complete the work. There are three parts to the class: boxing, fence work and roping or circling. For ideal cow work, each contestant, upon receiving a cow in the arena, shall hold the cow, demonstrate control of the cow, and contain it on the prescribed end of the arena (boxing). After a reasonable amount of time, the contestant shall take the cow down the fence and make at least one turn each way on the fence. The first run out for a turn shall be past the half-way mark of the arena. All turns down the side shall be completed before reaching the end fence. The amateur exhibitor has the option of circling the cow in the middle of the arena in both directions in lieu of roping. To circle the cow, the exhibitor will take the cow to an open part of the arena and circle it at least once in each direction (circles). Open exhibitors must rope the cow and bring it to a stop. In the roping portion of the class, two throws are permitted and the horse will be judged on tracking/rating and stopping the cow. It is not necessary that the exhibitor catch to receive a score in the roping portion. The catch is legal as long as the cow looks through the loop and the rope pulls tight on any part of the animal’s body except the tail. The rope may be tied on or dallied.

Limited Cow Work (Box-Drive-Box-Drive)

Exhibitors in the Limited Amateur Cow Work are allotted one minute and forty five seconds to complete the work. Exhibitors are not required to use all of the allotted time, but must ride until the judge whistles the end of the run or time expires, whichever occurs first. There are four parts to the work: boxing the cow; setting up the cow and driving it down the fence to the opposite end of the arena; and boxing it at the opposite end of the arena, and then driving the cow back down the fence past the middle marker (on the original side).

Boxing

Exhibitors are allotted 50 seconds to complete the work. The rider shall ride into the arena, face the cattle entry gate, and signal for their cow. The cow shall be controlled on the entry end of the arena to demonstrate the horse’s ability to hold the cow.

Ranch Roping

This class has a two-and-a-half minute time limit. A breakaway lariat must be used. The contestant will enter the herd quietly, rope a cow and drive the cow across the time line, without breaking the honda. Once the cow is across the time line, the contestant must dally and break the honda. Three attempts to rope the cow are allowed. If the honda breaks as a result of another cow running through the rope, the contestant will be allowed to rebuild their loop, and that will be counted as one of their three loops. If the contestant has dallied to the horn or holds tension on the rope resulting in the honda breaking prior to the cow crossing the line, that will count as a catch, and the run is complete. The rope must be thrown. Any attempt by the exhibitor to trap, snare, or collar a cow by holding on to the loop will be cause for disqualification.

Ranch Rail Pleasure

Horses are to be shown in a group, on the rail, at a walk, jog or trot, and lope on a reasonably loose rein or light contact without undue restraint. Horses must work, as announced, both ways of the ring at all three gaits to demonstrate their ability with different leads. At the option of the judge, horses may be asked to extend the gaits, one or both ways of the ring. The extended jog is a definite two beat lengthening of the stride, covering more ground. Cadence and balance with smoothness are more essential than speed. Passing is permissible and should not be penalized as long as the horse maintains a proper and even cadence and rhythm. Horses are required to back easily and stand quietly. Horses are to be reversed to the inside (away from the rail). They may be required to reverse at the walk or jog at the discretion of the judge, but shall not be asked to reverse at the lope. Greenhorn division will not lope.