Working Equitation at Equanimity Farm
Stephanie Hayes aboard DEM Rayo
This was a day of learning for me as my first in-person exposure to Working Equitation. Only officially recognized in competition since the 1990s, it's a new discipline rooted in tradition, designed to celebrate the different methods of working cattle in different countries. The result is a combination of dressage, versatility, and cow work.
Riders competed in three phases: Dressage, Ease of Handling, and Speed. The dressage phase is very similar to dressage as we know it. Ease of Handling requires navigation through an obstacle course, not unlike a versatility challenge and marks are given on transitions, maneuvers through the obstacles, and obedience. The speed phase is another obstacle course where scoring is time-based.
Fun fact - traditionally, Working Equitation actually has 4 phases, although the 4th phase is rare in the US due to the novelty of the discipline. Any guesses about what it might be?
A cow trial! Riders work as a team to cut and herd a predetermined cow into a designated pen. I think the coolest part of it all is that riders are encouraged to dress in whatever tack and attire they traditionally ride in, whether it's western, dressage, hunt seat, or traditional Iberian tack (so cool!).
