The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has set the generally accepted description of a reining horse in A. General of their NRHA Handbook, and is as follows:
To rein a horse is not only to guide him, but also to control his every movement. The best reined horse should be willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance and dictated to completely. Any movement on his own must be considered a lack of control. All deviations from the exact written pattern must be considered a lack or/or temporary loss of control and therefore a fault that must be marked down according to severity of deviation. After deducting all faults, set here within, against execution of the pattern and the horse’s overall performance, credit should be given for smoothness, finesse, attitude, quickness and authority of performing various maneuvers, while using controlled speed which raises the difficulty level and makes him more exciting and pleasing to watch to an audience (NRHA, 2025).
Class Procedures
Exhibitors in a reining class individually perform a specified pattern. Each pattern contains specific maneuvers which include circles (large, fast and small, slow), lead changes, spins, sliding stops, rollbacks, and backup. How to judge each maneuver is included below.
Circles
Circles are performed in a specified location of the arena maintaining a common center point. There should be a distinct difference between the size and speed of the large fast circles and the small slow circles. During circles, the horse should exhibit control and a willingness to be guided by the rider.
Lead Changes
In a typical reining pattern, horses will perform a flying lead change. This lead change occurs at the lope and is when both the front and hind legs change leads. The horse should exhibit control and precision when changing leads.
Spins
Spins are consecutive 360-degree turns in a specified direction. Ideally the inside hind leg remains stationary during the entire spin. The horse should exhibit cadence, smoothness, and speed during spins.
Sliding Stops
A sliding stop is a change in speed from the lope to a stop position. Horses should approach sliding stops and maintain a straight line throughout the stop. During a sliding stop, the horse should move freely with its front legs while the hind legs are positioned under the body, maintaining contact with the ground.
Rollbacks
Rollbacks are a 180-degree turn over the hocks following a sliding stop. Rollbacks should be executed as one fluid motion. Horses should leave a rollback at the lope.
Backup
The backup is the backward or reverse movement of the horse, executed swiftly in a straight line.
Scoring
Before scoring a reining class, the judge should be familiar with each association’s rules and regulations as they may differ from one another. The scoring system for reining ranges from 0 to infinity, with 70 being an average score.
Maneuver Score
Each maneuver indicated in the pattern receives a maneuver score of +1½ to -1½ with half point increments and 0 indicating an average maneuver. The following are the general guidelines used to determine appropriate maneuver scores:
+1 1/2 Extremely Good
+1 Very Good
+1/2 Good
0 Correct/Average
-1/2 Poor
-1 Very Poor
-1 1/2 Extremely Poor
Penalties
- Common penalty points are 1/2, 1, 2 and 5.
- Exhibitors may also receive 0 scores and no scores. These are generally reserved for instances such as breaking pattern, breaking rules, or abuse of the animal.
- Judges and exhibitors should refer to desired association for specific guidelines, rules, patterns, and score sheets.
Patterns
Different associations provide multiple patterns. Pattern 1 from the NRHA is displayed below:
Below is a video of Kaci O’Rourke and The Firemen’s winning run at the NRHA Open Futurity in 2024. This is a great example of an exceptional reining run!
Resources
