Fascination
Working Equitation

From his first encounter with a vaquero to the popular show scene in Germany. Stefan tells us how this journey began in an extract from his book "Fun with Working Equitation - The successful start".

With the development of southern European working riding styles, typical working saddles have evolved in parallel to meet the requirements of a cattle herdsman and his horse in their daily work.

What's the story behind the eye-catching bridle used by German Working Equitation riders? The striking browband and unique fittings are a real eye-catcher - but where do they come from? What is the background? And why do so many Working Equitation riders wear this bridle?

Where does the riding style come from? Working Equitation is not a type of riding or riding style in a special sense - Working Equitation is rather a young competition sport discipline that has developed from the tradition of southern European working riding styles.

The young equestrian discipline of Working Equitation was born out of the desire to preserve the traditional Southern European working riding styles and make them known beyond their borders. The various national trends in working equitation can compete with each other thanks to the common set of rules and at the same time present and pass on their own traditions.

Dressage is the basis for all requirements in the other sub-disciplines and gradually progresses from the beginners' class to the single-handed masterclass.

It promotes rideability, gymnasticises the horse and includes all the lessons for the manoeuvres required later in the trail and on the cattle.

The dressage trail is the combination of dressage with the requirements of the individual obstacles. The obstacles in the trail course are based on the tasks of a cattle herder in the open field.

In the speed trail, horse and rider complete a similar course to the dressage trail. This time, however, it is all about speed and a fault-free ride. Mistakes at the individual obstacles are penalised with time penalty points. However, you can also collect bonus points that give you a time credit.

The supreme discipline is cattle work - it is intended to be reminiscent of the work of cattle herders on the campos, for example how to separate individual cattle from a herd in order to vaccinate them.

When working cattle, it's not just about riding skills, but also about the right tactics and reading the herd of cattle.

Based on the requirements of real cattle herders in the working riding style, crossing a bridge is an important task in the terrain, which horse and rider should master calmly and calmly. The horse and rider pair thus demonstrate their partnership, courage and composure.

The slalom comes in two forms and thus represents two different trail obstacles that require the horse to bend, flex and manoeuvre at the same time: the simple slalom, in which the slalom is set up in a straight line, and the parallel slalom, in which the rider rides around two rows of slaloms in an arc.

Various Working Equitation trail obstacles can be constructed from the barrels: The 2-bay barrels ridden forwards and backwards as well as the 3-bay barrels. They are also part of the task of picking up and putting down the garrocha.

In southern European work riding, opening and closing a pasture gate is part of the daily requirements of a mounted cattle herder and his horse. The gate has to be opened and closed in a way that prevents a cow or even the whole herd from escaping through the gate.

The bull embodies the origins of Working Equitation like no other obstacle. The trail obstacle Tilting at the Ring consists of various partial obstacles: In the first part, the rider picks up a garrocha from a barrel as he rides past, rides it towards the bull and tries to pick up the ring with the tip of the garrocha and then put it down again from the horse with the ring in a barrel.

The pen is another trail obstacle with a direct link to the work of cattle herders in the southern European working riding style. Visually striking dummies of animals are often placed in the centre of the pen, which the rider has to circle with his horse in the pen. This wild inner life challenges the horse's courage and composure.

The cattle herder working in the field should always be prepared for a small jump, e.g. over a small ditch or a tree trunk lying in the path, and be able to master it with confidence.

The Bell Lane is a trail obstacle that requires precision, manoeuvrability and at the same time a high degree of calm and control over every single step from the horse and rider pair.

PROST! The jug is not - as you might think at first glance - an obstacle that serves to refresh the rider on his long ride through the trail course.

The backwards slalom is an obstacle that demands concentration and skill from both horse and rider. Here, too, it becomes clear that riding backwards, even on curved lines, is part of the daily requirements of a working equitation horse and is almost as normal as riding forwards.

The trail obstacle "sideways over a pole" tests another elementary direction of movement in the working riding style - sideways. The cattle herder needs a willing and well-trained partner who can move flexibly in all directions when working the cattle in the field.

A cattle herder may of course encounter other obstacles in the open field that he has to pass with his horse. These could include different surfaces, difficult terrain or even a stream or ditch.