Ranch Riding & More

Think you need an arena full of obstacles to create a useful practice session?

You may already have everything you need hiding around your barn.

The obstacle isn’t the lesson—it’s what you do with it.

Read more in the August issue of the **Ranch Riding & More Digital Magazine**:

https://heyzine.com/flip-book/44fbbc75fb.html

We may not have fancy prizes—but we’ve got what makes a show worth entering.

A world-class, multi-carded judge.

Friendly people.

Reasonable prices.

And useful feedback you can take into your next ride.

Class fees start at just **$15 CAD**, and depending on your choices, you can enter up to five classes for under $100.

Admin fee just $10.

Not showing this time? You can sponsor a class for as little as $25 and have your name or business recognized with the class and listed in the **Ranch Riding & More Digital Magazine**.

September 2026 Virtual Show

Judge: Jodie Moore

Entries: **September 7–14**

Videos due: **September 27**

Request your show package:

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/nVHWzehNet

WAITING FOR SOMETHING FROM RANCH RIDING & MORE?

A quick reminder to check your Junk or Spam folder!

If you've recently requested a September Virtual Show Package, Ride Challenge information, Digital Magazine information, or anything else from Ranch Riding & More, we've been busy answering those requests — but sometimes our emails decide to take a detour into Junk Mail.

If you're expecting something from us and haven't seen it:

**Check your Junk/Spam folder and search for:**
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

If you find us there, mark the email as **Not Junk** and/or add us to your safe senders or contacts. That should help future Ranch Riding & More emails land where they belong.

And if you've checked everywhere and still can't find what you're waiting for, send us a message. We'd much rather know than have you sitting there wondering where it went!

We've sent it — your inbox may just be hiding it from you.

&MoreVSS &ranchridingessentials

🌍 **RANCH RIDING AROUND THE WORLD**

Where in the world do you ride?

We’re looking for photos of real horses and real riders from countries and communities around the globe to feature in Ranch Riding & More Digital Magazine.

📖 Take a look at the magazine here:

https://heyzine.com/flip-book/44fbbc75fb.html

Your photo could be selected for an upcoming cover—or featured inside a future issue as part of **Ranch Riding Around the World**.

You don’t have to compete or be a traditional ranch rider. Ranch, western and country-style photos are especially welcome, but we also want to see riders enjoying their horses at home, on the trail, in the arena, working cattle or practising the everyday skills that ranch riding helps develop.

Choose a clear, original, high-resolution photo that reflects you, your horse and the place you call home.

📸 Submit your information here, then email us your original high-resolution photo:

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/sk2nF3y0gf

📧 [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

Please include:

• Your name
• Your horse’s name
• Where in the world you’re from
• A little about the photo
• The photographer’s name
• Confirmation that you have the photographer’s permission for **Ranch Riding & More** to publish the photo

Help us put ranch riding—and the riders who love it—on the map!

Tag a horse person from another country and share this post around the world. Let's see how far we can go...

WHAT CAN YOU DISCOVER IN FOUR WEEKS?

Sometimes the smallest exercises tell you the most.

For September, choose four exercises from the Riding & More Ride Challenge — then spend one week working with each one.

Try it.

Pay attention to what happens.

Where does it get difficult?

Is the problem really where you thought it was?

What happens when you change your approach?

And by the end of the week — does something that was difficult at first suddenly seem easier?

That's where it gets interesting.

A halt can tell you something about straightness.

A transition may expose something happening several strides before it.

A circle can show you that one direction isn't quite like the other.

Backing a few steps can reveal something you hadn't noticed anywhere else in your ride.

You're not trying to perfect everything in one session.

You have a week to practice, make adjustments and see what changes.

Then you move on to the next exercise.

**Four weeks. Four exercises. And probably a few things you didn't expect to learn.**

English or Western.
Ridden or in-hand.
You don't need to be a ranch rider.

September Ride Challenge — $75 CAD

Registration closes soon so participants can receive their Challenge materials before we begin September 1.

Request the September Challenge information:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/EPA3TTJ03p

Don't just complete the exercise. Find out what it tells you.

Food for thought

This idea is really about how horses learn, how they conserve effort, and why good training should make the desired response increasingly obvious and economical.

Horses learn by forming associations between a situation, a cue, their response, and what happens next. When a response reliably brings release, comfort, balance, or some other useful outcome, the horse becomes more likely to choose that response again. With repetition, he begins to recognize the pattern and anticipate what is being asked.

“Easiest answer” can mean several things. It may be the response that requires the least physical effort, but often it is the one that creates the least uncertainty, conflict or pressure. A well-trained horse does not need to search through five possible responses every time he feels the rider’s leg. He has learned, this cue means this response, and that response quickly leads to release.

This is why logical progression matters so much. Each new exercise should be built from things the horse already understands. If he understands moving his shoulders, moving his hindquarters, responding to the leg, following a rein and maintaining a rhythm separately, those familiar pieces can gradually be combined into more complicated movements.

The physical side matters just as much. We can teach a horse what an answer means before he has enough strength, balance or coordination to perform it easily. He may understand the request for collection, for example, while still finding the movement physically difficult. Repeatedly asking for more than he can comfortably organize can lead to compensations, tension or alternative responses that are easier for his body.

So good progression works on two tracks at the same time: understanding and physical ability. The horse learns what the question means while his body gradually develops the capacity to give the answer.

There is also an important consequence for unwanted behavior. Horses learn the patterns we accidentally create as readily as the ones we deliberately teach. If slowing down, leaning on the rein, falling through a shoulder, rushing, resisting or changing the subject repeatedly makes a difficult request go away, that response can become the horse’s easiest successful answer.

Ideally, training gradually produces a horse for whom:

* the cue is easy to recognize;
* the expected response is easy to understand;
* the response is physically within his capabilities;
* the correct answer consistently produces a useful consequence, such as release;
* mistakes do not create confusion or punishment;
* each new question grows naturally from something he already knows.

The idea of “making everything you ask him to do easy” doesn’t mean avoiding difficult work. Advanced training can be physically demanding. It means preparing the horse so well that, when you ask the question, he understands what you want and his body is capable of giving you the answer.

https://koperequine.com/social-learning-in-horses-connection-safety-and-the-wisdom-of-observation/

A Big Thank You to Our 2026 Judges

As we head into the final show of the Ranch Riding & More 2026 Virtual Show Series, we want to take a moment to recognize the experienced horsewomen who have shared their time and expertise with our riders this season.

A huge thank you to Lindsay Grice , our July judge, and Lillian Evaniew-Phelan, our August judge. We truly appreciate the knowledge, experience and thoughtful feedback you brought to our competitors.

And we’re very pleased to welcome Jodie Moore as our judge for the upcoming September Virtual Show!

One of the things we wanted this series to offer was the opportunity for riders — regardless of where they live or whether they regularly attend live shows — to have their rides evaluated by experienced professionals and receive feedback they can take back into their everyday riding.

Thank you, Lindsay, Lillian and Jodie, for being part of Ranch Riding & More this season.

Our final show of the 2026 season is coming up!
Entries: September 7–14
Videos due: September 27

Request the September Show Package:

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/nVHWzehNet

Grice Evaniew-Phelan Moore