My First Show Season

My first experience with reining was watching a college meet. I had tried other disciplines, but seeing the way those young women rode the horses, I fell in love. I continued to watch live streamed college meets whenever possible, which evolved into watching shows, which became researching trainers. After corresponding with a few, I had my first lesson with Ollie Galliagn, and, as he says, “caught the reining bug.” I then convinced my parents to make the 3 hour round trip drive for a lesson once a week. Six months later, we bought Wally and I immediately jumped into showing at the West Coast Reining Horse affiliates.

When I first started reining, I hoped but never fully believed that I would end up having a horse and showing. But I was lucky, in February of 2021 my family bought Wally (Walla Great Pine), and we jumped right into showing. Having finished my first show season and looking back now, I believe that I improved and learned a lot this season. I learned a lot about reining as a sport from preparing and packing my tack and gear for shows to memorizing patterns and maneuvers. But I think the most important things I learned this year were the skills that are applicable to life beyond horseback riding. In order to show I had to be disciplined with my riding, my schoolwork, and effectively manage my time. Although it has, at times, been a challenge trying to keep everything balanced, the reward of showing has far outweighed the challenges. I have yet to feel something that is quite as rewarding as the feeling of competing within the show arena.