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| 1.
Western Country
Pleasure, also known as Classic Pleasure in
AMHR 2.. Country Pleasure 3. Single Pleasure, also knows as Open Pleasure in AMHR 4. Roadster |
I will try and summarize the various classes
and style of horse needed.
Watch these videos of Country Pleasure
horses:
Click here to see
Country Pleasures
Horses at Western Regionals 2014
Click here to see
Country Pleasure
Driving at the 2013 World Show
Here is our
Design who won
World Reserve GRAND champion in 2012!!!
Click here to see Country Pleasure horses over 34" (AMHR
Nat'ls)
Click here to see
Rivenburghs Lets Roll SE
In this class, the headset is still
high, but not as high as the single pleasure horses. The action is still
fancy, but not quite as high either as the single pleasure movers. There is
good extension, but high action is not as needed. Country movers are fluid
and smooth. The
horse's behavior is important and the horse should look like a pleasure to
drive. The horse's weight does not have to be as rocked back on the
hind end. The standard calls for 60% of the weight to be on the hind end. You may see some horses who have very fancy front end action, but
if their hocks and hind ends are not under them, then they are usually put
in the Country class rather than the Open Pleasure/Single classes. The horses are required to walk and perform at 2 trotting gaits
called the country pleasure trot (the collected trot) and at the extended
trot ( also called the working trot). These horses remind me of the
Arabs of yesterday or of Morgans in their movement.
Watch these videos for examples of
Single pleasure horses:
Click here to see
Single Pleasure
driving at the 2013 World Show
Click here to
see Single Pleasure movers under 34" (AMHR Nat'ls 2011)
Click here to see Single
Pleasure (Open Pleasure) movers over 34" (AMHR Nat'ls 2011)
Rivenburghs Lets Roll Muchacho. this is a son of our stallion,
Beamer.
And, our
Rivenburghs Lets Roll
SE
The Single Pleasure movers are very rare
and hard to find in the Miniature horse world. It takes a specific
confirmation to move like this. The horse must be upright as far as how the
neck is set on the shoulder. The headset is high in the bridle, and that requires an
upright horse. The horse also must have excellent action. Again, behavior
and consistency is not as important as the style of moving. These
horses are very collected, rocked back on their hindquarters and have nice
hock action. 70% of their weight should be on that hind end!!! In this class,
the horses must walk and perform at 2 different speeds of trot. The carts
have a basket on them and can be open or closed wheel. As the Miniature
horse has developed over the years, the action has gotten even more
exaggerated and the headsets higher. Many horses that used to be competitive
in this class have now moved into the Country Pleasure classes. These
horses remind me of Saddlebreds or Park Arabs.
Often I see horses start their driving
career as Country Pleasure horses for one or two seasons, but develop into
Single Pleasure horses as training progresses. I also have seen many horses
who were once competitive in Single Pleasure, age and mellow out, and get to the point that
their stamina demands that they return to competing in Country Pleasure.
In each show, an individual horse cannot
show in Country and in Single. The shower must decide which division to
enter into and then stick to it throughout that show. Both Country and
Single horses can enter Roadster classes.
Here is our Sam
who is one of the prettiest classic horses I have seen.
Kody
with Leia - good video with some explanations about movement and
conformation
I compare the horses in this class with
the modern hunter under saddle Paints. The headset is low and extension is
important. I think some people tend to belittle this division and
wrongly consider it to be for horses who aren't good enough movers for
Country or Single. I disagree and think the horse who is accomplished in
this class still needs great movement and great athleticism. They need long
extension and ground covering, sweeping strides. Their conformation is
more like the "hunter under saddle Quarter Horse" with a neck that comes out level and a poll that
is at the level of the withers. Manners and consistency are a very important
factor in this class.
Watch these videos for examples of
Roadster horses:
In this class, the drivers wear caps and
racing silks. The crowd whoops and hollers and the atmosphere is fun. The
carts must be close wheeled are light weight and the speed is fast. The
horses never walk in this class and have 3 different speeds of trot.
In this class, you want a horse that has fast leg action along with good
action. Some horses have action, but can't move their legs fast
enough. The head set is not as important, nor is behavior. You want to
see extreme extension and some action. In many Roadster
classes, I see horses breaking gait and acting up. The cheering crowd often
facilitates the horses' excitement. This class is a blast to watch and drive
in. It is a good class for horses that have super fancy or fast motion, but
their necks do not allow them to bridle up as nicely...however, many horses
do both; bridle up and move!
Patty Cloke has an article on the different
styles of driving horses at
this link. Patty Cloke has been involved in training driving horses for
many many years and is one of the most successful trainers alive.
I do have a page that lists some of my
favorite driving bloodlines in the A division. This list is not complete; it is
forever growing!