Top Hand

Do you have what it takes to be a Cowboy Dressage Top Hand? If so be ready to ride at our 2015 Gathering and Finals Show Nov 5-8 at Murieta Equestrian Center, Rancho Murieta, CA.

This is a new division just for our Gathering and Finals Show. We are looking for the best of the best, a Top Hand.

Look for details to follow this summer.  We can tell you this much:

• ·        It will be a $200 non refundable fee
• ·        Preliminary tests will be on Thurs Nov 5^th
• ·        Top 5 high scores will come back on Sat PM Nov 7th to compete for the event High Point.
• ·        Both the preliminary and the championship tests will be judged by 3 judges.
• ·        Both test will not be known until just before competition time
• ·        Riders can ride more than one horse
• ·        Top scores will be the accumulative scores from all 3 judges in both the preliminary and Top 5 tests.
• ·        Eitan, Lyn and Garn will judge the top 5.
• ·        The top 5 will ride a different test from the qualifying tests and will then return to ride a different horse from the top 5 . (riders will be required to switch horses. This will be determined by a draw)
• ·        All order of  go times will be determined by a draw
• ·        High Point will receive a Cowboy Dressage Saddle and Buckle. Top 2-5 will receive a buckle and Top 10 will get ribbons.
• ·        Top Hand is open to amateurs and open riders. No juniors.
• ·        The awards are in addition to the awards usually given at this show.

·        Final details will be at www.cowboydressageworld.com in the next few months.

·        This is subject to change so keep in the loop.

 In the tradition of the Cowboy and the ranches of the west there is no higher compliment than being christened the top hand.  All Cowboys worth their salt strive to be worthy of such a title.  It is not a title given lightly nor one that is awarded to a man that hasn't put in their time.  It is a title of honor and respect.  While the Cowboy needed to be a man of many skills, including some of the dirtier ground crew work, the highest skill of the Cowboy and the one most respected was the horseman.  In all the skills the Top Hand had mastered, it was his skill as horseman that most earned him the title.

In Cowboy Dressage we honor the tradition of the Cowboy and the lifestyle of the West while building partnership and harmony with our horses.  We believe that in order to create the ultimate horse we have to be the ultimate partner for that horse.  By working to improve communication with the horse through soft feel we aim to create the perfect working partner that is soft and willing and capable and able to take on any job on the ranch or in the arena.

Creating that partnership and relationship with a horse requires a rider that is dedicated to the goal of soft feel.  While it takes time to develop true partnership in a horse, a rider that embodies soft feel can cultivate partnership in any horse that he mounts.  A true horseman can quickly adapt to communicate with each horse that he comes into contact with.  You might say the rider that has embraced the principles of soft feel and partnership in Cowboy Dressage is worthy of being called a Top Hand.

As we in Cowboy Dressage honor the Cowboy we also honor the horseman and no skill in the horseman is as highly valued in Cowboy Dressage as the skill of soft feel and partnership.  Do you think you have what it takes to be a Top Hand? Cowboy Dressage World is poised to give you the opportunity to find out.

While the end goal of Cowboy Dressage is not the competition we feel that it is right and fitting to honor the Top Hands out there that have dedicated the time and energy to become worthy of the title. Though we no longer have the ability to prove our worth while riding for the brand each season, we can get together to showcase and honor the work we have done with our horses and recognize the men and women that have made themselves worthy of being deemed Top Hand.