5 Things I Wish I Knew
Before My First NRCHA Show

I showed up to my first NRCHA event with clean boots, a nervous horse, and the absolute certainty that I had prepared for everything. I had not prepared for everything.

Reined cow horse is a unique discipline because there are actually three phases — the reining, the cow work (herd work or boxing depending on the class), and the fence work — and each one has its own environment, its own rhythm, and its own way of humbling you when you least expect it. If you're getting ready for your first NRCHA show, or even your first Stock Horse of Texas event, here's what I genuinely wish someone had told me.

1. The Warm-Up Pen Is Its Own Whole Education

Nothing prepared me for the warm-up pen at my first NRCHA show. It's crowded, it's busy, horses are fresh, and everyone around you seems to know exactly what they're doing (they mostly don't, they're just better at hiding it). Your horse is going to notice the energy. A lot.

The warm-up pen is where your horse calibrates to the environment — and if you've only ever trained at home in a quiet arena, there will be an adjustment. Here's what I've learned:

• Arrive early. Give your horse time to be in the environment without the pressure of a run coming up. Walk circles. Let them look around. The first twenty minutes isn't about training — it's about relaxation.
• Don't try to fix things in the warm-up pen. If something isn't working in the warm-up, you're not going to fix it in the next 45 minutes before you show. Get your horse moving, get their feet wet, and focus on the basics.
• Be aware of other horses. The warm-up pen at a big show has a lot of horses moving in different directions. Keep your head up, communicate with other riders, and don't cut anyone off. Be the polite warm-up pen person — everyone remembers who isn't.

2. Your Run Starts the Moment You Enter the Arena

I used to think "the run" started when the judge called me in and I picked up my lope. It doesn't. It starts when you walk through the gate. The judges are watching you from the second you enter the arena, and how your horse behaves before the pattern — how they walk in, how they stand, how they respond to you in that first minute — tells the judges a lot about the relationship between horse and rider.

This doesn't mean you need to perform your way to the center cone. It means you should be present and intentional from the moment you ride in. Walk in quietly, let your horse settle, find the center marker, and take a breath before you begin. Judges don't reward rushing. They reward quiet confidence.

A composed entry also gives you a few extra seconds to mentally rehearse the pattern one more time before you move off. Use those seconds.

3. Cattle Work Is a Partnership — Your Job Is to Let the Cow Happen

Reining is largely in your control. Cattle work is not, and that's the part most new competitors struggle to accept. The cow has opinions. The cow moves. Sometimes the cow does exactly what you want, and sometimes the cow does something completely unexpected, and your horse has to figure it out while you stay out of the way.

The most common mistake I see from new cow horse competitors — and one I made myself — is over-riding the cattle work. When your horse starts working a cow and you feel them beginning to read it, your instinct is to do something. Help them. Guide them. Don't. If your horse has the cow and is reading it correctly, your hands and legs should be relatively quiet. You are there to support, not to steer.

• Watch your horse's ears. When they're locked on the cow, they're engaged. When they look away, you may need to help redirect.
• Keep your body soft. Tension in your body transmits to your horse. When things get fast, consciously soften your back and breathe.
• Trust your training. What you've done at home will show up when you need it — but only if you let it.

4. Learn the Pattern Until You Can Ride It in Your Sleep — Then Stop Thinking About It

This sounds contradictory but it isn't. You need to know the reining pattern so deeply that you're not thinking about "what comes next" while you're riding. If you're mentally narrating the pattern during your run ("okay, now the large fast circle, then I need to lead change..."), you're one step behind your horse the entire time.

The goal is to know the pattern so well that it becomes background knowledge — your body knows where to go while your mind stays present with your horse. That level of familiarity only comes from repetition. Not just riding the pattern at home, but walking it, drawing it, talking through it, and visualizing it. Overlearn it so you can underuse your brain during the actual run.

I learned this the hard way in my first few shows — I'd start a circle, realize I'd forgotten how many large fast circles came before the rundown, and briefly panic. That panic telegraphs directly to your horse through your body. Overlearn the pattern.

5. The Judges Reward Correctness and Harmony — Not Speed or Drama

The first time I watched a really high-scoring cow horse run, I was surprised. It didn't look like what I expected. There wasn't showboating or extra movement. It was quiet. The horse was athletic and correct, the rider was invisible, and everything flowed — the reining, the transitions, the cow work — like it was all happening slightly ahead of real time.

NRCHA judges score on a 0–80 point system (plus merits for outstanding performance). The baseline score of 70 means average. You earn points for quality, expression, and difficulty. You lose points — and can be penalized or disqualified — for pattern errors, equipment violations, and rough riding.

What this means practically: correct beats impressive. A clean run with quiet hands and a soft horse will outscore a flashy run that falls apart in the cow work. Focus on correctness first. Expression and degree of difficulty come with time and confidence.

One More Thing: Enjoy It

Your first NRCHA show is going to be overwhelming in the best possible way. There's no substitute for actually being there — smelling the arena, hearing the cattle, feeling your horse light up when they see a cow. Whatever happens in your run, you're part of a tradition of horsemanship that goes back generations. That's worth something independent of the score.

Talk to the people around you. Watch the high-placing runs. Ask questions. The cow horse community is genuinely welcoming to new competitors — most of them remember their first show too.

You'll make mistakes. Your horse will make mistakes. You'll learn more in one show than you did in the last three months of training. That's exactly how it should go.