© E-Reiner
 
With only a limited number of maneuvers making up a handful of patterns, avoiding burnout in your reining horse can become a full time job.  It doesn't take long for a horse to figure out that there are only so many ways a pattern can be run, and that a ride in the show pen likely means doing all the maneuvers at a physically challenging level...

So it's no wonder that they can quickly start to look for a short cut from point A to point B....

Before long, even the most talented reiners can start to take on an alter ego when they pass through the in gate. A Dr. Jeckel at home can suddenly morph into a tail-swishing, ear pinning Mr. Hyde that anticipates every move in the show pen.

Yet, for every example of a reiner gone sour, there are just as many examples of horses performing at high-octane levels year in and year out.  While these show ring veterans may have slumps from time to time, they generally seem to enjoy their job in the show atmosphere, and thus their riders are able to exhibit them to their full potential.

So what is the secret to keeping your reiner fresh and willing in the show pen?

It all comes down to an analytical approach to maintenance.  From basic horse keeping to show ring tactics, those horses that last year in and year out do so because they are managed in a way that keeps the business of showing enjoyable and stress free.

Weekend Warriors and Beyond
Avoiding burnout is relevant on many levels, from futurity horses to those weekend warriors that are hauled for year-end titles.  But it's perhaps this last category that can truly test the limits. 

Few have mastered the art of hauling reiners and cowhorses year in and year out like the Hilldale Farm crew. Owners Charlie Hutton, his wife Tammye, daughters Jessica Keller Torpey and Sarah Locker and Charlie’s son David Hutton have amassed over 30 AQHA and NRHA high point titles, ranging from Halter to Cowhorse to Reining.  Perhaps best known of their accomplishments are those won on their mega performing stallion, Nu Chex To Cash.

In 1999, Charlie showed the stallion to AQHA High Point titles in both Reining and Working Cowhorse. Three years later, Jessica showed the then 12-year-old Nu Chex To Cash to 4 NRHA World Champion titles in 2002, claiming the Limited Open and Intermediate Open divisions and the Non Pro Reserve World Championship and the Intermediate Non Pro Reserve World Championship. That same year, Jessica showed her another Hilldale horse, Tejons Texie Lena, to the Novice Horse Non Pro World Championship. Then in 2003, Jessica showed a daughter of Nu Chex To Cash, named See Chex to Cash, to win the Non Pro World Championship, putting over $33,000 in earnings that year.

Charlie and Jessica estimate that they spend 3 weekends of every month at a show.

“By necessity, we’ve learned to keep the horses going as long as possible because when a customer buys a good horse, they don’t want it burned out. They are hoping that next year they can show it in the non pro or the amateur classes themselves,” explained Hutton.