by Cassidy Nunn –
Western riding and showing is popular across the world, with several different disciplines on offer to compete in, from reining and western pleasure, to rodeo events such as barrel racing and cattle penning.
The roots of western riding are based around cattle ranching and the types of skills a horse and rider would need when working on a ranch. The equipment and riding style used in western disciplines is different from that of English – the western saddle has a horn at the front which traditionally would be used to hold a lasso or rope. The rider rides using only one hand on the reins, which comes from the rider needing to have the other hand available for roping cows, opening and closing gates, etc. Most (but certainly not all) western riding horses on the competition circuit are the American quarter horse breed; with its compact, muscular body, it can make the quick and intricate manoeuvres needed on a ranch.
On the Peninsula and South Island, western riding is less commonly found, but local Jenna Saunders has been excelling in bringing western riding opportunities to her students and clients here on the Saanich Peninsula through her business Creekside Equestrian for the past five years and coaching for the last eight years. Her boarding and training facility is home to 12 horses – some boarders, some her own – and she coaches students from beginner to advanced.
Jenna caught the horse bug early and not surprisingly, as horses have long been a part of her family, with her mum raising miniature horses and her uncle owning and racing thoroughbreds in Vancouver. She started out, like so many do, at a young age with English riding lessons and began competing by age 10. It was around this time that she had her first ride on a Western Pleasure horse: “I felt that jog for the first time and was like, ‘yep, this is it!'” she recalls. She switched disciplines at that point and hasn’t looked back since. When she was 12 she purchased Calvin, her first trained Western Pleasure horse, and began competing and winning on him throughout her teen years with plenty of championships in the Quarter Horse circuit across B.C., Alberta and Washington State.
Reining was the next type of western riding she wanted to try and so she sold Calvin to purchase her first reining horse, Cal’s Martini Bar, or better known as “Martin” around the barn. Many horses have what’s called their show name, or registered name, which can often be long winded and a bit of a mouthful, so they’ll have a shorter nickname, or “barn name” for everyday use.
Jenna focuses on coaching her students in Western Pleasure, which requires the horse and rider team to show off their slow and steady gaits through walk / jog / lope with a group of riders in the ring at the same time. They’re judged on cadence, rhythm, loose rein and the overall look. The rider should look like they’re doing nothing – which is no easy task when controlling a 1,000-pound animal!
Reining is Jenna’s other passion to compete in and coach, and she describes it as being, “based on five different manoeuvres done in a pattern.” Those manoeuvres include circles, spins, stops, flying lead changes and backing up. The sliding stop is when the horse accelerates to a gallop in the arena and then suddenly shifts gears to come to a sudden stop. Reining horses wear specialized flat, longer metal shoes called “sliders” on their hind feet for this specific purpose, which allows them to more easily slide into the stop. Special clay-based footing is also needed in arenas used for reining horses and for that Jenna will often trailer her clients to the Saanich Fairgrounds indoor arena or out to Shannick Farm in North Saanich to practise as her arena at home doesn’t have the unique footing.
When not busy coaching and riding, Jenna, who is also a new mom, volunteers as a “B” leader for the Saanich 4H Horse club, is the current president of the Peninsula Reining Club, is involved with the Coastal Cowgirls Drill Team and continues to run, alongside her business partner, the K9 Country Cottage – a doggy daycare and boarding kennel.
Jenna and her students are already preparing for the fast-approaching 2020 show season. “My students are all extremely supportive and excited,” she says. She’s just been back in the saddle since having her baby and hopes to find herself in the competition ring again soon as well.
For more information visit www.creeksideequestrian.ca.
