The jog is the first step for horses headed for the United States Equestrian Federation Reining Championships during Battle in the Saddle in Oklahoma City.

By Larri Jo Starkey

Eric Straus, FEI steward general for reining, watches as horses jog in the fitness test.

It was a nervous first step.

Horses that had come to Oklahoma City to compete in the United States Equestrian Federation Reining Championships and possibly qualify for the team that will represent the United States at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games were first presented in a halter at the jog.

“The first stage of the competition is the fitness-to-compete standard for FEI,” says Eric Straus, Federation Equestre International steward general for reining. “All the horses that are entered must be presented to the president of the ground jury and to a delegate of the veterinary commission to see if they are physically able of performing the test that will be asked of them. I’m happy to say that every horse that was presented ultimately passed. That’s very rare.”

Each discipline has its own standards to meet, Eric says, and every horse must meet those standards by being “serviceably sound.”

“A reining horse does not have the same demands as a dressage horse or a driving horse or a show-jumping horse,” Eric says. “They want to see that the horse travels level and that it is physically sound and capable of doing what’s going to be asked of it, because reining is a spectacularly demanding physical discipline.”

As Rick Weaver, president of the ground jury, and Dr. Terry Swanson, the veterinary representative, watched, reining trainers more accustomed to having their boots in stirrups than on the ground trotted alongside their horses July 7 during Battle in the Saddle in Oklahoma City.

A few horses were held for re-inspection and asked to trot again later.

“It is normal that 10 percent of horses will be sent to the box, and that’s across all disciplines, and we met that today,” Eric says. “Fortunately, they were all able on re-presentation to pass.”

To see some of those trots, watch the slide show below. Click on the photo to read the captions.