Rollbacks & Circles: Challenges of Scoring and Showing These Maneuvers

In this episode Brian and Jody dive deeper into reining maneuver spreads: what and why the deviations happen in the Circles and Rollbacks.

Episode 6: Maneuver Evaluation in Rollbacks and Circles

What causes greater variances in scores among judges at all levels

In this episode Brian and Jody dive deeper into maneuver spreads and focus on the deviations in the Circles and Rollbacks.

The 2022 NRHA Open Futurity demonstrated that rollbacks and circles incurred the highest rate of score deviation in the pattern. Brian and Jody guide us through these maneuvers and help us understand what makes them more challenging to judge. 

What are the components of the rollback? If you said the stop and rollback, you are wrong.

What about circles? Simple: 3 circles and a lead change each direction. Wrong again.

Components of the Rollback

  • Run down or run around
  • Approach
  • Stop
  • Rollback (or back in Stop & Back maneuvers)
  • Departure
  • Responsiveness of horse to rider
  • Degree of difficulty

Components of Circles

  • Lope departure
  • Downward transition
  • Upward transition
  • Location/Pattern placement
  • Quality of movement
  • Responsiveness of horse to rider
  • Degree of difficulty

And these components have multiple facets to consider! Some parts of the maneuver can be great while others can be very poor, and they aren’t all weighted equally.   This makes marking these maneuvers extremely challenging and leads to more score deviations among judges.

The judging system needs to keep moving forward to better meet the needs of competition.

Is it time to separate maneuvers?

  • Stop
  • Back
  • Rollback
  • Lead Changes

Does tail function (or lack thereof) affect maneuver evaluation?

How does the quality of motion affect scoring in the circles and rollbacks in reining? 

Chelsea Sutton of ConsultMent Agency joins Brian & Jody as they discuss the judging system and its impact on the sport of reining and level of competition.

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