Reined cow horse is composed of three events: herd work, rein work, and cow work (boxing or fencing). Many local events do the rein work and cow work together and don't do the herd work, MRCHA being one of them, but at bigger events that are hosted by NRCHA usually have all three events done separately to save the horse's energy.

 

Herd Work: The herd work is the cutting portion of the event. The horse and rider combination go into the herd to separate one cow and keep it away from the herd. This event is judged based on how willing and calm the horse sorts the cow out. Once the cow is out, the judge will look at the herd work, control, degree of difficulty, working time, loose reins, and herd help. Judges look for a confident horse like holding a difficult cow with little herd help or working a slow cow with just the movement of their body and making it work more than it wants to. Judges also look for proper positioning like keeping a line without moving forward or backward and how much you work with the time you have which is 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The average amount of cattle worked within this time is 2-3 cows.

Judges will penalize the combination for losing a cow, losing control of the cow, not working the cow enough within the time given (including not working a lazy cow), or anything that poorly affects the eye appeal. The combination can also be heavily penalized, for spurring or hitting in front of the cinch, losing a cow, failing to separate any cows within the time given, changing commitment (cow), or any disobedience like kicking, biting, rearing, etc. Other things like using two hands in a bridle class or fingers in between the reins, illegal equipment, leaving the arena before time runs out, having a bloody mouth, or not having the proper western attire can earn a score of 0. The combination will be disqualified if there is any noticeable abuse or lameness.

 

Rein Work: The rein work is the only event that is just the horse and rider. This is where the combination is given an approved NRCHA pattern and has to follow that pattern as best as possible while also challenging the pattern. Within the pattern there are five maneuvers: circles, flying lead changes, slide stops, backing up, and spins. The circles and lead change act as one maneuver as well as the slide stop and backing up. There are two types of circles: large fast and small slow circles. Within these maneuvers, judges look for how much the rider challenges the pattern along with how willing and graceful the horse performs with little to no guidance and without resistance or confusion.

Judges will penalize the combination for little things like not changing lead in the center of the circle, breaking down during the lead change, or over/under spinning by as little as a 1/8 of a spin. They can also penalize for bigger mistakes like leads being completely missed, not reaching the end marker during a slide stop, freezing up within a spin, breaking gait, or going off pattern. Judges will deduct the combination the most if the rider is spurring in front of the cinch inside the arena or the horse starts to buck, bite, rear, etc. The combination will receive a 0 if they fail to complete the pattern, use two hands in a bridle class or have two fingers between the bridle, fail to complete the pattern, balking, illegal equipment used, notice a bloody mouth, fall, backing more than two strides after stopping (if it is not in the pattern), or are wearing improper western attire. The combination will be disqualified if there is any noticeable abuse or lameness.

 

Boxing: Boxing is where the horse and rider work a cow on the back fence. There are no helpers to push the cow around and it is completely reliant on how you approach the cow. This event is judged by the combination's position and control, degree of difficulty, eye appeal, courage, and time worked on the cow. The goal is to move the cow as much as possible, but keep it in the middle. Using the side fences won't get the combination penalized, but is not attractive in showing control. Making sure that the cow stays in the middle with a difficult cow can get points with the judge as well as forcing a lazy cow to maneuver can increase the points given. The combination has 50 seconds to show off their horse and riding skills. The judge can also decide if the cow is suited for the horse. If the cow is too fast and the horse cannot keep up or the cow jumps the fence, the judge can decide to switch cows. The same applies if the cow is too slow and is unworkable. 

The judge can penalize a combination for loss of working advantage, working out of position (line), or hollering excessively. If the judge decides to keep the combination's cow and they lose it or the cow leaves the arena, the judge can penalize the combination. Anything within the nature of spurring in front of the cinch, excessively hitting or whipping the horse, or anything like biting, kicking, rearing, etc will be heavily penalized. A combination can earn a score of 0 by using two hands in the bridle class or putting two fingers in between the bridle, balking, being extremely out of control, a noticeable bloody mouth, using illegal equipment, leaving before time runs out, fall, schooling, or wearing improper western attire. The combination will be disqualified if there is any noticeable abuse or lameness.

 

Fencing: Fencing is where the horse and rider box a cow on the back fence and then proceed to take the cow down the fence, stop the cow at least once in each direction, and then take the cow in a circle in each direction. This is the most adrenaline-fueled part of reined cow horse and is also one of the most difficult parts of it. The best way to score is to constantly be in control of the cow whether it is a slow or fast cow. When taking the cow into a circle, the horse must change leads when changing direction. The judge can also decide if the cow is suited for the horse. If the cow is too fast and the horse cannot keep up or the cow jumps the fence, the judge can decide to switch cows. The same applies if the cow is too slow and is unworkable.

The judge can penalize a combination for loss of working advantage, working out of position (line), hollering excessively, changing sides during the drive, or failing to pass the middle marker. If the judge decides to keep the combination's cow and they lose it or the cow leaves the arena, the judge can penalize the combination. Judges can also give a penalty for failing to drive the cow past the middle marker on the second drive, knocking down the cow, or performing a fence turn. Anything within the nature of spurring in front of the cinch, excessively hitting or whipping the horse, forcing the cow to hit the wall, or anything like biting, kicking, rearing, etc will be heavily penalized. A combination can earn a score of 0 by using two hands in the bridle class or putting two fingers in between the bridle, balking, being extremely out of control, a noticeable bloody mouth, using illegal equipment, leaving before time runs out, fall, schooling, or wearing improper western attire. The combination will be disqualified if there is any noticeable abuse or lameness.

Scoring: Each event uses a plus and minus system for every maneuver. Once a combination walks into the arena, they automatically start with a score of 70 which is average. From there, they can be plused or minused in a maneuver by as little as a half point or as large as two points. If the maneuver gets a 0, that means that it was done correct, but did not gain or lose any points. At the end of the run, anything over 70 means they did above average, and anything below 70 means that something happened within the run that was not appealing. If there are multiple judges, the score will start higher. For example, if there are two judges, the score will start at 140 (70 x 2) and the scores will be added together for final scoring.