STEP TO THE SIDE

Refine your horse's sidepass and prep for any ranch or trail show.

- HEIDI NYLAND MELOCCO

The sidepass is a common maneuver for ranch and trail classes. In the show ring, your horse should move carefully and willingly sideways across a pole at your command without knocking the pole. He must move directly to the side without taking a step forward or back-all while keeping the pole evenly spaced between his front and back hooves.

While it may make sense to find a pole and start practicing for this precise obstacle, trainer Cody Crow teaches his ranch riding students to work without the pole first. Once you can control your horse's shoulders and hips while you're away from the pole, your sidepass over the obstacle will be fluid and easy.

Here, Cody helps make sure you're warmed up and in the correct position to sidepass easily. He'll also provide tips to help you overcome common show pen mishaps.

WARM UP 

Before you practice sidepassing, make sure your horse is warmed up. Lope some large circles and practice a few turnarounds. You'll begin by working in the middle of the arena, away from any obstacles or poles.

"Move the horse's hips and shoulders around," Cody says. "If you can't move your horse's hips and shoulders independently, you won't be able to move them simultaneously, as required in the sidepass. Start with a simple turn on the forehand so that you can isolate your horse's front end and move his hips freely. You'll also want to do a turn on the haunches, moving his front legs and keeping the hips stationary."

Cody encourages his horses to move forward freely as well as doing slow lateral work. Ask your horse to walk or trot forward, then cue him to move to the side without turning his neck. In this "two track" move, you can move your inside leg close to your horse's girth to stop him from bending into a turn while your outside leg moves slightly back and applies pressure.