Hi Laura, what a great question! The ideal western pleasure horse will be just that, a pleasure to ride! Western Pleasure is a great introductory class for a novice rider because you are working in a group of other riders and you won't feel as the spotlight is solely on you, so it is a good class to enter if you're nervous about "all eyes on you". There are different levels of western pleasure within the AQHA, those ranging from novice to open classes, this follows the experience level of the rider. The judge should be looking for the same things over all the classes though, the judge will want to a see with smooth "true" gaits, that has a pleasant way of going on a loose rein and responsive to his rider. Many people that the slowest horse wins the class, and this is not true (and judges who subscribe to this theory can get themselves in hot water). The horse should always been shown in a true gait, but some people's horses aren't as smooth within their gaits to make them competitive and this is where you see the broken gaits (jogging on the front while walking on the back, loping while bent into the arena wall etc.). Horses that show aggression towards other horses in the ring will be penalized and sometimes even asked to leave the ring.

Here is a breakdown of what would be considered a good ride:

- Horse is alert and has a pleasant, willing attitude
- Horse picks up and changes gaits/leads willingly without any resistance
- Horse goes in a "true" smooth manner in all gaits, a very smooth ride
- On a loose rein with minimal aids

Here is a breakdown of what would be considered a bad ride:

- Horse shows aggressive behavior towards other horses
- Horse is resistant in picking up gaits and/or changing leads
- Horse is being "bent" into the rail, or isn't exhibiting a true gait
- Horse takes you for a wild ride across the arena

Hope this gives you an idea, I haven't shown in a western pleasure class in many years, but this is still what I look for when I'm watching a class. The tough part is there can be so many "great" horses in an open class that it is really hard to judge, and they will sometimes break it down into a call back and have the horses work again before picking a winner.

AQHA has a great new video out call Showing To Win: Western Pleasure. It illustrates what the judges are looking for and how to score. Very informative!

Hi Katherine, I put up a vid on Barnmice of Western Pleasure gaits, the video it is from is really great if you can get your hands on it (ditto Showing to Win: Western Pleasure as well). Hope this helps

 http://www.barnmice.com/video/western-pleasure-gaits

Spirithorse -- some do not follow the rules, some do, just like judges in every other discipline 

Hi Spirithorse,

I'm not sure what you mean by the "WP classes early in the Congress", the Western Pleasure classes didn't start running until last week at Congress. Regardless of that, I'm not saying that there isn't a problem, clearly there is in some cases.

If you're a member in good standing with the AQHA file a change of rule report, start showing under different judges, or leading by example etc. You can also get your judge's card and apply for Alex Ross' job 

Barnfrog
Would those students sign affidavits saying such?