Freestyle reining is always fun for spectators, but throw a rider like Dan James into the mix, and it can only get better. At last week’s Kentucky Reining Cup Freestyle World Championship, the popular clinician and one half of the famous Double Dan Horsemanship duo, raised the bar for reiners.
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I’m sorry, does no one else just see a horse’s mouth being abused here for the sake of cheap tricks? A gaping mouth on a horse with a professional rider is unacceptable. Real horsemanship would take the horse into account.
Mam just because the horses mouth is “gaping open” doesn’t mean the rider is abusing the horse for cheap tricks, where was the horses head during all of this, it was not flying high in resistance. Just saying.
I agree with Debbie. The horse did not look like he was enjoying this act of entertainment even if he had kept his mouth closed. But a gaping mouth implies discomfort.
Do we know much about horse? Enough said
I don’t think his mouth is gaping because of anything that the rider is doing. I think it’s something the horse is doing himself. He seems to be chewing on the bit during the entire ride.
That was pretty cool!
I THOUGHT IT WAS EXCEPTIONAL, THE MAN CAN TRAIN & RIDE REALLY WELL, WHAT BALANCE, THE HORSE IS SO INTUNED TO HIM, REALLY GOOD MINDED HORSE, LOVE IT, MY HAT IS OFF TO HIM!!!!
That was so inspiring!!
Nice job. Especially the liberty spin.
Just, simply, amazing.
OMG, I’m addicted. Can’t quite watching the video.
Just awesome, I’ve seen it on FB and Dan is just the greatest and so’s his horse!
Amazing!
Sorry, but if it is necessary to use the reins so much and in such a hard way to make the horse stop or slide, there’s nothing about it that could be called “amazing”. It’s just misusing the bridle and causing innecessary pain to have some kind of show effect. A shame that no one seems to bother that the poor horse really is in pain every time he’s forcing it stop – don’t you all see how it’s opening his mouth trying to evade the pain on his tongue?
The bit is tighter than I have mine for my horse. But what do you say bout English riders whose horses are foaming at the mouth from that horribly tight but & unnatural head set? Really, that Smart Little Élan doesn’t look bad.
So you can ride bareback…backwards and cue your horse(FROM THE GROUND)to spin with just your arms but you can’t ride your horse without a bit??? Yeah…..that makes sense.
Amazing, would love to see the critics do this, and the horse was not in pain, give it a break, look at all the competions where the horses are held so tight against their natural headset…hope he and his horse won…
Really, your all complaining and tearing him down over his reins being tight and the bit being harsh, WOW!! That is the most impressive freestyle reining I have ever seen. I have never ever seen anyone attempt to ride a horse bareback and backwards and be able to to lope, flying lead change, spin and slide stop. I thought they were absolutly amazing together!!!
All you negative nellies out there, you wish you had one tenth the knowledge, skill and ability to ride and train like Dan James. For the most part, there was slack in his reins, maybe not like a pleasure horse, but he wasn’t on the horses mouth! Take a good look at some of the upper and even middle class dressage horses, you think those riders aren’t on their horses mouths! Look again!
Outstanding! Whether you love horses or don’t know anything about this event, you gotta appreciate the talent of both horse and rider to have achieved THIS performance!