Hi, I ride hunters and dressage but my husband enjoys western riding and we get Horse and Rider every month. I've gone to several saddle club shows, quarter horse shows and board at a mostly western pleasure barn and am thoroughly confused.

I read that the horse's head should be level with their whithers and going in a forward motion with true two and three beat gaits. At shows, the horse who's head is clear down and are barely moving are the ones that win, what gives? In 4H judging classes and competitions the contestants who judge the horses according to going forward with true gaits and a nice level headset don't win and get chastized because "the horse had his head too high and was going too fast." I don't understand; the magazines, and top trainers say one thing but everyone else is judging, placing and teaching the opposite. At the barn I see the owner's daughter "training" horses by using corkscrew twisted wire bits that have a diameter smaller than a pencil and a headstall that has the same itty bitty wire over the horses poll. She uses these in conjunction with draw reins, jerking on the horses' mouth and makes them go with their heads much too far down according to the top training articles in the western magazines. I go to shows and see horses "troping" (trotting on one end and loping on the other), their trots are more slow than most horse's walks and the horses look absolutely miserable with their heads being so low, almost to their fetlocks. When these horses move they honestly look unsound and very unbalanced. Who is correct? If the magazines and top trainers are then what's being done to make the new standard an actual standard?  Did the entire state of Iowa and the rest of the midwest not get the memo about changing things?

I don't know... but those are the very reasons I've decided to get away from Western riding and go with an English discipline.

I was recently ring steward at a multi discipline show.  I got to see the horses "up close and personal" and hear why the judge choose one particular horse over the other.  I've also shown WP (at a VERY small show) and know that my horse is expected to move at a snails pace throughout the walk, trot and lope. I also know that my horse simply WAS NOT BUILT to travel at that pace.  He does, however, have a natural low headset, though no where near some of the "peanut rollers" of past (and sometimes present) WP showing.

The barely moving, shuffling "show trot" on WP horses simply does not look natural to me.  I prefer the collected, more natural look of the English horse.  And this is coming from someone who's been riding western for 20 years.

 I don't understand; the magazines, and top trainers say one thing but everyone else is judging, placing and teaching the opposite.

Have you ever been to a "top show", Congress, The World Shows, NSBA, or the Reichert Celebration? There you will see level headed, true gaited pleasure horses. Western Pleasure is very difficult class to compete in. Most peopl e think that the low head set  and slow speed is what is desired but it is collection and drive from the hind legs. There are CD's available from AQHA and NSBA showing what a true pleasure horse looks like. You must have missed the memo, one of the top western pleasure people in the country is J R Reichert, Williamsburg, Iowa.

I was not rude in my post, too bad not everyone can be polite. I was merely inquiring into why it is not a uniform standard and the wrong things being taught to the youth who are obviously the next generation to "take the reins." 

I don't see anyone being rude, I saw a couple of people essentially agreeing with you. 

This same sort of thing happens in the dressage world too --  there have been debates between the propontents of classical dressage and "competition" dressage.

There was only one rude comment. Yes that great debate on classical vs competition dressage has yet to be resolved and I hope that it soon will be, along with banning roll kur at all levels. It is an interesting arguement in dressage, especially if you watch tests being rode by "the best" through several decades noting how it has changed. Is there progress being made or are the performances just getting more flashy and showy at the horse's expense? Every discipline has it's own unique challenges and debates.

 I have experienced the same thing and no longer ride in WP classes.  For a tome I thought I would ride and just get gated but I have decided boycotting is better. I do the English Plesure class and unfortunately I see much the same thing there.  Usually the same horses going the same way but in different tack.  I have expanded into dressage and driving and that is fun and my horses is happier.  I also do showmanship and trail.  If the WP classes get small maybe the judging will change.

Like with ANY discipline, you're going to see a huge discrepancy between the upper echolons and your local weekend warriors.  Go to a big show with highly respected judges and you're going to see exactly what you expect--horses who fall within the requirements for the class because they're bred that way (which makes the training sooooo much easier).  Then if you go to a lot of your small club shows, you're going to see horses that just aren't suited to the discipline being forced to do it anyway by riders who don't really have a good understanding of the class.

You can't judge an entire region or event by a few club or 4-H shows in one community.