Building a Reiner
From the first ride to the show pen, this masterclass takes you inside Ryan Rushing’s complete program for building a confident, competitive reining horse.
Follow along as Ryan develops young prospects step-by-step—starting with foundational softness, body control, and responsiveness in 2-year-olds, then progressing into advanced maneuvers like turnarounds, lead changes, circles, and stops. As the series advances, you’ll see how those fundamentals translate into real-world performance, preparing 3-year-olds for the show pen and refining older horses for competition.
Throughout the playlist, Ryan breaks down what he’s feeling in real time—when to push forward, when to step back, and how to keep a horse confident, willing, and improving without overdoing it. From fixing common issues to fine-tuning finished horses, every session is built around feel, timing, and building a better horse.
Whether you’re starting a colt or tuning up a seasoned competitor, this series gives you a clear, practical roadmap from foundation to finished.
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1.63 MBBuilding a Reiner Workbook
1.63 MB
Use this workbook alongside the Ride TV series, Building a Reiner with Ryan Rushing, to apply each concept to your own horse. Each week focuses on one key question, with takeaways you can implement in your program.
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Circling a 3-Year-Old: Building Feel, Control, and Responsiveness
In this session, Ryan Rushing works through circling with a 3-year-old mare, focusing on developing the feel and body control needed for a solid reining foundation. Ryan explains exactly what he’s feeling and how he wants the mare’s body to respond—soft, guided, and connected from her nose to her...
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Ryan Rushing’s Daily Training Routine On a 3-Year-Old
What does a typical training day look like for a young reining prospect? In this session, Ryan Rushing walks you through his program with a 3-year-old mare, focusing on building a solid foundation from the ground up. Ryan starts with his warm-up at the trot, emphasizing softness, guidance, and bo...
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Mastering the Corner and Rollbacks with Ryan Rushing
Once Ryan Rushing has this mare feeling consistent in both directions of her circles, he shifts his focus to refining the corners and sharpening her rollbacks—two critical components of a strong reining run. Ryan explains exactly how he wants the corner to feel: balanced, controlled, and setting ...
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Fixing the Left Circle: Helping a Mare Relax and Stay Correct
After working through challenges on the right circle, Ryan Rushing shifts focus to the left side of this 5-year-old mare to evaluate where she stands mentally and physically. Using the same approach and checkpoints as before, Ryan starts by assessing her mindset—making sure she’s relaxed, respons...
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Fixing the Right Circle: Helping a Mare Relax and Stay Correct
When a horse tries too hard, it can actually create more problems than it solves. In this session, Ryan Rushing focuses on improving the right circle on a mare that needs a tune-up in this key reining maneuver.
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Tuning Up a 5-Year-Old In Between Reining Shows
What does it take to bring a seasoned reining horse back into show-ready form after time off? In this session, Ryan Rushing climbs aboard a 5-year-old mare by Magnum Chic Dream and walks you through his process of getting her dialed back in for competition. With this mare, the focus is on buildin...
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Building a Big Stop: Running, Fencing, and Control
In this session, Ryan Rushing focuses on developing one of the most exciting and critical maneuvers in reining—the stop. Working with his 3-year-old by Modern Gun, he breaks down how to build a strong, correct stop through proper setup, body control, and consistency.
Ryan begins by explaining hi...
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Improving Lead Departures and Softness Through the Circles
In this episode, Ryan Rushing continues working his 3-year-old by Modern Gun, focusing on refining lead departures and maintaining softness throughout the circle work.
He begins by emphasizing the importance of a correct lope departure from the center of the pen. The goal is for the horse to wal...
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Mastering Circles: Speed Control and Lead Changes for the Show Pen
In this episode, Ryan Rushing continues his session with the 3-year-old by Modern Gun, shifting focus to one of the most important elements of a reining pattern—circles.
Ryan breaks down the key components he looks for when developing a competitive circle: steering, softness, speed control, and ...
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Perfecting the Turnaround: Balance, Lightness, and Body Control
In this episode, Ryan Rushing continues his work with the 3-year-old by Modern Gun, shifting the focus to refining body position and improving the quality of the turnaround.
Ryan emphasizes the importance of keeping the horse square and balanced underneath himself. He explains that he doesn’t wa...
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From Training to Show Pen: Building Confidence in a 3-Year-Old Reiner
In this episode, Ryan Rushing rides a 3-year-old by Modern Gun that has been in his program since the beginning. With a solid foundation already in place—including stops, circles, lead changes, rollbacks, and turnbacks—this horse is now transitioning toward the show pen.
As Ryan prepares him for...
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Teaching Turnarounds: Building Control and Responsiveness in a Young Horse
In this episode, Ryan Rushing continues working with his 2-year-old filly, Harley, offering a deeper look into what a typical training day looks like at around 90 days under saddle. With her energy managed and attention focused, he begins introducing a more advanced maneuver—the turnaround.
Ryan...
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Starting a 2-Year-Old Right: Building the Foundation with Ryan Rushing
"In this episode, Ryan Rushing works with a promising 2-year-old filly, Harley (by Shiners Voo Doo Dr.), who has approximately 90 days of training. He walks through what a typical day looks like for a young horse at this stage and explains the key principles that guide his program.
Ryan focuses ...
