Bud Lyon runs his staircase drill on the seven-year-old reiner, climbing from walk to extended walk, trot, extended trot, lope, and extended lope, then backing down the same steps. He uses it to get a daily baseline on a green horse and read where the work is, and today it tells him plenty: this gelding is a little lazy, wants to suck back and quit, and needs driving forward at the lope and extended trot while asking for smooth, gradual downward transitions so he doesn't break gait. It also hints he may be a low-stamina horse worth keeping a touch fresh before a show.