A memorable Memorial
Both new and familiar faces shine at Jimmy Flores, Sr. Show
By SUE CARTER / for the Horsetrader
TEMECULA — Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association held its annual Jimmy Flores, Sr. Memorial Horse Show May 9-11 at Green Acres Ranch. The show commemorates a great horseman, Jimmy Flores, Sr.
The career of Jimmy Flores, Sr. spanned eight decades and touched thousands of people. Flores first trained professionally in the late 1940s, hanging a shingle in the San Gabriel area. In 1960, he and his family briefly moved to Oregon, then returned to California in 1963, eventually settling in the Perris area in 1966. His highlights in the show pen often featured his Quarter Horse stallion, Skunkface, an AQHA High Point Working Cow Horse who also was part of an international exhibition in Mexico that Flores was asked to perform by the AQHA and the governments of both Mexico and the U.S. in 1968.
A Classic in Paso
Tucker Robinson topped 24 others by a three-point margin on Smooth Outta Style for an Open Bridle Spectacular win that earned owners Julie Weinhardt and Frank Velazquez $5,875. (Stacy Judd photo)
CRCHA Spring Classic brings out best in both Open, NP
By Megan Thorne
PASO ROBLES — The 2025 California Reined Cow Horse Association (CRCHA) Spring Classic, held at the Paso Robles Event Center, brought together the top talent in the reined cow horse world for a week of fierce competition and unforgettable moments. With a total payout of $227,810, the derby celebrated the best in Open, Non Pro and Non Pro Boxing performances, showcasing the depth of talent across all divisions in this dynamic sport.
Smaller circles
By now your horse should be moving along smoothly at all three gaits in your training arena. So the next thing we’re going to start doing is to ask him to become more responsive and balanced as you guide him around, and to try a few different maneuvers. We’re not really concerned with speed right now, but we do want gaits to be smooth and steady. If your horse is a little “chargey” elsewhere in this manual you’ll find ways to solve that problem.
Also, while we talk about lots of variations of the circle, you’ll want to spend a lot of time working in big circles—the size you would do in a reining pattern. In a reining class you’ll spend more time on your circles than anything else. You want your horse to guide so easily that once you put him on a circle he almost stays there on his own. We’re going to be adding speed to that circle in the future, so you want to spend time now making sure he is really comfortable in them.
Responsiveness: Shoulder in and out
69th in a series
After showing us details of circle exercises in last issue, Les moves into responsiveness.
By now your horse should be moving along smoothly at all three gaits in your training arena. So the next thing we’re going to start doing is to ask him to become more responsive and balanced as you guide him around, and to try a few different maneuvers. We’re not really concerned with speed right now, but we do want gaits to be smooth and steady. If your horse is a little “chargey” elsewhere in this manual you’ll find ways to solve that problem.
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