SERCHA
Southeast Reined Cow Horse Association
Stallion Auction
Stallion Auction Bid Form
PO Box 426
Stonewall, LA 71078
318-925-5007
E Mail
 
 
The South East Reined Cow Horse Association, is an affiliate of the National Reined Cow Horse Association currently based in Louisiana and continues the tradition of preserving the quality of the Western Reined Stock Horse. The association has members from Louisiana, Texas. Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma and Nebraska.
 
The association goal is: to perpetuate the early Spanish traditions of highly trained reined working cow horses, to promote interest in reined working cow horses among the younger horsemen of this State and to use and encourage the standard rules for holding and judging contests of the reined working cow horse.

 
DRY WORK
Known as the reining pattern, the dry work includes circles, lead changes and runs terminating in well-balanced stops, turns and a back-up with slight hesitations denoting each maneuver.
The Reined Work demonstrates the horse's obedience and willingness to respond to it's rider. This event also shows the horse's athletic abilities to perform the demanding cow work.
COW WORK
Cow work includes three elements which must be completed in order. Boxing, which proves the ability of the horse to hold the cow. Turning on the fence at least once in each direction, with the rider being close enough to the cow to be the cause of the turn. And circling, or maneuvering the cow 360 degrees in each direction without interference from the fence.
HERD WORK

Herd work, illustrates the methods used to separate individual cows from the herd to take care of doctoring, branding, etc. You can practically imagine cowboys working the great herds of cattle that used to roam the West.
FENCE WORK
Fence Work is the most exciting part of the show! This event demonstrates the horse's capacity to control and subdue a wild cow.
 

HISTORY OF THE REINED COW HORSE
For more than two hundred years, since the first great Spanish herds of longhorn cattle were driven from Mexico to California, a unique relationship between man, horse and cow was established. In California, with it's vast acres of range land, and with cattle herds numbering in the thousands, this relationship saw it's finest days with the development of the California reined cow horse. The great horsemanship practiced by their riders, know as Vaqueros, was based on the training of the Spanish Light Cavalry, which was said to be the best the world has ever known. The horses they rode had been introduced by the Moors during their invasion around 800 AD. The entire culture of the western horse and western riding equipment descended from these Vaqueros and it was the original purpose of the California Reined Cow Horse Association to preserve these traditions and to prevent them from becoming an obscure page in the history books.

The NRCHA has developed certain standards for training a working cow horse. This training technique does not involve any shortcuts, but rather, requires long and patient training on the part of both horse and rider to produce the final finished product. Most young horses are started as two-year olds in the snaffle bit. After about a year in the snaffle bit, they progress to the hackamore. Then, after a year or two in the hackamore, the horse is introduced to the bridle in the two-rein setup of both a hackamore and a bridle. The horse then progresses from the two-rein setup to being ridden "Straight up in the Bridle", the final phase of training for a reined cow horse. Due to the dedication of many hard working individuals, the very essence of the reined cow horse remains unchanged as you see him today.
CLASSES AND DIVISION DEFINITIONS
NRCHA Sanctioned Classes
 
Junior Limited
 open to riders 18 years of age and under as of January 1 of the current show year. Youth may not show stallions in Youth classes. Cow work consists of boxing only.
  Non Pro Limited open to approved Non Pro riders who have not earned more than $5000 in lifetime earnings and who comply with all Non Pro eligibility rules, with the exception of 2.1.9 ownership rule. (See pages 11, 12, and 13 for Non Pro eligibility rules.) For purposes of determining eligibility for this class, all Non Pro Limited earnings shall be computed at zero as of January 1, 2002. After Non Pro competitors reach the age of 60, they may fall back into the Non Pro Limited class. However, they may not go down the fence again in any judged classes or events with the exception of horse sales and remain in the Non Pro Limited Class. Competitors may fall back to the Non Pro Limited Class only one time. Cow work consists of boxing only.
  Bridle Classes open to horses of any age, to be ridden in an approved bit. Reins with romal required. Only one hand may be used on the reins and hands must not be changed.
  Youth Bridle

open to riders 18 years of age and under as of January 1 of the current show year (may be divided: 14 & under, 15 through 18, however only one year end award is given). For safety reasons, Youth are not allowed to show stallions in any Youth class.
  Non Pro Bridle open to approved Non Pro riders.
  Novice Non Pro Bridle open to approved Non Pro riders who have not earned a total of 200 points or more than $5000 in this or any other approved NRCHA class in lifetime earnings, except Youth Bridle, Non Pro Limited and Youth Limited classes as of January 1st of the current show year. These points and dollars earned are cumulative from year to year. The Non Pro Bridle and the Novice Non Pro Bridle will have a common draw at the shows.
  Open Bridle open to any rider.
  Limited Open Bridle open to any rider that has not won more than $10,000 in reined cow horse shows and limited age events (lifetime earnings in reined cow horse events). To be eligible to compete in this division, contestants must have a valid Limited Open designation on their membership card and a current application on file in the office. The Open and Limited Open shall have a common draw.
  Hackamore Classes open to horses 5 years of age and under that have never been shown in a bridle down the fence at any judged classes or events with the exception of horse sales. The rider shall use closed reins. Two hands must be used on the reins, except in the herd work.
  Open Hackamore open to any rider.
  Limited Open Hackamore open to any rider who has not won more than $10,000 in reined cow horse shows and Limited Age Events (lifetime earnings in reined cow horse events).
  Non Pro Hackamore open to approved Non Pro riders only.
SERCHA (only) Sanctioned Classes
  Green Rider I A Beginner's rider class. Two hands may be used on the reins, the reining pattern is abbreviated requiring only 1-1 1/2 spins and breaking to a trot for the lead change. The cow work consists of Boxing only. Green rules available at the show office. (This is not an NRCHA sanctioned class.)
  Green Rider II Advanced Beginner's riders class. Rider starts one handed; may go to two handed and must return to one handed. The reining pattern may be abbreviated depending on the pattern. The cow work consists of Boxing only. (This is not an NRCHA sanctioned class.)
  Stock Horse Boxing Open to any horse and rider.  Cow work consists of boxing only. (This is not an NRCHA sanctioned class.)
  Stock Horse Fencing

Open to any horse and rider.  (This is not an NRCHA sanctioned class.)
 
SERCHA • (318) 925-5007 • E mail SERCHA
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