Horse book reviews: 101 Horsemanship and Equitation Patterns, Western and English Ringside Guide by Cherry Hill

Press Release

Cherry Hill receives Colorado Authors' League
Top Hand Award

Colorado, May 31, 2000:

Cherry Hill received the 1999 Top Hand Award for Specialty Writing from the Colorado Authors' League for her book 101 Horsemanship and Equitation Patterns, A Western and English Ringside Guide for Practice and Show, Storey Books, 1999. Illustrations are by her husband, Richard Klimesh.

The 8 ½" x 11" comb bound book is a sequel to her highly successful 1995 book, 101 Arena Exercises, A Ringside Guide for Horse & Rider which was also a Top Hand Award winner.

Cherry Hill has been a national horse show judge for several breed organizations since 1975. She designed this book to be useful for Western and English riders practicing at home and convenient for horse show judges. Each pattern has a detailed arena diagram which can be posted at a horse show. On the facing page, step-by-step instructions guide the rider through the elements of the pattern with Tips and Pattern Help throughout.

The Colorado Authors' League was established in 1931 and has presented Top Hand Awards to the best published fiction and non-fiction books and articles of the year on any subject. The Top Hand Award is one of the most prestigious writing awards in the region. Previous winners represent the best of writers in all fields of writing as judged by their peers. The blue-ribbon panel of judges commented that Cherry's book was "by far the best piece in this category….I didn't know anything about horses or equitation but found this an excellent book."

Originally the awards were a carved figure of a cowboy standing on a book, then hand-carved wooden horses. Although today's Top Hand Awards no longer depict a Cowboy theme, the title of Top Hand is especially appropriate for Cherry Hill, author of 23 books and over 1000 articles on the care and training of horses.

Great for beginning instructors and for beginning riders!, October 6, 2002

This book is very comprehensive. There are enough "lessons" to
get the beginning instructor and the beginning-intermediate rider through a great year of riding and teaching.

An excellent book!, November 21, 1999

This is an excellent book for anyone practicing for shows or just wanting to improve their riding skills. It has patterns for beginning, intermediate, and advanced riders. It also explains how to work the patterns. I strongly recommend it.

Western Horseman
Reviewed in April 2000

101 Horsemanship and Equitation Patterns
by Cherry Hill

The subtitle to 101 Horsemanship & Equitation Patterns, by Cherry Hill, reads: A Western & English Ringside Guide for Practice & Show. Ringside guide says it all, and the spiralbound format is the familiar one Hill has used successfully to present arena drills and longeing exercises.

This time Hill's user-friendly, take-it-to-the-barn horsemanship manual focuses on mastering English equitation and western horsemanship. As usual, each pattern to ride is presented on two pages black and white arena map or illustration on one page and written explanation on the other. Performance tips for making smooth transitions, for example, or using pattern markers to advantage are scattered throughout the text.

The book is especially useful for youngsters or non-pro competitors who show in these events because they can learn about counting strides, following pattern instructions, normal class routines, scoring faults and disqualifications and more. Hill also tells how to prepare at home for the competition and how to handle typical show situations.

However, the book is equally beneficial to any rider who simply wants to better communicate with his horse for improved performance. Because Hill understands that mastering simple maneuvers lays the foundation for more complex ones, her riding patterns move from the easy to the more difficult in building block fashion. By following the lesson progression, most any horse and rider no matter their level of expertise can become more precise and accurate in their work.

Softcover, 248 pages, 81/2 by 11 inches, $29.95 plus $4 s/h. Storey Books, Schoolhouse Road, Pownal, VT 05261; 800-441-5700.

The Western Horse
Reviewed in February 2000

101 Horsemanship and Equitation Patterns
A Western & English Ringside Guide For Practice & Show
By Cherry Hill, Illustrated by Richard Klimesh

Cherry Hill continues to impress me with her knowledge of horses and riding. She's been training for 30 years, is a horse show judge, has taught at the university level for more than 10 years and has written 23 books on equine care and handling. This guide is yet another in her long list of accomplishments. It's filled with western horsemanship patterns and English equitation patterns to help you "learn the moves that make judges take notice."

The book is designed to hang like a calendar. The top page has a map of the arena and a drawn pattern. The accompanying bottom page offers instructions on when to apply your aids and positioning the horse's body. There are also handy tips: for example, how to execute smooth flying lead changes and how to prevent your horse from anticipating the next move.

Even if you don't ride in competition, you can hone your skills with the patterns in this guide. And, if you do compete in western horsemanship or English equitation, Hill's book will provide you with moves to practice so that you'll stand out and catch the judge's eye.

101 Horsemanship & Equitation Patterns: A Western & English Ringside Guide for Practice & Show, by Cherry Hill, illustrated by Richard Klimesh (Storey Books, Schoolhouse Road, Pownal, VT 0526 1; 800-793-9396), 1999, 249 pages, softcover, $29.95.