"Reinsmanship" is probably one of the least "studied" driving topics out there, meaning I don't think that anyone has wrote one sole resource about it. There are books and articles that touch on the subject, but to my knowledge not one that addresses it specifically. That is probably why it has been a bit of a "mystery" to me up until about recent years, when left to fend on my own, I
somewhat figured it out.
Yes, the ADS rulebook is available online.
Margo has already brought up some good aspects of good driving, especially "rules of the road"/common courtesy. I would add that there is a bit a
common sense added to that. And car driving is not unlike carriage driving. When Margo mentions not staying on the inside track, I look at it like staying in the passing lane, but not passing. Tacky! Once you've passed who you needed to pass, go back in the "slow lane" and get out of the way! If you have a big moving horse, be one of the first in the arena so you don't have to pass all the other horses as soon as you get in there. Passing is much like passing in a car, it is not the safest place to be, so do it quickly and get it over with, but don't cut off who you pass.
And parading around the judge is poor form, just like a teenage kid "scamming" on "the strip", driving his convertable up and down the same road, trying to see who notices him! This actually isn't a good way to "show your horse" anyway, as you can't actually ever get a "good trot" when you are driving in small circles. I actually saw an Andalusian breed show driver do this at a carriage show, and he didn't place. It drove those of us watching crazy, because we wanted to see his nice-moving horse trot big on the rail, but he kept doing these pathetic circles around the judge like "look at meeee!!". Rediculous. The judge also can't see you well when you are right in his face. If I were the judge, I would have said something to him in lineup like, "I wanted to place your nice horse, but I couldn't ever see him trot out since he wasn't on the rail."
Obviously, tailgaiting is bad, and yelling, talking loudly or whistling to your horse is not appropriate.
"Slamming" on the brakes is poor form. There is a gentleman who my husband has shown with who now Chad tries to avoid being behind in the ring. When the walk is called, this turnout comes down so fast that Spider has practically kissed the back of his carriage! It's also not what the judges like to see, as the horse ends up being thrown on the forehand when they come down too fast.
On the postive note, good drivers are looking around to their next corner of the arena, not just between their horse's ears. You don't look at the hood ornament while drive a car. Drivers who place well in Reinsmanship aren't having to "micromanage" their horse because they have already practiced enough that they don't have to "watch" the horse the whole class. They can concentrate on where they are going. That is one of those things I have just figured out over the past couple of years, because before that, I would be so busy watching to see if my horse would spook at something, have his nose out, etc. Now that we have worked enough, I don't have to worry about such things and can just enjoy the class (I never thought that was possible a few years ago, and couldn't figure out how some people could even remember to smile during their class).
When you are looking up, you can see if you are approaching a pile up of turnouts and can take actions to avoid a crowded section of the ring. You can see if you are approaching your best competition, and go somewhere else so the judge can't compare you REALLY easily. Or if your Strong Trot is the best gait your horse has, maybe you do pass your competition to show the judge that gait. If you have a small horse compared to the rest of the class, stay as far out on the rail as possible, so that the rest of the class can pass you.
When line up is called, come in off the rail straight to your spot at a 90 degree angle to the rail, not zig zagging or on a diagonal path. That means if the line up is facing the south and you are on the east rail going to the right, you need to go all the way around the arena before finding your spot in line up off the north rail. However, if everyone else happened to line up quickly, don't make everyone wait for you to parade all the way around. If there is room and you are the last turnout, double back and find your spot on the east end of the lineup. Again, this is where common sense comes in to play.
If you have a fussy horse, don't stand in the middle of line up and make everyone else fussy. Go find a spot on the end. I did this with Alax his first show. He would not stand still to save his life. We did circles on the ends of the line up for the first two classes. The third class, I couldn't get a spot on the end, but there was a giant hole in the middle, so I took a deep breath and ended up there. Ironically, when he stopped, he looked to the left and then to the right, took a deep breath and realized that there were "friends" in the arena, and he hasn't wiggled since.
From then on, I made sure that we got a spot in the middle. So, drive them enough that you get to know your horse.
When you exit the arena, keep moving and bring your "fan club" with you so people can get in and out of the gate. You usually have a feeling like, "It's over with, I can now relax", but you need to keep driving until you get out of the way. If you win, great! Don't rub it in other people's noses. If you lose, consider next time, but don't whine, cry, yell, smack your horse (unless he has ACTUALLY been naughty), jerk on the reins, etc. I find that my success is DIRECTLY correlated with how much I practice or how far along my horse is. If you didn't win, it technically isn't your horse's or your mother's or your husband's fault. It may not even be your fault if the competition is just that stiff. Accept praise and take criticism gracefully. And most importantly, asking genuine question of or lavishing complements on your fellow competitors is a way to make the competition fun for everybody.
Myrna
