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It's hard to believe that an 11-year-old has the maturity and concentration it takes to put together an award winning cutting horse exhibition. But Ryan Lind, a state champion cutting and reining horse competitor under the instruction of Bob Janssen at Oasis Equestrian Center, is a special kid.

Lind competed with his American Quarter horse Sunny Rey Solano at Fergus Falls last month and won a $300 scholarship. The same weekend he also received the Minnesota Cutting Horse Association Junior Youth 2007 Championship. Lind then traveled to Winona October 20 and 21, and as Janssen's youngest student participated in a national event-- the North Central Affiliate Finals. Lind, part of a winning reining horse team, took home a $350 scholarship prize. This was atop his Quarter horse KR Smoken Tee.

Janssen says even though Lind currently competes in the 13 and under class, he beats 14 to 18 year old competitors too. The keys to cutting and reining excellence, according to Janssen, are in the rider's balance and "relaxed attitude." The horse needs to know what to do but the rider needs to know when to let the horse go. It doesn't take adult strength to be good at reining and cutting.

These traditional skills, which Janssen has been teaching and training horses to do "for a long time" harken back to when a day's work rarely involved anything motorized, let alone wireless, and there were certainly no computers. Perfecting your reining and cutting skills, and owning a good horse, ensured a paycheck.

Janssen said one of the goals of the reining and cutting horse associations is to ensure respect for and adherence to cowboy ways. Competing youth aren't allowed to wear baseball caps or T shirts. Along with riding apparel requirements, other competition standards "up hold the cowboy traditions," Janssen added. Janssen said the associations all have "pretty strong youth participation," so these skills and competitions aren't disappearing anytime soon.

Each year more than 2,000 approved events are held in the United States with $35 million-plus in prize money at stake.

For more information about the Minnesota Cutting Horse Assoc. call 651-462-1803. The national cutting horse group can be reached at 1-817-244-6188 or go to www.nchacutting.com.

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