American Haflinger Alliance

Western Dressage and Working Equitation are both individually-judged performance sports. A judge watches each horse perform then assigns a numerical score, with high score winning.

Western Dressage is very similar to traditional dressage with different tests at different levels offering increasingly difficult tasks to advance. Learn more at: westerndressageassociation.com.

Working Equitation has its roots in traditional Spanish cattle handling and includes several phases including a dressage test, ease of handing through obstacles, an obstacle speed test, and at the highest levels, work with live cattle. Learn more at: usawe.org.

These are equestrian events that involve jumping obstacles while being ridden.

A hunter is judged in a show ring on jumping style, steady pace and smooth gaits, and general beauty and disposition, whereas a jumper is judged on time only over a course of arena jumps. Style doesn’t matter to a jumper, only that it clears the hurdles and while racing for the fastest time on the course. Learn more at USEF.org.

Eventing is a three phase event which includes a dressage test, a show jumping test, and the distancing cross-country jumping test where horses gallop at speed on outdoor courses while jumping solid obstacles and water hazards. Learn more at usea.com

Driving for pleasure and in competitions takes many forms, including single horses and multiples in different configurations, different vehicles, para-drivers and simple arena competition tests up to sophisticated timed events with cross-country hazards and water obstacles. Driving can be as simple as enjoying a picnic in the country with friends, or as sophisticated as International competition. Learn more at americandrivingsociety.org.

Hitch driving is often associated with our rural past, when everything moved by horsepower. Today, hitches are still used in agriculture but are more often seen as a popular spectator event at farm shows and fairs. Beautiful horses, impeccably turned out with their braided and ribboned manes, polished hooves, and shining harnesses are an unforgettable sight.

Whether you see traditionally-shod Haflingers in hitch competition at your local fair, or professional teams trotting into the winner’s circle at national events, hitch Haflingers are exciting! Learn more by attending events in your area featuring hitch classes, or search for local draft and farm events.

Western Performance events run the gamut from precision western pleasure horses to speeding barrel racers, elegant equitation mounts to spinning and sliding reining horses showing off moves that may have started in ranch work, but are now all about a showstopping performance. Learn more by attending local events with western classes then studying those you find most interesting.

Recreational trail riding can be anything from a saunter around the block to camping for weeks with your horse in the High Sierras. Endurance riding adds the element of time to rides and distances up to 100 miles in a single race. Learn more about trail riding by trying it, and endurance at aerc.com

Horses seem to have both a sense of humor and high degree of tolerance for silly human tricks, so participating in games and wearing costumes is something more common that you might think for our Haflinger friends. Take a look at the creativity of owners, and patience of horses, in this gallery.

Handling cattle from horseback is a methodology used for hundreds of years around the world. Different countries do things a little different, but many Haflingers show good ‘cow sense’ when asked to lend a hoof with cattle management. Learn more at local events, or check out NRCHA.com and NCHA.com for more cattle-event specifics.

Many performance events take place with a handler side-by-side with the horse, not astride it. Halter classes are events where the horse’s beauty and ideal conformation are judged, whereas showmanship classes are evaluated on the handler’s ability to present the horse. There are other variations on this theme as well. Learn more by attending local shows to see what you like.

Jousting, skijoring, vaulting, mounted archery… Haflinger horses are up to the challenge in these exciting events!

Haflinger horses are compact, strong, thrifty, and reliable, making them ideal workmates for small farms and acreages. Whether they are helping make hay, tilling soil, or moving wood or other supplies, they are willing workers around the farm. Haflingers are also trusted partners as lesson horses, in therapeutic riding programs, and as patrol and ranch mounts. Learn more by studying what jobs Haflingers are doing in your community.

With their charming sense of humor and impish tendencies, Haflingers are sometimes hard to take seriously. Whether it’s frolicking with their friends in a pasture, splashing in a river being used as a children’s diving platform, or pulling family and friends through the snow in a sleigh, Haflingers tend to be a playful breed who remain young at heart forever. Learn more by playing with a Haflinger!

Those faces! It’s hard to resist the charm of a curious Haflinger… often getting their nose into your business!

Baby horses are appealing, and baby Haflinger horses, with their pale golden coats, ridiculous eyelashes, and curious natures, up the cute factor considerably. Leggy and confident, Haflinger foals challenge every viewer to smile at their antics. Learn more by finding baby Haflingers to watch!

Sharing a Haflinger makes things twice as fun, but sometimes a quiet moment between you and your Haflinger is just as memorable.