At its simplest the quarter horse is a breed of horse that excelled over a racing distance of a quarter mile – 440 yards or around 400 metres.

Danielle demonstrates the western technique at Fieldays.

Some animals have been clocked at speeds of 55mph (88kmh), nearly equal to the top speed of a Cheetah – with considerably greater stamina. This tremendous sprinting ability has given them the nickname of ‘the world’s fastest athlete’.

The breed developed in the USA as colonists began to crossbreed so-called ‘native’ horses with English thoroughbreds.

The former had been developed by the Native Americans from stock that had originated in Spain such as the Iberian and Arabian and had arrived with the conquistadors.

The end result was a ‘dual purpose’ horse, used for work during the week and racing at the weekends.

The end result, a smaller hardy animal began to do very well in sprint races against thoroughbreds, particularly over the quarter mile – a shorter distance than the established racecourses of England, for which the thoroughbreds had been produced.

The westward expansion of the pioneers during the 1800s called for a hardy animal. As the settlers crossed the Great Plains they encountered the herds of mustangs and other left-overs from Spanish stock, as well as those domesticated by the Comanche, and other tribes.

Cross breeds between these animals and the quarter horse produced an animal with an innate sense of ‘cow-sense’. Thus began the development of the American ranch horse, still essential today for handling cattle on the vast areas of the great cattle ranches.

Through competition and necessity the quarter horse rapidly adapted to the various skills of the Western riding traditions – cutting, reining and others.

The slightly compact body of the quarter horse meant it was suited to the rapid changes of direction required of cutting, and with their natural cow-sense they have become the horse of choice for training as cutting horses.

Although many claim horses don’t think very quickly, a good cutting horse has some ability to defy that belief.

An essential ingredient in their make-up is their ability to out-think and out-manoeuvre stock – both attributes calling for more than average brain activity.

Watching an experienced cutting horse at work recently, it seemed the horse needed to do little more than pivot on its rear end to maintain it, and the cow’s position, in the centre of the arena.

The first quarter horse was introduced into New Zealand from the USA in 1969. In 1972 there were the first Australian imports, and by 1977 most of the leading bloodlines in the USA were represented here.

Training for all disciplines in the western riding school is a long drawn out process, and ideally both horse and rider should start as young as possible.

Normally a horse would start training as a two year old, and it takes 12-18 months work thereafter including showing them at a futurity events as three year olds.

“The quarter horse is still the best horse for cutting,” Graeme McInnes said. “They have been bred for so long that they have kept their abilities. They have the right build, are bred to watch a cow, are calm in the mind and have the right athletic ability.

“The ratio of horse to rider in the arena is probably close to 70-30 as a well trained horse can do it all. The rider is just there for guidance initially, and the training is all about creating communication between the horse and cow.

“At the end of the day, they are a very special horse to be around – it is a real thrill to ride one and they have a unique ability to do an extraordinary job.”