How do I develop the correct walk for ranch riding competition?

The walk in ranch riding is a four-beat gait that should reflect the natural, forward quality the discipline rewards throughout all three gaits — purposeful, ground-covering, and relaxed rather than shuffling or artificially slow. Judges observe the walk as part of the overall picture of a natural, capable working horse, and a walk that is lazy, short-strided, or mechanically tight stands out negatively against the forward, swinging walk that the discipline's standard calls for. The correct ranch riding walk covers ground with each stride, with the horse's hind feet tracking up toward or past the prints left by the front feet on the same side. This tracking up is a measure of the horse's engagement and forward reach, and it reflects the same hindquarter development that produces correct movement at the trot and lope. A horse that walks with its hind feet consistently falling short of the front prints is not engaging its hindquarters correctly. The head and neck should swing naturally with the walk's four-beat rhythm — a relaxed, nodding motion that indicates the horse's back is swinging freely and its topline is not tight or restricted. A horse that carries its head in a fixed, unmoving position at the walk is showing tension through its back that prevents the natural swing the walk should produce. Developing a quality ranch riding walk involves the same approach as developing the other gaits — rewarding natural forward energy, conditioning the horse's topline and hindquarters through varied work including trail riding and hill conditioning, and maintaining the forward, relaxed way of going that the discipline rewards. A horse that is regularly ridden in varied environments at its natural working pace develops and maintains the walk quality that ranch riding competition requires.