Both of mine are loping the pattern. We broke ours to ride from a 2 yr old so she's been ready to start since last fall but I waited till february. She's by Amy Schimke stallion Pablo so it's easy for her. The other came off the track and thinks she knows everything so she'll probably be loping the pattern slow for a long time so we don't hit a wall. She is 4 and will run as a 5.