[roxyroller91]

Originally Posted by ridegrrl

Hello! I'm well thank you, and how are you? First year showing... I'm excited for you. That's a pretty big question... could you let me know a little more specifically what you're curious about, and I'll do my best to give you helpful recommendations?

i am well lol...well it is arabians, so what kind of head position dojudges typically want and yah thats really the main thing...oh and do we need to do shoulder ins cuz my trainers telling me how to do that, but i dont know if i have to for what i am showing...and like flexing to inside/outside and on a loose rein should their noses be pretty much be on the sand?? ps great thread!

[ridegrrl]

Originally Posted by PoNyCrAzYgAL

And, if you have time, this is my little sister on her ponies... the black pony is her first pony and that picture is from about a year ago, and the second picture is her pony she has now. She was begging me so I told her I'd post them, but don't do them if you don't want! If you do, then just say anything... dont worry about getting too specific!
Passing Fancy (aka Fancy) 25 y/o (now retired) welsh pony mare.
Moonshadows Rise N' Shine (aka Gator) 11 y/o Dutch Warmblood Pony.
Thanks a ton!

Dear PoNyCrAzYgAL's Little Sister:

Looks to me as though you had a good first dance partner, with Fancy. We should all be so fortunate! I'm happy to hear she's enjoying a deserved retirement. My very first horse Karaa is doing the very same thing, in the field in front of our house.

And now that you're aboard Gator (pretty cool fellow, he is!)... tell Mindy to watch out, you'll be giving her a run for her money before long!

Sincerely,
Kimberly

[PonyCrazyGal]

WOW! Thank you so much for all of your input... I really appreciate it!!! One more question, when you were telling me how to deal with him in the flat classes, the way that my trainer and I have found works best (yes, he does do it with both of us) is to put him in a bit of an equitation frame. Doing this obviously ruins his pretty long and low trot, but it seems to work. I know how much judges hate to see an equitation frame in the hunter ring, so is this an okay thing to do? Or should I just keep dealing with it and try to stay in the hunter frame? Thanks again, you were EXTREMELY helpful!
-Mindy

(a note from my sister)
Thank you, I love both of my ponies!
-Amy

[melissa2027]

Hi I was just curious about judging?

My daughter has a beautiful Appy mare, Kash.
Kash is 11 yrs old.
She is a good doer and an allrounder.
We have tried the show circuit a little but have found
most judges seem to think that Appy's cannot do English?
After taping the shows and watching judges looks, I have
come to the conclusion there is alot of racism towards breeds
being bred for certain disciplines.
If you were to judge an English show are Appy's looked down upon?
I find it crazy because she performed as well as the other horses with
most classes, yet failed to place in most of them.
What was more upsetting was it was pony club ring.
She has done better at Gymkhanas though.
Just curious if and why some judges think like this?
Thanks...
Here are some pics of my Daughter and Kash...

[sc_cowgurl]

what about my horses? you haven't critiqued them yet.

[Tiffany01]

Hello.

My name is Tiffany and I have a 15.1hh B&W Paint Mare who is 8 yrs old and green. I was just wondering in showmanship and halter class's do you prefer to see a bridle or a halter on the horse's head? Also can you watch this video and tell me if I should have been knocked doen in my EQ class becuase of my horse's head tossing? (Im riding the paint)

Picture017.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Can you help me with my horse's confo also?




just thought I would put this on in because I like it lol.



Thank You!!!!!

[nnep_rider]

Hi there! Wow, what an AWESOME thread. Your really great to do this for people!
If you get the time, I was just wondering...for the hunter ring, do you prefer to see half pads or shaped pads? Or do judges not care? Also, in equitation...I see a lot of people these days doing half seat at the canter, though I was always taught that in equitation your supposed to sit. Which is better? Thanks very much!

[lamoo]

Originally Posted by ridegrrl

Hi! I'll start by saying that Dressage is not my specialty, and I don't profess to know every up-to-the-minute Dressage showring fad around the country! Here's my opinion. Being a discipline steeped in tradition, I would generally err on the side of classic, timeless, traditional looks rather than flashy trends (leave the bling in the WP showpen).

If your horse is super healthy and fit, he'll shine without a bunch of product, his hooves will be smooth and strong, etc. A little showsheen doesn't hurt, but it's more important just to get your horse spotlessly clean including mane, tail, hooves, face, etc, and put lots of elbow grease into brushing him (it brings the natural oils out in his coat, that's where the healthy shine comes from).

This might sound funny, but I tend to feel that the braids should suit the horse - larger braids on a huge big warmblood gelding are great but if you've got a delicately built thoroughbred mare, smaller braids may do more to emphasize her features where big braids might look clunky and out of place on her. And I personally like the white tape or braid binders, I think they give a clean finished look to nice even braids.

As for tails... I like a nice squared tail in Dressage if the tail is long and full like your horse's, because it looks like the banged cut had a practical purpose (ie keeping the tail off the ground or from getting stepped on). I don't really care for it when a short thin tail is squared off, as obviously a short thin tail isn't in the horse's way or dragging on the ground so it doesn't serve a purpose to cut it square... seems silly to me.

There you have it!

I really like all of your opinions, thank you soooo much for answering my questions!

[ridegrrl]

Originally Posted by *ellie*

hey I'm so glad you made this thread there is SOOOO much I don't know when it comes to showing but firstly do judges care if you're wearing chaps or not (western quarter horse shows) and does they care whether your tack has lots of silver etc.
and does it make a difference if your ride one handed or two handed like will someone riding one handed get placed above someone riding two handed?
your help is greatly appreciated

Everybody has to start somewhere!

Chaps are required in some classes and some associations, and not in others. So this is another question that means you'll need to dig out a rulebook or check with your association to be sure... in a Western QH show, there is a good chance that chaps will be required or at the very least, commonly worn.

As for tack with silver, I'll refer you to my post #222 on page 23 of this thread, where another girl asked a similar question, I think that will help.

One Hand vs. Two Hands (in Western classes)

Small unrecognized schooling shows may be unrestricted as to riding 1- or 2- handed and which bits may be used (see note at the bottom). However, most associations/shows follow these guidelines:

1. JUNIOR HORSES (5 years and under) may be ridden two-handed, in either a snaffle (defined as a bit having NO SHANKS), or a bosal (rawhide, braided without a solid core or any metal in the material of the bosal). Some people also call a bosal a hackamore, not to be confused with the mechanical hackamore (NOT legal in ANY Western class).
1a. Junior horses shown in snaffles are typically shown in western bridles with leather split reins, the end of each rein falling on the opposite side of the horse
1b. Junior horses in bosals are often shown with rope or horsehair mecate reins

2. All other Western horses (6 years and older) are to be shown one-handed, in a curb (defined as a bit that has shanks, typically not longer than 5 1/2" from mouthpiece to end of shank).
2a. Mature horses in curbs may be shown either in split reins (with your first finger between the reins and the ends of both reins falling on the same side of the horse as your reining hand), OR romel reins (braided leather reins that merge into a single braid known as the romel), and the rider holds their hand closed around the reins in a fist, with the romel end held in the free hand on the other side of the horse

(Lots of Spanish terms in this post! That's because the tack is derived from the gear originally used by Spanish vaqueros, or cowboys)

In a class where junior and mature horses are shown together, there is no preference shown to the exhibitors riding one-handed over those riding junior horses two-handed.

NOTE re: schooling shows: if the show is one of the unrated schooling shows first mentioned, and tack is unrestricted, the judge may award more credit to riders using one hand as it shows a more advanced style of reining.

Sorry for writing a novel! Hope that helps.

[ridegrrl]

Originally Posted by sc_cowgurl

ok i normally don't take advice from a judge because they are all different and have different opinions but i thought what the heck i'll give it a go.

ok my first horse is Hez Shameless aka. Garth a 14yr old, 16.1h Paint gelding. i show him in everything but mainly wp, showmanship, horsemanship, and just started doing trail. i also take him in HUS and equitation. he does excellent at open shows but not as good at breed shows. i don't take him in the loping classes at the breed shows because of his ugly, ugly lope(i'm sending him to a professional trainer to fix it). well enough of my talking, here are some pics and a few videos of Garth:




now for the videos(these were taken of him after 1month of not being able to ride him):
YouTube - Garth's jog/stop/back/pivot

YouTube - Garth's lope(right lead)

YouTube - Garth's lope(left lead)

YouTube - Garth sidepassing left

YouTube - Garth sidepassing right

this next one is my 2yr old, 16h Paint filly Sugars Always A Hit aka. Sugar. she is Impressive bred and out of Invaders Little Bit and Select Hit by Designated Hitter. she will hopefully be my wp champion. right now she is suffering from an abscess so we had to take her out of training. i don't have any real recent pics of her but as soon as i get some i'll post them. well tell me what you think of her! here are some pics and one short video of me riding her for her first time trotting and another short video of her free longing:
her at 6months:


starting her show career(she was a yearling in these pics):



100_0675.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

100_0921.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

This one has videos too so I'll have to wait til Monday to reply to it as well. Joys of living in the country = slow internet! Again, I'll edit this post, so you can check back for the reply...

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