And can't wait to see you all at our open horse show, July 29 in Magrath!
These are things that EVERYONE can do.
**NEWSFLASH**
You do not need a $50,000 horse, $10,000 saddle and $5000 outfit to win in the ring!
#1 BE SPARKLY CLEAN
Make sure that your horse, your clothes & your tack are perfectly clean.
for your horse this means
- Bathed with shampoo
- Clipped Including whiskers, fetlocks & bridle path
- Clothes clean & fresh looking, ironed if needed! No wrinkles!
- Boots are cleaned and SHINED
- All tack cleaned, leather washed and conditioned & silver shined
#2 HORSE PROPERLY GROOMED
The reason for banding, braiding & grooming is to enhance your horses natural beauty in the show ring. Similarly to how we use makeup on ourselves- we use show sheen on our ponies.
- Shiny shiny shiny-but DO NOT under ANY circumstances put shine spray where the saddle goes. That is a mistake you only make once.
- Make sure your horses whites are WHITE! (Green spot remover is king for this)
- Mane & tail are clean and lying flat. Proper blanketing after bath will take care of that
- Braid or band in accordance to your breed and discipline! Proper mane management can enhance those stunning and strong neck muscles.
- Hoof black on dark feet, clear on light feet. I personally like the look of black on horses feet no matter what but its up to you- do NOT alternate. Ex if your horse has 3 dark 1 light do all black, not 3 black 1 clear
- make sure your horse has no snot, eye boogers, poop crusts, shavings or anything yucky on their body.
- Use baby oil or anything sticky and shiny on their face to accent their eyes and muzzle
- Have your "groom" bring a bag to the hitching ring that has show sheen, baby wipes & a rag to clean you up right before you go into your class.
#3 HUMAN PROPERLY GROOMED
- Please. For the love of everything good and sacred in this world. Get your hair out of your face! As a judge I HATE seeing a rider with shaggy hair hanging out of their hats! The best thing to do if you are showing all day is to tie your hair back in a bun at the base of your head- with a hair net and a shiz ton of bobby pins and hair spray!
- Ladies- if you are going to wear makeup think bright and fresh! Show day is not the time to pull out the heavy black eyeliner. Rock a cute lipstick that matches our outfit and some nice blush!
- Don't go into the ring with dirt on your face! Its always helpful to have a helper that can give you a good once over and make sure you are good before your class.
#4 HORSE PROPERLY DRESSED
- Get familiar with the rules of the show & wear tack that is appropriate for your discipline. If you are going into western showmanship- come dressed western. and visa versa
- Make sure your tack matches. If you have a black saddle, have a black bridle. Applies to all colors!
- Avoid animal print or bright colored tack. This ties back to the judge seeing YOU and YOUR HORSE and your skills and not being distracted by brightly colored equipment.
- SHOWMANSHIP- the ideal thing would be to have a proper show halter with silver and a leather lead with the chain properly on! The next best thing would be a plain leather halter again with leather lead and chain. Next to that would be Leather halter with a black lead rope, and last would be all black halter and lead. Some kids can rock a matching halter with their outfit too.
- ENGLISH-White saddle pad- long for dressage, shaped for everything else
- WESTERN- Colored pad to match your shirt, or black. (I once, not that long ago, took my work pad, cut out a black bed sheet and stapled in on LOL
#5 HUMAN PROPERLY DRESSED
Ok- I have many things to say about this but I will try to keep it short and sweet.
- You absolutely do NOT need a lot of money to look good in the show ring!
- Wear colors that coordinate with the color of your horse
- Ditch the plaid- it isn't appropriate for anything other than games
- Wear BLACK jeans.
- Make sure your clothes fit you properly and are clean.
- Below is a perfect example of wearing clothes that go with your horse- in the first picture the rider is wearing the normal beige breeches with a navy jacket, Below she is wearing black and white which matches her horse PERFECTLY and looks great!!
- English
- Tall boots are ideal but next would be field boots with BLACK half chaps
- Beige or Gray breeches for flat classes, white for dressage
- White saddle pad- long for dressage, shaped for everything else
- Black helmet that fits properly
- English jacket that fits- I don't care how hot it is, unless you are doing strictly jumpers you are wearing your jacket!!
- Proper english shirt with a rat catcher and a nice pin
- Nice stud earrings- ABSOLUTELY NO DANGLY EARRINGS IN THE SHOW RING ANYWHERE EVER.
- Black gloves
Western
- Its always a safe bet to wear black on the bottom, colors on the top
- Chaps are ideal but the second best thing is properly fitting jeans ( make sure they are long enough to cover your boot tops)
- Look for some second hand show clothes, there is no shame in that!
- If you are not into glitter or don't want to invest in those glitzy western shirts, wear a plain solid colored shirt.
- Hat that coordinates with your outfit ( Straw hats are for summer only) or a clean black helmet
- Do NOT wear your spurs or chaps in showmanship
- Its always best to go for a classy & clean look.
Pro Tip- Do your hair and makeup before you leave the house in the morning. Getting dressed is a bonus too but make sure you are wearing something on top of your clothes to keep them clean! *** TRUST ME*** I once spilled hoofblack all over my breeches on show morning with no spare pair. :(
Remember- The most important thing about horse showing is to have FUN! That being said, making sure that you & your horse and turned out the very best you can be shows your judge and the people around you that you respect their time and that you are taking this seriously!
If you would like me to elaborate on any of these points please let me know, I am happy to do a more specific post!!
If you would like me to elaborate on any of these points please let me know, I am happy to do a more specific post!!
