Advice pleasee? Working hunter looking silly?

[GypsyGirl]

Hey Everyone.

Well I had a really good day at the Plumpton show yesturday, showing and Dressage it was great!

But now, my riding club is having there show on the 12th June. So Im thinking of doing my first ever Working Hunter class. But seeing as it is my first WH class, and at the moment Gypsy doesnt jump great out, so im planning on really getting jumping and schooling so much to prepare myself and Gypay for the 12th June.

But, seeing as it is our first, I was only planning on doing the little class which is 1'6 - 2ft. Do you all think that I would look silly doing a small class like that? Gypsy is 13.2 but a lot of people think she looks around 14hands and shes a small cob x.

I could do the other class which is not exceeding 2'6. So maybe if I pushed for that I could do it. Gypsy can do it I know she can, its just I don't want to have a confidence knock and be put of the working hunter class.

Any ideas or advice?

Thank you in advance!! xx

 

[Katie__Connie]

You've got to do what you feel happy with Don't worry about what other people think or what you look like... You're doing it for fun... so you want to enjoy it... Do the 2ft6 if you want to... but if it worries you.. do the smaller one

 

[Nash2]

I don't think you would look silly at all. Do the small class and then if all goes well move up to the bigger one next time. Don't worry about what people think and anyway she is only 13.2hh not 17hh!!

 

[KitKat_89]

Do what you feel happy with and stuff what everyone else thinks

Do you have time to get her doing a bit of jumping to see how you are getting on before you have to enter?

 

[GypsyGirl]

Do what you feel happy with and stuff what everyone else thinks

Do you have time to get her doing a bit of jumping to see how you are getting on before you have to enter?

We can enter on the day so we have around a month to get jumping better etc xx

 

[[69117]]

Go for what you feel happy with, and sod what other people think! It can't be any more ridiculous than the first time I took my big grey boy XC, he's a 17.2hh, 24yr old ex puissance horse, who then went on to do Grand Prix dressage. Now, he hunts like a pro, but had never done XC before, so I thought I'd have a go at a small local hunter trial with him to see if we could a bit of BE for fun together. We schooled round the XC course once a week for three weeks before the day, and jumped everything on the course, at every height, with steps and jumping directly into water proving to be a BIG problem! Because of this (he was jumping from the top of the steps right down to the bottom in one death-defying leap, and being a showjumper from day one taught him that you jump OVER water, not into it, so he decided that trying to jump the whole thing, then landing on all four feet at once right in the middle was the way to go!) I decided that rather than the open (3'3 - 3'6) I'd do the into - 2' - 2'6 - which was hilarious on a 17.2hh, to the point where I had to go HC because I couldn't jump the Owl Hole in my class because he would have scraped me off! It all ended rather badly, because he turned into a nappy little git and after jumping four fences he just stood on his back legs and told me to bugger off!
The LEAST of my worries was looking silly, we had a very good reason for doing the tiny fences, we could think about where we were and what we were doing rather than testing fences.
Good luck!

 

[mon]

you have to start somewhere and i am going to start my 16.2 at 1 1/2 ft so that i get round in one piece sod what others think my horse, both our safteys and i pay entry fee.

 

[monkeybum13]

QR

Just do it, you will have lots of fun
At a show last year in the novice 1'6 WH class there were some big horses (16.2 +)

 

[Gleeful Imp]

This is me and George at our first SJ and WH about 18 months ago. He's 16.2 and I was 41! I was terrified! I couldn't breathe after either round!

Here's us about 6 weeks ago, and we recently jumped clear over a 3ft SJ course. Its all about taking it steady and enjoying yourself - do it at your own speed, don't feel you have to push yourself too hard or you risk it all going wrong - after all, its about having fun! And if we can do a tiddly class and not get laughed at, anyone can!