Can you explain UK horse showing types like I'm 5?

[ohmissbrittany]

In the US, we have rated (AA, A, B, C) and unrated (where sometimes the schedule and rules just fly out the window and the courses can be a bit unfair to a green horse- but the bills are lower, which is nice!)... I think those compare to your affiliated and unaffiliated shows pretty nicely... But as a non-professional, do amateurs typically "point chase" and qualify around for various season/year awards? I tend to just mix it up and show wherever I can afford and have time to go, using unaff. as confidence builders at lower heights and then really trying at rated/affiliated to win a little prize money.

I suppose most of my confusion has been looking at schedules and realizing that a lot of the affiliated stuff has pre-requisites... is this just because it's the end of the year that I'm looking at? Or do you have to keep a pretty healthy show schedule to do more stuff?

I think my other question is for the amateurs- what's your "typical" yearly show schedule like? Do you do a mix of affiliated/unaffiliated, do you take a trainer to the shows or is it pretty easy to do the smaller stuff yourself? I plan to attend a few when we get there just to see how it all works, but obviously don't want to look like a creep just wandering around and checking stuff out.

 

[be positive]

Showing over here is very different to what I have seen of showing in the US, we do not have the same classes that you have, the jumper/ hunter, or whatever it is called, does not exist here, we have working hunters but they are really totally different.

It would be impossible to list everything but I will do a quick run through of our ridden hunter classes, inc the workers, although there will still be much I miss out as there are so many different championship shows people can do.

Hunters are show in weight categories as well as 1 height class.
Small hunters not exceeding 158cm.
4 year old hunters, self explanatory
Novice hunters, for horse not to have won in excess of £?? depending on the show.
Lightweight, to carry up to 12.7 st
Middleweight to carry between 12.7 and 14st
Heavy to be able to carry over 14st

The above are shown as ridden hunters, no jumping, the weight is a guide to what they could carry there is no restriction on what the carry in the ring so a heavy may be shown by a small lady.
There are also classes for working hunters, they jump a course of rustic fences then get judged the same as the ridden classes.
Side saddle or ladies hunters.

The weight and working classes have HOYS as the primary target, that is for the very best horses, they have to qualify to get there, there are lower lever championship shows all over the country but they are not classified in any way although some need to be qualified for others do not, trying to go through and understand schedules at some shows almost requires a phd!!

People do not tend to have a trainer at shows, they may meet their trainer because they are also competing but will rarely have help on the day as it is so unlike US showing there is not much a trainer could do on the day to help anyway.

I think the best way for you to get a true understanding is to go to a few shows, look at what appeals to you and approach someone outside the ring when they are not too busy and ask a few questions, most people are friendly if you catch them at a good time and will gladly explain what is going on to someone genuinely interested, if you pick the wrong person don't let that put you off.

A quick run through of some of the many other classes that take place at shows, to give you an idea of how wide the spread is.

Lead rein pony of show type, of hunter type, also registered Native pony
First ridden pony, ditto
12.2, 13.2 ,14.2 show pony
13, 14, 15, hand pony of hunter type, also working type
All the above ridden by children and age restricted for each class
There are also novice classes for most of the above.

Mountain and Moorland or native pony classes
For all our native breeds again ridden flat classes, novice and working with various ways of splitting them depending on society rules.

Coloured horse classes.
Hacks, Cobs and Riding horses.
Intermediate classes, restricted to younger riders/ under 158cm horses.

Plus at more local level a mix of fun classes for RC horses/ PC ponies family ponies, best mane and tail, prettiest pony and ones for anything you can think of plus plenty you would not!!!

That will probably make everything as clear as mud, showing over here has evolved over many years, has numerous levels most unrelated and we have societies that run things that are completely independent and have their own rules, usually similar but enough difference that you need to check before entering each show.

Good luck with getting involved, find a good yard if you want to buy your own horse and they should be able to mentor you if you plan on going up the levels, if you just want to go out at local level it should be fairly easy to get to grips with what to do.

 

[eatmoremincepies]

I think we may be divided by a common language! As far as I know "showing" in the US means any kind of competition (including dressage, SJ and eventing) whereas in the UK "showing" refers only to conformation type classes - the ones that Be Positive has described quite brilliantly above.

In Brit-speak, doing competitions in dressage, SJ & eventing is referred to as "competing" instead of showing.

ohmissbrittany - I think you're asking about SJ and/or eventing? You're right that there are affiliated and unaffiliated shows/competitions, run by British Showjumping and British Eventing (have own websites). It is getting towards end of season so you may be seeing some competitions for which you need to qualify by having a certain number of points or placings, eg for a regional or national championships.

There are a lot of unaffiliated competitions especially at the lower end. some are really good and well run and some are not so good in terms of coursebuilding/judging/surface/organisation but you can always ask on here. To earn points with BS or BE you need to pay membership and enter competitions for which you/your horse is eligible (ie not under/over experienced for the level).

Hope that helps, plenty of people to help on here but if you want to know about SJ/eventing ask about competing not showing

Of course if you were asking about working hunter type showing please ignore the above

Many people don't take a trainer to lower level comps but of course you can if you want to. If you want to have a snoop around just go, introduce yourself to the secretary and offer to make yourself useful and they will love you.

Doing unaff to start with, or with a young horse is pretty common, a lot of people will use unaff to gain experience/mileage because it's cheaper and usually doesn't go on the horse's record. Affiliated is more expensive but sometimes a better quality experience and you can qualify for the official championships etc.

 

[Orangehorse]

In the ridden classes in the UK the horses will often by ridden by the judge. Not always at local show/riding club level, although it does happen if the judge is willing, and some want to. I don't think the horses get ridden by the judge in the USA.
Showing ridden classes take a lot longer to get through as the horses are first judged all together at walk trot and canter on both reins, then pulled into line. Individually walked and trotted out in front of the judge, with the saddle removed. Then the saddle is replaced and then ridden by the judge. If NOT ridden by the judge, every horse gives an individual show of walk, trot canter, and extended canter or gallop. It all takes quite a long time for each class.

 

[spookypony]

As an expat Canadian, can confirm that in NA, "showing" generally refers to competitions, not just "Showing"-shows. The (American) practice of taking a trainer to (especially the bigger) competitions and/or having the trainer actually compete the horse in earlier classes I would say is much rarer here. Amateurs can certainly qualify for championships and collect points, and do so in the same classes as pros. So it's quite possible for a one-horse amateur to find themselves in the same class as a "name", and this is (generally?) regarded as a positive thing rather than a scary thing. I'm not sure what disciplines you are looking at for pre-requisites, but in Eventing, you need to move up through the levels, rather than just jumping in somewhere in the middle. The same is true for Endurance. I don't think it's true of SJ or DR, but stand to be corrected. However, success in these disciplines (calculated through points or winnings) can mean that you are no longer eligible for the lower levels (with that horse).

 

[conniegirl]

In the ridden classes in the UK the horses will often by ridden by the judge. Not always at local show/riding club level, although it does happen if the judge is willing, and some want to. I don't think the horses get ridden by the judge in the USA.
Showing ridden classes take a lot longer to get through as the horses are first judged all together at walk trot and canter on both reins, then pulled into line. Individually walked and trotted out in front of the judge, with the saddle removed. Then the saddle is replaced and then ridden by the judge. If NOT ridden by the judge, every horse gives an individual show of walk, trot canter, and extended canter or gallop. It all takes quite a long time for each class.

Horses should always be ridden before being stripped. It is in a lot of societies rules as a safety measure for the ride judge.

 

[ohmissbrittany]

I think we may be divided by a common language! As far as I know "showing" in the US means any kind of competition (including dressage, SJ and eventing) whereas in the UK "showing" refers only to conformation type classes - the ones that Be Positive has described quite brilliantly above.


Hope that helps, plenty of people to help on here but if you want to know about SJ/eventing ask about competing not showing

Of course if you were asking about working hunter type showing please ignore the above

Many people don't take a trainer to lower level comps but of course you can if you want to. If you want to have a snoop around just go, introduce yourself to the secretary and offer to make yourself useful and they will love you.

Yes, I meant showjumping competitions! Sorry for the confusion, everyone.

But bepositive's explanation of hunters above was also great- I have a "hunter bred" baby that I'll be backing in 2-3 years, and I looked up some working hunter videos, and it would be great if I could do those with her someday. My showjumper probably wouldn't be a fan of all the brush/solids.

Thanks so much!!