Showing First time inhand showing

[AngelM125]

Hey everyone,

Me and my cob are inhand showing for the first time in july and im not entirely sure what to do!
So this is just me firing a lot of questions sorry

I’m going to enter him in the Veteran class (he’s 17) and the most handsome gelding.
But at the moment he has about 30% of his mane left due to sweet itch and we had to clip his feathers off in winter due to a skin related issue which is now treated and they’re growing back but very slowly.
Will this affect how he does?

Also, will he get marked down at all by not standing square? As i’m trying to teach him at the moment and we’re getting the hang of it slowly!

Do i also need to carry any sort of showing stick or crop into the arena? as i’ve seen it mentioned previously.

On top of that, (sorry!) How does the inhand showing class work, if someone could explain it to me that would be amazing!

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[jojo5]

So, what usually happens in an in- hand class is that you will all go in and walk around the arena while the judge gets a feel for the scope of what is presented. Then you are called into line - sometimes this is an initial indication of the judges views; sometimes you are all just asked to form a line. Then you are called out individually with your horse. You stand your horse correctly while the judge looks them over- they may ask a question about the horse (age etc). Then the judge will invite you to walk away from them - make sure you are straight and not holding too tight and impeding the horse’s natural carriage. At the far end of the walk ( usually towards the end of the side of the arena you are on) you are going to turn and trot back - it is important to turn to your right so that the horse is towards the judge rather than turning the horse around you - this is so that the judge can clearly see the way the horse turns. Then trot smartly back towards the judge, running at the horse’s shoulder and again not impeding the movement while maintaining control. Don’t run the judge over! Stop in a controlled manner by the judge and again stand your horse correctly. The judge should thank you then, at which point you lead your horse back into line being careful not to get in the way of the horse who is doing their show next. When every horse has been seen you will all be asked to walk around altogether again while the judge makes their final decision - you should keep your eye on the steward at this point who will be calling horses in to line up in the order the judge has chosen. This is more or less what will happen - some judges like to do things slightly differently - will sometimes ask for a trot along a long side one at a time in the first go- round fir example, but you can always watch the others in your class and be guided by what they do. Have a good time! By the way, you will see that cobs whose feather is clipped as you mentioned, will probably also be hogged, but I wouldn’t worry about this until you decide if showing is for you as hogging is obviously a big step. For this first show, just get your cob looking as smart as possible!

 

[kayeandGin]

So, what usually happens in an in- hand class is that you will all go in and walk around the arena while the judge gets a feel for the scope of what is presented. Then you are called into line - sometimes this is an initial indication of the judges views; sometimes you are all just asked to form a line. Then you are called out individually with your horse. You stand your horse correctly while the judge looks them over- they may ask a question about the horse (age etc). Then the judge will invite you to walk away from them - make sure you are straight and not holding too tight and impeding the horse’s natural carriage. At the far end of the walk ( usually towards the end of the side of the arena you are on) you are going to turn and trot back - it is important to turn to your right so that the horse is towards the judge rather than turning the horse around you - this is so that the judge can clearly see the way the horse turns. Then trot smartly back towards the judge, running at the horse’s shoulder and again not impeding the movement while maintaining control. Don’t run the judge over! Stop in a controlled manner by the judge and again stand your horse correctly. The judge should thank you then, at which point you lead your horse back into line being careful not to get in the way of the horse who is doing their show next. When every horse has been seen you will all be asked to walk around altogether again while the judge makes their final decision - you should keep your eye on the steward at this point who will be calling horses in to line up in the order the judge has chosen. This is more or less what will happen - some judges like to do things slightly differently - will sometimes ask for a trot along a long side one at a time in the first go- round fir example, but you can always watch the others in your class and be guided by what they do. Have a good time! By the way, you will see that cobs whose feather is clipped as you mentioned, will probably also be hogged, but I wouldn’t worry about this until you decide if showing is for you as hogging is obviously a big step. For this first show, just get your cob looking as smart as possible!

Thank you for this! I have a cob x clyde and would love to show her and never done it before. This is literally step by step. Thank you!

 

[Custardcreams232]

You don't need to stand square like you would in a dressage test. For in hand you need the back legs slightly apart and the front legs either together or slightly apart, so the judge can see all the legs at the same time.

A great reply above about the steps of an in hand class. However when you do your individual show, don't stop your trot by the judge. Keep trotting around the corner and behind the line up. Some judges wait for you to stand them up and nod, others will turn away while you're still trotting.

A brown show cane will finish your turnout nicely.

Good luck. Stewards are generally very kind and will explain things if you need them to.

 

[jojo5]

Apologies - yes, should have made that plain about standing them up. More like stock in agri shows. And yes about the trot too - I have experienced both actually when showing my cob inhand, but have clearly been watching too many heavy draft inhand trot ups lately!! And something I remembered about the show cane - back in the day, I took the wrong one in the trailer and entered with a brown cane that was longer than normal ( I think it was a sidesaddle one maybe?) - the steward came over and told me I could not have it in the class even just to hold - I had taken it in for the look, really.
.

 

[SEL]

If the feather is already clipped and he's itching his mane out then present like a show cob and neatly clip feather, hog and trim tail to about hock level.

I show in beige trousers, tweed jacket, beige shirt, blue tie and a velvet hard hat (mainly because my younger cob is silly and I like my head intact!). I've got a showing cane somewhere but I've never taken it in.

If you're going to local shows then they'll often have best condition/ adult handler and other classes where you can have a good practice at your running skills!