Happy update from Me & Harry :D And I need some long boots!!

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Kub

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Hi all, as some of you may have seen, I was having quite a big wobble over Harry a few weeks ago, feeling really disheartened and just not good enough for him. Well, after our brilliant day showing yesterday, that feeling is definitely changing :D

We went to local show and entered Best Turned Out, along with 2 in-hand classes for Coloureds and Cobs. I decided to ride Harry in BTO and tbh, I was so nervous and worried he was going to do something stupid and bog off with me in the ring, or get over-excited and play up. We got there really early, which gave me plenty of time to hop on and get a feel for him, and he was very good and I started relaxing a little. Finally 9.30 came around and we headed into the ring. It was actually really easy as we just walked around a bit, the lined up for inspection before the judges made their decision. To my surprise, we came 3rd!! :D Behind a beautiful Fell and Welsh Sec D. We did a lap of honour in trot and Harry was a complete saint, I was so pleased.

As for our two in-hand classes, we came 1st in both!! The judge absolutely loved him and made me promise that I would do dressage with him because she thinks he has fantastic movements and he's very metronomical (very pleased mummy!!). I was beaming from ear to ear after these two classes when we headed into the Championship, where we were then given Reserve! First time we've every been placed in a championship and truly the cherry on top :D

This is our first show of the year and I really wasn't sure whether he'd be good enough now he’s a year older and up against 4 years and above, but he's clearly got something. I’m feeling so much more positive about him and we’re off to Somerton Show this Sunday. I was planning only to do come in-hand, but seeing as he was so well behaved yesterday, I may give a ridden class a go, though not sure about cantering yet… I’m going to see if I can do a little work with him in canter this week and see how I feel. I had the girl who backed him over to ride him last week and she got him moving beautifully and had him doing some lovely work in all 3 paces, so I know he can do, I just now need to believe in myself and that I can also make him do it.

Question to you showing peeps quickly, if I did do a ridden class and told the judge I won’t canter due to him recently being backed, will that severely cut my chances of being placed? Not that it matters massively, as it will be a good experience for him  Plus, can someone remind me the details of the individual show??

Now, onto my next part, getting some long boots. If I’m going to start doing ridden classes, I need to get these sorted. I’ve found some lovely ones here, http://www.fasttackdirect.co.uk/pro...in_calf_size_medium_or_wide__ex_wide_fit.html, but they don’t have my size in stock  (6 wide). I really need something wide in calf as I have very chunky legs but quite sort. I don’t have masses to spend, probably £50 or less ideally, so can anyone suggest any suitable?

Oh and here are a couple of pictures from our show yesterday 

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(not the best of me but Harry looks good)

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If you got through all of this, thank you!! Any help with ridden showing and/or boots greatly appreciated :)
 
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i would always recommend the equitector boots but they are possibly a bit out of your price bracket.... they are fabulous though, and well worth the expense - mine still look great after 3 seasons hunting!
 
well done.
he is lovely!
the only thing i will say is your personal turnout. look at the last picture and the person on the left - her jods and shirt match - you need to get yours to match as well and ditch the red coloured tie. compliment him as he is gorgeous xx
 
Lovely! :) If you can't find any affordable long boots that fit nicely, you could try some smart leather gaiters over jodhpur boots - I have the same problem of wide short calves, and I have given up on trying to find long boots that don't cost a fortune. Gaiters look just as smart IMO, and I find they give me more flexibility in my ankle too.
 
Dancing Queen said:
well done.
he is lovely!
the only thing i will say is your personal turnout. look at the last picture and the person on the left - her jods and shirt match - you need to get yours to match as well and ditch the red coloured tie. compliment him as he is gorgeous xx
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Thanks DC, so do you think I should get a yellow shirt too? Also, what colour tie do you think would compliment him? :)
 
I just wrote you a nice long answer and my fluffing phone deleted it! Grrrrr!

I quite like the red tie! Just to be controversial. If you want a yellow shirt get a white one which will be cheaper and then wash it with a few new yellow dusters, you'll get a lovely lemon yellow shirt. As for the canter, you will be marked down if you don't. My lad can't canter on one rein at the moment, if we go out in a couple if weeks I'll attempt it once on his bad rein and if we don't get it I won't push it, I'll just trot but I'll also expect to come near the bottom. However if we make it to the ring and I stay on I'll class it as a success!
 
Walrus - Stoopid phones lol!!

I went with the red tie because people said I should go with something that stands out a little. I used that outfit for all my in-hand shows last year and it seemed fine, but maybe with ridden it's a bit different?

I thought I would be marked down for the canter. Actually, I did canter him last night on both reins and he actually wasn't too bad! He did pick up canter on both, though his left rein is definitely better than his right. I'm going to ask if I can not canter as a group (because I don't think he's fit enough for it and I don't want him getting worked up) but I will happily give it a go on my individual show. Sure, I'll be marked down for that too but I'm very much with your centiment that as long as I stay on and we come out intact, I will be very happy :) It's going to be more of a learning experience anyways so I'm not expecting to be placed.
 
what i would do is, match the shirt to your jods - so they look cream on the picture, so wear a cream shirt, as for the tie i would go for a darker tie with fake diamonds on or a darker tie with spots on, and wear a black hat. Depending on what kind of class you put him in, you could always pop a diamante browband on (but this depends on the type of class you do as some classes have strict guideline as to what tack show be worn)

He is a cracking little horse and he is beautifully marked - did you use daz on those whites - they are positively sparkling :D
 
Ah ok, well I wear a blue hat because it matches the velvet on my jacket and is the "correct" showing colour lol. I went with a red tie to stand out, but if I have a cream shirt, a blue tie would work just as well. I'm not allowed to use any sort of bling on him as he's a native, so it's very simple tack for him to be correct, though I'd love to get something sparkly on him :D

Lol no quite, but 7 hours of hard work definitely seems worth it when looking at the pictures! (normally wouldn't take so long but was his first BIG clean of the year lol)

Btw, thanks for all the lovely comments folks, I forget that he's actually a handsome beast when I'm met by scruffy bog pony most of the time!!
 
You do not have to match your shirt to your jodphurs and please don't wear a black hat it isn't correct in the showring.

Your turnout is good and the red tie is perfect I would just make the knot a little tighter and get a tie pin (if you haven't got one I can't tell from the pictures) and obviously once you have the long boots you will be pretty much spot on.

Good luck
 
Thanks Smallhunter, that's what I had been told and I will eventually be getting a blue hat with flesh harness to be completely correct :)

No, I don't have a tie pin and didn't even think of it until I saw the other girls in the ring with me, will get one sorted. Fingers crossed I will have some long boots by the weekend!
 
Echo small hunter please no black hat or bling! I think the red tie suits him and you Just need a smaller knot and pin So it looks a bit more under control. ALso if you want to keep costs down you can always get some black leather gaiters to tide you over, I have some Dublin ones that work well. :-)
 
Dancing Queen said:
what i would do is, match the shirt to your jods - so they look cream on the picture, so wear a cream shirt, as for the tie i would go for a darker tie with fake diamonds on or a darker tie with spots on, and wear a black hat. Depending on what kind of class you put him in, you could always pop a diamante browband on (but this depends on the type of class you do as some classes have strict guideline as to what tack show be worn)

He is a cracking little horse and he is beautifully marked - did you use daz on those whites - they are positively sparkling :D
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Thats sound advice if you are six years old on a lead-rein show pony, (except for the black hat, thats NEVER correct) But the op has a coloured trad?? Smallhunters advice is correct.
 
spottybotty said:
Thats sound advice if you are six years old on a lead-rein show pony, (except for the black hat, thats NEVER correct) But the op has a coloured trad?? Smallhunters advice is correct.
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read the post properly and you will see it says depending on what class she is doing and to what level.

Thank you.
 
But the horse in question is quite clearly from the pictures a traditional coloured cob and therefore for ANY class the OP enters should be turned out as such.

This applies to all levels local, county etc.

The OP's horse would certainly not be eligible for show pony classes..

A black hat is never correct on a female in the show ring no matter what age, class or level they are competing at.

Finally a bling browband is not correct for a traditional in any class and only a velvet browband is correct for Riding horse, Show ponies and hacks.
 
Spottybotty & Dancing Queen - thanks for both your input :) He is a traditional so I can't do anything sparkly with him but there's so many different rules for differents breeds that it is easy enough to get confused, I know I have to keep double checking lol!

I'm starting to feel really positive about riding him in the ring on Sunday now, I'm getting my mojo back :D
 
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