Help with show hunters please!!! :)

T

thefurriesthen

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Hi there everyone!
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First a quick intro as I'm a forum newbie. I'm originally from the UK (Essex in fact so I was a regular at the British Show Pony Society Area 15 shows as well as the shows at Longwood etc, ahhh memories...) Anyway, after a series of exciting events, which I won't bore you with , I have ended up living in Auckland, New Zealand!
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NZ has a great show scene, albeit a bit different and a lot smaller than back in the UK. Anyway, I really want to get back into ridden showing again, after a few years out of it due to uni etc, and would love to get a young lightweight show hunter (although the class is called saddle hunter out here and the judges DON'T ride the horses, bwahahaha
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) to show in hand lightly before bringing out under saddle. I would also like to do some jumping and dressage from time to time, as a bit of a rest from the showring, so the horse would have to be suitable for a wide range of activities.

Now, if I was back in sunny England I would probably be looking for an ID x TB, a CB x TB or just a nice substantial full TB. Only problem is that there are VERY few IDs and CBs, either pure or partbred, out here....and the ones I have seen, I do not like enough to buy with showing in mind. I could get a full TB but I don't know where I would get a young quality TB apart from at the NZ racing sales which would cost me a bomb!!

Anyway, I have been trawling a lot of NZ stud sites and particularly like the one that I have provided a link to below. The yearling filly that is on the link is already sold but I would like to know what you think of her. What do you think of her confo (I think it's pretty spot on) and do you think she would pass as a lightweight hunter type?

She's an Oldenburger which I never would have considered as a show hunter before but does this really matter? I always had it in my mind that showhunters HAD to be TB, Irish Draught, Cleveland Bay etc but if you have a nice, typey warmblood would that do well in the show hunter ring too?

LINK TO FILLY: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/hurlingha...landlady.shtml

Right, enough babbling- let me know what you think. I would love to hear any thoughts you might have
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xx
 
Hi there
Welcome to the forum! Tell me is it sunny in NZ right now?

I can't see the photo/ad you refer too - but just to add there are a lot of Warmbloods and Warmblood X's doing very well in the show ring. Don't get hung up on a certain breed. Showing is all about 'type' 'suitability' and of course conformation - sometimes unlikely combinations do very well!

Good luck!
 
Oops, sorry about that- here is the photo of the filly. Hope I don't get in trouble for posting it but it was sold a fair while ago and I'm not using it for commercial gain. Sorry if I have broken any CR rules- I will take it down if I have
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landlady.jpg


and in response to icestationzebra: yes, it is very hot, sunny and humid in NZ right now! Air con all the way! But don't worry it will be cold, miserable and pouring with rain when you guys are enjoying your English summer
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I agree what you said about showing too! Not sure why I ruled out other breeds in my head- I guess there are just some preconceptions with showing, as with everything...Considering other breeds certainly gives me a lot more options!
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Hi,
I am ex Area 15 also!! - though probably a lot older than you - was competing in 80s/early 90s. Haven't done any proper showing for well over 10 years now but just bought a 5 year old so might get back into it in a small way.
I like that filly, though I'm not an expert on show hunters - she's maybe a bit weak in her thigh? - but that's about the only bad thing I can find about her. She does look very well developed for a yearling though - not sure if that's a good or bad thing?!
 
I heard that Tim Fairburn has been buying a lot of his show horses from Holland, whereas he used to always buy from Ireland so there are obviously some warmbloods that are the right type and stamp of horse. I would think that as you're looking for a lightweight it would be easier to find the type you want in NZ, whereas middle/heavyweights would be thin on the ground.

Probably the best person to ask is our resident expert, FMM. She is the font of all knowledge on all things showing.
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Hi Em1- good to find another ex-Area 15er!
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I'm a couple of months shy of 25 now and was competing on the show ponies throughout the nineties but probably started just as you were winding down. I had a lovely 12.2 'Rendene' pony and later I had a 'Blaircourt' pony and a 'Hawkwind' pony that we bought from Di Carr (former partner of Robert Cockram who has now moved over to this side of the hemisphere!) I loved BSPS- I even represented Area 15 at the Young Judges Comp at the Summer Champs, hehe
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Ahh...back in the days when my parents paid for all my horsey stuff...how I took it all for granted! lol
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Anyway, enough walking down memory lane. Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's reassuring to know that I can still pick out a potential show horse.

I think you're right about what type I will find in NZ Nickym- I can't imagine that there are many quality middle or heavyweight hunters around. Mindyou, I don't think I would suit the heavier types anyway, I would look overhorsed.

Any other info/advice etc would be much appreciated. Thanks again- you've been really helpful!
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xx
 
It would be interesting to see some pics of the "top" hunters as we could then offer a more informed opinion about your youngster. Over the past few years, our hunters have done well at HOYS - mix of full TB, slightly foreign and Irish - all very different types. However, it may be more traditional in NZ - so more pics would be the best. Also, some of the NZ TBs seem very wiry and not as substantial as some of our TB horses. Interesting question!
 
Yeah, that's a good idea
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Following are a few links to photos of NZ A&P shows (kiwi version of a county show)

The first three photos on this page are of a very successful show hunter called Zion. He consistently wins at the NZ HOYS and is a full TB:

http://www.risingphotos.com/gallery/2354212#123248262


The first horse on this page is another pretty successful hunter called Glentulloch:

http://www.risingphotos.com/gallery/2414944#126643855

The black horse on these links also does very well:

http://risingphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/3725806#213850310

http://risingphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/3725806#213850310

This horse is now doing very well as a SH which I find a bit peculiar! lol:

http://www.anamour.co.nz/gallery/ascot.htm

Some others:

http://risingphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/3733134#214365574

http://www.eventphoto.fotopic.net/p47748574.html


I couldn't find pics of many others but the ones in the first three links or so are the 'ones to beat' so you get the general idea.

So, what do you think about the difference between the show hunter class in the UK and NZ? I'm not a big fan of the turnout- a lot of riders appear to dress the same in hunter classes as they do in hack classes!
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. Maybe I can educate them... (she chuckles, remembering that she has never plaited without the help of her mum, who now lives on the other side of the planet.....)

NZ hunters also appear to be smaller, both height wise and in regards to bone, I think.

You seem to get a pretty mixed bag in the classes but the class is pretty young compared to in the UK and the hack classes are still far more popular. You also find a lot of horses in SH that would be better suited for Riding Horse (which has just started popping up at a few shows around the country)
 
The top one is very smart but looks like a riding horse rather than a show hunter. I would be interested to see what a riding horse looks like.
 
The second horse (black one) looks very ordinary compared with the others that look quite flash.
Interesting to see the variety in types though. Are they split into weights the same as in the UK?
 
At some of the shows (mainly on the South Island for some reason) the classes are split into weights but generally all weights compete in one show hunter class.

I don't have any riding horse pictures- the class is really really new, as in the first riding horse class ever to take place in New Zealand was held at the end of 2007! I think it would be a great class to introduce properly over here though as there are plenty of people with lovely horses that are neither a true hack type nor hunter type.

So...do you think that the kind of horse I have in mind would stack up against the 'top dogs' in the hunter ring?
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