Hunters turnout help!

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cattysmith

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Hi there!

I am looking for some help with turnout for a show I hope to be entering in a few weeks. I have no transport and was very kindly offered some at the weekend so I've gone for the opportunity! It's one of the oldest and biggest shows in the region so I know I need to get it as right as possible.

Only problem is the class I am entering and what I have to work with! It is the ridden hunter class. My mare is a LW hunter type but she's currently hogged, which of course is our first issue! Not much I can do about that between now and then, but it will grow out a bit and I'll try my best to attempt something. (She'd have been a perfect maxi cob but there are no cob classes at all.)

Anyway I'm just wondering what I can do to make up for that with my own attire! I have a navy hat, pink shirt, burgundy tie, cane etc but the only tweed I have is a grey one. I've had is for many years, but I'm pretty sure it's not correct for ridden hunter?

She's sorted for her tack as it's all brown.

Obviously I'm not worried about placing, she's only 4 and this will be our first outing. It's all about experience! I just don't want to look too ignorant for the judges.

Any advice you could give me I'd be hugely thankful!
 
Here is a video clip from you-tube showing what is worn .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI2trE5uNkY

and here is another from the Horse of the Year Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK-itoVny9Q

and a past threads on H&H .
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?25080-ridden-working-hunter-dress-code

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/showing/what-to-wear-for-working-hunter-classes-311829

Navy hat and jacket for ladies used to be acceptable. You will be fine as long as you and your horse look smart , no loose hair, clean and tidy overall. It shows you have made the effort. A smile and good manners also count :)
Best of luck. Relax and enjoy showing off your beautiful steed
Teg :)
 
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Tweed jacket in hunter classes always. A navy jacket has never been normal wear in hunters except in evening performances or at hoys.
Can you borrow a green or brown tweed? If not you will have to use the grey one.
I wouldn't put a pink shirt and burgundy tie together, probably worth a trip to asda for a blue shirt.

At big or affiliated shows your horse will be ridden by the judge so please make sure your horse is ok with different riding styles and different riders (including men).
Check your schedule as a lot of big shows are run under shbgb rules so you can't even enter unless you are a member

Also if she is realy a maxi cob then there is no way in earth she is suitable for a lightweight hunter class. You might get away with the heavyweight class but lightweights are very very different to cobs.
 
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conniegirl said:
Tweed jacket in hunter classes always. A navy jacket has never been normal wear in hunters except in evening performances or at hoys.
Can you borrow a green or brown tweed?

Also if she is realy a maxi cob then there is no way in earth she is suitable for a lightweight hunter class. You might get away with the heavyweight class but lightweights are very very different to cobs.
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Basically everything conniegirl said. Tweed jacket preferably green or brown, navy hat is fine, brown gloves, beige breeches and black (or brown) long leather boots. Make sure your hair is tidied away in a hairnets. Brown tack is perfect with a descreet brown numnah underneath. Most hunters are ridden in a double or Pelham especially big classes.

And again unfortunately if your horse is a true maxi cob then there is no way it's a LW hunter. These tend to be more TB types or at something with less bone than a maxi. If there is a medium/heavy hunter class that would be better.

Have fun and enjoy ��
 
Thank you very much for that! I'll go and check out those links right now. I reckon what I'll do is just keep an eye out for a more suitable jacket. Hopefully something better may appear on eBay between now and then, but at least I know I don't have to panic if it doesn't :-D

This is her...

She's a 16.1 ID/cob with plenty of bone. I'd have assumed she was a middleweight but I was told the other day by a lady who judges and teaches that she'd be more a suitable LW.

http://oi60.tinypic.com/rcoo4m.jpg
 
My goodness, she is gorgeous :) Sorry about my being out of date with correct attire. It has been a lifetime or 2 since I was on the show scene. I always wore black hunting coat with a stock for the show hunter class, a tweed for working (now called ridden) hunter and navy (or black) jacket & hat with collar and tie for show hack or best riding horse.
Best of luck.
Teg :)
 
looking at pic, technically she would be middleweight (great legs!!!), but height wise she would be dwarfed by the big guys in the middle or heavy class so yeah judge is right I would put her in the LW. Better to be too big for the class than to disappear with the big 17 handers in her correct weight class.
 
She is deffinatly not a maxi cob! More a hunter.

Chwaraeteg - show hunter and ridden hunter are exactly the same class, working hunter includes a round of jumps.
How long ago were you showing?it has been tweeds and ties for all hunter classes for at least the last 25 years!
 
Thanks again folks! She's only 4 but I don't think she's going to make much more height. Perhaps 16.2hh but even at that height I know she'll be minute compared to the ginormous HW hunters.

thanks also for confirming she's not a maxi cob. I'm now going to try and cast a spell to encourage her mane to grow hahaha!
 
If you have enough mane to get small bunches then you can buy false plaits, you just need something to attach them too
 
ChwaraeTeg said:
My goodness, she is gorgeous :) Sorry about my being out of date with correct attire. It has been a lifetime or 2 since I was on the show scene. I always wore black hunting coat with a stock for the show hunter class, a tweed for working (now called ridden) hunter and navy (or black) jacket & hat with collar and tie for show hack or best riding horse.
Best of luck.
Teg :)
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Black on a lady for showing has never been correct either! It was worn if you were in mourning and if that was the case you didnt ride! No stocks either its shirt and tie. I have copes of H&H that are from the 60`s /70`s and all the hunter riders are in tweed. :)
 
Would it be really incorrect to turn a hunter out hogged? I just think that might end up looking smarter than what you might otherwise manage.
 
The jacket colour is just fashion but it certainly should be tweed. She does look more like a hunter than a maxi-cob. In a year or two she should make a fab WH.
 
Well I know they should be, but then there was a showing comment in hho the other day about telling the difference between a cob and a hogged hunter. So although not perfect it might be better than spikey mane syndrome.
 
ester said:
Well I know they should be, but then there was a showing comment in hho the other day about telling the difference between a cob and a hogged hunter. So although not perfect it might be better than spikey mane syndrome.
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The quote was regarding type. It was a comment saying that a cob (which is obviously shown hogged) is a certain type, with bone and substance, and should not be confused with a small, chunky horse which had been hogged, to make it look like a cob, when really it didn't have enough bone, and should be shown as a small hunter. (which is a 15.2 version of a MW show hunter). No show hunter should be shown hogged.

It isn't really "right" to go hunting with a hogged horse unless it's a cob. I know it's the fashion nowadays, with the difficulty in getting competent grooms, to hog hunt horses (the ones the hunt staff ride) but it's a shame. A properly turned out hunter is a thing of joy!
 
conniegirl said:
If you have enough mane to get small bunches then you can buy false plaits, you just need something to attach them too
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If the picture is recent, there is a foot of tail that needs to come off, you could use the hair to make false plaits if there is enough on the neck to attach to. The tail needs to be just below the hock when the horse is on the move. Her quarters are sloping so if you pulled and shaped the dock it would give a better look.

She looks a good strong sort but at County level you might struggle for quality. At riding club/local level she would be fine in the ridden hunters. The classes are normally split between novice and open. If you can borrow a straighter cut saddle (not a dressage), perhaps a working hunter saddle and put the saddle back behind the shoulder you would show the front off nicely and shorten the back. No saddle cloth or furry numnahs poking out and a plain, ideally leather girth.

For you, tweed, plain shirt and tie, hair net, no ear rings, don't go overboard on make up, no panda eyes or bright red lipstick, no white breeches, plain gloves. Well polished boots and make sure your spurs are level on the line of the boot, you are not John Wayne. If you use a double, fit it properly so the curb does not rotate into the horizontal position, if she can't cope with a metal curb use a leather one and remember a lip strap must be on the bridle. A smear of oil on the horse is plenty, the judge will be peed off if he/she gets plastered in oil. If the ride judge is a male make sure your leathers will go down several holes and make sure the irons are not tiny ladies ones.

Have a fab day.
 
AdorableAlice said:
If the picture is recent, there is a foot of tail that needs to come off, you could use the hair to make false plaits if there is enough on the neck to attach to. The tail needs to be just below the hock when the horse is on the move. Her quarters are sloping so if you pulled and shaped the dock it would give a better look.

She looks a good strong sort but at County level you might struggle for quality. At riding club/local level she would be fine in the ridden hunters. The classes are normally split between novice and open. If you can borrow a straighter cut saddle (not a dressage), perhaps a working hunter saddle and put the saddle back behind the shoulder you would show the front off nicely and shorten the back. No saddle cloth or furry numnahs poking out and a plain, ideally leather girth.

For you, tweed, plain shirt and tie, hair net, no ear rings, don't go overboard on make up, no panda eyes or bright red lipstick, no white breeches, plain gloves. Well polished boots and make sure your spurs are level on the line of the boot, you are not John Wayne. If you use a double, fit it properly so the curb does not rotate into the horizontal position, if she can't cope with a metal curb use a leather one and remember a lip strap must be on the bridle. A smear of oil on the horse is plenty, the judge will be peed off if he/she gets plastered in oil. If the ride judge is a male make sure your leathers will go down several holes and make sure the irons are not tiny ladies ones.

Have a fab day.
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Crikey AA, love the practical advice here!
 
AdorableAlice said:
If the picture is recent, there is a foot of tail that needs to come off, you could use the hair to make false plaits if there is enough on the neck to attach to. The tail needs to be just below the hock when the horse is on the move. Her quarters are sloping so if you pulled and shaped the dock it would give a better look.

She looks a good strong sort but at County level you might struggle for quality. At riding club/local level she would be fine in the ridden hunters. The classes are normally split between novice and open. If you can borrow a straighter cut saddle (not a dressage), perhaps a working hunter saddle and put the saddle back behind the shoulder you would show the front off nicely and shorten the back. No saddle cloth or furry numnahs poking out and a plain, ideally leather girth.

For you, tweed, plain shirt and tie, hair net, no ear rings, don't go overboard on make up, no panda eyes or bright red lipstick, no white breeches, plain gloves. Well polished boots and make sure your spurs are level on the line of the boot, you are not John Wayne. If you use a double, fit it properly so the curb does not rotate into the horizontal position, if she can't cope with a metal curb use a leather one and remember a lip strap must be on the bridle. A smear of oil on the horse is plenty, the judge will be peed off if he/she gets plastered in oil. If the ride judge is a male make sure your leathers will go down several holes and make sure the irons are not tiny ladies ones.

Have a fab day.
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Thank you so much for that information, that's been hugely insightful and helpful!

The photo was from winter and her tail is much neater now. I won't have problems getting grey hair for plaits if I need them though as I own two others!

The show I'm going to is Turriff in Aberdeenshire. It's pretty much one of the oldest and biggest one going...so in at the deep end go I :-D
 
spottybotty said:
Black on a lady for showing has never been correct either! It was worn if you were in mourning and if that was the case you didnt ride! No stocks either its shirt and tie. I have copes of H&H that are from the 60`s /70`s and all the hunter riders are in tweed. :)
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WOW - Brilliant show :D You have a fabulous time .Take every notice of the advice given ... except mine .. I had a wonky moment .My brain mis-remembers stuff every so often and I only know when someone is kind enough to correct me/question me . (The picture I used to prompt my rememberences was an old one of me in a show hack class circa 1973) . Sorry to have got it wrong and thank-you ConnieGirl and SpottyBotty for questioning :)
Have a great show OP and make us all jealous with photos when you get home.
Teg :)
 
Well I thought I'd update here for those of you kind enough to give me your help.

We entered the ring for the LW ridden hunter and within a few minutes the judge and steward pulled me up and were decent enough to tell me to me to come back later on and do the ridden cob class! I didn't think there was one for her height and they told me that they've taken the height restrictions off. The only thing that was concerning me then was that I felt she didn't have enough covering on her for a cob class. Anyway, so glad we did go back later and my worries were soon shoved aside as we were then placed third! She was an absolute star and I'm totally delighted with her. The judge assured me that she's definitely a true maxi cob.
 
well done on your placing.
Cob classes are restricted to 15.1hh but there is no height restrictions on the maxi cob classes. SO if they just had a generic cob class there is no problem.

If you dont mind me asking what show it was?
 
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