In-hand Showing advice

[lacey111]

Hi I am putting myself in for a local show in the in-hand class.
I have a 15hh Standardbred gelding who has never been shown inhand before and i have never shown inhand before!

Im quite happy with getting him ready and clean and what to do etc. but i an unsure what to wear myself, and wether to plait him up or not. He has rubbed his tail so i wont be able to plait his tail and will have to pull the top to make it look tidy, so taking this into account aswell, i still dont know whether to plait his mane or not!

Also i dont know what to do when actually in the ring...

any help appreciated!

 

[moppet]

Are you doing a breed class with him (a class for his breed)?

If not, and your just doing a general hunter inhand class or something along those lines, then yes I would plait him. Don't worry about not plaiting his tail, a pulled tail looks better in the showring anyway. Certainly I'd plait his mane though (unless it is a class specifically for standardbreds, I'm not sure how they would be turned out, but I'm assuming its not.)

The proper turn out for a class such as this would be a tweed jacket (preferably a green tweed, but blue tweed would be fine), shirt and tie, trousers (dark if he has light legs, cream if he has dark legs), some smartish boots (I actually just wear jod boots) and perhaps your riding hat, a beagler hat or a 'trilby' style hat. As it is a local show though you'd get away with wearing a blue jacket and your riding gear if you had to.

You'll enter the ring and all walk round as a group. The steward will then stop you in a corner of the ring and one by one you'll trot around the ring to the back of the line again. You'll then walk around and the judge will pull you in in a provisional order - watch out for the steward pointing at you. When it's your turn to come out to the line, stand your horse up in front of the judge, preferably with all 4 legs visible to her. She'll then ask you to walk away from her and trot straight back - when you walk away, circle your horse away from you so you get back onto an exact straight line back towards the judge. Trot straight past the judge, round the back of the line and return to your place. The judge might leave you as you are, or ask you to walk around again then pull everyone in in a new, final order.

Hope that is of some help!

 

[lacey111]

Its just a "general" in hand horse class! the only problem i can see me having is his paces, sometimes he goes back into natural mode and starts pacing as he is an ex harness racer, but hopefully on the day he will trot normally for me!

I will pull his mane this weekend then and practice my plaiting and get his tail pulled.

Will i be ok in jodhpurs and joddy boots? and in only have a blue tweed so it will have to do :-( and do i have to wear a hat? if so it will have to be my riding hat as dont have anything else!

Thanks for that! ill go and practice tonight!

 

[moppet]

Hopefully he'll be fine, good luck!

Blue tweed will be fine, and you'll be fine in jods and joddy boots too - as long as everything is clean and tidy then thats great. I think it's smarter to wear a hat although you don't have to - I used to do it in my riding hat and it was fine, I think it looks smarter but many people don't.

 

[Hornby]

Don't forget gloves and hairnet! Showing cane is more correct than an long whip. Hope you have a nice time

 

[lacey111]

I had better go and buy gloves and a hairnet! i guess i need light coloured golves?

oo lots to do! going to be busy for a while!

Thanks!

 

[Hornby]

I think the showing mantra is to always wear brown gloves - personally I wear brown with my greeny tweed as they go but would wear black with a blue tweed. I just like to wear gloves in hand in case the horse is strong!