Just for fun please !! Show ring pet hates

Plaits done with rubber bands in showing classes is my biggest pet hate, sewing is actually tons easier and quicker as you don't have to worry about the band snapping on a second/third time round and you can actually shape your plaits to improve the illusion of top line. (In my world it is ok to band the ends before you roll if you need to!).

No hairnet is my second pet hate - they are 79p.

Miss_C's comments about buzzing made me smile too, my horse couldn't give a stuff either. Why do people feel the need to do this?!
 
Standing 'nicely' in line whilst others are doing their show.

We were at a show a few weeks back and were watching the ridden show hunter class ... the chestnut at the end wouldnt not stand still for 2 seconds ... and ended up barging into the poor girl/horse next to them about 10 times! At least make it stand a little further back so if it does decide to tank off its not into others!

I wanted to get in and drag it away myself :mad:
 
People ignoring the ribbon in our pony's tail! He more than likely won't kick, but there is a chance he might if he gets a grump on, which is why we always put his red ribbon in at a show. Didn't stop a lady not looking where she was going, and pushing a double buggy with two babies in up his bottom at a show this year! actually bashed into him, Thank goodness he was fine but really??!!
 
Went to a show saturday. Of the ponies in the class Best childs pony most had strong bits in. One had his head up my daughters ponies backside because she couldnt stop. Unfortunatley he ended up bucking going into canter so was placed last while the girl who couldnt stop was first:confused:
I am sure that we should have been placed last because he was naughty but we would never enter family or pony club pony in anything other than a snaffle.
He went on to come 2nd in family pony when he had got rid of the boings !!so daughter very happy but dont show in other classes because I never agree with the judging specially if there are obese animals in the class which I would place last
 
Suziq77 said:
Plaits done with rubber bands in showing classes is my biggest pet hate, sewing is actually tons easier and quicker as you don't have to worry about the band snapping on a second/third time round and you can actually shape your plaits to improve the illusion of top line. (In my world it is ok to band the ends before you roll if you need to!).

No hairnet is my second pet hate - they are 79p.
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Oh dear this is actually me !! Although I keep promising myself I will learn to sew them in I never get time so I do it the way I know how and quickly

hairnets agreed - I drove 8 miles to get mine for Sunday - that was all I needed
 
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I only do a bit of local showing over the summer but get a few annoying things!
First, my first class on my mums connie. We all do the initial go around then stand up in line in any order. We ended up near the end which I was a bit miffed about because the pony is lazy and easily switches off but fairplay really because I wasn't quick enough! Then someone comes in late and pushes in the line up in front of me- great now I have to wait even longer! I mean, whats wrong with going to the end of the line instead of cutting in?

I also find it annoying judges who don't even watch and are stood there just talking to the photographer, people who aren't friendly and think they are superior to everyone else (we're all at a local show- not bidding to get to hoys!!!) people who get up your horses backend. I didn't know there was a term for what I now know is buzzing. I've had people do that to me but my horses couldn't care less as they've encountered far worse in sj/xc warm ups!
 
Stinkbomb said:
people who refuse to go round on the lap of honour because they got place anything below first!! Manners cost nothing!!!
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I got told this the other day- there was only 1 tack and turnout class and we (pony and daughter on lead rein) came second, so I said to 3rd very politely 'you go on' as I didn't fancy running along with fresh-ish pony with 4 year old on board in the middle of a canter lap on honour, we stood still until they had finished then walked out of the ring and the official said that it was 'bad manners'. As a child showing (off lead rein) the best bit of any 'boring' showing class was the lap of honour! :p
 
Romax said:
"He's a stallion" To excuse bad behaviour.
I compete two stallions and often have to do the jog (like an eventing trot-up) and vet check in front of mares. If these guys who do live cover can control themselves, how come your horse whose never actually covered or only done AI can't?! :mad:
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I was on a fun ride once and this silly woman on a coloured heavy wieght horse (who really lacked in any riding ability) came barging past everyone shouting 'mind out of my way, he's a stallion'

When she got to us (bear in mind I was with friends who had children) the stallion had a fit, it went mental, to be fair I am still not certain to this day how that woman stayed in the saddle. She bellowed at me 'ITS YOUR FAULT! YOUR MARE MUST BE IN SEASON!'

To which I calmly replied 'My horse would be a miracle to science if it were in season... He is a gelding love - trot on'

If there had not been children present I would have given her a more colourful response but I am not sure it would have had the same impact :D

I am also a member of the anti screeching mum and sore looser brigade :D

I show dogs now which is even more political! ;)
 
Damnation said:
Ok its a highland but it doesn't mean it can't be in good condition i.e fit and trim looking :mad: It really peeved my friend off, and I have to say I was stood by a woman who thought the same as me, that overweight Highland should NOT have been placed :mad:
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What exactly do you mean by "OK it's a highland" :confused: As though that's some sort of excuse - as you say, they can still be fit and trim! Just because 95% of them you see are grossly overweight and people's opinions are moderated in favour of fat ones as a result :rolleyes: Drives me up the wall. Completely agree with you on every level about obesity, especially in M&M classes.

Same syndrome with welsh sec Cs, I find round here. Seen a few grotesquely heavy beasts gasping their way round the ring to be placed highly.

I find the blindness of some owners totally confusing. I had one highland owner tell me her pony was condition scoring at 2, despite the fact it resembled a small hippopotamus. Some people seem genuinely incapable of assessing their own pony. I make a point of harassing my vet and anyone who sees the pony for second opinions regularly lest I fall into this trap myself :o
 
Ladylina83 said:
Oh dear this is actually me !! Although I keep promising myself I will learn to sew them in I never get time so I do it the way I know how and quickly

hairnets agreed - I drove 8 miles to get mine for Sunday - that was all I needed
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Ahhh don't worry - you will be surprised how easy it is i promise! Do your usual tight plait, turn the end under to band it, fold it once/twice (depending on length of mane). Then take your ready threaded needle** and start from the underside of the roll up, on the side of the band away from the neck and go straight up through the plait, you come out bang in the middle of the plait. Loop around the outside (either side) to come back up through the middle again, then loop around the outside again (other side). Repeat once again on each side then snip the end off. The idea is that you are "catching" the rubber band holding the end, as well as holding each side of the plait in.

You can adjust how tight you pull, how many times round etc to suit the type of mane and look of plait which you want. The best type of mane to perfect plaiting on is a not too short but properly pulled and thinned non-native/non-cob type of horse mane. However, once you have mastered the technique it works on cob manes too (much much easier than banding them i promise) but starting on a cobby mane would be a real challenge as their hair is so wiry and springy and their manes so thick.

** I find my perfect thread length to start with is a double length thread, knotted at the end (keep the "tail" as short as you can or it will poke out) and I measure the length of my body to the top of my thigh (cos I am lazy and like to get at least 3 or 4 plaits out of each needle to avoid constant re-threading, even though I have ten needles i usually have to do multiple ponies so thread the night before), then you re-knot the thread each time you finish a plait. The knot catches on the rubber band at the end of the roll up so you don't keep pulling it all the way through. Make sure you buy proper plaiting needles too or it really hurts!

Good luck with the practise :D

ps - I have such a hair net issue I even wear one for daily riding :eek:
 
Why thank you ! I also found this !

I'm not sure how it will work out on my yearling though as standing still for long periods isn't top of his to do list lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R67khuNdB8

Also youngstock classes tend to START at 9am !! I'll have to do some serious practice to become good enough to do it in my sleep :)
 
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benson21 said:
Handlers wearing trainers in the ring! Especially white ones!
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In the nicest way possible, I take it that you don't show arabians or Welsh cobs then? Those handlers are a mix of sprinters and endurance runners! :D http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=282729
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuxDRIbALCU&feature=related

It always makes me laugh at some big shows when they have a handler on each corner to take over the horse like a baton in a relay race! I'd be on my knees trying to go down one side of a ring!:o
 
kirsty17 said:
The kid on the pony that's been to hoys, Olympia, rihs, everything you name it , yet they only ever compete at local riding club shows so daughter can win. With mother bellowing in the background at how amazing her daughter is.
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Agreed! However, my pet hate is also people who make this assumption. Years ago, I was accused of and harshly rebuked by a bunch of pony club mothers with children my age for bringing an Olympia pony to a local show. I was 12, I'd just had my confidence shattered by a genuinely dangerous pony (poor chap; long story) and had had my new boy for less than six weeks. He was 16 and an ex-stud stallion (now gelded) who'd done BSJA. I had no idea what he'd be like at a show and I was terrified. Bless the lad, he was an utter saint and (somewhat embarrassingly, as well as what prompted the accusation) walked the board in the only two classes I entered as well as winning the championship. My mother's (small) cheer of delight was at seeing me smile on horseback for the first time in over a year!

My other pet hates are: people using their horses as armchairs all day, wildly competitive parents pushing children who clearly have no interest in riding, and ridiculously biased judging.

E.g: I once got told by a judge that I was ineligible to even compete in a coloured class (on the same pony as above). Apparently, he wasn't a 'true' palomino because he had a single strand of black hair in his tail. O...kay. So, he's registered with the palomino society, he regularly wins coloured classes, he's a vivid golden with a white mane and tail, and he's *not* palomino? I never found that mythic black hair either...
 
kirsty17 said:
The kid on the pony that's been to hoys, Olympia, rihs, everything you name it , yet they only ever compete at local riding club shows so daughter can win. With mother bellowing in the background at how amazing her daughter is.

Larger people wearing ill- fitting jackets, I've seen larger ladies wearing jackets fastened with only one button!!
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These are my 2 pet hates! Esp the top one, drives me mad. You just want to tell them to bog off and stop being such a glory seeker
 
Kids who sit on their ponies for hours, intermitently galloping them up and down the horse lines.

Pot hunters! If you enter 7 classes and come home with 5x1sts and 2x2nds, you are capable of more than RC level.

People who enter 7 ridden classes in one day!

'Sympathy' judges. I only ever did 2 tack and turnouts, because the judge was placing people with poor turnout ( kinked curb chains, white numnahs, a skull cap on backwards, a white stock with a tweed jacket....) The three of us on the back row were turned out correctly.

The parents who enter their child in affiliated 'Open' classes when they are extremely novice and frankly terrified. Also people in Open classes who don't canter when the order is given, but continue to trot because the pony is a Novice! If it can't canter in a group, then it shouldn't be in an Open class. It's not fair on the child, the pony or the rest of the class.

Competitors who talk to each other - with you stuck in between them, whilst trying to concentrate on the rest of the competition.
 
People who haven't got the foggiest how to do a show class! Yes people need to start somewhere but go and WATCH a couple of classes first so you at leaast have a vague idea and won't be gettingin everyones way!

My biggest pet hate in ridden classes is people whose individual shows go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on ... Then they salute and you think the torment is over - only for them to start gain on the other rein! ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHH!!!

In-hand - Again the individual trot ups. Not standing the horse up properly. Walking away in a squiggly line. Trotting back off the bend and 20 meters to the judges right - or left if they have turned the wrong way! And then stopping at the judge again.

No! You stand up square in front at least and not too off square behind. Walk away in a STRAIGHT line. Turn a small circle, walk 2 or 3 strides to straighten up before trotting back ON THE SAME LINE towards the judge - they will move, they want to see the horses conformation! And keep trotting past them and round the back of the line up to about 3/4 way along.

My other pet peeve is Young Handler Classes these days. When I did them 6-9 years ago I swept the board and started a new trend. I say a new trend I just brought out he competative side of the kids! I smiled, I had flair and I exagerated everything on a small scale. I didn't just walk and trot round the ring with a sour expression - I had a bounce in my step. I grinned from ear to ear, spoke politely to the judge and did everything to perfection. Now me and 2 others are out of the class the kids have gone back to being boring old sods with no enthusiasm! We 3 competed against each other for the most outragous shows whilst still being civilised lol! It was good fun and it was taken int he spirit intended! We need some more handler classes for all age groups!
 
Janette said:
Competitors who talk to each other - with you stuck in between them, whilst trying to concentrate on the rest of the competition.
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Oh I love ot gossip in the ring! But quiety, still paying 1/2 attention to the class and only to the people right next to me. I will never talk across people, it's just plain rude.
 
benson21 said:
Handlers wearing trainers in the ring! Especially white ones!
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When handling a Welsh Cob the need for footwear which has studs in is a neccesity, trainers or football boots. The last thing I want is to come round a corner and loose my footing, my lad may not be big but he has a stonkingly big stride compared to my lengh of leg.
 
my list gets longer as the season go's on so seeing as my season has just finished this list could get pretty long and will probably duplicate alot of what has been said before but will admit i haven't read all the replies :o

-Plaits with plaiting bands. sewing gives you piece of mind that in the morning your plaits WILL STILL be in!
-white jods and black jacket in sowing classes - the only place for that attire is show jumping
-People who don't research the classes - Riding Horses in Hunter Classes especially:mad:
-Hair down and no hair net
-incorrect tack - flash nosebands in hunter classes - even with the flash removed - what does a nose band cost like £10? or a couple of quid from a car boot?
-white bits on a horse that are still covered in stable stains? why waste the judges time?
-horses not turned out to their breed - non natives left hairy and un plaited
-loose ties with the top button un done
-jods and jod boots without jod clips
-mothers on the outside of the ring screaming at their children
-the number of parents who thing they should be judging!
-people getting right up your a**e whilst trotting round and using you as their breaks
-people with over/under bitted horses
-People who don't read the rules!!!!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

that is all for now (:
 
For me one is the Riding Horse in the Ridden Hunter class.

The hunter's these days that are so over fed they fly buck round the ring and cant behave - yet look nice, where as my traditionally bred well mannered mare doesnt get a look in these days as she is nice and quiet and does as she's asked, which would you rather go hunting on?

And the novice's who arent novice, that get a different horse/pony each year and go in novice as 'they've never competed on that one before' (and win that class year in year out and no-one else gets a look in).
 
CHALK on anything other than white bits dives me nuts! In fact i have a (white) grey but prefer elbow gease and refuse to use chalk on him at all.
I also hate gross horses/ponies they should be fit not fat. Plenty of turnout gives good results. My welsh cob pobably wouldnt do well though hes a lovely horse, he is the correct weight and im not letting him get fat just for a few shows.
I do wear jods for in hand showing though, sorry whoever said they didnt like it, i draw the line at trainers, your supposed to look smart.
 
Lexie81 said:
People ignoring the ribbon in our pony's tail! He more than likely won't kick, but there is a chance he might if he gets a grump on, which is why we always put his red ribbon in at a show. Didn't stop a lady not looking where she was going, and pushing a double buggy with two babies in up his bottom at a show this year! actually bashed into him, Thank goodness he was fine but really??!!
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This too. I always take our youngsters to local shows for atmosphere and always put a green ribbon in there tail. So many times I've heard children asking their parents what that means and the parents say oh I don't know maybe its to look pretty!!
 
PolarSkye said:
This^ . . . we've got one of these at our yards and she does my head in. Her daughter is a very sweet little thing and leases the most adorable (and elderly) pony on the planet (a beautiful (inside and out) strawberry roan Sec A) . . . Mum is constantly berating, criticizing and generally kvetching AT both daughter and pony . . . at shows and on the yard. So wish she would just let her daughter and the lovely pony have fun.

Apparently she used to ride and compete . . . so tempted to chuck Kal's reins at her and see how she does (but that would just be mean, now wouldn't it?).P
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No .............might be upsetting to your horse though !! lol x
 
The only time I can bear to see horses being shown in-hand in jods and long boots is if you are literally going from a ridden to an in-hand class with no time inbetween. Saying that I have only done it twice. Once in long boots, the other in short boots and boy did I feel ridiculous leading my shetland round that ring dressed like that!

I always try to make sure I have my beige trousers in my grooming kit at the ring side so they can be dragged on and off in seconds. On hot days I usually have a waist coat in there too to wear for in-hand when I really can't bear my jacket anymore! I would never show in just a shirt and tie though. Always have a waistcoat on if jecketless.

THe other thing that bugs me is when you are leaving the ring and if your not in the first few out of the ring you have to kind of squeeze and barge your way past everyone else just to get space as they have all stopped to gossip in the gateway! I'm sure there is somewhere else you can gossip!
 
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