Lead rein classes

[Little Nell]

Mini me and i are venturing out to her first show in 2 weeks time. Shes only 4 and very petite. We're going to be doing lead rein classes. Mini me has navy jacket (struggled to get tweed as shes so ickle) skull cap with navy silk, white shirt,red spotty tie and matching ribbons, cream jods, oxblood jodh boots, pony is bay section A. Having bankrupted myself buying outfit for Mimi i'm not to keen to spend a fortune on one of those foofy outfits with a squishy hat. I'm thinking i could wear smart navy blazer, navy trousers or jods, brown country boots and an oliver twist type hat. Can i get way with this or will everyone laugh at me and also do i plait, hoping to do M&M leadrein and show pony lead rein. I prefer to plait but then i'm a jumper and know nothing about showing. and lastly she normally wears a body protector, i've been told she should not wear this. Is this correct, it seems wrong that she would be marked down for a safety item. Please help. I can offer coconut creams and tea thanks

 

[spottybotty]

Ok, M@M lead-rein and Show pony lead-rein are two entirley seperate classes with very different ponies.Is it Affiliated? You dont plait for M@M but your daughter should really be in a tweed jacket instead of navy for this class. Your daughters attire is spot on for Show pony lead-rein where the pony should be plaited (but might just not be to type as pony is a Sec A) I would suggest you wear a navy skirt instead of trousers (definitly not jods) .I always get my outfits from charity shops including some lovely hats.

 

[mrogers]

echo SB, both SHP and M&M should be in tweed and canary jods. SHP should be plaited with no feathers and quarter marking, m&m obviously unplaited with feathers and no quarter marks.

I would also go for a skirt and a neck tie. For a hat you may be able to get away with a trilby. Both of you should also wear gloves (brown preferably) and you should carry a show cane. You also don't see any lead rein riders in body protectors, especially in affiliated classes and make sure you have a leather lead rein that is attached to the noseband

If you are looking for a tweed in the future, Horse Gossip forum always has loads of tiny jackets for sale as does ebay

 

[Little Nell]

Hey spottybotty, Proper advice, thanks. Its not affiliated, just a local agricultural show. We're just going for a bit of fun and the experience but i don't want my attire to be the reason she doesn't win a rossie. Bad Mummy!! Its pony's first show as well so I was just going to enter them in all the classes she is able to enter and see where their strengths lie and what Mini me and pony enjoy the most. I'm pleased to hear shes spot on for show pony, except for the pony . Pony is not a chunky section a, she's quite a pretty wee thing and i think she'll look very smart after a trim and plait, she has a bit of a bog brush mane which is still "in training" so maybe plaiting is the way to go. I'll have a wee dig and see if i've got a navy skirt. cheers m xx

 

[Little Nell]

cheers mrogers, having checked her jods are yellowy so i presume thats canary, pony has weedy feathers so i was thinking of just having them off anyway. I like to turnout fully plaited, mane, tail and forelock, quartermarks and everything trimmed to within an inch of its life so i think i'll just stick to what i know and see how we get on. I did look on ebay for jackets but as shes a 20" the choice was really limited so i just opted for navy, Brown gloves you say, i was going to order navy so i'll change that as well. Show cane i can do, I have some rather ornate giant bamboo in the garden so was going to fashion a cane from this and varnish. What about browbands, show pony velvet M&M plain, is that correct. Thanks

 

[showpony]

Browband for show pony lead rein should match the bows in your daughter's hair

 

[showpony]

Oh and don't forget joddy clips for your little one.

 

[Little Nell]

Thanks showpony. I have joddy clips and am currently looking at outrageous browbands, just velvet or should it have bling as well?? This is all new for me. I'm lucky if my bra and pants match never mind all this

 

[Little Nell]

I do fear exposing a 4yo child to this level of matchy matchy can only bring trouble, expensive trouble

 

[showpony]

Velvet with big rosette. Tbh I had a rude awakening last yr, first yr doing lead rein and Alot of judges tend to prefer Ott rather than understated.

 

[Little Nell]

Velvet with big rosette. Tbh I had a rude awakening last yr, first yr doing lead rein and Alot of judges tend to prefer Ott rather than understated.

Sounds right up her street, shes already a wee princess, i worry she may fit in too well

She just asked me if we could use her fairy magic wand as a showcane!!!! I may have created a monster

Tonight we will be practicing "Working it and Owning it"

 

[showpony]

And just have fun. I found some of the shows last yr quite intimidating with the coldness of some of the other mums looking us up and down, people making bitchy comments, ponies who behaved badly winning the class. I put no pressure on my daughter, she had a blast.

 

[Little Nell]

And just have fun. I found some of the shows last yr quite intimidating with the coldness of some of the other mums looking us up and down, people making bitchy comments, ponies who behaved badly winning the class. I put no pressure on my daughter, she had a blast.

Thanks showpony, we're just going for the fun of it. A day out, the experience, the excitement. No pressure, I had lots of it as a kid jumping and to be quite frank, at the time, because of all the pressure i was under i wouldn't have cared if i never jumped again (although that has all changed now) its not something i'd ever want to pass onto my daughter. Thanks for all the great advice folks M xx

 

[mrogers]

yes yellowy jods are canary (or banana legs as otherwise affectionately known) If you want them a little yellower, chuck them in with cheap new dusters in the wash. Bamboo cane would be fine for shp and m&m but I think leather covered for show pony. As for browband, you can have a bit of bling on the rosettes but full bling is ott, maybe go for some sparkly gold or silver ribbon in it. Charleys Browbands on FB is very cheap and super quality

 

[spottybotty]

Thanks showpony. I have joddy clips and am currently looking at outrageous browbands, just velvet or should it have bling as well?? This is all new for me. I'm lucky if my bra and pants match never mind all this

Just a little tip, sew some thin elastic to the bottoms of jods and slip under boots, it looks much neater than joddy clips

 

[Little Nell]

Thanks Peeps, I have ordered a red velvet browband with some gold ribbon in as well and the lil rosettes at the side, we have gloves and mama bear is on standby to sew elastic into her jods as the joddy clips are too big anyway.

My next question is about buttonholes, do judges appreciate a co-ordinating fresh flower buttonhole or am i better off with a frilly rosette buttonhole thingy similar to browband. This evening i can offer home made spag bols and lashings of garlic bread. Thanks again showing peeps