OK, lets moan! - What P***** you off at shows?

ppl looking down on me because i ride my horse in a pelham (double reins) ....now ive had many a lesson to make sure i use the equipment correctly and this the only bit my horse will listen to and do you know what ..........hes happy in it!.

again being looked down on becuase i take my horse to lower hight classes to school him as he is very green when it comes to jumping courses.

and my main bug bear ........

being cut up in the warmup
 
Dogs. Think all dogs should be banned from show fields. My horse is scared stiff of dogs and I am sure he is not the only one.
Loud mothers. Stop yelling over the lorry park/warm up we dont all need to hear.
the pink posers. Tend to be in pink, pale blue joules or musto clothing with large amounts of midriff on show. Hair and make up perfect of course as they never ever are actualy on a horse! Oh please this is north Scotland, put some wellies and a fleece on!

And when I am grooming..
The borrower..The poorly organised idiot who wanders up asking if I have spare bit, or martingale. Eh no I don't and if I did why would I give it to you as I have never seen you before.

Rude riders...Tend to find up here that there is a large amount of people who either go to shows alone, or have gran keeping them company. So when they are in the warm up they have nobody to build/rebuild jumps for them. Its part of my job to help in the warm up for my rider and as soon as I know she is ready to jump a practice fence go into the warm up. I ask if anyone minds when I am changing a fence, I keep to the rules about height and I never build silly sized fences. If another rider wants to jump the fence we are working with we have no problem with that, but I often find riders following us in the warm up because if they hit a fence I will have to pick it up for my rider to keep using it, but do they ever say thank you.....no..
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Conniegirl - I agree with everything you say.

As a showing judge I cringe if I have to go any where near the show jumping ring. Filthy, badly fitted tack on dirty ponies, kids who have never had a lesson in their life with hands like bricks, using foul language that their parents ignore. Competitors who insist that they want to go further down the black-board, and moan when they're called before time, because they've run out of competitors.

Kids who sit on their ponies ALL the time, all day, gassing to their friends, and when it's their turn to go in and jump, they grab up the reins, give the sleeping pony a great whack up the a*se and gallop in, legs and hands everywhere. I hate them!!
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When it comes to showing at local level, I don't mind too much if the leading rein rider hasn't got a proper jacket and that Mum has attached the rope to the bit, but I feel it is an insult to the pony and everyone else if it is filthy dirty. Most newcomers to showing are only too keen to ask advice to improve their turn-out for the next show but there are just a few who just don't care. Their argument being 'we're just doing it for a bit of fun' - yeah, great, but please arrive clean!!

A few years ago I wrote a book on local showing which sold out very quickly. I have since written another (which I sadly can't afford to get published) which includes extra chapters on manners and behaviour outside of the ring. One piece of advice which I shall put here, is - please find the time to go to the secretary's tent, at the end of the day, and thank them all for all the hard work which they have put in. As a show-secretary, myself, I can assure you it is really appreciated and makes it all worth while.
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Unsupervised kids that dawdle in front of you, cut you up and are downright rude

Taking a walk somewhere quiet miles away from everywhere else on the showground to calm your het-up-horse down and some idiot thundering past practising their gallop when there was plenty of flipping space not to do that...

Rude judges and stewards who are both bored and want to get your class over as quickly as possible, I mean ok you have a hard job but I paid the same amount to be judged by you as the first class of the day did!

Other people (usually kids again) too close behind you in in-hand, or next to you in line up, usually with their horse who is threatening to kick yours..

Too harsh bits & spurs on those who can't use them properly "because they look good"

The spoilt brat who throws a strop and hits/kicks her pony/horse and bu**ers off, leaving it with parent

Horses left tied up to the trailer with nobody watching them.. especially when two horses, surely two people also came??

oh, and a well known local celebrity of the horse world turning up to a walk/trot dressage test with the most amazing horse, making a total disaster of it and still coming first!

hmm, why DO I still like shows??
 
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A few years ago I wrote a book on local showing which sold out very quickly. I have since written another (which I sadly can't afford to get published) which includes extra chapters on manners and behaviour outside of the ring. One piece of advice which I shall put here, is - please find the time to go to the secretary's tent, at the end of the day, and thank them all for all the hard work which they have put in. As a show-secretary, myself, I can assure you it is really appreciated and makes it all worth while.
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too right - We used to get really badly told off if we didn't do that back in my pony club days!

in the middle of the wet summer last year one riding club managed to rearrange and hold a really professional little dressage event. My first one on horsey & I was a little emotional because he had been so good and we had got placed despite having hadly got out all summer because of the rain, went to thank the secretary for organising it so well desite difficulties and we both shed a tear!!
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I think she hadn't expected to be thanked
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Most of mine have been done already.
SJ - someone putting up the practice jump up to 3 times the height of the class thats running
- Someone turning in front of you when you are approaching the fence.
- Random people wandering in front or behind the jump when you are about 2 strides out.
- one venue that sets the practice jumps so that its only feasible to slip 1 horse between the jump and the outer fence so its impossible to canter in the warm up because you'll nearly always encounter someone in walk just as you reach the gap between the jump and the fence.
- same venue making it only possible to warm up on one rein for the same reason.
- another venue that every time I've been has displayed the incorrect course for the JO.

Dressage - people having lessons in the practice ring and thinking that gives them right of way over everyone else
- people that ride right up behind you or extremely close to you or even head on at you.
- basic left to left rule
- very long waits for the sheets to be given out.
 
when people make rude comments about you/other riders because the horse has a tiny bit of mud on it or it hasnt got a flashy bridle just a plain one.

(believe me someone made a comment about the mud at a hunter trial! and it was raining!)
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people just walking up to your horse and fussing over it when you arent there.

when obvious underweight/ill horses are forced to go round XC/SJ courses.

when riders entering the bigger classes also do the minimus/novice novice against inexperienced people. (seen it all before, somone doing the open course at a hunter trial entered the novice novice!
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and when trailers park themselves with the lorries instead of going into the trailor section. last year at an event because loads of people had done this we had to park a long way away from the parking and the courses and warmup areas
aswell. but eventually just before the girls were due to warmup the traffic directors found a space
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Dogs. Think all dogs should be banned from show fields. My horse is scared stiff of dogs and I am sure he is not the only one.
Loud mothers. Stop yelling over the lorry park/warm up we dont all need to hear.
the pink posers. Tend to be in pink, pale blue joules or musto clothing with large amounts of midriff on show. Hair and make up perfect of course as they never ever are actualy on a horse! Oh please this is north Scotland, put some wellies and a fleece on!

And when I am grooming..
The borrower..The poorly organised idiot who wanders up asking if I have spare bit, or martingale. Eh no I don't and if I did why would I give it to you as I have never seen you before.

Rude riders...Tend to find up here that there is a large amount of people who either go to shows alone, or have gran keeping them company. So when they are in the warm up they have nobody to build/rebuild jumps for them. Its part of my job to help in the warm up for my rider and as soon as I know she is ready to jump a practice fence go into the warm up. I ask if anyone minds when I am changing a fence, I keep to the rules about height and I never build silly sized fences. If another rider wants to jump the fence we are working with we have no problem with that, but I often find riders following us in the warm up because if they hit a fence I will have to pick it up for my rider to keep using it, but do they ever say thank you.....no..
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i dont mind dogs at shows - its just that their everywhere! running riot in the warmup areas, picking fights and scaring the horses, when they get loose etc. some poeple are very responsible with their dogs, but some arent.

and i have the same job as you, i help out team by doing jumps, runners and keepers, girth checks, boot checks, various other tack checks.
but when i do the warmup jump i will do the jump for my girls with permission from other riders, and then afgter all my lot have jumped the jump i get shouted at to stick the jump up to some amount because one that person wants to jump it - its not like our event team which is mainly horses and ponies under 15.2 are going ot be able to jump it. and then i get no thanks for doing so.

oh and i just thought of another one - when i am obviously taking a photo of one of our horses and i've got right out the way of everyone and then somone comes inbetween me and the horse deliberately - especially teenagers which then say "my bad", not sorry! i think its cause im only a teen myself they think they can walk all over me!
 
After reading all this I'm having trouble remembering why I'm scrimping and scraping together every penny to buy a trailer to get to shows!!

It all seemed quite simple when I was a kid
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Schedules with no start times annoy me - of course I understand that some classes will run on and it's hard to give an exact time, but an approximate time would be nice so my poor horse isn't being warmed up for three hours just in case it starts any minute!

Small ungrateful children on ponies that are too good for them - I would have killed for a hairy ugly donkey as a young kid, never mind a genuine little show pony, and I certainly wouldn't be whacking the doodah out of it for trying its best.

Judges who, when faced with two equally good horses, pick the flashier colour. I have come second to palomino Welsh D's more times than I can count.
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People who look down on me for entering novice show classes - yes, she is an open horse in regards to pure showing, but she is so so green with her jumping and is still very much eligible for novice working hunter classes. If that means we (her 14.2hh, me 18 years old) are up against kids on 11hh ponies then so be it. They'll still win!
 
Ignorant judges that place a chestnut 1st over a rabicano roan in an odd coloured class because apparantly the roan didn't have enough muscle whereas the one who won was a CHESTNUT shetland and had no muscle either? (there was no way it was palomino!)

Or another really dumb SJ judge once - it had just had a massive rain shower, I was next in the SJ, and going into the treble my horse slipped and was forced to refuse, but skidded into the jump knocking it down, and the stupid idiots expected me to jump the treble with the front part down! They'd obviously never watched SJ before or glanced at the BSJA rulebook which they were supposed to be running accordingly to. They told me (over the loudspeaker) to either jump it with it down or cut infront of the first bit and jump the last two - instead I retired.
 
Mine mainly relate to SJ:

1. People who never put their numbers down until the first few have gone EVEN if an x has been put at the end (so you have to fill the numbers before of the number in the class if you know what I mean) - so if I put myself down 4th to go, I find that Im first in because nobodys put their number in front of me!! Totally unfair, especially when you havent warmed up enough! Ive got so peed off with it that Im afraid Ive started to wait until the board fills up so I can be assured theres people in front of me!

2. People who put their numbers down but then aren't ready when its their turn.

3. Grooms who mob the practice fences. Their rider jumps and then they automatically start changing it, what about everyone else?!

4. As someones said, walking round the fences / in the practice ring without even looking out for horses approaching etc.!!

5. Those who's grooms wack the fences right up massive and then leave them at that height! Hello, what about those of us who haven't even popped one fence yet?! Not ALL of us have grooms!!

For showing:

1. Judges who are cr*p and dont know what they're talking about (mainly unaffiliated!). Or those who dont even know the breed, I had once "are you sure you're in the right class because you're on a horse" because I was in a large M&M class on my pure reg Welsh D who is 15.2hh. They said they "expected all ponies". I was put at the bottom of the line-up...

2. Judges who put badly behaved horses above those who aren't. If a horse refuses to canter then HOW can that be put above things that willingly do?!

With eventing, it HAS to be slowness in writing up results. It would be nice to know your dressage mark before SJ for example especially when you have like a 2/3 hour gap in between and they still dont appear! And overall placings taking FOREVER to come out, especially if its pissing rain and you wanna go home! Also dont like cruddy prizes - you work your butt off all day and are given a tiny weeny rossette at the end is hardly worth it! Especially at BE events where it costs a fortune to enter!
 
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Horses left tied up to the trailer with nobody watching them.. especially when two horses, surely two people also came??

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Erm, I have to do that! If I go to shows on my own (and my horse is far calmer and happier tied up outside) then I have no choice but to leave him when I go to walk the course / enter etc. If I have to go and walk a XC course then I'll tell someone nearby who I know what Im doing (and will happily return the favour if they want to do the same). With regard to 2 horses - people can often ride more than 1 horse... so 2 people may not have come. Although TBH, Id very rarely leave 2 tied up on their own (as they can be brats!).
 
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Horses left tied up to the trailer with nobody watching them.. especially when two horses, surely two people also came??


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Not necessarily!!
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when my boss had two horses she used to take them out on her own together and tie them up to the trailer whilst she walked the course or declared herself and got her numbers.
 
ive also taken 2 to a show on my own. both veterans and both tie up very well. im happy to leave them tied up and they are happier dozeing in the sun then tied up in the lorry.
 
I've always left my horse tied to the trailer in the past while I walked the course etc but have stopped recently because at one of the first BSJA shows I did, I left Jenny tied to the box while I had a quick scan of the JO course. I must of left her for all of 2 minutes when it was announced over the tannoy system that this was forbidden at affiliated shows. I was highly embarassed and went back to her straight away and now have to shove her back on the trailer if I need to do anything which is a hassle and also gives Jen the wrong message that she has finished for the day. On Sunday gone, I asked a complete stranger to hold her while I had a quick look at the JO rather than having to put her back on the box (thanks whoever you were!) but it really is a bit tricky when you go to shows on your own as I do.
 
Oops I could have worded that better!

I understand completely that its a different story if there is only one of you, didn't mean to offend you - I admire you very much! I have done my fair share of holding or keeping an eye on somebody elses horses & know it can be difficult to find willing volunteers.

I really meant that I have had to untangle several horses who weren't being watched who had got legs over the rope/in haynet and panicked, and in particular one that pulled back and got free and left his friend rearing still tied up - it just got to me when on 3 occasions it turned out that at least two adults were at the show with them, once they had both gone off for ice creams! Gripe was about that - could have been prevented if one had stayed with the horses.
 
My ponies wouldnt dream of pulling back from the trailer and if they did get loose they are far to lazy to do anything other then amble over to the nearest patch of grass.
If i leave them on the lorry, well for a start they dont like going back in and then they fight in the lorry, fidget and call to each other. i much prefer leave them tied up.
Obviously i do ask the people in the next trailer/lorry if the would keep an eye on them for me, make sure no legs over ropes etc, i have had one pony get his leg over his rope, he just stood there eating his hay with one leg in the air until rescued by the lady in the next lorry.
 
After witnessing loose horses careering dangerously around the show-ground in a blind panic we have now put on our schedule that 'no horses should be left un-attended, whilst tied to the side of a lorry or trailer'.

I do understand where you are coming from; the majority of owners trust their horses to stand quietly, half-asleep in the sun or eating from their haynets but even the quietest of horses can be spooked and you can bet your life that it is now galloping around with no head-collar on, because it broke and is still hanging on the side of the lorry.
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I am a terrible pessimist and I couldn't walk away and leave a horse tied up with no-one around. I'd rather ask a complete stranger to hold it for me, while I walk the course - then I could concentrate on what I was doing, take my time and return to it without that awful deep-feeling of trepidation as I walked back to the lorry.
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There was one family last year at a local jumping show, pony was a welsh A about 11.2 and not much bone. Girl of about 14/15 was on it, quite a tall girl and although not fat, no stick insect either. She was in the clear round, little sister had already beaten pony round and pony was getting upset at being hit and yanked at the same time. Big girl is putting her whip right above her head and hitting the pony repeatedly with the full force of her arm while yanking on the reins. She jumps a few, still hitting and yanking when i goes into the ring and quietly tell her that for 1 she is being cruel hitting the pony repeatedly, 2 she is far too big!
She said she was teaching it some manners because it was playing up and refusing with the little girl, my reply was if the pony is playing up it needs proper schooling not beating up. Then her mother came over telling me how many years experience shes got and i should get lost. I told her the same as the girl, pony needs schooling not whipping.
Things like this, and its not the first time ive seen it really annoy me, its not teaching those kids respect for a living animal. And someone who says she has 25 years experience as this woman SAID she did should know better!
 
I was at a show and the judge said right in front of me i hate coloureds! when i was ridin ma 14.2hh Coloured Pony and Then she didnt even bother to watch me ride round! so basically i didnt have a chance! it shouldnt matter if she likes them or not!
 
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the pink posers. Tend to be in pink, pale blue joules or musto clothing with large amounts of midriff on show. Hair and make up perfect of course as they never ever are actualy on a horse! Oh please this is north Scotland, put some wellies and a fleece on!



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Oh I KNOW!
That annoys me - and they tend to be the ones who criticise all the competitors!
I hate the "Look" you get when you go to the secretary tent or just to get a burger, with your hair plastered to your head, slobber all up your arm, and a rather red face after a round... and they just stare as if you shouldn't be there because you don't look absolutely perfect!
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