Showing a Yearling

SuperHorse

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I have a very nice 7 month old foal and I'd like to take him out to a couple of yearling classes in the summer - but have no idea what they involve! I presume you just walk round and then trot them up or something? And would you put a bridle on a yearling, or are there some kind of special showing headcollars or something? And what should the handler wear? Also, as he was quite a late foal (June) would he be at a disadvantage compared to the ones born earlier in the year?
Sorry for all the questions but it's my first foal and I've never done showing before
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im not sure what breed your foal is but i will be showing my highland yearling (mountain and moorland youngstock classes) in a white rope halter. im not too sure as its my first year too but i think its the usual walk round, trot round then trot them up in front of the judge. sorry hope this helps, good luck
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Thanks Inks_77. Mine is an Irish Sport Horse, I have no idea what different classes they have for yearlings, probably a hunter or performance horse class would suit him best...
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Hi

He will want a leather bitless inhand bridle. He will also need to be neatly plaited - you can plait his tail rather than pull as a yearling.

Here is my sports pony/hunter pony filly at her first show - she was only 3 months, but she will be turned out in the same way this year as a yearling

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And this one shows quite well what the handler should wear

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I wear navy trousers with my grey, but will get some light coloured for my bay filly (wore white for sport horse/pony shows) so you can see the legs seperately to the handler.

A good tweed jacket with a shirt and tie, with some kind of hat - for a sport horse I prefer to see women in a beagler and men in a bowler but thats personal preference as you can see my Dad wears a panema!

Dark brown gloves and a cane should also be worn/carried.

I hope this is of some help!
 
this is me showing a yearling show pony at the Royal
We didnt bit him, but have a bitless inhand bridle


and this is a yearling hack. I wear the same outfit when I show him in sporthorse classes, but swop the coloured browband for a plain one

 
Have you considered the BEF Futurity this coming summer? I took mine last year and it was a great experience
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This is my yearling at his first show last year;
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He had to be bitted as he hadn't been gelded, but I wouldn't have bothered otherwise.
You all walk round the ring together, the judge will pull you in and then you'll present to the judge, walk away in a straight line and trot back then around the ring one at a time. its important to practise standing still at home because they can get very fidgety in the line up. were a smart jacket snd shoes you can run in, good luck!
 
Thanks everyone
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I had no idea you could get bitless inhand bridles - I'll have to have a look online and see if I can order one!
Thanks for all the photos - it's very helpful to see what sort of look we should be aiming for. And all you horses are gorgeous
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Spyda - I'm in Ireland so can't do the BEF Futurity unfortunately. I'll have to see if we have something similar over here!
 
Oh sorry, didn't realise
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Look for a 'filly slip' when you're Googling for a bitless show bridle. I didn't know what I was looking for last year and had dreadful trouble finding one. Now I see hundreds of 'filly slip' bitless show bridles available (now I don't want one!)

Good luck with her
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Don't completly rule out bitting him though, ours all wear the little black nylon bits from yearlings upwards. Once they're in a show environment you might find you need a bit more control, especially the slightly bigger ones!
 
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