Sports horse, Riding horse? What do I show him as?

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blood_magik

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Horse in question is a 16.3h Belgian WB. He's very fine/narrow so not the right type for a small hunter/lady's hunter and possibly too big for a show hack?
Apologies for the quality but this is the only full-length picture I have of him:
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Any ideas would be appreciated as I'm kind of stuck... Thanks in advance. :)

ETA: the show I'm planning on doing is an UA training show so classes are along the lines of novice show horse and open horses.
 
Not the best photo to judge from but he is definitely too big to do hacks or small hunters, he would usually be expected to carry a side saddle for ladies hunters, so depending on the classes available he could do Riding Horse, Sport Horse or possibly Lightweight Hunter, workers would be another option as I guess he jumps, I would do novice classes at the first show and see how it goes, you may find he fits well into one class if you want to do more later.

A very smart boy, if he gives the judge a good ride he could do well.
 
At riding club and local level he could do anything and not be disgraced, he looks a nice type. At County level you should find a sports horse class, warmblood flat class etc. I vaguely remember a warmblood class at the Counties last year.

16.3h would be on the tall side for a large riding horse and if he screams foreign in his conformation it will disadvantage him in most flat classes. Without better photo's it is difficult to judge him, he does not look narrow and weedy in the picture so maybe a lightweight worker would be worth a try if he jumps.
 
I agree to go for Riding horse class. It's quite hard to judge conformation from that shot but he does look nice and giving a good ride for the judge is half the battle.
Height wise I'm sure The Philanderer was big and didn't stop him being an unprecedented winner as a Riding Horse!
I agree that a lot of judges do not like blatant 'foreign' types but Broadstone Dolce Vita was hugely prolific under saddle and is enjoying massive success as a broodmare and she is by Demonstrator so don't let that put you off! Good luck!
 
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thanks for all the advice, guys.
I entered him as a riding horse and the judge loved him. He won both of his classes and my other two managed two firsts, a second, a fifth and reserve champion between them. :)
 
thanks. :)
i still can't quite believe just how well they all did.

the judges were friendly and their comments were really helpful so it was a nice experience. More stressful than SJ prep-wise but far less pressure in the ring. well, for me anyways... ;)
 
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