Those of you with county show horses...

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Lucy_Nottingham

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What else do your horses do? (Like dressage, jumping, xc, hacking etc)

did you get them through a private sale or a dealer?

and if I don't sound too cheeky, how much did you have to pay for them?

I don't mean to sound intrusive I am just interested for my (hopefully) future horse!
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My last horse who was a top class Small Riding Horse hacked and did dressage. He was £4000 as a 4 yr old in 1997, private sale

My current horse who is very nice, county standard but not absolutely top class, hacks, does dressage (qualified for Regionals in Novice freestyle) and is just starting to jump. Hope to do a couple of unaffiliated events with him. He was £5000 as a 3 yr old in 2005. Bought from breeder.

Both were backed and ridden away.

Hope that helps.
 
Hi

We don't do alot through the winter with our horses, either a holiday or keep them ticking over with hacking and a bit of schooling. I have four show horses, all were bought privately and range from £1200 to £9000! The more expensive had already qualified for HOYS so we cheated a bit!

Good luck with your search!
 
Mine - who is a county level non native coloured - also jumps really well - she was bought in 2005, she was just 4 yrs old, for £4K from a very good dealer (she was up for more than this but we negotiated quite heftily!!!).
 

Depends what sort of horse, what class. When viewing for clients I have been looking at top county standard horse (ie *should* win most times out) around 5-8k.

A horse with a hoys ticket is a five figure sum.

That said, if you only want to "compete" at county level, as in to turn up and ride around, you only ned find a vaguely typey horse and pay the affiliation fees.

For a new comer dont forget you can do veterans and various other classes at county shows - will get you used to producing and presenting a horse, let alone into the swing of competeing.... the hack/rh/hunters are big game!
 
thanks, this is really interesting, espec the price as my budget will be approx 5k (it will be my graduation pres) I have always shown (and done dressage and a bit of jumping and xc) so am happy for all the effort, presenting etc and have some friends who compete at county level etc (so would pick their brains etc
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I will be really looking for a hunter type (pref MW to HW) as I am 5ft 10 and not fat but a "strong built" sort of girl (Im a vet student and am generally the one used to compensate if boys arent present! Yes it makes me feel so pretty!!!
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I also know that i wouldnt just get a horse and hop striaght to the nearest ocunty show and expect to kick ass! id obv try lower level and build up confidence, experience etc.
I am not aiming for a HOYs ticket horse as I definetly don't have that much money!!!
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I also would rather not have a vetran, I was looking more for a 6-8yo so that I can work with it as well in other disciplines etc

Its nice to know you can have a good standard show horse that can do a bit of other stuff too!!
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Dressage is my main other interest, but I do like to do a bit of jumping, hunting, stuff like that!
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I am not going to start looking until next year when I graduate, but just nice to know i am not expecting too much!!
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also maxi cobs are a bit of a fave of mine (don't know, do they have these classes at county yet?!)

and also alchemist I would most likely be asking your opinion on a horse if I found one!!
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They are getting more and more popular. They have classes at the Royal International and the BSHA champs and I think some county shows.
 
Ahh yey!!!
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Love a chunkster!!! Plus I look more at home (and feel it) on slightly stockier horses! But my only concern with maxi cobs etc is if you get a heavy weight about jumping as the one I ride at the moment loves having a go, and will put everything he has into it, he used to hunt, but he is just not really "designed" to jump high (not john whit high! But I enjoy doing up to 1.10-1.40 ish......)

Ahhhhhh I guess as well as meeting my requirements for ability at the end of the day the personality will play a huge role too!! As if I get a horse I am intending on it being a horse for life (having waited so long for one!) so we have to get a good relationship and work well together!
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i totally dont want to hijack this thread but as a few of you are show people and show hacks,could you tell me what you and your horse would wear in a hack or veteran ridden class? Now the basics but would love to know what the top people would wear!I have a 15.3hh anglo arab chestnut 2 white socks and a blaze,which colour browband would you choose for him,want him to look the part! And also not sure whether to wear navy jacket or hacking jacket. Thanks v much and sorry for asking but couldn't resist.
 
I dont do hacks (im too big) but I think its a navy jacket, shirt tie, navy hat, beige/canary jods, black long boots, brown gloves and cane.

On chestnuts I think green gold and white combo browband look gorgeous, but there might be a "trend" for browbands for hacks which I am unaware of (being a hunter and cob girl who has lovely big fat plain tack!
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I dont mind a mini hijack!
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What about ex racers so you are eligible for the seib/ror classes as well and generally most ex racers(of the height you want) will fit the riding horse classes as well. A couple I know also wouldn't look out of place in a lw hunter class as well. Lots of options !
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You might also you could get more horse for your money as ex racers do tend to come with a bit of tag as well which can put people off
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I wouldnt turn down an ex racer except I really look out of place on tb's!!
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Im just one of those people who does not look right on them!
If there was a really REALLY stocky ex racer then I would maybe look ok on them, but they do have to be on the stokcier side (stupid big bum of mine!
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Im not exactly tiny and mine is meant to be a flat horse but grew to ridiculous 17hh and is quite deep through his barrel so we kind of go ok together. The NH tbs are normally a good bet as they tend to be a bit taller and more chunky

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This is me and the giraffe - Im 5'9-10'' and a size 18 and I don't think we look too out of sorts - plus he keeps me on a diet !
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I have a county level lw hunter/ ladies hunter, bought for £2K as a project horse having not done much since coming over from ireland, so green but broken. Bought through a private sale and home produced. He also does dressage (element. level) and has recently started jumping aiming at going for working hunter next year. I have taken him hunting too to keep him ticking over through the winter and keep things interesting. Good luck with your search
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Mine ticks over the winter with a little light hacking and the odd bit in the school where he does some poles and jumping although we don't compete jumping. He cost around £3500 having done dressage but no showing and has since been placed at HOYS and other major championships. I think to some extent, when you look at quite a few of the horses that get placed at county level they are fairly ordinary but are well produced with good manners and good paces and good conformation. You should be able to find something to have quite a bit of fun with in your price range.
 
Benjamin - Yey!
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thank you that makes me feel a bit better.

Ellie K - that sounds great, Id be happy with a slightly green horse as I am confident enough and I feel strong enough as a rider to bring it on to what I want, and I want to improve with my horse.

This has made me feel alot better! thank you guys
 
Good - mind you don't get depressed but the hunter and the cob classes are normally huge! Some riding horse and hack classes are quite small - 2 hacks on one HOYS qualifer last year but then 15 odd somewhere else.
 
No I know they are often the bigger classes, but as I say I just do not suit smaller horses (which sucks but I am just a bit too big and tall etc to suit them)

I also prefer them as a horse "type" overall as well!
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My 2 show cobs hunt all winter
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one cost £2k as a project horse (county & qualified classic supreme 2010) and the other was a £600 foal (HOYS 2005 + C&T supreme champion)
 
Stinky is county level - did our first one last year and he won and went reserve coloured champ - but it may have been a fluke
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He does a bit of most things, dressage, SJ, we were going to do some XC and hunting this year, but my developing breast cancer has put a stop on that for the moment. He is an excellent hack, the kids ride him and he is turning out to be a great family all rounder which is exactly what I wanted.

I bought him via his breeder/dealer - he is called Quite by Chance as I was looking at a stallion she was exporting to the US and just fell in love with his kind brown eyes - best impulse purchase ever.

I paid £1800 for him as a yearling colt - he was up for £2,500 but I had done some IT stuff for her as a favour so she returned the favour in his price.

I could probably pick one up like him at the moment for about £1,000 - £1,500 but finding one that moves like him would not be that easy.

Price is not everything - I have beaten several horses that I know were sold for £15,000 and £20,000 since.
 
My baby cob was £3000 in April last year, at rising 4 having just been backed and ridden away. But he was still underweight and needed a fair bit of work.
I got him from a producer, who my MIL has bought ponies from and sent ponies to for schooling, who actually works with M&Ms, (COMPLETE coincidence that they had a trad for sale as they don't tend to buy and sell and they don't deal with coloureds, lol) but they happened to find Freddie with some travellers and sort of rescued him and saw something in him.
He hasn't done much yet, but qualified for Equifest and CHAPS Winter Champs on his first ever ridden class on Jan 3rd this year, so looking good so far and lots to look forward to this season.

As he's a baby we've done a lot of work on his flat work mostly since I've had him, but he has a hell of a jump on him and I'd eventually likle to do a bit of everything with him at local level. I'll do a bit more jumping with him this summer hopefully and then I might think about doing a few local jumping and dressage competitions over next winter, as I feel he got a bit bored with the typical show horse's 'winter holiday' that a lot of the others enjoyed this year. I think it's good for them to do other things too, and as I'm sure you know, nothing shines in the ring like a happy horse!!

All the horses on the yard I'm on (producers yard) are shown at varying levels, from HOYS to local stuff, and all of them hack out, go in the school, do the odd bit of jumping, etc. Some have hunted, although not this year, and none are wrapped in cotton wool as much as critics like to think, lol.

Sorry, I've gone on a bit here, lol.
 
Aww thanks guys!
Its nice to know my want is not unrealistic!
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Iv seen lots of posts about many of your horses (all of whom are beautiful!) and its nice to know that I would have a chance of owning something similar!!
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