What's the difference between all the different hunter classes?

[Sabrina&Stardust]

So what's the difference in etiquette and what they involve between all the different classes with 'Hunter' in the name...i.e Hunter trials, Working hunter, open hunter, ridden hunter, the show hunter etc! Should your horse be plaited up for any of them..my pony is a connemara. Thanks!

 

[LeannePip]

So what's the difference in etiquette and what they involve between all the different classes with 'Hunter' in the name...i.e Hunter trials, Working hunter, open hunter, ridden hunter, the show hunter etc! Should your horse be plaited up for any of them..my pony is a connemara. Thanks!

hunter trials - another name for x-country only competitions - no need to be plaited

working hunter - working hunter is for horses should be plaited. jumpfirst then ridden show judge may ride at local lever most probably will ride at county+
Working HUnter Phone (whp) is for ponies should also be plaited
m&m working hunter - working hunter for mountain and moorland unplaited as for natives
open hunter - is a standard hunter class for hunters that have already won/highly placed need to be plaited
ridden hunter is the same as above - just as hunter class without the jumps just another name
show hunter pony - is a childrens showing class on ponies usually a hunter type should be plaited.

this is just my basic understanding of the hunter class so im sure some one will correct me if im wrong - but basically hunters are a workman like horse with flat, less 'flashy' paces than a hack or a riding horse that should be plaited and shown in plain tack - m&m's often enter them at lower level but technically is incorrect from my understanding

m&m working hunter you are deffinatly eligble for (provided he is 100% and registered with his breed society) and dont plait as he's a native

 

[Sabrina&Stardust]

That's really helpful thankyou! Would I be able to enter local working hunter pony classes with my connemara or would it just be m&m? Because he is a native should I plait in working hunter? Just checking- golf balls in mane and french plait for tail or do you not plait the tail for any reason?

 

[LeannePip]

That's really helpful thankyou! Would I be able to enter local working hunter pony classes with my connemara or would it just be m&m? Because he is a native should I plait in working hunter? Just checking- golf balls in mane and french plait for tail or do you not plait the tail for any reason?

if your local doesnt have a m&m whp - you can probably enter the working hunter class - check with the secretary what they'd prefer to see - technically working hunters are plaited but then you dont plait natives but then people plat up sec B's for show hunter pony classes so its up to you i suppose! - i dont ever plait the tail because i pull mine - but then a natives wuldnt be pulled - less and less people plait tails nowadays anyway. so i suppose your safer bet would be to leave him unplaited and show him to type as if they had the class you would be in the m&m section

 

[LittleWildOne]

If you're showing in M&M classes, either flat showing or M&M WHP, you leave his mane & tail unplaited.
If you're doing non M&M classes, plait his mane. You can either plait his tail, or use hair gel to flatten it down if you're not plaiting it. Dampen the top of his tail with plain water, smooth a little hair gel (human, but don't use coloured gel) through the hair and put a tail bandage on. When you take the bandage off, his tail will look neat for your class. Never use a tail bandage overnight.
Most people who show Connies, whether at local or county level, pull their manes a little as they do plaited classes as well as M&M. The breed standard allows discreet pulling and trimming for Connies and New Forests. It's meant to still look natural, but you do see a lot of Connie/NF's with manes pulled quite short. More so in ridden classes than in hand. A lot of people also lightly pull their ponies tails, to shape and thin it slightly at the top. You don't want it pulled as much as a show pony though, just a few hairs at the sides to give it a nice shape.
I have a New Forest. I trim her jaw and ears, and pull her mane as allowed by the breed standard. Her tail gets cut level at the very bottom, and I use hair gel and a tail bandage to make it neat at the top.
All of this applies whether you are showing at local or county shows.
Hope this helps.

 

[Sabrina&Stardust]

Thankyou both! Star's mane is really pulled quite short because it suits him best & makes life sooo much easier for me brushing it & plaiting it. Short as in ridiculously short (it sticks up ) so do you reckon I ought to plait it to take away the emphis of such a short mane on a native ?? (If I'm not doing native classes of course, they'll just have to like it or lump it in the native classes because it is only a bit of fun for me & him)

 

[LittleWildOne]

Thankyou both! Star's mane is really pulled quite short because it suits him best & makes life sooo much easier for me brushing it & plaiting it. Short as in ridiculously short (it sticks up ) so do you reckon I ought to plait it to take away the emphis of such a short mane on a native ?? (If I'm not doing native classes of course, they'll just have to like it or lump it in the native classes because it is only a bit of fun for me & him)

Yes, plait him .
You can also use a little hair gel on the mane for plaiting to stick any wispy bits down. I don't dampen the mane if I plait with gel...it gets too slippy to plait.
Band his mane in sections depending on how many plaits you're doing, then plait each one using a tiny bit of gel on your fingers. On dry hair, smooth the gel through then plait, keeping them tight at the top, plait down and band at the bottom to keep it tight. Then either roll up and sew the plaits in (I cheat...leave the rubber band on to hold the plait while you sew ), or roll up and band using the same (or closest) colour of bands to his mane.
A french plait in the forelock looks neater than a normal plait.

 

[Sabrina&Stardust]

Ooh, will definitely try french plaiting the forelock instead of a normal plait- it sounds like it will work better!