Youngsters first shows,go big or start small?

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mcrobbiena

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I was wondering if it makes much of a difference to take a youngster to their first show if its a big county show or a wee local show,if its their first show they're probably going to act the same way no matter where they are as they are totally bewildered by it and have no idea what its all about.at least the rings are usually better fenced off,u have horse walkways etc as opposed to being in a big field,also if u start big next time out will always be easier instead of working up to it.i took my 2yo to her first show at the highland and she was fine,however she was a 12.2hh pony,thinking of doing the same with my 2yo 16hh sports horse this year but don't feel quite so smug about my plan!am I a plonker to do this?
 
It depends what he is like. Is he likely to freak out, and can you hold onto him if he does..? Hanging onto a 12h is a lot easier!

Personally I would go for small and quiet - local rc dressage is quite a good one, or a novice show, where there is enough going on, but not too much.

Our last youngster used to come on the trailer to events with my mare, and stood there gawping all day, then went for a wander round when my mare had finished and was relaxing. He was broken though, so I used to just jump on him.
 
She's totally laid back,she'll follow me anywhere,the pony is more likely to kick off but she's only small so it is not really a worry.i am planning on taking her for excursions with her mum (been weaned now back together but easy to separate) firstly to the odd lesson then maybe to the odd show,there's only 14 weeks to prepare and I can only find one show that takes less than an hour to get to but I would have to go alone as mum on holiday (used to work with show hunters) brothers doing exams (to be a vet) so could have good back up at highland but would feel very under manned at the show before!i could take other folk but u just end up worrying about them!
 
The Highland is in some ways better for youngsters as they have such good horsewalkways and do not allow the public in them. When in the ring whether it is the main one or ones down by the saddlers you feel well protected. I wouldnt hesitate to take a youngster there esp in hand, guess thats why we are taking 3 this year ;)
 
Cool that's what I felt last year however she didn't like the way the main ring was split up so we had the welsh cob stallions trotting towards us-could feel the ground move!there was just a bit of string separating us,pony did really well hesitated but kept trotting bless her.at least the sports horses have their ring closer to the lorries so we wont have to plow through the mud,last year was awful,glad shes bay.looking forwards to this year and it being DRY
 
I took my sport horse yearling to herts county show as her first last year :D
She wouldnt load for the lil show down the road so it was her choice to go to the big show :D
 
My thoughts are exactly in line with yours OP. Any show will be an experience for a youngster so it doesn't matter whether it's big or small. I'd just go to the ones closest/most convenient/the ones I wanted to go to and it wouldn't matter to me if they were big shows or small shows. Good luck :)
 
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