Tried, It's True! #1

This is the first post of a new series, "Tried, It's True!", in which I will recount events that I have really witnessed at horse shows that you should aim never to emulate! I hope that you will agree with me that these situations are not something that you should try yourself, but the stress of showing can lead our brains to shut down on occasion and these bad examples could help to set off alarm bells in your mind on those hectic days before anything gets to this point!

A very narrow aisle between tents

This past week I was at a horse show in which the tents were placed so close together that the aisle between them was literally four to five feet wide between the straps/anchors. I was walking down this aisle one day and I came across a horse being bathed in the cluttered space between the tents. When I got closer, I realized that the horse was tied to one of the D-rings on an end stall! I couldn't believe that the person bathing the horse was not aware of what a dangerous situation she had put this horse in.

There were a few others who I had seen attempting to shower horses between the two tents, but these horses were not tied and in many instances they were still getting legs on or under the straps or metal anchors. Many shows have designated showering areas; these areas are not only safer for the horses, but they also keep the ground from getting muddy where the horses and vehicles need to pass between the tents, and they avoid water spraying onto tack, hay, etc. This particular show did not have a designated showering area, but there were still hoses located in more open spaces and at the ends of the tents where there were fewer obstacles to contend with.

Many horses, especially at a busy horse show with cold water and no cross-ties, will move around during a bath. Even if your horse tends to stand still, plan the location of the bath as though your horse will move. Horses are unpredictable and you don't want the one time out of a hundred that your horse moves to happen when you're in a cluttered, confined area. It only takes a second for a serious laceration, knock, or more to occur.

I don't recommend tying a horse for bathing at a show unless there is a safe place to tie to, designed to be used as a location for tying. If your horse is used to being cross-tied for bathing, a stressful horse show is probably not the best place to attempt to tie with a single lead for the first time. Ideally, you'll have one person to hold the horse while the other wields the hose. You can also hold the horse and the hose at the same time, but you'll have to give yourself extra space because the horse will be able to circle around you.

Great for hanging buckets, not great for tying horses

Those little D-rings about halfway up the wall of a vinyl temporary stall are there for hanging buckets. They were not put there as a place to tie a horse. Temporary stalls are usually only fastened together by a couple of metal pins on each corner. This means that the wall can be lifted up easily without too much force, which would make it easy for a horse to lift it up when panicking, especially if the force is being exerted near the corner, where those D-rings are located. The last thing that you want for a panicking horse is something large and loose attached to it that will cause even more panic. Even when I'm putting up cross-ties in an aisle of temporary stalls, I like to wrap the baling twine (which the cross-tie is then attached to) around both vertical bars at the junction of two stalls so that if the horse manages to exert a lot of force on one cross-tie, it's not acting on a single stall front that can be lifted up and out of place to further panic the horse. If anything happens, it will lift both stall fronts as well as the pins so that the stalls don't lose their integrity. 

Sometimes you have no choice but to tie to part of a single stall wall, for instance if you need to tie a horse inside of its stall for braiding or to discourage rolling (although in that case the horse is contained and will feel less of a desire to pull back on the tie), but you just have to be as careful as you can be in your choice of location and in using something like baling twine to act as a breakable safety mechanism.

This is not a wash stall!

All of this put together makes the situation that I witnessed very dangerous. Not only was the horse tied directly to a weak part of a stall with nothing behind it to discourage it from pulling back, but it was in an area where stepping to either side could get a leg caught on part of the tent, and the act of showering the horse would make it much more likely to dance around or fight the restraint. The tents being so unusually close together in this situation made things even more dangerous, adding in more tent straps and anchors for the horse to get caught up in, as well as more traffic and objects in close proximity.

Luckily, in this case, I didn't see or hear about any big accidents, but the risk was so unnecessary and things could easily have gone either way.

Estimating the Wait Time Before You Will Compete

One of the most difficult parts of the show day to plan can be the timing of your classes. The phrase "hurry up and wait" is used often, especially in hunterland, to describe the rush to get to the ring on time followed by a long wait because the ring has run more slowly than expected! While it's very difficult to get the timing perfectly right for something with so many variables, it is possible to calculate an estimate of how many minutes you have before your round.

Hunters

For a regular hunter or hunt seat equitation round, you're looking at about two minutes per round from the moment the horse steps through the in-gate through to it leaving the ring. Because horses can enter the ring one after another with no delay, the waits for these classes can simply be calculated by multiplying the number of rounds by two minutes.

You can ask the in-gate person how many horses or trips there will be before yours. It's very important to find out whether the in-gate is using horses or trips, because "horses" includes every round that a horse will be doing as a single set, while "trips" counts every round separately. If the in-gate person gives you the number in horses, you'll need to figure out how many trips each horse will be doing (an open-card schooling, if it is being offered, as well as two or three over fences courses for the division is quite standard).

If the number is in horses: # horses x # trips/horse x 2 minutes/trip = # minutes

If the number is in trips: # trips x 2 minutes/trip = # minutes

To calculate the estimated time if there are multiple divisions running prior to yours, you'll need to also factor in the time for any flat classes, jogs and course changes. Flat or under saddle classes usually take about ten to fifteen minutes each. Course changes can be done very quickly if they're completed while the under saddle class is waiting to be called to order or during the jog. Jogs can usually be done quickly, in the range of five to ten minutes.

For derbies or classics, each horse will probably take slightly longer to complete the course, so the time might increase to two and a half or three minutes per horse.

Jumpers

Jumpers are more complicated because each class can take more or less time depending on how it's being judged (Table A with jump-off vs. speed vs. power and speed) as well as the length of the course, size of the ring, etc.

I usually estimate a regular jumper class with immediate jump-off to take about three minutes per horse. That takes into account the initial 45 second tour of the ring, the 70 to 80 second initial round and then a partial jump-off (because not every horse will move on to the jump-off).

A regular speed class (either Table A or Table C) might take closer to two or two and a half minutes per horse because there is no jump-off and the rounds themselves take less time.

Derbies will take longer, say three or four minutes per horse depending on the length of the course. Classes in which the jump-off is delayed, such as a grand prix, will run around the two to two and a half minute mark for the initial rounds, with another couple of minutes per jump-off after that.

The easiest part of estimating jumper times is that the number of horses and number of trips is the same, so there can be no confusion there! It's simply a matter of multiplying the estimated time per horse by the number of horses.

When estimating a time over multiple jumper classes, you'll have to take into account any course changes and walks. You'll be able to tell based on the course diagrams whether any jumps need to be moved, which will take much longer than a simple change of height and/or numbers. A quick course change can take about five to ten minutes, while a long one can drag on for half an hour or more! Course walks are usually kept to no more than fifteen minutes after the course has been set and opened.

In both rings, you should get an idea of how the day will run as the show goes on. Some shows will take longer because they have bigger rings, have slow course changes or because they allow the ring to sit empty, while others will pre-load the ring (have the next horse enter while the current horse is just finishing its course) and not allow competitors to hold the ring up for ages. It's always better to err on the side of being early because you can be eliminated for being more than a few minutes late, so "hurry up and wait" will unfortunately still apply for those shows that tend to drag on.

Have a Question or Turnout Photos?

As the show season gets started in many regions, remember that you can send in photos of your horse and yourself in horse show attire for a turnout critique to find out what changes you could effect to your turnout to make your first impression on the judge even better.  Photos can be sent to showringreadyblog@gmail.com

Also, you can always ask questions either by commenting on the blog, sending an e-mail to showringreadyblog@gmail.com or by commenting on or messaging our Facebook page (while you're there, you can "like" it to be informed of new posts, interesting horse show news, useful shared photos/videos/links, etc.) and I will try to give you at least a brief answer within 24 hours.

A Heads Up for US Equitation Riders, Stirrup Rule Change

Royal Rider stirrups

If you compete or are planning to compete in equitation classes in the United States, this rule change could affect you. Beginning December 1st, 2013, black stirrup irons will no longer be allowed for equitation classes.

My understanding of the reasoning is that a black iron against a black field boot, especially on a dark horse, can hide minor flaws in the leg position and make it difficult to tell if the rider has their foot in the stirrup.

If you are in the market for a new pair of stirrup irons and think that you might enter any equitation classes in the future, you should consider either a stainless steel-type iron or a newer-style polymer iron that is coloured silver/grey rather than black.

As far as I am aware, jointed stirrups with black joint coverings are most likely still acceptable because the top and bottom of the iron are still visible as stainless steel. If you are worried about potential elimination for those black coverings, the stirrups are made with grey coverings as well.

The colour of the stirrup pad should not matter because it is hidden by the rider's boot and the branch of the stirrup, anyway.

If you already own black stirrup irons and cannot purchase a new pair, there are metallic silver spray paints available that can be used on plastic.

I have not heard anything yet about this rule being adopted in Canada, but I would not be surprised if it happens in the next few years if this is a common complaint with judges, given how often American judges are brought up to Canada. For that reason, it might be wise for any equitation riders who plan on purchasing new stirrup irons in the near future to stick to stainless steel-looking options.

This is the new USEF rule:

EQ110 Appointments [Chapter EQ - Equitation Division, Subchapter EQ-2 Hunter Seat Equitation Section] add new:
4.  The use of black stirrups is not permitted in any Equitation class. The use of black stirrups will automatically result in elimination.

The full wording of the rule change can be seen here (on page 169):
http://www.usef.org/documents/rules/ruleChanges/2013/RCApprovedBOD1_17_13.pdf

Tape on Jumper Warm-Up Standards

Have you ever wondered what those two lines of tape are doing on the jumper ring schooling standards at some horse shows?

Those lines are measured and taped by the show steward to make it easier for both riders and stewards to ensure that the height-related rules are being followed.

The lower line is put at 1.30m (4'3") and the higher line is at 1.60m (5'3"). For many, these heights will never be jumped in the warm-up ring anyway, but certain tape-related rules might still apply and the tape can help you keep track of how high you're jumping.

While the Canadian and American jumper warm-up rules do differ slightly, they are the same with regard to the tape with one exception. The Canadian rules do not allow riders to jump more than 10cm higher than the height of the competition currently taking place in the show ring. This means that if the class is running at 1.20m, the warm-up jump is only allowed to be adjusted up to the point where the top of the highest rail is even with the lower tape. Even for lower classes, knowing that the tape is at 1.30m can make it easier to estimate the height of any jump that is set.

The role of the higher tape is to set a limit for how high the horses are permitted to jump in the warm-up ring. Rails may not exceed the height of that top tape (1.60m) for any competition.

The lower tape helps to enforce the rule stating that a minimum of two rails must be used on the take-off side for any jump at 1.30m or higher, with the lower rail always staying below 1.30m. This is a way to avoid overly airy fences that would be unfair to the horse.

In addition, trot/canter/placement poles can only be used when the jump is set at 1.30m or lower (therefore the top of the highest rail mustn't be higher than the bottom tape when using any rails on the ground except for ground lines within 1.0m of the fence).

The tape-related rule most likely to affect those jumping the lower heights is that the cups used to build a cross-rail may not exceed 1.30m. Because the middle of a cross-rail where it is jumped is much lower than the height of the cups, it's quite easy to approach the height of the tape when raising an X to anything more than a relatively low height.

For full warm-up rules, you can check the individual rule books:

EC rules

USEF rules

FAQ, Part 9

Do I have to wear leather gloves when showing hunter/jumper?

No, gloves are not necessary but they do provide a nice finishing touch to the rider's turnout in the hunter ring, keeping the hands discreet. The vast majority of riders do wear gloves to show.

If you choose to wear gloves, leather is a very nice traditional choice, although there are several alternatives made of other materials that can also look and feel good. As long as the pair of gloves is conservative (black, unless you are wearing brown boots in which case brown is more appropriate), clean and fit your hands, they will be acceptable in the show ring.

Can you wear a zippered shirt in the show ring? 

Show shirts with zippered fronts are more suited to the dressage ring than to the hunter or jumper rings. This is because the zipper is meant to be hidden beneath a stock tie. Chokers or stock ties are usually required as part of formal dress, therefore a zippered shirt worn without one could be considered illegal. Such a shirt could still be worn on a casual day in the jumper ring by itself or with a show jacket, but in any other situation it would be a risk to use one unless combined with a stock tie that covers it.

Nowadays there are shirts with wrap collars that are essentially built-in chokers, but these shirts are designed to look like a traditional show shirt from a distance, hiding the closures on the collar. Some judges or stewards might consider a zippered shirt to be similar enough to be acceptable, but it's better to check with the steward at each horse show than it is to just assume that it will be fine.

What is the best colour fly veil for a grey horse?

In most cases, the best colour of fly veil is the one that most closely matches the colour of the horse, though a black base will suit almost any colour of horse. A light grey horse can look good in an off-white or very light grey fly bonnet (pure white might make the horse look slightly yellow in comparison), and a darker grey horse could suit a medium grey or charcoal bonnet. Similarly, a chestnut often suits a brown fly veil, which can also look good on a bay if the colour of brown is exactly the right shade to complement the coat (otherwise, black is the way to go).

Of course, in the jumper ring, you can use any colour and there are lots of very classy-looking navy blue and even dark green bonnets out there for those who want to use barn colours or just want a different look. Remember that you can add colour to a neutral base with trim or cord, so there are lots of ways to make a fly bonnet original while keeping it relatively conservative overall.

Should you use clear or black hoof polish in the hunter ring?

Solid black-coloured hoof polish isn't usually seen in the hunter ring; either a naturally slightly-brown hoof oil/dressing or a clear polish would be much more suitable. These bring out and deepen the natural colour of the hoof instead of looking harsh and artificial.

Can jumpers wear only hind boots at shows?

Yes, in the jumper ring, you may use whichever combination of boots and bandages works best for your horse, or you may use nothing at all. As long as it's humane, it's up to you.

Can I tighten the curb chain on a hackamore?

Yes, you can tighten the curb chain or strap on a hackamore the same way you would for a bit, although the actual fit might need to be slightly different than it would be for a curb bit. The looser you make the curb strap, the more time it will take for the full effect of the hackamore to come into play during your rein aid, giving the horse a chance to  respond to the lighter feel before it is amplified. If the curb strap is too loose, however, the hackamore will move around on the face since there is nothing else holding it in position, making the standard 45 degree rotation of the shank that is typically used to adjust curb chains on bits sometimes too loose.

You can try making your curb strap slightly tighter or looser and seeing how your horse responds, as there are many factors involved and one horse might appreciate having the hackamore stabilized more with a relatively snug curb strap while another might enjoy having the gentler action of a looser curb strap. The 45 degree rotation of the shank is a good place to start, but there's no reason not to modify the tightness slightly if that standard tightness doesn't seem to be ideal. Using a flat leather curb strap instead of a curb chain will also make the curb milder and make it a bit kinder to play around with adjustments.

Turnout Critique #11

This week we have a featured horse and two riders who show excellent turnout for a cool season 'C' circuit horse show. There are a few improvements that could be made but overall we're looking at a team that puts a lot of effort into their presentation.

This horse is clipped appropriately for a horse show outside of the summer, leaving just the legs and a saddle patch unclipped. This is perfectly acceptable for a show at this level, and should also be appropriate for most shows at the 'B' level as well provided that the clip is done smoothly like this one with no visible clip lines. For an 'A' show, I would expect to see a full body clip, but at the lower levels the horses aren't presumed to be showing full-time and therefore it's understandable to leave some areas unclipped. A partial clip is certainly preferable to a shaggy, sweat-soaked horse.

The quality of this horse's coat is lovely, with the shine evident even indoors. All of the white markings are quite clean, which is impressive given that the legs aren't clipped, and the hooves have the rich colour that comes from being oiled prior to the class, helping to set off the white markings. He also appears to be in good weight.

Unfortunately, the mane is unbraided, which is a shame given the quality of the rest of their turnout. It is at least pulled to a short length so it is relatively neat, but braiding it would likely give him a better-looking neck since the hair sticking up near the top of the neck makes his crest look more upside down than it really is. It's difficult to see the tail but it seems to be brushed out nicely, though I suspect that it could use a trim based on those few longer hairs at the bottom. If the tail is quite long, trimming those thin hairs at the bottom should make the entire tail look fuller.

The tack shows the deep glow of well-cleaned leather. The bridle is adjusted properly, complementing the horse's head. I do find the yellow plastic of the bit's mouthpiece to be somewhat distracting, but if that is what the horse goes best in, it's okay. I have mentioned previously that some brands of peacock safety stirrups aren't intended for the weight of someone larger than a small child, so these riders should keep on eye on those stirrup irons if they wish to continue using them to make sure that they don't start to bend and lose their integrity. The extra length of stirrup leather should either be trimmed so that only a few inches extend beyond the edge of the saddle pad, or it can be tucked neatly under the saddle flap.

This saddle pad shows a tendency to slip back, though it does seem to be the correct size and shape for this saddle. Perhaps the girth is a bit too loose (it might need tightening once the rider is in the saddle) or the straps on the saddle pad might need to be adjusted differently or more tightly (sometimes even passing just one of the girth buckles through the girth loop instead of both can make a difference if the loop is positioned too far forward). If that doesn't work, there are non-slip pads available for purchase or they could try sewing a patch of non-slip kitchen drawer liner to the current pad.

Both riders are dressed in very well-fitted, clean clothing. Their boots are clean and polished and are a good height for each rider's leg. The breeches are an appropriate beige colour. Their jackets are both nicely fitted through the waist, and while a white show shirt would be a more classic pairing, especially for an equitation class, the light blue shirt is acceptable. Both riders are wearing stock pins, which have become out of style due to the risk of the pin coming undone during a fall or other accident and causing injury. The collar can be left plain, or you can add monogramming or piping if you feel that you must have something there.

Both riders have the number string up around the ribs rather than around the waist. While there is no rule against the number being a bit high, the normal position for it is around the waist. If the string is run through a button like this to hide the bow, it's important to thread the number in such a way (i.e. no double-looping through the holes) that it can be slid along the string to move it slightly to the inside or outside during flat classes so that the judge can read it. The gloves are clean and black, complementing the riders' boots and helmets. While their hair appears to be fairly neatly contained, I don't see a hairnet on either rider and the rider in the blue shirt has pieces of hair sticking out the back of her helmet. A hairnet would help to keep the hair neat. To have a really polished hunter look, they could try putting their hair across the tops of their ears. The white-shirted rider needs to make sure that her chinstrap stays up in its keeper instead of hanging down her neck. If it doesn't stay in place, adding a braiding elastic to the chinstrap should help.

The crop is appropriately conservative. During a flat class, however, it would be a good idea to leave the whip at the in-gate. In Canada, whips aren't allowed in hack classes, which many people also extend to under saddle and flat classes even if it isn't expressly written in the rules. I'm not sure whether any such rule exists in the U.S., but a judge won't see many good reasons for you to be carrying it in an under saddle class anyway, and you risk being placed lower if the judge thinks that you are using it.  

Overall, well done! It's very nice to see riders so well turned-out at this level and I'm sure that the judges notice this pair when they walk in the ring. Thank you very much to these riders for submitting their photos!

If you would like to be featured in a future Turnout Critique, send one or more photos to showringreadyblog@gmail.com