Turnout Critique #5

This week's featured rider appears to put a lot of effort into her turnout. We're going to look at a few ways to further refine their look with a little bit more attention to detail.

One of the first things that I notice is that the tack all appears to be properly fitted to this very cute pony. The noseband is correctly placed at the right height, and everything looks clean. I would like to see the long excess stirrup leather either tucked under the flap or trimmed so that it doesn't flap around. Also, make sure to check the keepers on the bridle before entering the ring because one has slipped down and that might cause the cheek strap to flap while you're showing. If your keepers have a tendency to slip, it can sometimes be better to push them up slightly higher than normal where the leather might be thicker, filling the keeper better.

The saddle pad appears to fit the shape and size of the saddle nicely, which can be difficult to do with an older saddle like this one.

I assume that this show took place during a cold part of the year based on the pony's long coat. Clipping the coat would really sharpen their turnout while helping to remove the yellow tinge that can be very difficult to remove from long hair (although this rider has done quite a good job of cleaning this long-haired pony up). If this pony has a long coat during the warmer seasons, clipping would be a good idea both to keep her clean and to keep her comfortable.

I recommend shampooing grey manes and tails frequently, even outside of shows, to keep them as white as possible. Once stains have set in they can be very difficult to remove, and frequent shampooing can help to avoid the yellow tinge that we see in this pony's mane, which is practically impossible to get rid of in just one or two pre-show baths.

I am always a fan of braiding the mane, and I think that a row of hunter braids would suit this pony very well, especially since her naturally frizzy mane is difficult to keep neat. I also think that oiled hooves would show off her clean grey coat nicely, as would trimming the long hair on her legs.

While the rider's boots appear to be perfectly clean, they don't shine as though they've been polished. I recommend polishing field boots before every show. Wiping them off with a dry rag will keep them polished while removing any dust that settles on them while you're riding.

I feel like a broken record, having said this in just about every turnout critique so far, but I feel that this rider's jacket is too big and looks a bit messy because of it. The only location on a jacket that really needs to be spacious is the shoulder area because of all of the arm movements associated with riding. The rest of the jacket really doesn't need to be anything but fitted, especially with the stretchy materials that are commonly used today. Some jacket brands offer slim cuts, and some brands simply fit slimmer builds better than others. If all else fails, you could always ask if a tailor could bring the jacket in at the waist. If this particular jacket's buttons have a tendency to pop out, which has happened here, looking down and checking them before heading into the ring might be a good habit to get into.

I like that this rider is wearing clean, dark gloves, and her white show shirt is clean and classic.

While I commend this rider on wearing a hairnet, it's distractingly low. The hairnet should just cover the hair, which means that it shouldn't come any lower than the helmet on the forehead, and shouldn't cover the entire ear if the hair isn't. One more little detail can be fixed with the helmet's chin strap cover, which is sitting off to the side instead of in the middle. In an equitation class, that sort of thing could make her look crooked.

This looks like a rider who puts a lot of effort into her and her pony's turnout, and I think that they will turn heads in the ring if they put just that much more emphasis on the details.

Thank you very much to this week's featured rider for submitting these photos! As always, if you're interested in being featured in a future turnout critique, please send your photos to showringreadyblog@gmail.com

Hunter Derbies

Hunter derbies have become increasingly popular in recent years. They challenge horses to step outside of the usual hunter box and display more bravery, athleticism and handiness. This allows for some jumpers to participate, too. For the uninitiated, the judging and course plan can be somewhat of a mystery, so today we'll be looking at how these classes are run and judged.

Hunter derbies can vary slightly in format. We're going to focus on how the derbies are done in Canada (specifically for the Canadian Hunter Derby Series), so while things should be similar elsewhere, make sure that you check the class specifications and rules in your area before forming your plan. In the US, hunter derbies may include multiple rounds with different specifications for each.

The hunter derby is usually run in a larger ring than that used for your typical hunter class. Sometimes the class takes place in a jumper ring and sometimes it's put in an enlarged hunter ring. The course will be longer than most hunter courses, more on par with a hunter classic, but with options both in terms of height and in terms of approaches. The jumps should be very natural-looking and usually include things like hay bales, wood piles, coops, walls, natural rails and extra-filled hunter jumps.

Additional tests may be asked for, like walking or trotting a jump, dismounting, opening or closing a gate, etc. Any of these tests will be specified on the course diagram.

I've included two different course plans from this year below so that you can get an idea of what a hunter derby course might look like. You can see that the high-performance options are all labelled as such, but the handiness options are to be identified by the rider alone. If you're worried about keeping track of all the options while you walk the course, you can usually pick up a copy of the course diagram from the show office at some point on the day of the class.

The score for each horse is composed of three parts: the hunter score, the high-performance score, and the handy score. We'll take a look at what each score means and how you might try to increase each one.

Hunter Score

This is what your score would be if the derby were a normal hunter round. The judge is looking for consistency, rhythm, jumping form, way of going, manners, good distances, etc. Horses who show some expression after the jumps aren't usually overly penalized for it in a derby.

Essentially, you want to keep a similar feel as you would have in a regular hunter class while still being able to negotiate the derby course and keep a bit more pace.

The hunter score is usually a score out of 100. A score in the 70's is good with some minor mistakes, while a score in the 80's or higher is very good.

High-Performance Score

The high-performance score is a score out of 10, used to give the horse bonus points for jumping the high-performance options. These options are usually three to six inches higher than the other jumps, or might occasionally be a difficult natural option like a bank. There will likely be five high-performance options, each worth two points.

Each time you successfully navigate a high-performance option, you add two points to your high-performance score. Knocking down one of these options would not result in those points being added, and the judge would lower your hunter score down into the 40's for the knockdown.

Not risking the high-performance options would not lower the hunter score, but would also mean not getting any of those 10 bonus points, so the risk needs to be weighed against the potential benefits.

Handy Score

The handy score is also out of 10, and how these points are assigned is at the discretion of the judge. Many judges seem to designate certain areas of the course for a point each, such that a horse who takes all the handy options will receive a handy score of 10, a horse who takes half will receive a score of 5, and one that takes no handy options will receive a score of 0.

It can be useful to go later in the class in order to get a feel for which approaches seem to be rewarded, and to see certain options being tried that you hadn't thought of.

Handy options can include any of the following, and more:

• Handy approach to the first jump (doing a rollback turn, cantering straight from the ingate, etc.)
• Direct routes between jumps
• Hand galloping long, straight distances
• Inside turns and rollbacks
• Taking jumps on an angle
• Choosing short approaches
• Handy exit after jumping the last jump (can include landing and turning, cantering straight to the out-gate and walking out - but only if you don't need to stay in for your score, etc.)

Keep in mind that any of these options needs to be done smoothly. Poor execution can affect your hunter score and even mean not getting the handy points for that particular option. Tight turns should be smooth and hunter-like, regardless of the size of the turn.

I've drawn out the path on one of the course diagrams that produced a near-perfect handy score of 9 during that class to show where all the options were that day. I suspect, based on watching other rounds, that the judge was looking for a left rollback off the last oxer for the final handy point:

The top horses will usually return to jog for ribbons under saddle, and will finish with a victory gallop!

Turnout Critique #4

This week's featured horse and rider are dressed for a casual schooling show. We'll look at how to dress them up for a more formal hunter show while making a few equipment changes to bring them in line with hunter rules.

The first thing that draws my eye in these photos is the rider's bright blue polo shirt. While I'm told that polo shirts were the standard attire at this particular show, I would much rather see a show shirt and jacket to enhance the overall picture and keep the focus on the horse. If polo shirts are to be worn instead at a hunter schooling show, I would prefer to see a more subtle colour like white, black or navy blue be worn. The polo shirt is correctly tucked into the breeches and worn with a belt, as any show shirt should be.

I also notice that this horse appears to be clean and well-taken care of, looking neither too fat nor too thin. Oiling the hooves before entering the ring would add extra polish to their turnout, as would braiding the mane. As it is, the mane is neat and short, but braiding would really make them look like they came to win. The legs look trimmed and tidy.

This horse is wearing bulky saddle pads. The shaped pad is too large for this saddle, with several inches of white showing in certain areas instead of the more subtle and preferred one to two inches. On top of that, there's what looks like a black foam pad on top. Not only does this add extra bulk, but the black colour makes it stand out even more. For the two minutes that it takes to go around the show ring, most horses should be able to go without extra padding. If it's needed, perhaps a saddle fitting or change is in order, or a more advanced shaped pad with inserts or natural sheepskin to protect the back.

The tack looks clean and the excess stirrup leather isn't overly long. I personally prefer the look of a solid stirrup iron in the show ring, but I understand why some riders prefer to use safety stirrups.

Elsewhere on the horse, this rider is using a pelham bit without a snaffle rein. This set-up is not appropriate for the hunter ring; there should be attachments to both the snaffle ring and the curb ring, using either a bit converter or two sets of reins, depending on the rules of the class. Using a pelham in the way that we see here means that only the curb (leverage) action of the bit can be used. Because of this, every touch of the reins is amplified in the mouth, and poll pressure is constantly applied. Using a converter allows some of the pressure to be gained through direct contact, lessening the leverage action, and using two sets of reins allows the rider to determine when to use snaffle vs. curb action. This is especially important with a horse that likes to over-jump like this one, because it's so easy to get left behind and end up pulling back on the mouth.

Returning to the rider, I would like to see her wear gloves in the hunter ring. Her hands are very noticeable against her dark horse's neck while jumping, and wearing gloves would harmonize things. Dark gloves should almost always be a standard part of hunter attire. Her breeches and boots are appropriate, with the boots nicely shined. Her hair is neatly contained in her helmet as far as I can see. 

Overall, this horse/rider combination is almost there! Just a few minor changes would bring them from a casual but workmanlike appearance to a polished, formal hunter turnout.

As always, a big thank you to this week's rider for submitting her photos! If you would like to participate in a future turnout clinic, send your photo(s) to showringreadyblog@gmail.com

Turnout Critique #3

This week we have a neatly dressed horse and rider who are new to showing in the hunters. While they show good turnout for a new pair, their presentation could be improved further by putting even more emphasis on the horse.

One of the first things that jumps out at me is all the HAIR! You can never go wrong braiding a hunter's mane, and this horse would be well suited to neat hunter braids. His mane will need to be pulled/shortened before being braided in order for the braids to be short enough to stay neat all day. At higher levels, braiding the tail would also help to refine the picture. As it stands, the tail is perfect for an everyday class, having been nicely brushed out. His mane doesn't look straight but it's hard to tell whether that's the way it's been trimmed or whether the waviness of the mane is just making it look that way.

The feathers on the legs could also be trimmed to further refine the turnout. This can be done with clippers or scissors (either special curved scissors or regular scissors used at an angle so as not to leave straight lines), and just shortens the feathers to the same length as the rest of the hair on the legs.

His socks are nice and white, and oiling the hooves would help to add some extra polish while bringing the white socks out even more.

The saddle pad was very well-selected to fit this saddle properly, with just the right amount of pad showing evenly all around the saddle. The excess stirrup leather isn't too long and it's neatly contained in its keeper.

It's hard to see clearly from the quality of the photo, but I believe that the noseband and browband have white padding. In the hunter ring, the bridle should be entirely brown or black. Padding like this on the noseband and browband is fine, but it should match the rest of the bridle. The bridle is adjusted properly with the bit and noseband at just the right height.

This rider is neatly and conservatively dressed, as she should be for a hunter class. Her black gloves, white shirt, grey jacket, beige breeches and black field boots are all very appropriate. Her hair appears to be nearly contained in her helmet. The jacket might be a touch large but I could just be seeing wrinkles from the movement in that moment in time. I also wonder whether this rider's field boots might be a bit too large in the leg; the bulge at the back of her leg makes me wonder whether her heel has risen up in them. If so, she could try tightening the laces more if a new pair of boots isn't an option.

Overall, this rider is off to a great start in showing with clean, well-fitted tack and apparel. With a few tweaks and some extra time spent grooming, this pair could easily grab the judge's attention.

Thank you very much to this week's rider for submitting this photo! If you would like to participate in a future turnout critique, send me an e-mail with your photo(s) to showringreadyblog@gmail.com

Turnout Critique #2

In this Turnout Critique we'll be looking at a very well-presented horse and rider combination who could make a few small changes to further improve their turnout.

The first impression that I get from these photos is that this rider really cares about presenting her horse and herself as well as possible. The first thing that jumps out at me for possible improvement is the saddle pad. Its shape doesn't quite fit the saddle, and unfortunately the worst-fitting part is the same part that has a tendency to slip back. When positioned correctly, it doesn't look bad aside from showing a little bit more white than is ideal. If the pad slips back during a course, though, as has happened above, the section behind the saddle flap really stands out because it naturally slips back and reveals even more white.

The next thing I notice that could be improved is the fit of the rider's jacket. There are wrinkles in the sleeves and body of the jacket in both photos, and while it may just be the timing of the photos, I suspect that this rider would be flattered by a jacket one size smaller. She does not seem the type to put on a wrinkled jacket so this must happen while the jacket is in use!

This rider might benefit from using bobby pins or something similar while putting on her helmet, as it seems that her hair has slipped down in the hair net. Her hair is still fully contained and is not to the point of looking messy, but it could be improved.

The only other criticism I have is that I am not the biggest fan of the type of girth that this rider is using. While the various rings on the girth are handy as attachment points for various training devices, they do catch the eye and I prefer a more standard traditional girth for showing. This is, however, personal preference.

This rider is using well-fitted tack, including a cavesson noseband fitted correctly just below the cheek bones of her lovely Thoroughbred and he is clean, trimmed and shiny, and is obviously well taken care of. He has a neat braid job on both mane and tail and his white sock is clean as can be. His hooves have also been oiled to finish the look.

The rider is neatly and conservatively dressed, allowing her horse to stand out. Her boots are fully shined and the bottoms are free of any dirt.

It is clear from their presentation that this rider truly cares about turnout and I'm sure that the judges notice. Well done!

I will leave this horse and rider anonymous unless she chooses to name herself in the comments. Thank you for submitting these photos!

If you would like to submit a photo (or photos) for a future turnout critique, send an e-mail to showringreadyblog@gmail.com

Natural Obstacles

Today's post is about some of the more common natural obstacles that you might find in the jumper ring. It is just a sampling of the natural obstacles that you are most likely to see in North American rings and is in no way comprehensive.

Natural obstacles, with the exception of the liverpool and the water jump, tend to be used more in derby or speed classes. The course designer can still use them in other classes, though, so it's a good idea to become acquainted with them.

Sometimes natural obstacles can be placed between hedges or other natural settings. These can serve to make the jump slightly more spooky for some horses because they darken the area around the jump.

We'll start with the liverpool:

The liverpool consists of a jump placed over either a permanent in-ground or moveable above-ground water tray. The entire width of the jump mustn't be more than 2 m wide, including the water portion. The water tray for most liverpools is rectangular, in various sizes, but round versions are also available.

The water may be placed directly underneath the jump, or in front of/behind it. If it is placed in front or behind, there mustn't be a gap between the end of the tray and the vertical plane of the front of the jump. A liverpool cannot stick out more than 1 m in front of an oxer. Changing the placement of the liverpool serves basically to alter the ground line of the jump.


Moving on from the liverpool, we have the open water:

The water jump is wider than the liverpool, being more than 2 m wide. It also must be dug into the ground. The traditional water jump, as shown above, has a small obstacle at the front of the jump (between 40 and 50 cm high), which does not count towards penalties. With an open water jump, the horse must pass to the inside of all the flags in order not to have a disobedience, and the horse must not land in the water or touch the (usually) white lath at the back of the jump with any foot or shoe. The open water is not typically seen in lower-level jumper classes in North America.

There is another version of the water jump that is more inviting and requires no extra judge on the ground, and it is therefore seen more often at levels where water jumps are introduced:

This type has a vertical set over the water, no further back than 2 m from the front of the obstacle. The lath can still be used as a visual aid, but the obstacle is judged as a vertical and therefore faults are only added for a disobedience or for knocking down the rail. The difference between a vertical over water and a liverpool is that the water jump is wider, can only be a vertical, and still incorporates the take-off element of the open water.


A jump that is slightly similar to the liverpool is the dry ditch:

The dry ditch is essentially a shallow wood-lined ditch filled with stones. This creates a visual element but almost no actual depth. The jump over top can be a vertical or an oxer.


A completely different type of obstacle is the table top bank:

This obstacle can take a variety of shapes but is almost always rectangular with a flat top and revetted sides. One or more of the sides may occasionally be sloped rather than upright, or it may be set against the side of the ring so that only two or three sides can be jumped.

The course designer can use flags to indicate where the horse should jump on and/or off the table top, or there may be jumps set against one or more of the sides. If there are no jumps used, only disobediences can incur faults at the table top. If only one jump or set of flags is used, the rider can decide which side to approach or leave the obstacle from to save time, depending on how it is set up.


The bank is a related obstacle:

Unlike the table top, the bank requires the horse to climb up and down the taller, sloped sides. It can take a variety of shapes and sizes, and it can be used in a variety of ways. If no jumps are used, the course designer can place one or two sets of flags on the bank to indicate where the horse must go. As long as the horse passes between the flags (white on the left, red on the right) without any disobediences, no penalties are given. If only one set of flags is used, the horse can turn as tightly around the inside flag as is desired before heading back down the bank.

The bank may also be used with a jump on top:

In such a case, flags on the ground aren't usually required because the jump itself requires the horse to travel all the way up the bank. This obstacle is judged like any other, with faults for a knock down and for any disobediences along the way. The jump is usually a bit smaller than others on course to compensate for any loss of impulsion from the bank or limited space to set up for the jump.

The bank can also be used to make a jump at ground level more difficult:

In this example, the horse must travel up the bank and pass between the flags before coming back down the bank and jumping the vertical, with only a few strides in between. This tests the rider's ability to focus and balance the horse, and may offer a variety of routes to choose from, from the difficult and direct route to the safer but longer one. Jumps can also be built heading toward the bank, but in such a case the bank would serve more as a distraction or attempt to back the horse off.

To learn about another natural obstacle, the grob or devil's dyke, see Natural Obstacles: The Grob.

Turnout Critique Reminder

Remember that if you would like some feedback on your show ring turnout before the show season starts, you can e-mail your photo(s) to showringreadyblog@gmail.com to be featured in our Turnout Critique series!