Show it like you want it.

This was part of what I picked up at Brad Kearns clinic I attended a few weeks back.

Show your horse like you want to win. He said as a judge, he can generally tell which exhibitor WANTS to win. He knows by their smile, the way they walk and present themselves. They walk to the judge with confidence, they look up (not at the ground), and present themselves and their horse crisply, confidently.

Do you tend to look at the ground? Does looking AT the judge as you approach make you nervous?

TIP: Look at their forehead or the brim of their hat, they will not know the difference and it will make YOU LOOK CONFIDENT!

I tend to tell my shy students to do their best "cheerleader" impression and they go from looking like wall flowers to confident showmen...which is EXACTLY the look we want.

Hope this helps all the wall flowers out there! Until next time, keep the brim of your hat clean, and practice, practice, practice!

Pattern 15, Advanced

Findings:

• Start your pattern by being straight with the judge (if you don't start straight, the entire pattern will be off!).
• Back smoothly and straight.
• Perform your 630 push turn (that's 1 3/4 turn by the way), don't over spin!
• Perform your 90 pull turn, look up and at the judge approximately 2 steps before you finish your turn so you know when to stop (this is an error that happened lots!)
• Walk to judge briskly and remember to smile.
• Stop at 1 1/2 arms length away.
• Upon dismissal perform a smooth 90, again look up at the end so you don't over or under spin.
• Trot straight away, stopping with your horse's nose at cone 2.
• Look back for acknowledgement.

Stopping in front of the judge

I actually had a seasoned showmanshipper tell me the other day she never knew how close she should stop before the judge.

One and a half arm length's away.

You need that much space to do your inspection without bumping into the judge, and if you need to do a spin after inspection, that gives you plenty of room also!

TIP What happens if I midjudge it and accidentally get too close?
Easy enough, back into your setup, that'll give you the space you need later in your pattern, you may get a few points taken off for stopping too close, but if you're smart and back your horse into it's setup the judge my overlook that slight error.

And as always, remember to smile at the judge...make it look like you're having fun!

Pattern 13, Intermediate

Findings:

Much to my amazement, lots and lots of people botched their spins (which should be fairly easy), however not so. So let's go over this, step by step.

• Walk briskly halfway (most people were just under, so I told my group to take an extra step further than they thought). Stop and let your horse settle for 1/2 second, before you begin your spin, assess your horse's body position BEFORE you ask for the spin, is your horse bunched up where you will need to pull him slightly forward? Is your horse stretched out where you will need to push him slightly backward as you spin? Make your adjustments as needed during your spin.
• As you hit the 300 degree mark in your spin, look up to see where you want to STOP spinning...those that didn't, over spun by at least one step and it was VERY noticeable.
• Trot off briskly and keep your horse at your shoulder as you round cone 2 and make a nice stop next to cone 3.
• Again let your horse settle for 1/2 second, assess your situation and perform the 225 turn (how much is a 225? basically they wanted you to walk straight at the beginning of your arc, so look up BEFORE you finish your turn to make sure you know where to stop).
• Walk a nice brisk pace, making your arc large enough to give you a straight line to the judge upon finishing, but not so large that it takes you a long time to get there.
• Stop an arm and a 1/2 lengths away, upon dismissal peform your 180, look up for your stopping point at about 160 degrees and look for a point at the end of your arena to trot straight away to. Many people under turned and trotted off canted to the left...if they had looked up and finished their 180 and found a spot on the wall to trot to they could have avoided this error.

The most important piece of clothing on your outfit

What is the most important part of your outfit?

Your HAT!

Spend the most you can on a GOOD felt hat (the more X's the better the felt, a 20X hat is a better hat than an 8X and thus more expensive). Your hat sends a statement to the judge...you want that statement to be I'M A WINNER!

Here are some hat tips:

• Felt hats are "in season" year round, straw hats are "in season" from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
• Your hat should always been clean and shaped (no tortilla looking hat brims!)
• Always handle your hat by it's crown NEVER the delicate brim.
• Purchase a hat can for your felt and transfer your hat to a climate controlled area as much as possible to keep it looking it's best.
• NEVER store your hat in a plastic bag, the moisture of your sweat and the heat will warp your delicate brim...this is the same for plastic "hat savers" on the rainy days, the moisture and heat from your head will get trapped in the plastic hat saver, warping your hat...opt for your straw or your felt and then dry it out later.
• Look through magazines to find out what type of shape you want your hat to be and take that to the shaper.
• Bobby pin your hat to your head on windy days (nothing says unprepared like a cowboy hat bouncing across the arena on a windy day!)
• Your hat fits properly when you put it on and can not shake it off, even if you do a hand stand!
• Remember to keep a hat brush on hand for last minute touch ups before you enter the show pen.

Follow those tips and you'll look your best every time you enter the show pen!

Pattern 13, Intermediate

Findings:

1. Make sure you find that exact halfway point from cone 1 to cone 2 and that your trot off looks seemlessly easy.
2. Make an effortless circle around cone 2, you might have to encourage your horse slightly forward and you slow down slightly so that your horse does not lag behind your shoulder.
3. Continue on to cone 3 and have a nice stop.
4. This back can be tricky as you are stopping at an angle and must back an arc towards the judge.
5. You will need to practice this back arc for accuracy, many exhibitors over or under judged where they needed to be at the end of their arc. Many exhibitors did not end up straight either.
6. Those that backed into their setup as they approached the judge had the fastest set up times.
7. Watch closely as the judge walks around for inspection and make sure that you are in the correct quarter.
8. Trot straight away, many exhibitors leaned left (especially those that did not get their horse backed straight to the judge), look up, find a spot at the end of the arena and trot off in that direction, by keeping your head up and finding a spot straight in front of you, you are more likely to trot straight, making your pattern seem easy.
   

We've returned after 8 days at a horse show...

...and I've got some pretty good patterns that I will put up over the 4th of July holiday as I have time. The patterns ranged from easy to fairly difficult and I'll be sure to get them up and discuss them. I also attended a clinic given by Brad Kearns which I will discuss in length later. Until then, keep your eye on the judge and a smile on your face!