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!

Exercise: Backing a Figure 8

I teach all of my horses to back figure 8's for several reasons, the first obvious...you're going to have to back a circle or semi-circle at some point in your showmanship career, so let's perfect it and it also teaches the horse's that my subtle body cues can straighten out a crooked back up when I'm trying to actually back a straight line in a pattern in the show pen.

I usually use 2 cones just to give myself something to back around and I start with my horse in the center of those two cones and I back equal circles so that my eight looks like two circles OO and not an X that is rounded (X) on the ends.

What you need to remember when backing circles is that your horse MUST NOT PIVOT! It should take equal steps all the way around the cones.

Circle to the left (your horse will be closer to the cone than you), you need to remember to pull YOUR BODY away from the horse's head so that your horse has ROOM to move it's head...which should (in theory) move it's hip...now sometimes (especially with green horses) you might need to tap your horse's hip with your lead or a dressage whip so that it understands when you move to the right (getting out of your horse's way) it needs to move it's head to the right and it's hip to the left. Thus making a circle to the left. (see illustration below)

Circle to the right (you will be closer to the cone than the horse), you will actually use your body to move your horse's head, you will not be touching your horse with your body, but more like using it as a block to guide your horse, and when the head moves (in theory) the hip should move. See illustration below.

What this accomplishes is smooth arcs and circles during patterns and if you need to back a straight line and notice your horse is moving it's hip in one direction or another, a slight change in your body by either moving away or into your horse should correct your error and straighten out your horse.

Pattern 12, Intermediate

Findings:

1. Start so that your horse is dead on with the judge.
2. Trot briskly and stop square, you'll have problems with your pull turn if you horse is not square when it stops. Most individuals I watched needed to pull their horse slightly forward or their horse would pivot on the incorrect foot (should be the horse's left rear foot as the pivot foot in a pull turn).
3. After set up, take a good look where the judge is standing...is the judge standing at your horse's hip (they should be), make sure you are in the correct quarter for inspection, many exhibitors did not cross over to present their horse and their placings fell significantly.
4. Backing should be easy and not a drawn out, excruitiating watch, as you round cone 2, be sure to move yourself to the right of your horse, so that you give your horse enough room to move it's head, which it turn gives your horse the room to move it's hip around that corner smoothly and quickly.
5. Back far enough past cone 2 so that you can do your pivot without running into cone 2.
6. Trot away and have a nice stop, turn and look at judge after the stop for dismissal.
   

Pattern 11, Novice

Findings:

1. Wait until you get all the way around cone 2 before you begin your trot.
2. As you round cone 3, look up and around so that you can judge how tight or loose to make that turn. Lots of people had a problem with this pattern because the judge was standing further away than expected, so lots of crooked trots to him/her.
3. Make sure you stop an arm and a half's length away, you will have to perform your 270 after your inspection, so leave yourself enough room.
4. Do not over or under turn and trot straight away.
   

Pattern from a quarter horse show this past weekend.

Crossover for Inspection

As I watched from the sidelines this weekend at a local, open show, I was amazed at how many exhibitors in the open class did not know where to stand as the judge walked around to inspect their horse. Now I know that several were nervous or had set up problems and their attention was on their horse and not the judge, but there were several that just had NO CLUE!

The walk around inspection is such a basic...like setting your horse up square. I have put together a diagram to help those that are confused on WHERE to stand when the judge walks around you.

A quick run down is that your horse is divided into quarters, imaginary lines are drawn from nose to tail and shoulder to shoulder (see diagram). You should always be ONE QUARTER AWAY from the judge. An easy way to remember this is, if you can't see or have to STRAIN to see the judge, you're probably in the WRONG POSITION! As the judge crosses the imaginary line, cross over to the next position, however don't be too anxious (judges, for example MAY stop at the middle of your horse's tail...now what? Stay put until they actually pass that imaginary line.) Same as when the judge is in the middle of your horse's head, either wait for them to make your move or acknowledge you (for dimissal or completion of pattern), THEN crossover (if necessary). Confused? Feel free to put a comment here and I'll do my best to answer them! Here's the diagram, enjoy!