Patterns Link

If you like to keep up with the latest patterns on the horse show circuit, keep up with Mark Harrell Horse shows. Here's a link to the March to the Arch patterns (for the whole show, so beyond showmanship). I took a quick peek and they are challenging...I've done one or two with our clients before...I personally think they are fun, especially for those that are seasoned showmanshippers. Anyway, if you follow Mark Harrel Horse Shows, they typically put up their patterns on line for each show, just go to the calendar, go to the show and click on pattern booklet. I will warn you that they don't keep those pattern links up forever...typically just around the showtime, so save it or print it for later practice and keep checking back! Happy practicing!

Well, it's been about a year...

...wow, my life was a whirlwind last year, personally, professionally and this blog just got away from me...though I'm glad I left it up, as I see by the numbers it's been visited a time or two (wink)! I'm hoping it's been helpful to several. So, what have "I" been up to, well, I put on the judges hat last year and dipped my toe into THAT water and I'll give you some insights...some, I'm sure you've heard before, some I hope, will be insightful.

JUDGING

Now I know when you're showing, the judge just seems to appear, look at you with a critical eye and then disappear at days end. What you don't know is that the judge probably has a few more hours in before you on show day. We'll start with the classes, the judge needs to take into consideration the level of the show they are judging and the level of patterns they need to provide. While you are looking at a few patterns, the judge must provide ALL of the patterns. Then the judge needs to brush up on the rules for that particular association, then of course the day of, the drive (yawn and several cups of coffee later).
I want you to really know, the judge is REALLY pulling for you, we're looking for the "POSITIVE" and not the "NEGATIVE" and trust me, when I see someone getting a great "go" and then something negative happens, I'm dissapointed FOR YOU...REALLY. Most judges I know (myself included) have BEEN THERE, DONE THAT at one point or another, whether themselves or a client, so we know about being nervous or getting that disappointing go. As I tell my clients, "that's just horse showing".
Also know, we're people, just like you and we've got a limited amount of time to "judge" you and no, we don't have eyes in the backs of our head, although don't count out our hearing, because if you're have a disaster and you don't think we necessarily know about the schooling going on behind us, well, you're mistaken.

NOW I'm going to tell you about some common SHOWMANSHIP pitfalls I've seen wearing the judge's hat:

• Be ready at that first cone, I've got lots of exhibitors to watch and judge and unless you want to be showing into the night, we really need to get this show on the road!
• Look UP and at the judge as you are approaching, trust me, you're not going to find ANY money on the ground...LOL
• YOUR NUMBER, make sure it's on YOUR BACK, this is my personal pet peeve, when I have to look at YOUR butt for your number. PUT IT ON YOUR BACK, NOT YOUR BUTT! Yes I know it's an expensive outfit, and I realize you might not want holes in it, but you should have thought about that when you purchased it. I'm not looking at all your bling, I'm looking at your performance, make MY job easier by NOT searching for your number!
• HATS, buy the best you can afford, go with less outfit, but BUY A GOOD HAT and be sure it's cleaned and creased! This tells me you're a serious competitor.
• Make sure your pant leg is long enough, it's distracting watching high waters while you run.
• Look natural as you show, your crossovers should look as though you are walking into the next room...I don't recall anyone bouncing, popping, or sidling into the next room...as well as running, be in sync with your horse, it's nice polish and presentation. I don't want to see crouching while you're running, if you're out for a jog, do you crouch? Yeah, didn't think so.
• Good sportsmanship, unhappy with your placing? Trust me, the judge has ears and is listening...instead of complaining to your friends/trainer/mom/whoever, have the ring steward ASK me what was wrong with your go...I've got notes and there might be a big blunder you overlooked.
• LOOK like you're having fun, even if you mess up, it's not the end of the world and ya know, I'm SURE there's a horse show NEXT weekend SOMEWHERE.... if you can still show with a smile on your face, I'm going to remember that the rest of the day.
• Showmanship is a GREAT way to make sure that you've got a GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION for the rest of your show day. If you make a great impression on me, I'll remember you the rest of the show day.

Hopefully this gives you a little more insight on the inner workings of judging!

Amy's Question...

Amy left me a nice comment from yesterdays post (pattern 34) and had the following questions:

• With the look back portion: you would look over your left shoulder, correct?

To answer your first question Amy, YES you would look over your left shoulder...you want to make it EASY for yourself to see the judge without having to twist your body around...you basically just want to move your head...

• Would you ever have to look over your right shoulder/across the horse ever? Or is that a big no-no?

To answer your second question, it really depends on the Judge and your pattern. Some judges don't care if you look back and others really do...so I always tell my clients to err on the side of caution...and here are a few manuevers where you would look over your RIGHT shoulder to the Judge:

1. In this first manuever, you complete your 180, look back at Judge hesitate 1/2 a breath and then walk away...
2. In the second manuever, you will look over your right shoulder AFTER your done walking AROUND the judge and think you are back in line with him/her (usually this is more a courtesy look than actual help for YOU...LOL).
3. In the third manuever you have complete your 270, look over your right shoulder at the judge (over the horse's back) and then continue on with the rest of the pattern.

Now remember this is what I'd tell MY clients and there are other trainers/judges that MIGHT tell you differently... so keep that in the back of your head...

Amy, I will try to address the rest of your questions in another post at another time...this is going to take some drawing and/or picture taking on my part...

Happy Practicing!

Pattern 34, Advanced Novice

Findings:

1. The hardest part to this pattern is getting around cone 2 smoothly and in line with the judge when you make it to cone 3 for your 180.
2. Lets concentrate (for the moment) getting around cone 2, you need to do this without pivoting your horse and it all begins at cone 1. If you set up too close to cone 1, what's going to happen at cone 2? You either have to pivot to stay on course (wrong), or you have to do an arc wide and get back in line with the judge (again wrong)... set up with a little distance away from cone 1 so that you can back a smooth arc to the judge and be sure to look UP BEFORE you make that arc around cone 2 so that you KNOW where you are going.
3. NOW that you made that important arc around the cone, THINK...YOUR horses pivot foot (right hind) should be lined up with the JUDGES LEFT SHOULDER...so when you pivot your 180 at cone 3 you'll be straight on to the Judge.
4. Now since you backed, most horses tend to stay in the "back" mode, as you pivot, be extra sure you have a little forward momentum going and they are not pivoting on the incorrect foot or worse, pick up their pivot foot...
5. Trot off and slow to a walk at cone 4, make sure you SLOW TO A WALK and not halt and then walk on...you'll need to practice this to make it look smooth and seamless...
6. Walk to Judge, STOP AT AN ARM and a HALF LENGTH's AWAY from the judge and set up for inspection (you have 3 seconds...practice practice practice this at home, so many people are soooo busy practicing their spins, backs, etc. that a perfect set up could bump you up several placings even if you say botched the spin in the class...set ups are BASIC and should be done with the utmost ease and timeliness)
7. Upon dismissal perform a nice 90, give a courtesy look AS you walk away...don't make it a stare down, just a nice look back WITH A SMILE and walk away.
   

Get the most out of your training $$$

I'm going to step outside the showmanship arena for this post and speak a little bit of how you can stretch your training $$$. This is the time of year where we see a FLOOD of horses come through our doors, some come for a 30 day refresher course, some come for a specific problem, some come for basic break out and some come for the whole package.

1st TALK with your trainer about YOUR expectations, if you expect a "never been saddled" 2 y.o. to be safe for your 9 y.o. child to show in 90 days you may have to readjust your expectations.

2nd WHY is your horse there? Are you having a specific problem? Nothing is more frustrating to a trainer than finding out after the fact that when you ask Trigger to lope off, Trigger has a bucking fit "each and every" time. Anytime your horse does something dangerous to another human being is a "need to know" thing for your trainer when you drop the horse off. There are exercises and methods trainers use that doesn't involve actually stepping into a potentially dangerous situation.

Let me touch on "break out" horses for a moment...this is where a little work at home will save you BIG $$$ at the trainers!

Break Out Horses
Everytime a human touches a horse the horse is learning...so if you never correct your horse for trotting ahead of you, not knowing a human's boundries etc...it's learning that it can step on you, run over you, etc... So, you take this animal to your trainer and after 30 days wonder why your horse just NOW first being saddled? Well the trainer had to TAKE THE TIME to teach your horse some basics that it was sorely missing BEFORE it could be introduced to the saddle. Here's some basics your horse SHOULD know before you load it for break out (and to save you big $$$, because less time teaching these means more time on their backs!)

• How to be caught and haltered
• How to lead without running over/into or away from the handler
• How to lunge
• Sack out (just putting a sheet or blanket on daily helps with this)
• How to stand tied
• How to stand for the farrier quietly (non-drugged)
• Introduced to baths
• Introduced to clippers
• Basic respect for humans
• How to stand in the stall while the stall is being cleaned

These are things that can all be done at home that take about 30 days to get a handle on. I will say that they horses that have been shown lunge line the prior year always seem to make easier break out horses...why? They are used to commotion, they are used to being prepped for the show pen, they've been sacked out with sheets/slinky hoods, etc... they are typically ahead of the game.

Also know that breaking out and showing a 2 y.o. is basically a poop shoot. You have to take into consideration growth patterns and the horses mental maturity. I had a 2 y.o. that didn't really get everything together until it was 4 and still made a better 5 y.o. SOME horses are just not able to get it all together in their youth. A lot of people also see trainers year after year show these young horses to top placings, what most do not understand is that that is horse #21 that year and the rest were discarded (for lack of better word...like put back in pasture), that was the best of the best out of how many is any ones guess. So it really does take a "special" horse. Now most people I know don't have pastures and pastures of 2 y.o.'s they have ONE horse... so they must work within that horse's parameter and work with their trainer.

Tune Up Horses

So your horse is an old "campaigner", you show on a shoestring, but want a great start to your show season, so you want to send your horse to your trainer for 30 days... How can YOU save $$$? Make sure your horse is not a marshmallow when you send it...exercise it 5 days/week for at least a month before you send it. The hardest thing on a horse is going from strictly pasture life to being worked 6 days/week. Your trainer isn't going to be getting the best from your horse when he's fighting exhaustion and/or soreness because your horse is out of shape. So take 1/2 hour at home each day for 30 days and beef up your marshmallow!

How to be a Better Client

Listen to what your trainer is telling you about your horse, take the good AND the bad. If you sent your horse for western pleasure training and your trainer says your horse isn't cut out to be a western pleasure horse, then it's doubtful it's going to make at another trainer's (although I'm sure they would be happy to take your $$$). Listen to WHY it's not going to be a western pleasure horse (or whatever your class choice), you can then make some decisions, change the horse's job, sell, whatever, but LISTEN...

TRUST your trainer. So many times clients cannot get out of their own way. I've done XXX this way and why isn't it working? Many times it's because they are doing it wrong...trust the trainer until they have proven to be "untrustworthy". Just because you've done it YOUR way for so long, doesn't necesarrily make it the "right" way. There is a reason you sent your horse to the trainer, take the time to trust the trainer and their training methods.

Obey the trainer's rules. If they tell you don't come by for the 1st 30 days, don't call on day 14 and say I want to see my horse go around. There's a reason, you're probably not going to see a whole lot of progress at day 14...the first 30 days to those that don't actively train horses are very boring and don't seem rewarding, like you're not getting your $$$'s worth, when in actuality are the most crucial.

Pay your bill on time. Seems like a simple thing. Most trainers make less then minimum wage for a living. Your check could mean paying the hay or grain guys (or even groceries for your trainer!). I know if we have a horse in a stall and we are short on time that day, and it's bill hasn't been paid, it's not going to get as much time and attention as those that have their bills paid on time, EVERY time.

Don't be a gossip monger and put your nose in everyone's business. We typically move drama queens/kings on, it's not good for barn moral overall if there is someone that is constantly creating drama. Horse showing is hard enough without internal turmoil created by a drama queen.

Remember that your trainer has a "life" too and horse training is a "job" for him/her and not a hobby, so they may not share in your excitement if you call at 10 p.m. at night...LOL... remember to respect their days off too. A burn out trainer is not good for anyone, you, your horse, and those around them. Trainer's need non-client, non-horse times too.

And lastly, KNOW that trainers talk with each other. I think clients often forget that when they bad mouth their last trainer to their NEW trainer, it does get back to the old trainer. Don't burn your bridges. I'm not saying if you had problems with the old trainer NOT to bring them up with the NEW trainer, just do so factually. Trainers also know which clients are slow to pay, which ones create drama and which ones trainer hop. While a new trainer may take your $$$, know they keep a close eye on "problem clients" and will be the first to tell other trainers about their idiosyncrasies if they leave on a bad note.

Ok, I'm putting my showmanship cap back on now, and there's your trainer "insight" for the day. LOL

Pattern 33, Intermediate

Findings:

• Trot from cone 1 and at least 5 steps (your body) PAST cone 2, to clear it for the 270...depending on the length of your horse you may increase or decrease this by a step.
• Peform a 270 and back your horse straight to cone 3 and then around cone 3, making sure that your horse's pivot foot is in line with the judges left shoulder. Also make sure that your horse is BACKING AROUND cone 3 and not pivoting.
• Perform your 180 (make sure to pull your horse slightly forward so that he/she pivots on the correct foot), walk to judge giving yourself 1 1/2 arms length away and set up for inspection.
• Since this does not have directions AFTER dimissal ALWAYS keep yourself between your horse and the Judge and perform a 90, a courtesy look and walk away.
  

Congress Amateur Select Pattern

Findings:

• Be ready for the judge between the cones, have your horse's nose centered on cone 2.
• Trot straight away and stop with your horse's nose at cone 2, allowing yourself enough room to perform the 180.
• Walk around cone 3 and IN LINE with the judge when you stop. Your horse's nose should be even with cone 3 when you stop.
• Back a 1/4 circle, stopping with your horse's nose even with cone 3.
• FOLLOWING your back tracks (so you should be trotting on the same steps you backed,)trot around cone 3 and to the judge, stopping with enough room to perform your 270 at the end of the pattern.
• Upon dismissal, perform a 270, give a courtesy look and trot away.