There aren’t many things that will get us up at 4am to work a 16-hour day. But somehow horse shows seem worth it.
We’ve never emphasized competition in our riding program, and offer plenty of alternatives for students who choose not to show. But we’ve also learned the benefits of maintaining an active show team, and offering students a few in-house competitions each year.
It can increase student retention and reward your ambitious loyal customers, and the widely-shared photos will become some of your best free marketing.
A few other reasons you may want to give your students opportunities to show:
Shows are memorable experiences
The photographs and ribbons remind us of a past adventure with our horse, and like a good vacation, we tend to remember the joyful moments, forget the stress, and laugh away the mishaps.
They put the relationship of horse and rider to the test
Nothing says trust like a horse bravely negotiating a course of unfamiliar obstacles, or walking into an arena jam-packed with strange horses.
They allow students to ride in different places
This gives your students the thrill of a new adventure and puts their relationship with their horse to the test.
We are incredibly lucky to be able to attend schooling shows at an Olympic-caliber facility just a couple of hours away. Our students tell us that riding in the same arena that USET members have competed in is just as exciting as winning a blue ribbon.
They are bonding experiences that strengthen the barn family
Even if your students are competing as individuals, they can represent your program as a TEAM and function as a team.
We like to invite non-riding members to participate as Ground Buddies, who help groom, walk courses with competitors, and keep everyone hydrated.
Get more ideas for building your barn family in this post.
They can motivate practice and conditioning work
Riding and training is a long game, and sometimes students need a tangible goal to stay on track. The prospect of moving up a level or securing a spot on the show team can keep them riding and working out even when life gets busy or the weather turns nasty.
We believe that showing a horse is a privilege, not a right - and as instructors, it often falls on us to determine when a student has earned that privilege.
Determining readiness starts by getting specific about the horse show:
- Is the show at your facility, or will your students be traveling?
- If they’ll be traveling, will you be making a day trip and working out of horse trailers? Or stabling horses overnight?
- Will students be the primary caretakers for the horses during the show day?
- Will students have the ability to school in the show arena beforehand, or sign up for practice rounds?
- What classes and divisions are offered?
- Is coaching or assistance allowed?
No matter where our students show, our requirements include:
Experience riding through arena traffic
This is particularly important for private students who may not get regular practice circling and passing other riders. We expect even leadline competitiors to have an eye for spacing and to know some basic arena etiquette — and if students are riding on the leadline, their Ground Buddy needs to be equally proficient!
Group lessons can practice maneuvering by playing games like Leapfrog — see our Green Level Sample lesson plans — and riding on the rail individually while the other horses stand lined up in the center of the arena. (This is often a challenging feat for a small child on a herdbound horse!)
Occasionally we’ll tie a red ribbon to the tail of a lesson horse – whether it kicks or not – so other riders can practice giving that horse a wide berth.
The ability to maintain a correct position while riding accurate transitions and ring figures
We’re not looking for perfection, but if students can’t reverse with steady legs and quiet hands, or convince their horse to trot within a few strides of being asked, they’re better off practicing the basics at home.
A good sense of direction
Students should be fluent in outside vs inside and left rein vs right rein, along with other basic arena terminology. They need to be able to listen for and follow instructions.
Our students practice this by playing Simon Says and elimination games where any rider who takes more than three seconds to perform as asked is out of the game.
The ability to ride a course or pattern from memory
This is a skill that must be practiced regularly — we start as early as Rainbow Level, and try to build students’ confidence in their memorization. The old adage “Think you can, think you can’t — either way, you’ll be right” is especially true when trying to remember a complicated course!
To help them practice memorizing courses, we use a variety of equitation patterns and course maps in lessons.
The ability to problem-solve, especially when riding away from home
Help your students mentally prepare with Stuff Happens cards!
Depending on the venue and the level of competition, students may also need:
The ability to keep track of details: posting diagonals, leads, stirrup placement
Even in competitions where ringside coaching is allowed, once our students graduate from the leadline, we want them in charge of their own ride from the moment they walk through the in-gate. They’re there to show off everything they’ve learned, and should be relaxed and confident enough to do so without constant prompting.
The ability to control the horse outside of an arena
Every show venue is a little different, but chances are good your students are going to be riding to and from the trailer or stabling arena and milling around outside the arena gate.
We’ve been to plenty of shows where warm-up took place in an open field, and one where the field was next to a busy road!
If students have never left the familiar bubble of the arena, they could be stepping into an unsafe situation – especially if their horses are also inexperienced in the open.
The ability to put horse before sport — and to call it quits if necessary
This can be a hard lesson for riders to learn, and requires a certain amount of emotional maturity. But it’s an essential part of showing animals who have no say in the matter.
We expect our students to be gracious losers as well as winners, and to prioritize their horse’s health, soundness and confidence over their own competitiveness.
We want them to know that sometimes it’s okay to walk away and try again another day.
In general, before students can join a traveling show team, we require them to be riding at Blue Level and have at least a Green HorseSense ribbon (Blue Level for overnight shows)
In the meantime, students can get an inexpensive taste of showing at in-house schooling shows, with Leadline, Walk-Halt, ground pole and even hobby horse classes for beginners. Or they can try their hand at an online dressage show.
Check out our favorite beginner-friendly show company: Dressage Show Online
We also want our students AND parents to have a very clear picture of the time commitment and the financial commitment involved in showing
Entry fees, office fees, stabling fees and coaching fees can add up in a hurry!
Will your students skip the Friday night football game to bathe their horse and pack the trailer? Who is responsible for arranging transportation, filling haynets, sending in entry paperwork, etc?
One way to teach this is to schedule a one-day Ready to Show Clinic during the off season – and make attendance mandatory for all your hopeful competitors.
We ask that each child be accompanied by one parent, and let the kids practice tack cleaning, trailer packing and course memorization while parents learn to decode class lists, discuss safe trailering arrangements, and do some budgeting.
If they take away just one thing from the clinic, it should be this: fun and successful showing depends on planning and preparation.
When your students understand this, horse shows will become a lot more fun for YOU!
