showing advice please

[supaspot]

next month wayne hipsley is coming to ireland to judge our national championship, , although Absolut does really well in the showring winning all but one of his classes I want us to be the best that we can be , so would you look at this pic taken last weekend and tell me what areas he needs work on - is his turnout good enough ? does he need more muscle in a particular area ? is he fit enough -does his tummy need tucking up more ? hes standing relaxed in the pic and he will stretch his neck when i ask him (the judge was looking at another horse entering the ring so i let him relax for a moment ) ...... what about me ...is my outfit too dark? should I tie my hair up ? any little thing you can see please tell me

this is the part that I really need help with ....he judged in europe before and said -

"the showing skills and ring craft made the differences in the final analysis of the placings"

please explain what will he expect to see

Thanks in advance

 

[cassie]

he looks beautiful to me!! I don't know much about showing but I'm sure the others on here will give you great advice!!

he looks stunning

 

[supaspot]

Thanks cassie , l think hes beautiful too thats why I need other peoples eyes to look at him ! there are a lot of good horses in the ring in recent years and he has strong competition , it gets harder to stay in the top of the ribbons and so every little thing counts

 

[kaykay]

I think he needs fitted up more. I would increase his work a bit to get that tummy toned.

I know the picture is not when you were actually showing but be sure to stand back from your horse. If you stand too close you are blocking the judges view.

 

[mydaddysjag]

As a halter horse, I agree, he needs worked more to get him toned better. As a performance horse I think he looks fine. He's not far off, so you dont have a lot of work to do. I would tie your hair back, and agree with kay kay, stand back from him a bit.

 

[Marty]

I don't know anything about showing in Ireland so I have a question for you. Please educate me. Is that the normal accepted attire for showing minis in Ireland? Its quite spiffy but it does look dark and hot. Its so hot here right now I would faint having to wear all that.

Only thing I would suggest is to get your hair all tied back and away from your face up in a very neat bun.

And ok, use hoof black on your horse.

Love your horse. Good luck and have a great showing.

 

[ruffian]

If you have US judges, I would think you would want to show as we do in the US. IMO I would lose the hat and the long black jacket. Tie your hair up in a nice bun or ponytail with a clip or show bow.

Add color to your wardrobe - he looks like a silver or a silver bay, so a bright blue or hunter green jacket would look nice or a multicolor in muted tones. Something that will compliment his color. You don't want overwhelm him in looks, but brighten up a bit.

Definitely need to be a little further away while showing. 1-2 feet away at least so they can see him stretch out without putting his nose in your bellybutton!

He is pretty - good luck with him.

 

[supaspot]

yes thats the problem , we spend all year in front of irish judges many who like to see "a lot of bone" (heavy build) his weight would be considered just right here , and i was using black hoof polish until a couple of weeks back when a judge told me its wrong ;-/ the colours of our outfits here tend to be plain / dark ,- perhaps a coloured shirt , jackets , hats and even gloves are the norm , and yes we die of heat ! lol and only one or two shows a year would run in a US format and the rest are english style

thats why Im trying to work out what the judge would expect/like to see ,

ruffian hes a smokey silver black

 

[SampleMM]

I would thin the forelock a little bit and then slick it together going down the center before I walked into the show ring. Here's an example of one buckskins forelock........ notice how it shows of the face.

 

[valshingle]

Is that a whip you are carrying? We don't use those in the US. I would wear a shorter coat - more of a blazer, and put your hair up or back. You can add color to a dark jacket with a brighter blouse.

I would also sweat your horse's neck and throat latch.

Good luck and you are not far off from having a great look, just some tweaking needed.