Hello!
I wanted to see if there are any show judges on this site and start a thread for questions others and myself have that need to be answered by a judge. I’ll go first: How do you feel about a horse having hunter braids versus bands for the showmanship?
I’m not an AQHQ judge. I do show AQHA at a pretty high level, and train with a trainer who is a judge. I don’t think judges count off for braids, especially at a weekend show. I’m fairly successful in showmanship, and my horse is a pleasure driver, so I have shown braided a lot. At larger shows, when there is time, we band for showmanship. At a lot of shows we go from showmanship to driving with out time to braid, so show the showmanship braided. I think if you are showing the all around you play to your strength. If your horse is stronger in the hunter classes and you want to braid for the day go that way.
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In Canada the rules allow for either. When judging, I just want whatever the competitor decides to do to be done well and to be suitable for the horse.
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Not a judge, but at local open shows you either see English and Western split, or if combined, the horse rider combo is turned out as English or Western. You don’t see the handler dressed Western with a horse in braids, or vice versa. You need to dress and present the horse one way or the other, and the judge will not care as long as it’s allowed.
At AQHA shows showmanship classes can only be shown with western tack and attire. It is very common to see a horse braided in western classes (and to see banded horses in huntseat classes) especially at smaller shows…if you’re showing an all around horse there simply isn’t time to rebraid or band.
I’m not a judge (show in the NA and Am classes) but manage and secretary a ton of open and AQHA shows over the years…so try to pick my judges brains a bit about commonly asked questions…most don’t care one way or the other as long as the mane is done well either way, but if they had a preference tend to say if your horse is stronger/looks more western band, stronger/looks more hunter braid.
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I show APHA and have shown showmanship in braids when I was doing HUS and no other western classes. We did fine in showmanship and placed first under a couple judges in halter. As long as your horse is well turned out and the braids are well done and it’s just a weekend show, you will be fine.
Not an AQHA All-Around judge but as I’ve prepared for the judges exam and sat with a lot of judges at large shows I don’t think one has ever mentioned it in a way that would impact your score. I’ve judged quite a few open/4-H/schooling shows and especially there it is the last thing I am worried about when someone comes in for showmanship. Your score would be the same regardless of is you horse was braided, banded, roached, whatever.
Very common if the horse is showing in hunt seat classes after.
I wouldn’t worry about it at all.
Not a judge, but my (limited) experience is that braids are perfectly acceptable for a hunt seat horse in SMS at weekend shows. Now, if you’re at some place like the World Show or Congress, it’s probably expected (or rather my coach will expect) to be banded for that class instead of braided.
