Has anyone had any experience with showing Appaloosas in the A/AA rated hunters? My guy is a 16hh Appaloosa/Warmblood cross who is suited for the equitation and has pinned well at shows in the eq, however I haven’t showed him in the hunters (at least not at a rated show). He is a pretty nice mover and I wanted to start doing the children’s hunters with him. I don’t expect us to come out pinning in every class but I just wanted to hear anyone else’s experience with showing Appaloosas in the hunters 
If it’s a good horse, it’s a good color.
There have been successful Appaloosas in the hunter divisions for decades.
And welcome to the BB!
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If it moves like a hunter and has eight good fences it does not matter what color it is.
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I’ll disagree with many of the above posters.
My junior hunter was a red roan. Some days, his color helped us because he was memorable, but some days, it hurt us for sure, because he was “unconventional.”
Some judges are just prejudiced that way.
I LOVE appys and find them to be a charming breed, on the whole. Good luck!
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Overheard ringside at a large show during the hack for a large hunter division:
Student to BNT: Who do you think will win the hack?
BNT: Loud spotted horse.
Student: Loud spotted horse? Really? Not Beautiful Bay Horse?
BNT: Nope. Beautiful Bay Horse is a better mover, but there are 10 nice moving plain or nearly plain bays in this class. Loud Spotted Horse will win because you can SEE Loud Spotted Horse.
BNT was correct. Loud Spotted Horse won hack and the division.
**Names of well known show horses changed to protect the identity of all participants.
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I knew someone with a very nice Appy hunter who won everywhere. She was interviewed in the Chronicle and basically said when she won, she deserved it but when she lost it was only because he was an Ap. Her trainer then has to explain that sometimes she lost because she got beat.
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IMO, in todays USEF rated Hunter ring? Color is not an issue. Maybe in past decades you’d run into some prejudiced judges but today with so many trips on social media? They wouldn’t work much if they dinged a horse a chunk of points solely on color. I’ve rarely seen a good trip spun because of color even back when.
Nothing personal to OP but I have seen horses with primarily Western type conformation not really have the shoulder and hip to generate the long, level stride that makes the lines look easy or get that desireable, knees to the eyeballs, round jump. Have heard those riders and sometimes trainers gripping they judge wouldn’t use a QH or horse with loud color, forgetting they had to rush to make the lines and didn’t have the most stylish jump in the class even if they made no obvious errors like swapping at the base, late changes or inconsistent distances.
I watched one of the very best, most consistent Hunters I ever saw in the mid 1990s win at big AA Rateds and win at QH Congress, might have won Worlds too, can’t remember and was not there to watch… It’s name was Wrapped in Red.
It was a loud, red roan.
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I haven’t encountered very many prejudiced judges at the A/AA level in my lifetime. A good judge is a good judge, and can recognize a good horse. People who are poor sports or aren’t educated enough to realize why they didn’t pin or why someone else pinned better will tell you that they lost because of their horses colour, or their trainer isn’t popular enough, or the judge didn’t like their helmet, etc, etc.
My children’s hunter was a red roan with silver stripes in his tail. His trot was awful so we never got a piece of the hack, but his canter was decent and his jump was good with textbook knees every time. He always got something o/f unless I totally blew it.
Now I’ve got 2 bays. One is just an average mover and I think he gets lost in a big hack, sometimes they’ll use him sometimes they don’t. The other is a very nice mover and always gets something, but has some suspension. Some judges love him, some recognize that he can move but will place him below a nice flat daisy cutter. That’s the sport, and I’m ok with it.
I just bought a liver chestnut weanling with a belly spot. She’ll probably be for sale once she’s 3/4ish. I’m not worried that everyone will pass because she’s a tad unconventional. She can move, hopefully she’ll be able to jump, and anyone who knows what’s up will be able to see that. The goal is to do the Cup Classes at RAWF when she’s 3. You need something to stand out in a flat class with 40 horses.
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They are actually breeding Appaloosas with TB infiltration to have the shoulder and hip. I owned one at one time. She wasn’t even spotted she was a gorgeous dark bay, but had enough Appaloosa to be registered as one and she probably carried spotted genes. She won a lot in the Hunter in Hand in Appaloosa, I showed her at schooling shows and my goal was to make to rated shows but we never quite made it (not her fault-about a million factors happening on my end). She had the movement required, and had a gorgeous rideable jump. One time when she got bored she jumped over a five foot panel to munch on some grass. But there is a certain focus going on in some Appaloosa breeding programs towards a nice English mover type, that can step into the rated shows as well.
I would guess it hurt you for the same reason it helped, not because they did not like the color.
When you are different you stand out.
Memorable works for good or bad.
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Many years ago, I scribed for a big hunter judge who was not fond of a particular large (and loudly colored) Appy gelding who was showing at that time. The judge was very old school… would often comment that only flat nosebands and brow bands were “allowed”, that riders were “obviously clueless” because they had breeches that were not the exact shade of tan she insisted was the only shade that should be worn etc. When that Appy came into the ring she would sigh and say… “it’s THAT horse again” … and yet she could not fault him on course, try as she might. When the class jogged in, she whispered to me that maybe he would be “off”… but of course, he wasn’t and went no worse than second (and usually first) in every class he entered.
So the moral of the story is - even if the judge dislikes “bling” or LOUD - quality/style/talent cannot be denied.
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Certainly, in some instances. However, in a sport where a lot of emphasis is placed on areas that are subjective (style, etc) some judges DO pin horses of color lower “just because.” Having unconventional tack can hurt you, it’s silly to assume having a horse of an unconventional color couldn’t, too. I know “R” judges that prefer D rings over pelhams and will pin accordingly whenever it’s close. Plenty of Times I had the winning trip or a trip that should have received a good ribbon but ended up further down the pack because of our less conventional look.
Thats not to say it happened super frequently but it definitely did happen. That was my heart horse and I wouldn’t have traded him for any amount of amazing bays! We were always having fun.
There were times where it was obvious, and happened under the same judges at different shows.
I’m hopeful that it happens less now than it did in my junior years but I’m sure it still happens.
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Anyway, OP, I’m sure your horse is lovely and you should show in the hunters! Plenty of judges truly are “colorblind” as they should be
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I love appies.
That being said I think the acceptance of them is somewhat judge-by-judge and regional (it shouldn’t be, but it is) and also depends on the division. You can get away with more looks-wise in the ponies and beginner/novice rider type classes. better judging overall at rated than unrated shows. Competition matters too. Are you in a sea of imported WBs or more varied type?
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Well, you see more horses of color in the lower divisions anyway because the body type any horse needs to score high in the big jump classes doesn’t run in bloodlines that typically produce color. But those color producing lines do run in Ponies and horses found in the more forgiving divisions.
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This particular prejudice has some rational basis -
I know “R” judges that prefer D rings over pelhams and will pin accordingly whenever it’s close.
in the sport’s root in field hunting.
The thinking is as follows: If a horse requires a pelham to canter around a ring by itself and jump manufactured fences, what the heck do you hunt it in?
Now, before people start howling, yes, I have known horses that simply go better in a mullen mouth pelham than a snaffle. But for people who actually remember that the sport has its roots in foxhunting, you hack and school in the mildest bit possible, and you “bit up” to hunt. Sometimes several times over the course of the season as your horse gets fitter and tougher. If you’re starting out in a pelham to jump a course in the ring, you don’t have a lot of places to go “up” (A very skinny broken mouth pelham with a long shank or a gag were the traditional recourses.)
In practice, if a horse is showing over fences in a pelham, I’m going to suspect it of needing the pelham because it gets strong down the lines and leaning down/heavy in front in the corners. THAT horse will pin below a horse that stays in balance with an even stride all the way around the course, regardless of what bit the happy, well balanced horse is wearing.
Personally, I don’t mind a pelham over fences provided the horse is happy and relaxed in it. I am more suspicious of them in a hack class.
The color bias was a thing in the 60s and 70s, pretty much gone by the 80s. And if you’re going by the sport’s roots in the hunting field, you’ll see a lot of color out hunting today - paints and apps are very popular as field hunters.
What is much more common is a horse that has to gallop a little to get the step, has a sticky or a late change behind, or less than a classical, tight, tidy jump and its doting rider or owner believing it didn’t pin because of its breed or color.
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Very true. But I have always felt like there’s a lot more room to be different colored in even the rated ponies at the top levels than in the rated horse divisions. Which is not to say some pintos/appies can’t do the job-- I just feel like in the ponies there have been enough top top ponies that were “different colored” that there’s less of a bias overall.
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Any color bias in Ponies is overcome by the high cuteness factor and those big, pretty bows.
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You can get away with a lot when your eyes are bigger than your ears and a kid in pigtails is the pilot
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