Hello all, this is my first post, although I’ve been lurking here on COTH for many months now. The thread “Which is More Appropriate?” reminds me of the Arabian Show Hack classes I’ve seen at a few shows. Does anyone know what the background is on why the riders wear top hat and shadbelly ? Now THAT makes me cringe…but maybe there’s a reason for it.
Tail and tophat are worn in many classes that aren’t dressage. Hunt seat also.
And yes, I admit it looks slightly odd to see a child in a lead line class in tophat and long coat…and Pampers.
At one time, tophat and cutaway coat was just the standard ‘formal wear’ and that’s how people dressed up for special occasions.
ARABIAN show hack I believe started in Canada as a take off on a ‘show hack’ or ‘park hack’ class available in England. It was originally designed as an imitation of wealthy people with fancy horses who wanted to show off their fancy horses in a ride through the ‘park’.
Originally it was designed to show off fancy gaits and fancy training. Hence the collected, regular, and extended paces of each gait.
Technically you can wear informal attire. And that formal attire is recommended AFTER 6:00. But everyone wears formal attire at any time of day.
Thanks for the clarification slc2 and mjhco. I had been under the impression that the formal attire was strictly an upper-level dressage thing…
My husband thinks it’s exceedingly weird that we don’t wear shadbellies at all levels, because they traditionally did in the military. <shrug>
[QUOTE=Zelda;3010942]
Hello all, this is my first post, although I’ve been lurking here on COTH for many months now. The thread “Which is More Appropriate?” reminds me of the Arabian Show Hack classes I’ve seen at a few shows. Does anyone know what the background is on why the riders wear top hat and shadbelly ? Now THAT makes me cringe…but maybe there’s a reason for it.[/QUOTE]
I don’t cringe because of the attire. If the riders could actually extend or collect their horses, I wouldn’t care what they wear. But those god-awful gaits 
Let’s face it…most horse show classes are also “costume” classes. You can ride an afternoon show hack class in hunt attire, but then what happens if you should make the finals. Generally, the finals are held during an evening performance, and for those, you must wear formal attire if you hope to win. Informal attire is not correct wear for that evening performance, and if it is between you in informal attire, and someone else in formal attire, just who do you think the judge will pin?
According to my history books, Show Hack in the Arabian Circuit was to be for advanced level dressage horses. It was “conceived” apparently by the late Leslie Wagshcall of Ontario.
Since then it’s become a total “cock-up” with country english pleasure rejects being the “norm”.
As for the Shad’s and the Top Hats, by the rules, they are only supposed to be worn in Championship shows, or as formal attire after 6pm. The horses that I have witnessed in the Main Ring Show Hack are a joke. There are no clear difference between any paces. They are lucky if their horses will even walk!
I do compete in Show Hack classes, both Sport Horse; 2007 Canadian National Arabian Championships Reserve Champion, and US Sport Horse Nationals top 10 twice with my 3rd level dressage mare. We were are also undefeated in 2006 and 2007 in Sport Horse Show hack in Region 18 (Eastern Canada).
easy Elaine…not all arabian show hacks are jokes nor are they country rejects. Some are but it’s not fair to group them all just because you disagree with the way the class has evolved.
Let’s all remember that a horse is only as good as it’s rider and training. A major portion of the riders in show hack are not dressage educated. The class isn’t judged as a dressage class either- at least main ring.
Let’s also remember that the judge needs to pin the horses that display all the gaits both ways of the ring and manners and quality and performance etc. It’s not as simple as picking the most dressage-like type.
To the original poster, MaryJo is right…the class came from Canada. Sport Horse show hack is more dressage-like than main ring show hack. There are still horses that show in both and are successful at both.
[QUOTE=Trixie’s mom;3011622]
easy Elaine…not all arabian show hacks are jokes nor are they country rejects. Some are but it’s not fair to group them all just because you disagree with the way the class has evolved.
.[/QUOTE]
You have’nt seen the ones up here. Yes, it’s a pleasure to see the real Show Hack horses; yes I’ve been to both US and Canadian Nationals and seen the best.
But, when you see those horses with their long shanked curbs, and their eyes popping out of their heads, with riders who are more accumstomed to riding saddle seat, dressed like dressage riders, it does not look right.
I have a video of the national champion show hack (main ring) so I am not seeing any rejects, I’m seeing the best ones there are. It bears no resemblance to dressage. I see no difference between extended, collected, etc. Sometimes the extended gait is a little quicker stride.
what year is the video and which nationals? US, Canada, youth…which division? amateur/youth or open, purebred or half arabian?
again, it’s not a dressage class.
i can’t remember. I’ll try to find it. I also have one on training them, by one of the top trainers for the class, at least they said she was on the video. I don’t expect it to be dressage, though some people do. What surprised me si the lack of differences between the gaits.
If I remember correctly (and I have only recenlty ventured back to Arabian Dressage w/ my arab dressage horse-qualified for Nationals at open dressage shows), they have made some bit changes and tack changes. When show hack first started appearing in the late 80’s, perhaps early 90’s in our region, we were going out in our saddle seat bits switched into a hunt bridle and our cut backs. Dressage saddle? What was that? Now, I think the cut backs are not allowd (someone will correct me if I am wrong) and legnth of bit shank. I think that the rail birds watch pretty close when the horses come in, as should the TDs, to make sure that the illegal bit legnths don’t make it in. To me, the National championship class was like an endurance class. There is no way that my old guy could have kept that up for the half hour it seemed to take to run that class, without a break here and there. Just my humble opinion.
show hack has a fun name, ‘slow hack’…it is a very long class compared to the others. sometimes the horses have to make 2-3 laps at the ‘extended’ gaits and navigate all the other horses so the judge can evaluate all the horses. it’s not an easy task maintaining an extended trot while avoiding a bucking horse, a spooking horse and all the other riders.
a good show hack horse is really fun to ride…
What I miss most from those older, show hack classes, was the stripping of the horses after the rides and before the final pinning of the class. It was really interesting in seeing the conformation of those better horses.:yes:
yup, that tradition is missed by many.
[QUOTE=Trixie’s mom;3012813]
show hack has a fun name, ‘slow hack’…[/QUOTE]
:lol: That’s what we call it too. I haven’t shown the circuit in about ten years. Went back this year with a friend and I have to say, I was shocked that the slow hack here was worse than before. Unbelievable. Collected= slower. Extended= faster. And yep, it was the country pleasure rejects.
Yup, I showed SH with my 1/2 arab gelding in the early 90s. He also did western pl, country eng pl., saddleseat eq., hunter pl, and training/1st level dressage. Won in all of them… until country eng pl gained some of the english pl horses because some of the park horses were dropping to english pl.
But yep, there is no distinct difference of gaits other than its rate of speed in the slow hack class. How it’s judged also depends on what judge you have. I also miss the confo evaluation at the end of the rides. Oh well. That’s why I don’t show the arab circuit anymore. :winkgrin:
Actually Elaine the Show Hack class did originate in BC at H/J shows and then spread to the Arabian world where it has taken off. However Les Wagschall did not invent it nor was he even in the first class in Ontario - I was and I won it on Zabou over 6 horses. Les joined the HAJA circuit about 4 years later when the Show Hack was a well established class at all Arabian shows in Ontario.
We used to have to strip for conformation at the end of the performance.
It is not incorrect to wear informal attire after 6pm or in Championship classes. In the early days that was the only time you could wear formal attire. However over the years, the silly Arab people wanted to wear their formal outfits more than once in a blue moon so they petitioned and got the rule changed so that show hack allowed the formal attire at any time. Informal attire is also correct at any time.
