Places that enforce leash rules should be the norm- where I show quite a bit has an automatic $50 off leash fine, and it works. I love dogs at shows- I love the variety, it’s fun for the dogs and their people if they are trained and familiar with shows, and I also know that many barns use them as guard dogs for their stall area.
On the other hand, there are a lot of jerks out there who don’t have control over their dogs- so perhaps there needs to be a better culture of responsibility in the H/J world. I’m a jumper rider but I ride and train and board with eventers. Events have tons of dogs at them, people are good about keeping them on leash, and in my experience over the years you just don’t see issues. It’s not rocket science, but there is an expectation at events- from one day unrecognized to FEI three days- that people will practice good dog management, and they do.
I’ve been taking my now 8 month old puppy to the barn and to jumper shows and events since we adopted him at 8 weeks old. He’s on leash at events and shows, and ties nicely to my rig (just like my jumper, which often tends to freak out the H/J folks!). I can leave him for HOURS with some water, a stick or a bone, and a comfy place to lie and he will happily hang out, or I can bring him on coursewalks, to watch other peoples rounds, to walk a XC course with my friends, to lay at my feet while I chat with other people or eat my lunch, or whatever. He really enjoys going with me- I even brought him down to Aiken for our spring trip when he was only three months old. As soon as he gets in the truck he sacks out until we get to wherever we are going. I don’t bring him to places that don’t allow dogs, obviously, but otherwise he comes everywhere.
At my barn he is never on leash- our BM/trainer brings her own pup and all dogs are welcome so long as they behave. If they don’t, they get schooled, and we’ve never had anyone who needed to be kicked out- my puppy had to learn that he can’t play in the rings, and that sometimes horses don’t actually LIKE dogs. When I ride he is either dorking around with the other dogs, down in the barn next to my trunk, or lying on the sidelines chewing on whatever gross thing he may have found in the woods.
I have done nothing special other than good, basic training, and just acclimating him to barn and show life from Day 1. We have two other dogs we adopted as older adults and they stay at home because I can’t guarantee they would be as well-behaved as the puppy, although when we go to our friends’ farm for the weekend (where my older horse is retired), they are great with the horses and pigs. But they haven’t been raised up in it, and I don’t know if they would take all of the activity in their stride the way the puppy does, so I don’t bring them. To me it’s a pretty simple equation, but enforcement of leash rules might help foster more of a culture of responsibility for us.
But, he was my first working dog, and when he became so proficient at his job, and i realized how precious he was to me in every other way as well, i stopped taking him to horse shows.