Thanks for the response,
Certainly. The cookie was after the competition and everyone was standing or sitting on their horse waiting for the ribbons to come. Definitley will remember in the future that no food is allowed in the library 
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Please keep us posted.
I like your style!
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Thanks for the response and for the tips!
thank god for google tabs
I really appreciate the pointers.
Certainly will come back, im sure
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Ok, that sounds like she is doing jumper classes, which are actually much easier to understand. The scoring for jumper classes is objective, not subjective, like for hunters.
Think speed skating versus figure skating.
In jumper classes, the fastest time with the fewest faults wins.
The horse gets four faults for knocking down an obstacle, four faults for refusing to jump an obstacle, and one time fault for each commenced second over the time allowed for the course. Two refusals in the same class or the fall of a horse or rider incur elimination.
There are a few more details involved, but that is the basic gist of it. 
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We are all sad for you. A trash bag sized cookie sounds awesome.
Sounds like sheâs in the jumpers, which shouldnât be so golf-clappy. My suggestions, learn her course too, so you know where the final jump is, for the first part and the second part. Jumpers you can cheer after the round is over.
The first part, you can pay attention to the lines. They still have a time limit in the first part, so canât dawdle. That said, theyâre making sure theyâre coming to the jumps in a way that gives max chances they will clear it without a rail. You can cringe at a chip (when the horse takes a tiny little patty pat step right in front of the jump, and has to jump like a deer), or a flier (when the horse takes off too early and needs to let Jesus take the wheel to make it over). You can count to see if she got the same number of strides in a line as everyone else.
The second part is where the fun is at. Each rider knows their horseâs strengths and weaknesses. Some have a huge stride that will make up time in open areas, others have the ones that can turn and jump from anywhere, and the best ones have both. Ask your GF which one her horse is! Riders will be slicing fences (jumping it at an angle to save time on a shorter path), turning in the air, leaving strides out (two jumps set 4 strides apart, a rider finds it in 3 strides = time saved), and in general taking appropriate risks to try and be the fastest and also not have rails down. The final riders are often the most fun to watch, as they have watched the rounds before and know all the tricks and really gun hard for it.
Again, cheer loud after the final fence!
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Yup. Was happily driving a test and judge asked what test I was drivingâŠTest A! Says me. Test C. It was supposed to be C. How I mixed that up I do not know, but itâs definitely on brand for me. Fortunately was a schooling thing 45 min away, not a big event out of state âŠ
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Thanks for the response.
Happy and balanced - i like that.
A video about what correct canter lead and posting correct trot etc is exactly what Iâm looking for.
Im a judoka and unforunately an idiot. But being an idiot and making it as far as I have means I know how to explain things in laymanâs terms. She, however has been doing this since shes been able to walk (maybe before) and clearly has never dumbed it down to a SUPER basic level. Ive tried to follow, apparently youre supposed to count feet between jumps (?) and am looking at a bridge for where I am to at least get the picture.
haha, ill show you the diary later 
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speed racing, makes sense. If its about the fastest time, any idea why i get a look anytime i say its a race?
thanks in advance
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well, it is strides, horses have an average length in their stride at a specific gait. the distance between the jumps dictates how many strides are supposed to be there in between. Horse size or course builders make for variations.
Like I said. grab a plain horse care/riding book. The library should have oodles.
And pick up some Norman Thelwell books.
Although cartoons, they are also educational.
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pay attention to the lines and count as in the horse steps? I have noticed some horses get really close and almost jump straight up and others do it further away. I assume thats up to the horse right?
If thats the case then the number of steps are gonna be different right?
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Awesome, thank you for the recommendations
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seems itâs hunters, not jumpers.
Jumpers are scored by knockdown first, time second. Among the riders tied in faults the fastest time places on top. However if you go past an allowed time you get faults for that, too.
How hunters are scored I donât know well. They need to look like they didnât do anything at all over the jump. Look pretty, and effortless.
Horse racing is a separate sport entirely. But itâs also one people who donât ride are most likely to encounter thanks to the popularity of the Kentucky Derby. Many equestrians when talking to non-equestrians get questions like, âDo you race?â or âHow was your last race?â quite frequently. So hearing a competition referred to as such can be mildly annoying or frustrating. In jumpers, youâre competing in a class.
But kudos to you for taking an interest! Horse shows can be hard environments to learn in because your girlfriend and her barn mates are likely to be a little stressed or nervous about competing. I know when I compete, itâs not easy to take a break or answer questions. But I try, especially if I have friends or family coming out to watch who donât know much about horses.
There are some good books on what to look for that might help. One of my favorites is Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers, and Equitation. It has lots of good photos on correct form and also talks about the differences in the disciplines.
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seemingly very dumb question
If im looking at basic horse care books - Pony club manual was suggestedâŠa pony is just a small horse right (different species if i remember)? or is there a horse club manual I should look at?
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There are different trains of thought on whether the horse should choose, or the rider should choose, a take off spot. If the rider has a good canter (in a nutshell, it has the right energy in the right places), both a close distance and a far one can look ok.
Unless it is really ugly entrance or exit, most horses should get through a line in the same number of strides. Smaller/shorter strided horses might add one, or the Jesus Take the Wheel horse might take one out.
Just start by doing the counting. At the very least, it gives you something to do while youâre watching paint dry, err, I mean the first round.
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Pony Club is the name of a glorified national horse club. Youâre fine getting that manual, it covers horses and ponies. It may be a bit too technical in the areas you donât have big interest in, but itâs a good resource!
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but it is a race right? dunno about the semantics of it all, i just wanna know if its not a race haha in the pure sense
And yea, absolutely. I certainly understand having too much on the plate to teach/show me which is why im here and looking for videos/books to show me. Thank you for the recommendation! Will take a look
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Awesome!
Happy to start small and count. Sounds easy enough haha
Thanks for the recommenation.
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It technically is, yes. But to me, in my horse mind, racing implies that multiple horses are on course at the same time.
But if someone is truly getting offended at you calling it a race, they need to get a life. If the fastest time wins, itâs a race. Youâre not wrong.
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