OK COTH members, what are some of the myths you have read on the bulletin board over the years in regards to what you must do if you want to compete in the hunter ring and/or pin in a hunter class?
For example, I have read some riders state that if you do any of the following in the hunter ring, it will result in poor or no ribbons:
Wearing white breeches
Using anything but a D-ring
Braiding the mane to the left
Black tack
Half pads
Not using Brand X saddle or Brand X bit
Not wearing Tailored Sportsman breeches
Tell me some of the crazy myths you have read over the years. And go!
UPDATE:
I have decided to turn this into an article and have reached out to a handful of top USEF hunter judges who have provided me with some amazing feedback for the article. It will be published in an upcoming issue of COTH. Once the article has been published, I will post the link here.
Daventry, in zone 3, none of these are myths. Walking into the hunter ring at an AA show with braids on the left, black tack, and/or white breeches will get you looked at askance.
Your interpretation of what someone said at a judging clinic does not answer my question. Are you a judge, competitor, trainer? So who? The railbirds or the judge?
I observed a woman in the hunter ring. She was from the eventing world, and wore white breeches, had a huge half pad, large button braids and rode in black tack. The trip was absolutely an atrocity, yet she felt her placing was the result of her appearance. The reality was that the actual riding was the element that was out of place (burying the horse to the distances, riding hard to the jumps, etc…). So, I’m sure there are a lot of people who blame their tack and clothing because they think they did just fine when in reality they did not.
I live and ride in Zone 3 and no the white breeches thing will not hurt you at all. PLENTY of kids and adults do it on Sundays when it’s jumper classic days. No one is going to bother change their pants in 100 degree weather in a terrible bathroom when the have both a jumper and a hunter. LOL
When I was showing in Zone 3 in the 90s, it was practically a crime/you didn’t fit in unless you rode in one of those Beval therapeutic pads with no shaped pad under. Trends change!
Lots of whites on Sunday here in Zone 10, for the same reason.
Also, It broke my 1990s East Coast heart into pieces to do it, but I have personally been awarded primary colored ribbons while using Pelhams and/or full cheek snaffles and half pads (in combination!) in the hunter ring since we moved out here. Nobody died, and the horse went much better. He placed in the rounds where he didn’t swap off his left lead, and didn’t place in the rounds that he did. All remained more or less right with the world.
Someone who judges at the county level told me only D rings in the hunters, pelham bits in equitation, and leather girths. My horse does hunters and eq in a synthetic girth and a snaffle bit that looks like more of an egg butt. In my profile photo he’s in a loose-ring snaffle. So clearly I don’t think any of that matters.
Several judges have have told me in person or via an article not to wear anything that makes you look too much not like the others, especially in flat equitation. Depending on the judge it might get you noticed (for better or worse) or might give them an excuse to knock you down in placing. Or make their eye linger on you a bit longer so they notice something they might not have. So why pay $$$ to enter a class and wear black tack with brass buckles just to test the waters, unless you’re doing some sort of a study to determine judging prejudices.
I don’t mean to put you on the spot Anne, but I’ve included the quote you left on the other thread since you made reference to it.
Yes, first impressions are important when show in the hunter ring because 1) your are judged from the moment you enter the ring and 2) your overall score is opinion based. That being said, in my opinion, a hunter judge’s first impression revolves around making sure your boots are polished, your horse’s braids are tidy and neat, the coat shins and the horse is in good weight, your horse is well trained and you enter the ring at your horse’s best gait. This helps the judge form an impression about the quality and movement of your horse. That is very different than assuming braids on the left, black tack or white breeches automatically makes a bad impression. Maybe I am incorrect, but I think you misunderstood what was being discussed at the clinic in regards to first impressions. I have attended these clinics regularly too. Did the clinician actually state during the clinic that a horse must be braided on the right, black tack is not acceptable and riders shouldn’t be wearing white breeches?
One myth from years ago: only puke green tailored sportsmen breeches, Vogal boots, flat bevel saddle, raised bridle, D ring snaffle or you do not place!! And no colored horses please!
I’m doomed. My new horse has a mane that lies resolutely on the left and I have no choice but to braid it there. And she goes best in a Pelham. Will her lovely movement, stunning looks and “jump the moon” style be enough to save us?
IME when I’ve had trainers show my hunters, occasionally on GP days they would wear whites with no issue. I’ve had a horse champion in a large division with my trainer wearing white.
Horseshows are run the same way in pretty much every zone. On GP day and Jumper Classic day I wear my white breeches for the whole day regardless of whether I have hunters going or not. I have never been looked at sideways for doing so. And I’m also not the only one doing it. So I think you are wrong.
And while I totally agree that the impression you make is super important, an overall impression does not usually come from a single detail. If you walked into the ring with [bad] braids on the wrong side, white breeches, ill-fitting tack, and a poorly groomed horse, then yes, you will likely be judged poorly. But I’ll stick to what I said on the other thread. If you are impeccably turned out and have one “funny” detail, I think that 95% of the time, no one is going to notice. In
I’ll add to what I said on the other thread as well. As mentioned above, I have shown in the hunters in white breeches at least one day at almost every show I’ve been to in the last few years. Never had it change my placings from beige day to whites. I had a horse whose saddle slipped like crazy with a hunter pad (or half pad) under it, so I showed for a season in the Performance and AO Hunters with no saddle pad at all. That horse won enough that I’m pretty sure I can safely say that it did not impact our impression, despite the fact that it looked a little odd watching the videos to me (but also, I knew what to be looking for). And I’ve had many occasions where I’ve been in a big jumper class (much more important to me than my hunter rounds on my young green horses) and I’ve literally run back to the barn to drop the jumper off, grabbed the hunter, and sprinted to the ring without remembering to change into a less flashy/more-huntery hunt coat. Oh, and we had a show where the braider population declined precipitously thanks to a combination of weather and the flu. My Baby Green horse went (“surprise!”) unbraided and still beat a heck of a lot of braided horses.
I don’t disagree that some judges might notice odd details particularly well. But I think that the majority of the time Daventry is spot on with her point that it’s the overall presentation of things like shiny coat/healthy looking horse/nice mover (etc.), and that the stupid little details that are not technically against the rules are just not a big deal (if not amassed).
Many of these “myths” come from people who are new to hunters, or new to a higher level of hunters, and don’t do well. It’s easy to say you didn’t pin because your horse goes in a pelham. It’s much harder to realize that maybe you were a little unprepared or uneducated and it showed in your rounds. My rule of thumb is to do everything with a purpose and look like I know what I’m doing :lol: I personally wouldn’t braid on the left. I’ve never encountered a horse with a mane so stubborn it couldn’t be braided neatly to the right.
Some things I learned along the way (and later learned were very, very false):
Sit the trot into an equitation class
You must show in a martingale
You must have a lip strap on your pelham curb chain
Always keep your crop in your outside hand and switch it during the flat
I’ve also survived the beginning and end of a few trends:
GPAs make you look like a skunk.
If you do not have a skunk helmet you don’t look put together
GPA Speed Airs make you look like a bug (and repeat :rolleyes:)
Navy hunt coats only. Black hunt coats are for pony club only and green gives everyone around you immediate anxiety stricken flashbacks to 1990.
Hunt coats must be black or so dark navy they look black
Black is outdated and your coat must now be a shade of navy light enough to not be confused with black. Wouldn’t want to look 2010.
Your noseband must be fancy stitched, padded, yet somehow understated.
-Your noseband must be unpadded and wide. But still fancy stitched. Always fancy stitched.
Nothing touches the horse that is not white, black, brown, or navy. Hunter green is oooookay if you must. Other colors don’t exist. We close our eyes if we accidentally run into colored items in the tack shop. Other colors do. not. exist.
Every strip of fabric, leather, trim, binding, stitching, piping, embroidery, and/or crotchet must be perfectly color coordinated in your custom color scheme. All colors are fair game. As long as they match. Perfectly.
This brings back some memories! :lol: Especially the crop… like you’re somehow hiding it from the judge in the center of the ring if its on the outside. Because, you know, the judge isn’t observant enough to see you have it in your hand and constantly switching it back and forth as you change directions…
Yes, but it looks like you did braid on the right, which got the OP’s panties in a bunch on another thread. Clothing and tack styles may change, but I have never seen a hunter at a rated show braided on the left. OP kept stating she was a USEF R rated judge and you could braid on any side and no one would notice. Most disagreed with her.
