In my old days, a fair number of people, my barns included, did tails only for the nicer to nicest shows. This was a relief to me because, as I said upthread, I couldn’t do tails as a kid to save my life.
I also seem to remember this being discussed in some books of the era (80s/90s), in chapters devoted to show turnout, specifically because it’s easier on the hair.
But now that you say “half-dressed,” I can’t unsee it 
I spent the last two winters at WEC Ocala, even there you see the vast majority in the USHJA classes not braided, and being unbraided did not stop me from pinning. Might it make a difference if you are in contention to win, sure, but otherwise it really did not seem to make a difference.
I always braided my own as a kid. The idea of trying to add that to my schedule now on top of the career that I do to pay for this sport? No thanks. And it would take me a ton of time practicing to even get barely respectable again, so that’s not realistic, and I would hate the way it looks compared to the beautiful job a pro braider can do! Also, it isn’t just out of “laziness” (which is not really a fair characterization in many situations) or trying to save a buck that you might not want to braid during the week - no reason to do that to your horse’s mane and tail for extra days if you don’t have to for your schooling classes. So, I’ll be continuing to not braid during the week, and sucking it up and paying the braiding bill on the weekend! But, that said, I do agree that it is probably the one area where if someone is really looking for an opportunity to cut the bills, it is something you can take on yourself, it is just a personal decision as to whether it is worth it to each person.
You clearly have not actually read the thread, this has been discussed. It can not be done by anyone. Lots of us just can not make it happen no matter how much we try.
It has nothing to do with being lazy.
Not so. Come look at my arthritic hands and I’ll explain why your statement is false. I still ride well, but I don’t ride horses any longer that pull on me, and I use reins and gloves that help me to grip. No amount of practice or putting in more effort will change this.
I would say gently it’s a broad brush to chalk it up to laziness and say “anyone” could do it; there are certainly valid reasons to use pro braiders and grooms. But I do agree with you that people DIY’ing it shouldn’t be outliers (we all gotta admit that costs and a culture of dependence in the h/j world have been discussed to death here and is often pointed out by people in other disciplines).
I do also have to admit, it wasn’t all “uphill in the snow, both ways,” when I was a junior in the 80s and early 90s. I do remember there being a braider shortage at one rated show my barn was attending back in the dark ages. A friend and I were doing our own, as we would’ve anyway, and multiple people stopped by our stalls and frantically asking if we were able to “do a few more.” Aside from the fact we could’ve picked up some extra cash had we not been working students and also showing ourselves, I still remember those people looking askance when we explained (okay, a little smugly) that we were actually just doing our own.
I don’t know if there was a braider strike or what, but back in the day I got to the barn at ~5 and none of the horses were braided. We had one in the 2nd year conformation. Picture trainer braiding from the poll down, rider braiding from the withers up, me doing the tail. I do a REALLY good tail. There were a lot of jokes about the horse looking like a pro from the front, back, and off sides and a 4H horse from the near.
All other 25+ horses were left unbraided, and many, many other horses were unbraided for the entire AA show. Everyone was in the same boat.
I can’t remember now if we braided him because OMG the conformation! Or if word got around before we tried to get any others braided. Or if we just realized we could not possibly do it in time.
That picture sounds priceless 
OK. Maybe I was a little harsh saying people were lazy and wouldn’t braid themselves. I do know there are some who physically can’t braid. But in my area it was becoming a problem because trainers were requiring people to hire a professional braider–and weren’t teaching the young people or anyone how to braid, and if they knew how to braid, wasn’t allowing it either–it had to be a pro. I think this is not right to do, and is contribuiting to the overall expense of horse shows.
Thankfully, you do not have to personally show/ride with that trainer.
We can equate this to the people who prefer to use the curbside pick-up service for their regular shopping instead of going inside.
The world has all kinds of people. Some prefer to use their time differently.
If you do want to learn to do these things then do not train with someone who does not allow that. If you want to pick your own bunch of bananas, do not use the curbside pick-up option.
I have always used a braider, because my braiding sucks, no matter how hard I try. I offset that expense by doing a whole bunch of other stuff at shows to lower my costs. Did not use a groom, cleaned my own stall, arranged with trainer to feed all horses breakfast, etc.
I still remember the day at the Maclay final one of the years when it was held at the Meadowlands when there was one horse that was omitted from the standby list for the flat phase.
So that horse got unbraided, poulticed, wrapped, and put on the truck to leave.
And it was only moments before the truck was ready to pull out of the parking lot that they posted the final standby list, and that horse was on it.
If you ever saw the movie Back to the Future, and you remember the scene right after Michael J. Fox ended up back in the 1950s, and he was agog at all the people who ran out to do different things to the car that pulled up to a gas station, I would sort of compare this occasion to that scene in the movie.
Although actually, it was probably more like a pit crew at the Indy 500, since everybody was trying to do everything as fast as humanly possible.
I don’t even remember now how many people were working on that horse at one time. But I think there were at least three people braiding his mane, one person braiding his tail, more people pulling off his wraps and washing the poultice off his legs, somebody else throwing the tack on him that had been yanked back out of the trunk, etc., etc. It was pretty crazy.
Luckily, the horse was a very experienced old pro, so he just stood there like a rock in that parking lot as everybody swarmed around him.
The funniest part was that this all happened right near the outdoor schooling ring that was by the top of the ramp down into the arena. And there was a jumper rider who was flatting his horse around at the time.
And as the equitation horse strolled down the ramp all perfectly prepared to go in for the flat phase, the jumper rider looked over and said, “I never thought you guys were going to pull that off!” Lol.
I don’t recall now if the kid in question even knew that any of this was happening until after the fact. But I believe she ended up third in the Maclay final at the end of the day. So it was well worth the effort.
I come from eventing culture, where it is considered normal to braid your own horse. Of course, some people do hire out braiding, and that’s perfectly fine…but there is no fleet of pro braiders depending on making a livable wage at horse trials. The hired braiders are often people like me…riders or grooms who want to earn a little on the side since they’re at the show anyway.
Perfect braids are not expected in eventing, and you won’t get horrified looks of disdain if your horse has too few, crooked, or fuzzy braids. Nobody cares if they’re hunter braids with yarn, fat loose dressage braids with bands, or tight little sewn in plaits, or roached. We all appreciate that you (YOU!) made the effort, and with time/practice you can get better…but even if you don’t, it still demonstrates respect for your horse and the judge because you cared enough to try. I wish hunter culture could appreciate the imperfect efforts instead of peer pressuring every owner into buying the “necessary” perfect braid job. Does it look amazing? Of course! But it doesn’t make the horse jump better or move better. And honestly, I really love that extra 30-45 minutes I spend with my horse early morning or late at night braiding.
Yeah I agree… people always say this to me and I’m sure there is SOME truth to it.
I see a lot more peculiar placings at local horse shows. Which can frustrate me sometimes but then I actually went to a clinic last year with a professional judge who has done every big venue and big derby for like 30+ years. She had everyone there practice scoring every round. The clinician’s scores were pretty much identical to the actual judges every single time and everyone in the clinic’s scores were all over the place. Talking to the other people at the clinic, a lot of them are actually working judges at their own local unrated shows. And just by their scores they would give and things they would say, I could tell they were just not remotely on the same level as the professional judges, not just in terms of judging skills but horsemanship knowledge as well. And I mean no disrespect to them as they were there for a clinic to learn more and improve, the same as me, it did clear a few things up for me as to why my hunter eq kids usually place higher at the A rated venues than at the local shows.
I was a working student for a bit for a guy who was a well connected big time judge as well and him and the clinician pretty much had the same sentiment that it’s a jumping competition, people who get hung up on all the other stuff are people who that’s the only thing they know how to see.
We tend to only do tails on under saddle day, and usually only at the bigger shows, simply to save their tails. My last horse was practically bald up top by the end of the summer due to allergies, so we only did it when needed.
As a general response to this thread, I do my own braiding. I pick up work when I can. I think a vast majority of people could probably learn and do their own (physical limitations aside). I like doing my own because I get a sense of how the horse is going to be that day. Seriously…I do a lot in my barn and we joke about my braider spidey sense. I’m generally spot on. I think that’s what people refer to when they say it’s part of horsemanship, it’s bonding with your animal and starting to understand what they need. I think we’ve lost a bit of just spending time with our horses.
All that being said, I still happily pay for a braider on the days I show if I’m first division of the day. As I’ve gotten older, my brain needs the sleep to function properly when I’m the saddle!
I think this is part of what causes such variance at local shows. It’s hard to be a jumping competition at 2’6” or below, when horses don’t have to do anything but step over and even a really outstanding horse might not show any style.
I can no longer braid due to carpal tunnel but I do LOVE the look when my horse is braided. But I also pull the braids as soon as possible after my last class is finished. I purposely avoid competing at recognized horse trials in eventing too because it is a LOT (for me, no groom, no help usually) to get them braided for dressage and get the braids out before XC. I’m perfectly happy to save my money by not braiding ever again lol.
OMG, yes.
Someone made a flip comment on the Baran thread to the effect of ‘even hunter people can’t explain what’s going on in a hunter class’ and I thought, “actually…” – as in, actually I can talk someone’s ear off if we’re watching the pros or high-level juniors go at an A show but I struggle with our local schooling shows.
One did a fun Derby class a few years ago and our barn parents had questions While I could explain the principles and what the judge would want to see, I struggled with explaining why one round with chips and wild distances scored better than another and nobody was snapping their knees.
I say this with great respect to the 2’6” local divisions everywhere.
I feel like these divisions are often quite easy to judge because they sort themselves out by biffing a jump or missing a swap or forgetting that the stride length should be reasonably consistent throughout the performance. And if you need to split hairs, you can usually do it on manners or suitability.
Now, the 40-horse pre-adults at a rated show are a different story, where it’s just a parade of one lovely A/O horse stepped down to the level after another.
Anyway, speaking as someone who does my own braiding, I always enjoyed the ceremony of dressing up for the class. But I also wasn’t showing every weekend so that probably factors into my feelings about it.
I just suck at braiding lol. My mom was a pony club kid so she would always braid for me when I was younger!
Most of time at a local level show, the judge is not judging, they are scoring. And when you’re wandering around in that grey area that scores in the 60s, it is a crap shoot to sort them out.
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