Rated shows - Are we ready?

[findeight]

Couple of thoughts…

Your lease partner seems to have the impression if the GREEN horse is a bit speedy over fences, It’s a Jumper. NO ITs NOT. It a Green horse that needs a quiet ride and to LEARN to relax and adjust their pace. That’s why many successful Jumpers spend some time in the Hunters and even if they don’t show there, they work very hard on that skill set at home before they ever see a show jump course. They start by ignoring the time factor until the horse is relaxed, attentive and adjustable.

Your lease partner also has only ridden WBs and these are generally “kick along” rides, you need a lot of leg and need to sit into them to drive them and keep them ahead of that leg. Your mare is a “pull back” or " steadying" ride by nature, you sit into her and drive, she’ll be in tne next County, likely sans rider. This gal needs to learn to “sit chilly”, you need to discuss this with your trainer, hopefully she can teach that. Truth is your mare is speedy with your lease partner because lease partner does not know how to ride her and gets her all lit up. She’ll be too speedy in the Jumper ring too, run past distances, blow the corners and tight turns, get rails and still not make the time despite galloping faster.

This, again, is a reason to have a sit down meeting, It’s your horse and you get to choose…and if Jumper rider/trainers of global fame start with rideability, adjustability and relaxation…i.e Dressage flatwork and the Hunter skill set? Suspect that would be the way to start. Maybe she’ll be happier in the Jumpers but AFTER she gets completely broke. Not “she’s too fast for Hunters so we will go Jumpers”. Please don’t. It’s not your issue if lease partner can’t ride her, that’s trainers job to fix.

One other much more minor point, you will be paying double the drug fees at a USEF rated unless something has changed drastically. One for the State of California ( which has required random drug testing at ALL horse competitions since around 1970) and one for USEF, they have slightly different standards, different testers, impose their own fines and use different labs. Non rated Schooling show is not subject to USEF testing so no USEF testing fee, Know it’s just a drop in tne bucket but there’s only so much room in that bucket, and yours is a small one.

Really need to sit down together and work all this out, there are some challenges that need to be addressed or they will cause drama and possibly conflict down tne road. I hope Trainer shared the fact the young, green TB needs a completely different ride then an older, BTDT WB. That can be dealt with but needs to be acknowledged by all parties.

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[IPEsq]

What you would be paying for is experience for your green horse and green (at showing) self. That has more value than blue ribbons. It’s also why it doesn’t make sense to spend $1000 a week at the A show if you can get the experience at the local price. Why do you need a rated show record? Why do you need points if you are only doing a couple shows a year? Even if you do win, you are not able to be competitive on points with those who campaign. So, take your time and budget and provide a solid foundation for your horse and quit worrying about winning for now and having to prove yourself. The best way to be a success story is to turn your horse into a solid citizen first and foremost that you enjoy. Sometimes, this takes a lot of work. It doesn’t matter if it’s an OTTB or fancy import. Some are easy and healthy and some are anxious and lack good skills to cope in this world we put them in. If you don’t want to show over jumps, you don’t have to show over jumps even if she has the style of Rox Dene. If you want her to have that experience, it is completely ok to turn the reins over to the trainer or other rider. But remember what you are paying for right now is not really showing it’s more training and experience and confidence for your horse.

[Dutchmare433]

I don’t understand where all of this perceived negativity is coming from. Certainly no one on here is telling you that you can’t show in dressage or hunters or whatever because your horse is a TB.

You need to slow down and stop jumping from thought to thought. Give the horse time to progress. If you had a successful outing in a WT flat class at a schooling show, the next step is not a rated show at 3’…if you really want this horse to have a show record, let it be a good record in case you ever do need to sell. If you overface her or yourself (and subsequently her, as she has not BTDT) the show record won’t look good and won’t prove anything to anyone. Same goes for dressage shows.

I have seen/heard a BNT telling a student mounted on a cute and very safe but not fancy draft cross that she wished many more of her clients would ride horses or that temperament rather than flashy gaits.

[BostonHJ]

The absolute only thing you can expect to get for your money at a horse show is fun and that is true for 95% of people who horse show. Succeeding at a walk-trot flat class versus over fences in any division at an A show are completely different things… it’s like doing well at T-ball so thinking your toddler should probably try out for the Major Leagues tomorrow. I don’t want to rain on your parade but your expectations for success versus reality are way out of line. There are almost zero horses that go to their first show over fences and win, and I promise those aren’t horses that get quick or play on the landing. You’d be competing against people and horses that have done this for quite possibly a decade - what makes you think you’ll get the record you’re hoping for instead of documentation that things didn’t go as hoped?

For the sake of your horse, please start at a schooling show and go watch some of the A shows sans horse. Take notes on what wins the classes you’d be competing in - even the 2’6 divisions generally are won by 8 really nice distances, clean lead changes and a pretty steady trip. You keep saying your trainer is taken with your horse - have you considered this is because you are her first client? If you really want to help her build her reputation, you’ll go slow and steady so she’s successful.

[findeight]

Don’t confuse the " no, you aren’t ready" answer with negativity. Not when it’s followed by positive suggestions of what you can do to remedy the situation and what path to take. Don’t see anybody saying a thing about breed, except, maybe me and I just pointed out it’s a different kind or ride from a typically duller type. And Green is a fair assessment. And that can be fixed.

[JenEM]

@BostonHJ

The absolute only thing you can expect to get for your money at a horse show is fun and that is true for 95% of people who horse show. Succeeding at a walk-trot flat class versus over fences in any division at an A show are completely different things… it’s like doing well at T-ball so thinking your toddler should probably try out for the Major Leagues tomorrow. I don’t want to rain on your parade but your expectations for success versus reality are way out of line. There are almost zero horses that go to their first show over fences and win, and I promise those aren’t horses that get quick or play on the landing. You’d be competing against people and horses that have done this for quite possibly a decade - what makes you think you’ll get the record you’re hoping for instead of documentation that things didn’t go as hoped?

For the sake of your horse, please start at a schooling show and go watch some of the A shows sans horse. Take notes on what wins the classes you’d be competing in - even the 2’6 divisions generally are won by 8 really nice distances, clean lead changes and a pretty steady trip. You keep saying your trainer is taken with your horse - have you considered this is because you are her first client? If you really want to help her build her reputation, you’ll go slow and steady so she’s successful.

Totally agree with this. The more you say about where you are in your training and what your horse has done, the less ready you sound to even be thinking about doing a rated show. And you’re over-thinking it, too It is a BIG leap from WT schooling show classes to a rated show, especially a 3’ division at a rated show.

It also sounds like a lot of not knowing what you don’t know. I watched a few videos from the schooling show series after someone up thread mentioned them, and it looks like a perfectly nice, safe, well-set schooling show course, but it is not at all comparable to what you’re going to see at a rated show. Go watch at a few of the rated shows there, since it’s nearby, and actually watch the divisions you’re interested in competing in, see how the horses go, how things are run, how the jumps look, how riders and horses are turned out. You’ve got a perfectly good schooling show series, with what looks like great courses for a green horse and green to showing rider, take advantage of those to build up skills and confidence.

You’ve got to get out of the mindset of “proving” something. You can’t equate ribbons with value, and for most people who aren’t upper level pros, horse showing is about fun, because whether you come home with a ribbon or a cooler or nothing, you’ve still basically just wasted $1000. So you better enjoy the journey, not some abstract result. I’m saying this to you as someone who owns a TB who cost less than most people’s show bills, and who won a Zone award this past year. I’ve had her for 11 years, and our first rated Hunter show wasn’t until 3 years ago. The ribbons are great icing on the cake and make for nice long-range goals once you’re really rolling, but it can’t be about the ribbons, or you’re never going to be happy, because there’s always going to be someone just a little bit better. You have to enjoy the journey and enjoy doing what you do because you love it and love your horse. The horse certainly doesn’t care about bright lights and blue ribbons.

[Soaponarope]

“Or, if trainer wants to enter instead of me (i’d prefer that), i can pay her fees in exchange for her representing my horse and riding her in the classes.”

OP I just want to note that your trainer cannot ride in the adult division because she’s a pro. It’s an amateur division. She could ride in an open division. This would include hunter derbies and the divisions earlier in the week. It sounds though as if you have decided to start out in the local division. I think that is a good idea.

On the whole hater and newbie trainer issue, I would say this. Support as you can. Do the local shows. But beware of getting emotionally or financially invested in your trainer’s career. This can end up costing you a lot of money.

You might make decisions to prove your haters wrong. The horse world is competitive and sometimes people can be awful, brain-injured, crazy, or ruthless. You may want to prove your worth to them and given some of the barn behavior I’ve seen, that is totally understandable. BUT, slow and steady wins the race. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Riding well takes lots of time and practice.

It does sound as if the A rated horse show is near you. I would recommend that you go and watch. Watching is free. Park it by the ring and watch the riders, horses, and trainers in action. And enjoy spectating as preparation for eventually getting in that ring yourself.

[Scribbler]

Yeah but in my experience you can’t prove yourself to people who personally dislike you. What they think about your riding is a function of what they think about you. No matter what you accomplish they won’t be impressed. That’s because they don’t like you as a person.

And guess what? That’s totally all right. Not everyone will like you. If you care to do some introspection you might think about how to alter your future behavior so as not to irritate people as much.

But don’t spend any time trying to please people who don’t like you because you can’t. Focus on pleasing the people who do like you.

As far as thinking the wider world is paying attention, they aren’t.

We’ve had so many young women with bad OTTB situations come through our barn and disappear that no one really keeps them straight.

“Remember that girl a couple years back with that lame bay OTTB that got bucked off? What was her name? Was thst Susie or Betsy? Or was that the other one? Anyhow someone said they saw her at a schooling show last week. But they weren’t sure cause the horse looked different. Huh. Hey can I borrow your lead rope?”

That’s about the maximum amount of airspace you would take up in 99 % of former barn mates minds.

Perhaps we would prefer to be more memorable. But I personally find it comforting that no one is paying attention.

On the other hand if your experience has been that a significant number of people at your former barns don’t like or respect you as a person you may want to reflect on how you present yourself.

Liking you as a person, respecting your riding, and thinking your horse has potential are three separate things. You can really like someone and think they are honest, kind, full of integrity, but also recognize they are a beginner rider with a crocked horse. You wish them well and help as you can.

What’s really irritating and makes people withdraw is when there is a major disconnect between reality and self presentation, and people start to feel you don’t care about them, and are just going around saying whatever to boast.

I know one rider who has a tendency to do that. She has never come out and said something like " I went in a walk trot schooling show, so I’m ready for 3 foot hunters now, right?" But I could imagine something similar.

However this friend is 12 years old and fortunately has parents and a solid coach keeping her in line.

I can smile at it in a 12 year old. If she was 25 I’d just roll my eyes, keep my distance, watch the comedy unfold, and forget her when she left.

The point at which riding is good for the character is the point at which you get good at riding. Learn to set your own goals, focus on the horse you are riding, and let your actions and achievement speak for you.

I realize there are probably entire barns full of teen age girls who haven’t got to that point, but if they are going to be good riders, they will need to.