Here’s some reiners without a bridle (or reins). Clearly not deserving of the title “reining.” I’m offended they even used “reiners” in the video title.
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And while we’re at it, Reined Cow Horse. I have yet to see someone bridle a cow for this sham of an event.
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You know, nearly all of them ride in split reins, so it should be reinSers. The single rein in reining is just a bastardization of the truth.
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Speaking of “hunters,” I’m hunting for a way to block having to read through certain user’s asinine commentary and questions — like a mute button. Is that possible on these boards?
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I mean honestly, when I think of Eventers, I think of horses that go from event to event. Birthday parties, weddings, funerals etc…
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Yes, you can ignore specific users.
Click on the circle with the first letter of your user name in the upper right corner of the screen.
Click on your user name at the top left of the menu that drops down.
Select 'Preferences" and then “Users.” From that screen, you can add other user names to your ignore list.
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Yes. Click on their name to go to their profile page, and then look for a button on the middle right that says “normal.” If you click on that, it will give you various options.
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I am (to put it mildly) way out of the income bracket we’re discussing here, but I am a member of a horse Facebook group where some people were discussing how much it costs to compete for 12 weeks on one of the major winter circuits, and I saw estimates as low as $10K and as high as $50.
Probably everyone showing at that level has at least some inherited wealth and investment income, but even the few posters who were as close to “self-financing” on their income were working 70 hours a week in corporate law, or also had spouses who were high-flying surgeons in major metropolitan areas, and they said it made them sick to think about how much money they were spending because they at least had some inkling of the real cost of what they were spending.
Again, this is admittedly secondhand, not quality sources, but if true, it’s a reminder of how the hunters at rated shows are very much a rich person’s game. I also think it raises the question that even if you can “do” that scrimping and saving, if it’s really worth the emotional stress of spending that much (relative to your income) on something so intangible.
FWIW, though, even the old sport of hunting after foxes was the sport of aristocrats, unless you were one of the grooms following to exchange a fresh horse for a tired one.
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That’s the best explanation I’ve ever been given it explains the dynamics. Thanks. The landings have never looked pretty to me and I thought the whole trip was supposed to look smooth.
They’re called hunters because they originate from fox hunting. It started with fox hunting and then moved to a big open field with natural fences that could be judged from one vantage point. Land became more scarce, rings got smaller, footing became more advanced, warmbloods started showing up and now here we are. Of course, some still want to foxhunt and they are free to do so. It was a very logical progression whether you agree with the end product or not.
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They are show hunters. They embody the ideal qualities of, but are distinctly different from, field hunters.
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It is like the difference between a bench dog and a working dog.
I don’t have a lot to add to @CBoylen’s excellent descriptions of the discipline.
For the record, I came up in a show hunter barn and worked in fox hunting barns or combos of the two in my twenties and thirties, branching out into other disciplines along the way. I love both disciplines, even though I don’t have the money to play above the lower levels in either. I have returned to fox hunting a few years ago and am having the time of my life. Would I love to sit on a really good show hunter, find that exact right lick and jump eight perfectly out of stride? You betcha!
Here’s what I love about show hunters: it’s simple, eight spots and two changes, but anything but easy. A good hunter round is a joy to behold and looks like the rider is doing very little while he/she are working their ass off. A good hunter round can NOT be coerced or forced. (drugging is a separate issue.) When I fox hunted, I was grateful for all the time I spent in the ring developing a balanced, rhythmic canter, practicing shortening and lengthening stride and developing an eye. When showing, I was grateful for the boldness developed by jumping strange obstacles cross country and the handiness and fitness that comes from handling all sorts of terrain. The sports diverged, but the roots remain the same.
Yes, I foxhunted and showed the same horse back in the day, and I’m not even eligible for Medicare.
Is it easy to poke fun at today’s show hunters? Sure, if you don’t know what it takes to produce one. Is is easy to say that a show hunter would have a case of the vapors if expected to jump the stuff that field hunters do? Sure, but again, when does a show hunter ever step foot out of the ring these days? Or have an opportunity to? And since show hunters evolved into its own discipline and own industry, why would you try? It would be like cobbling a sail onto a motor yacht and entering it in a sailboat race.
I took my show hunter/hunter seat eq education lots of places. When I evented, I was complimented for my feel of pace and quiet aids. When I showed in the jumpers, I was complimented for my position and my horse’s adjustability. When I rode dressage, I was complimented for my willingness to ride forward and forgiving hands. I wouldn’t trade that my hunter show barn education for anything.
Now, for some of the egregious misconceptions about foxhunting. Most packs in the US still hunt live, but more packs are going to drag hunting as open land is lost. Drag hunting is a lot of fun but not really quite the same sport. The hounds chase the scent of the fox, the horses and riders follow the hounds. The sport should most properly be called “following hounds” or “fox chasing.” A suitable horse for this sport is called a field hunter, not a fox hunter. (Foxhunters are the people, not the horses) Field hunter vs. show hunter. Simple distinction. Participation of the game, fox, coyote or bobcat, is entirely voluntary. Hounds hunt by scent only, foxes and coyote hunt by scent, sight and sound - the odds heavily favor the quarry. Hunts in America most often end when either the quarry eludes the hounds or the quarry goes to ground. When the latter happens, the hounds are praised lavishly and fed cookies. In either case, the followers decide whether to try find more quarry that wants to play or to go home.
Prioritizing one activity above the other is just silly. I know foxhunters who are wonderful horsepeople and some who are not so much. Same goes for show hunter people.
Just ride your own damn horse and let everyone else ride theirs.
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We mount on the left so that we soldiers don’t get stabbed by our swords!
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Welcome to the wonderful world of horses. You are where I was in 1977. Great job($60k 4 years out of college –
In 1980 it cost c. $30,000 per horse to do WEF even allowing that I had a travel trailer and made other cost cutting measures. I am not good at computing COL increases, but no matter how you look at
it, the cost of horse showing has gone crazy.
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Wow @Lord_Helpus , that’s more than even I would have thought in the 80s. But upon reflection, not entirely surprising.
Sounds almost like a rough rule of thumb is to budget half an upper-middle-class professional person’s income per horse! 
Before taxes…
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I really don’t understand why in these discussions there are always people who choose to ignore this important distinction
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100% agree with you.
Wait…is this the Hunters for Dummies thread?
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Worse. Ranch Riding. Worst. Ranch Trail. When they are clearly riding in arena and obviously not on a ranch or trail. The Horror
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Brush fill, brush obstacles, coops, board fence, hedges, split rail type fences, simulated brick or stone walls is why they are called hunter courses.
Over time, it has changed and there are many classes that do not have all of the above, but try to have some.
Hunter is easier to keep and shorter than “Pretty Horses with Good Movement Jumping” 
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