Who shows your horse at the show?

This made me giggle, thanks.

FWIW, I don’t actually show. I don’t want to show. I don’t want to pay for showing. I don’t want to wake up early and go to show. But since I have other goals that revolve around my horses showing (not to mention I apparently can’t insure one of my horses for more than meat price because I got a screaming deal on her as a weanling purely because I don’t show)… someone is going to need to show her for me. You know what that ideal lease looks like to me? Exactly the program some people are poo-poo’ing. I want her in a program with a leaser who has a trainer who does do the show prep rides. I want her to get the good experience from a proficient rider, and if that means a trainer takes her in a class or two first, awesome. I will pay for the show pictures.

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I’ve been riding since I was 6. I’m now in my mid 60’s.

Endless, I think you are in your 20’s? I’d ride through all sorts of questionable behavior when I was your age. I could never imagine a time when I wouldn’t be the one doing that. Nowadays, I can deal with stuff if I must, but I generally would prefer not to.

I have a hot, rather unforgiving, schoolmaster-type horse. We get along pretty well most of the time, riding at home and shows and clinics and stuff. But, it’s winter in the mountains and we are indoors and it is cold. The footing in the turnouts is not conducive to horses running around and getting their yayas out.

Yesterday I had a reasonably productive ride, but I felt I was sitting on a volcano that I had to keep a lid on the entire time.

So, today we put the talented, sticky and young assistant up for my lesson with my trainer instead of me. He was happy to manage any shenanigans (there were some) and both horse and rider had a fun time and learned some stuff.

It’s really good experience for him to regularly get to ride this talented, experienced upper level horse. It’s good for my horse to have a ride from someone who isn’t micromanaging his every move. I’m grateful to take advantage of his youth and confidence, he’s grateful for the learning opportunity. I’ve also let him show my horse to get some scores (and to give me an idea of how horse was going to behave in the show ring.)

Because this young man is, after all, the future of the horse industry, not me. I’m just funding it.

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On occasion I do. But it’s not often, because, well, hauling that long requires a lot more time and prep. And I tend to end up needing to rent a stall – so finding a place that has stalls is another issue. But I enjoy it when I do. Now, I say this with the caveat that I enjoy it on certain horses. There are others of mine that I would not enjoy it on. I’m at the stage of my life where I need to enjoy riding. If it’s nerve-wracking, I’m not against having someone ride my horse. My horses are at home, and I occasionally take lessons from my trainer who comes to my farm when he’s not at out-of-town shows (or sunny FL right now!). But there may be times when I get my DH to ride through something so I can see it. Sometimes my DH will tell me, just do it – and you know what? Sometimes I just don’t want to. And I no longer care if it sounds wimpy – who cares? It’s only me, my horse, and my DH here to witness. I am lucky right now to have two horses that are mine that I ADORE and love. I would do anything with them. My DH has two, and I don’t trust them as much. I guess my point is, we all have different demeanors as riders, but that’s okay. Not all of us would jump out of a plane with a parachute or off a bridge with a bungee cord. Can we? Sure. Do we want to? Um, no.

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When I did my first reining class at a show in August, my Apple Watch’s “high heart rate alert” went off about 5 times in the last 10 minutes before I went in the ring. :rofl:

I spent my teens and twenties riding all kinds of difficult, cheap (for good reason), and green horses. I’ve started lots of babies and am always the first one to swing a leg over the ones I now raise. But for show ring “firsts” these days? My trainer usually rides them. Not because I can’t but because my anxiety can be absolutely overwhelming, and it helps me tremendously to watch the horse go around with someone else first.

My horses live at home, and I have nowhere to ride on my property, so hauling out is very routine by the time we show. The logical side of me knows we will be fine in the show ring, but anxiety isn’t really something you can reason your way out of. After 20+ years of trying, I just accept that part of my personality at this point.

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It is your horse. You are paying the bills. It is entirely reasonable to request the head trainer ride your horse. Have a clear, calm conversation with your head trainer before you get to the venue.

Your head trainer may deny this request or offer up a different arrangement. You get to decide (because it is your horse and you are paying the bills) if you are okay with the request/arrangement.

Don’t be afraid to have the conversation and don’t be afraid to make a decision based on feedback.

Good Luck!

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This.

I think most pros will be receptive. The only time it could get wonky is if HT is in another ring where he has to be when your horses class is up. At that point, you can always opt out of showing that day/that class instead of having the assistant do it.

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Generally, when a trainer has a larger operation and is out there, showing and winning at the top, they really don’t have the time to start a colt first time in the ring on a beginner horse class.
Unless for a very specific reason, like the horse is special due to talent or breeding or whatever may matter in that situation, in reining or cutting showing in a Futurity.

Top trainers have top assistant trainers that they determine are suitable for those situations of a horse’s first show in beginner classes.
About like asking one of those top trainers to give your four year old kid lessons, which it probably tell you their assistants will do that.

Now other trainers with less busy operations, less horses, they may do all the riding themselves.

The answer to this thread’s title, I think, is “it depends”.
Asking your trainer if they will be the ones riding and that would be your preference is fine and if the trainer can, probably will say ok, will do.

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When I was an 17-22yo assistant I did almost all of the showing over fences. I did every warm up class in the morning, sometimes 6 or 8 per class. There were maybe only one or two horses the clients didn’t want me to ride and frankly those clients were kinda neurotic.

Having said that: I had a successful junior career up to the 1.45m junior jumpers (on multiple sales horses), won a fair bit in the hunters, my other job was riding for an Olympic dressage coach and I had extensive experience fox hunting and riding xc too and had even worked as a trail guide.

People in this thread are acting like “head trainer” and “assistant” mean something when they don’t. There are some assistants like me who ride better and have more experience than many “head trainers”. Its your horse, if you don’t want someone riding it then they don’t ride it.

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Say you’ve never had a young OTTB or other hotter type without saying you’ve never had one.

You prepare them as best you can, haul out for lessons etc, and sometimes you are still in for an interesting first show when they first experience a ton of atmosphere.

Some of them don’t blink an eye. I’ve had others that are easy peasy at home and come undone a bit the first time they experience chaos. Nothing wrong with them other than being a prey animal in a new situation.

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Boy, you people are so weak! Ya, know, back in my day we were lucky to find spare legs to put on our horses to go show! And sometimes we could only get 4 left side front legs to screw on. BUT WE STILL SHOWED!!! Trainers? All we had were whip crackers who drank heavily and dispensed threats of death.

Today’s folks who can have somebody ride their horse have no idea of hardship and what it takes to ride.

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That’s basically all I’ve had.

If you take them off property before exposing them to the chaos of a show - you know, like “do your homework” instead of flooding them with the experience - then it doesn’t turn into a thing.

If all the horse does is leave the property for the chaos of a show, I wouldn’t really expect them to be well behaved. That’s pretty crummy of the owner/trainer to do that - not prepare the animal and then thrust them into the situation. But it makes more sense why people want the trainer on first - and it’s also kind of sad re: the welfare of the horses IMO.

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You didn’t quote the rest of my reply…which was you do prepare them to the best of your ability and I still wouldn’t expect them to be a foot perfect packer on show day one.

I can’t replicate coming over the hill to view the KHP dressage complex with 5 rings and a hundred horses going every which way for the first time, no matter how many little schooling shows I go to first.

I’m okay riding through some tension and baby moments at a first show or first “big” venue, that’s not everyone’s comfort level though.

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A lot of the European ones revert to the jumper ride as soon as they see a horse show also… and that first hack class can be pretty hairy.

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That limits your horse’s development to only what you yourself know. I ride well and am competent in many, many ways with horses. But I am nowhere near the caliber of many, many trainers. I am also a lot better than many, many trainers. I guess my skill is in knowing where I’m limited and where to send a horse when I’m at my functional limit.

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Totally agree with this. And/or a risk limit.

I’m just surprised that a horse show is that limit. Do the owners at least do the handwalking around to acclimate their horse, or is that a groom/assistant/trainer, too? Because IME that’s where the horse settles and acclimates. I wouldn’t expect a green horse to be able to show up and have someone get on and just get to riding. That’s pretty unfair to the horse, I think.

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It’s such a question full of variables. How good a rider is this owner? How old? How many bionic parts? How icy are their veins? How zingy is said horse? How rattled do they get when shit gets western? Not everyone is cut out to be sitting on a greenbean when a stray walmart sack attacks a tied horse who sits back and gets loose. Or a rider falls off. Or a dog gets loose. If I’m that rider who would be fine if nothing goes wrong but is going to be worried about things going wrong…I have no business sitting on that horse.

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Except that the OP said that the head trainer gave the horse a better ride. In general — the assistant trainer may be a better rider. But in this specific case, s/he is not perceived to be:

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This owner did, and/or hacked around the grounds and took a lesson over fences….IF I was there. Many times I was not so they had to do it for me. All but one of the shows I did were were several hours each way, the close one was 125 miles each way which was too much on top of work.

Stop generalizing in your judgements.

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I flat said I’ve not done weeklong shows, and asked if that’s where the problems were starting - lack of turnout versus overwhelming venue.

I could go into how 4+ day shows are not in the best interests of the horse, but I’m sure that would go about as well as this conversation has gone. :rofl:

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Wow, you just sent me right back to the memory of my middle- and high-school-years trainer! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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