walk, trot, canter show?

[Pooh BearTB]

I'm entering my first show next month and I'll be doing the walk/trot division. I already know how to walk and trot, but being that it's my first show, my instructor wanted to start me out at the very bottom and work my way up.

I know all shows are diffrent, but what are some of the things the judges will ask me to do? What will they be looking for?

[galadriel]

If this is walk/trot at a hunter-type show, they will have you walk and trot one direction, then reverse and do the same the other direction. Then you will line up with your back to the judge (so th judge can see the number on your back). You'll stand there until they announce the results, then you'll either leave the ring or go back to the rail for the next class.

In a beginner's walk/trot/canter class, they will usually have everyone halt on the rail while the rider in front canters around to the back of the group, then the next rider canters, and so on, until everyone has cantered. Then you continue on.

If it's anything like the little shows around here, listen HARD because it's difficult to make out what they're saying over the loudspeaker/megaphone equipment.

It's always a good idea to show at a level below what you are doing at home; master one level, start learning the next, but show at the level you have mastered :)

At hunter shows, they will be watching for the gaits of the horse (smooth, willing). For the rider, they will be watching to see if you are tugging on the horse or asking quietly, whether you bounce or sit smoothly, whether you get the correct diagonal and lead.

Good luck :) Let us know how it goes.

[FreedomStar]

for flat classes, it's basically to see how much control someone has of their horse, and how well they ride and handle their horse. In walk trot, you just walk and trot in one direction, then turn around and do everything that direction, then halt and line up. In w/t/c classes i've ridden in, they've been done differently. You do the walk,trot, the same, but for cantering, the group might be seperated if there are too many people to go all at once. The judge calls for a canter and everyone canters. The flat classes i ride in are kinda different from the normal ones at regular shows, cuz i can only do the schooling shows my barn holds with the school horses.
If you are in a hunter class, make sure you have your horse well warmed up beforehand and he/she is responding nicely, without much fuss. If it's an equitation class, practice your position and needle out any faults. As you move on to higher equitation classes, the judges will tend to ask riders to sit a gait, like sitting trot, or to do positions, or drop stirrups.