Showing natives?

[Gemma16]

Hi I have recently bought a welsh section D. I plan to do some in-hand and ridden showing with him this season, but i am quite an inexperianced show person when it comes to showing natives. Does anyone have any tips for me on general turn out and the best way to trot them up in-hand? This is a picture of Taffy. He looks better than that now he's less podgy!:D Thanks everyone. Hope to hear from you soon:)

[Hesseybabe]

Hi, i own a dales gelding, not showed him yet, so no tips unfortunately.
I just wanted to say he is lovely, where did you get him, because whilst horse hunting i sawa horse just like him called taffy. This horse was in north yorkshire. Would be weird if they were the same horse.

[Gemma16]

Hi, I got him from southport. So I don't think it's the same one but that would be freaky if it was the same hore! Wots your Dales like? Are you planning to do any showing with him/her?
:p

[Mehitabel]

he looks lovely. i show new forest ponies, and have done a bit of welsh showing as well.
you don't usually pull the manes of welsh d's, unless you do a lot of other things with them as well - if you do pull his mane, it needs to be 7 - 9 inches long. also leave feathers on, and beard /whiskers at your discretion, dpeending on how he looks with and without them. he has one plait done behind the ear, left long and normally tied with a red ribbon at the bottom. yu can show him in either a normal bridle, inhand bridle or a white halter.

have a look at my nr album - http://groups.msn.com/NRphotos/esspictures.msnw
for pictures of what you should wear both inhand and ridden - it's the same clothes for all natives.
for the inhand trotting up, it's best to get a knowledgeable friend to watch you and see what speed shows him off best. some ponies 'dish' or move badly when they go either very fast or very slowly, so experiment and see what pace is best for him. give me a shout of there is anything else you want to know!

[Gemma16]

Hi Es thanks for that usfull info. Your pictures are lovely. The one of you at the show is great. Is that you horse, have you got any others? Thanks alot:)

[Mehitabel]

i share the grey that most of the showing pics are of, and i own the dun in my avatar, copper. the yard i am at is a new forest stud - most of the other ponies are the ones we have bred, or our foundation stallion, ruben - he's the chestnut with the white stripe.
the grey is called petal, and we went to olympia last year. i show her, and also the others when classes clash. fiona, the stud owner, does them if there is one in the class and we do one each if there are 2. i've been grooming for hersince i was 13 - makes me feel really old now!

[Gemma16]

Well done for getting to olyimpia!:p Petall is stunning, so are all the others. Copper is really cute. You must be a good groom if you have been doing it for fiona for a long time. Hope you do wel this season!

[abi_pring]

I've had a lot of fun with showing natives, particually Welshs. I currently own 2 section Ds, 1 section C, 2 welsh Bs and a highlandxshetland! I'd just like to know if you wanted to chat horses! If so, email me to abi_pring@hotmail.com. Your horse looks lovely, what breeding is it?

[Kanuma]

I show alot of natives and everything for the horse has been covered in the above replys, as regards to what you wear, Since your horse has dark legs you should wear light trousers so that the judge can see his legs clearly, these can be any smart trousers or jods but not a tracksuit, you should also wear a shirt and tie, but a jacket is optional. Smart Boots with a good gip on them and that you can run in. Also alot of judges like to see gloves these should normaly be brown leather and you should carry a showcane. ALso when you stand him up dont stand him square the front leg on the side the judge is looking at should be silghtly forward of his other front leg and the back leg on the same side should be back a bit. Take some treats into the ring in a pocket so you can get his attention when you need it and to keep him intrested.
Above all smile showing should be fun!!!!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!:D