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Showmanship – Part 1
By Jason Ely
Showmanship, as defined by the rule book, is the ability of the showman to present his/her horse to the best of their ability, by performing a pattern, and presenting their horse to the judge for inspection.
Showmanship is an important class. It shows the showman’s ability to guide and control a horse’s every move from the ground. Horses should respond to the handler’s body language and light, soft cues. While guiding a horse through a pattern, the handler also needs to know the exact position of the horse, and be able to set him up to perform the next maneuver.
Some of the things I have seen showman doing in the show pen that I, as a judge, do not like to see are: using excessive body language and excessive clucking and kissing. Excessive body language, meaning when you are asking your horse to trot off, you throw the upper part of your body forward. You should be able to cue your horse with your body up straight. Tip your inside shoulder slightly forward to ask for your horse to trot. This will give you a much cleaner look to the judge and not make your appearance look so sloppy while presenting your horse.
Don’t kiss to you horse during the entire pivot, instead, ask the horse to move off with your body language. Step into your horses throat latch, and kiss one time, and expect that your horse will move off your command.
When a judge posts a showmanship pattern, make sure that you study the pattern, and understand how the pattern is written. If you don’t understand the pattern, or have a question on how the pattern is to be executed, ask the judge questions or ask him to explain the pattern. Just remember to do this before the class starts, because once the first horse has began to work the pattern, it’s too late. Also, try not to rely on the person who is working the pattern. They might not have understood the pattern either. Many times I have judged shows where the showmen started off the pattern wrong, just by being on the wrong side of the cone. This can cause you problems later in the pattern. An exhibitor who started the pattern on the correct side of the cone, but had a less than perfect pattern, will place over a showman who started on the wrong side of the cone, but had a near perfect pattern.
In the next article, I will discuss ways to clean up the appearance of both the horse and exhibitor, from the presentation of the horse, to grooming and clipping.
Jason Ely is an Ohio and
Pennsylvania
4-H and Open Show approved judge, and has been judging shows for 8 years. He is also the owner/trainer of Ely Performance Horses in
Dundee, Ohio
, specializing in all around youth and amature horses. Jason has 15 years experience in the AQHA and APHA horse industry. He is available to do clinics also. Contact him at 330-204-4556
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