Show Ready

Horse shows are very, very, particular about many things. To most people, showing a horse is described as “just sitting there.” Behind the scenes though is a whole other story. Show prep takes days, just to prepare my equipment and my horse. Let alone the months of training so my horse and I are mentally ready to kick some butt. Then the actual show day itself is the most stressful, smelly, awarding day. It is a lot of work, but certainly pays off.

The first thing that happens behind the scenes of horse show prep, is the months of getting ready. Believe it or not, horses do not train themselves. Also, they like to forget what they’ve been trained if I do not remind them every other day until it is locked in their brain. Of course, I still have to touch up even the easiest, locked in skills I have taught every time I ride. The actual goal is to make it look like we really do just sit there, so I train your horse to respond to the smallest, almost unseen ques, and the lightest pressure on the bridle. So I guess if someone says that you “just sit there,” it means that you have done your job, not that they would truly understand how hard you have worked to “just sit there.”

The next step to getting ready for a show, happens in the few days prior to the show. This is when I clean your saddle, bridle, boots, and get your outfit together. There are precise outfits for different classes, such as showmanship, western pleasure, and huntseat. Then, I have to put everything in the horse trailer, then double check that it is all there. These are all crucial things to being successful at a horse show and if you forget them then you may as well turn around and go back home. Then, the day before the show is when things get hectic. Washing my horse is quite a process, believe me, I have a gray horse. Washing every single speck of dirt off of a 1,200 pound animal is not an easy task. After that, I have to do a ridiculous amount of touching up. This includes shaving my horse’s ears, their bridal path, their nose, their eye whiskers, and above all four of their hooves. Then, the absolute worst part, is braiding or banding their mane; depending on if you will be riding western or english. This can take hours, and by the end my arms and hands are sore and my horse will most likely be very annoyed. Then, for the night, I am done.

The next thing is show day! The most frustrating day, no doubt, but it is everything that I have prepared for. Running around preparing things, putting baby oil on my horse’s nose because, you know, my horse has to shine. Getting my horse situated while trying to keep myself clean, and all of a sudden I have 10 minutes before my pattern class and I HAVEN’T LOOK AT THE PATTERN YET. As chaotic as it sounds, at the end of the day, when I, and my once spotless horse, are covered in sweat and dirt, I look back at the day and don’t think of all the rushing around and stressing out I did; I think of the feeling I felt when I first rode into the arena knowing damn well Zippo and I were ready to kick butt. Welcome the the show world.