Are You Guilty of Asking One of These Horse Show Questions?

 

By: Brittany Bevis

When is my draw? How many horses are in this class? Do you know when the lunch break will happen? With the countless moving parts and pieces involved at a horse show, it’s no wonder that show management deals with hundreds of these types of questions on a daily basis. Take into account that most shows last from two days to one week. That’s enough to make your head spin, just thinking about it!

During the Prairie Classic, (pretty much the last horse show to be held before the COVID-19 outbreak), The Trail Man, Tim Kimura, was manning the Trail arena in Oklahoma City. Because he manages the Trail course and can often be seen with his trusty clipboard and working order in hand, he falls victim to many a curious competitor eager for knowledge of some kind.

Just for fun, he decided to make note of the many different types of questions he’s asked throughout the course of one day at the horse show. This is what he discovered.

Timeline:

From 9:30 am-10:30 am, he was asked 77 questions.

From 10:30-11:15 am, he was asked 30 questions.

From 11:20-12:30, he was asked 40 questions.

From 12:30-1:30, he was asked 50 questions.

From 1:30-5:30, he was asked 150 questions.

In total, he was asked 347 questions during one day at the show.

We can glean several facts from analyzing this data. First, the majority of people wait until the end of the day to complete their run in the Trail block. Second, people ask A LOT of questions.

Questions included the following:

40 Questions for Tim

• What class is this?
• Do you have the working orders?
• Do you have the results?
• When is the Trail course walk taking place?
• When is the lunch break?
• Are the judges eating at the tables?
• When do I go in this class?
• Who goes before me?
• Are there any adds in this class?
• Are there any scratches in this class?
• Can I move up? I have a conflict with English classes.
• Can I move down? I have a conflict with Western Pleasure classes.
• Should I show in Trail or Horsemanship first?
• How many rounds before my class?
• Do you know what time Youth Trail will show?
• Will there be another walk before the youth class?
• Do you have any patterns?
• Am I next?
• How many horses before me?
• When are you raking the course?
• Can you tell him to check that pole?
• Can you tell the guys not to bang the trash cans?
• Do you know who won the circuit?
• Can I add at the gate, or do I need to go to the office?
• Can I just scratch here at the back gate?
• Can I move up in the order? I’ve got a plane to catch.
• How many horses are left?
• Can you tell the people to move back?
• Can you repeat the work order again?
• What time do you think Trail will be over?
• When are you resetting the course?
• What time will you pick up the poles in the morning?
• Can I get a few more horses put in between my two horses?
• I stepped on my tail. Can I move down please?
• Who’s judging today?
• Is it class order or a block?
• How is your help doing today?
• Can I change from Level 2 to Level 3?
• Can I scratch from L1 Amateur and go into Amateur L2?
• How many are in the Level 2?

Whew! That’s exhausting. Certainly, many of these are valid questions, and Tim is happy to provide the answers. But, you have to admit that the answers to many of these questions can be discovered by doing a bit of personal research.

Overall, the most important takeaway from this project is to realize just how hard your local show staff works on your behalf. Be kind, appreciative, and express your genuine thanks to those who work the back gate at horse shows, serve as ring stewards, and man the desks at the front office. After all, they are the ones who have to answer all of your questions!