Horse Show Gate Bag MUST Haves
Silver Dollar Circuit- The Daily Stride
By: Lindsay Perraton
This week, I have pillaged Janet Fraser’s bag of back gate goodies. From nail clippers to eye drops to three different types of toothpicks, Janet, who works the gate, is prepared for pretty much everything. She says, “I have used everything in that bag at least once, and, if someone asks for something and I don’t have it, then I add it.”
Her biggest ticket item is a large Sharpie marker that she uses to draw on numbers when exhibitors attempt to enter the pen with the wrong one. Janet has her backup stash; but, for the shows where Janet isn’t working, here’s what a few exhibitors at the Silver Dollar recommend.
“We use Pepi for horses’ coats and for shining boots,” claims Desiree Rieu. “Fly spray works great for knocking the dust off a tail braid.”
Kelli Hinely uses Crisco Oil. “If you have a horse that’s really thin-skinned, you can put Crisco on their sides, so that your spurs won’t dig into them.” Crisco is also handy to spray in hooves so that the dirt doesn’t build up.
Scrubbing Bubbles is apparently a must have for cleaning white socks. “We use it to clean socks and to get grime off tack,” comments Paige Morgan, Debbie Cooper’s assistant.
“We go through about five rolls of electrical tape a show,” says Andrea Kail. “We use it for everything: to put a tail back in, to jimmy things back together, ect.” Electrical tape is a must-have item for the Kail barn.
David Archer says black spray paint is a must for his groom bag. To clarify that he’s not using actual black spray paint, he shows me the can. “It’s animal friendly,” he assures me.
Here is a quick pick list for packing your own gate bag.
- World Champion Pepi
- Scrubbing Bubbles
- Crisco Oil
- Duct Tape
- Zip ties
- Electrical tape
- Lint brush
- Safety pins
- Scissors
- Hoofpick
- Tail brush
- Bands
- Bottled water
- Baby oil/face grease
Towels/baby wipes- Hairspray
- Bobby pins
- Advil
- Fat black Sharpie
- Blank paper
- Curisyn
- Pliers
- WD-40
- Kleenex
- Mirror
- Lipstick
- Glass cleaner
- Nail file
- AQHA rule book
For results, score cards, and a live feed from the Silver Dollar, visit SilverDollarCircuit.com.
