Strategy For Performance Halter from Goffard and Goodin
The first class of Monday morning, June 26th, at the 2023 APHA World Championship Show was Performance Halter Geldings and it was a big one – 32 geldings strong!
The young ladies who took the top two honors with their toned, fitted, shiny geldings, Emma Goffard and Candy Confidential winning World Champion and Peytyn Goodin and Even More Sensational winning Reserve World Champion, told us there’s more to it than standing there like exhibitors often think.
Read what both exhibitors have learned is important when they show in Performance Halter:
Emma
“When I was really little I used to think that in Halter, you had to just stand there, get ears forward and set him up,” she says, explaining that her trainers, Tim and Shannon Gillespie, have taught her the intricacies of the event.
“As I got older, I learned there were a lot of components to it, such as making sure he’s even, balanced, not too spread out, and not too close together., and you want the neck straight and out. There’s a lot more to it than I expected. Prescence is a very big thing as well.”
When asked if she could position him by moving him using the lead, or if she ever needed to touch him, Emma explains, “For me since I am a perfectionist, I can’t always get him to set up, he’s usually set a little bit further out like a showmanship horse – in halter you want them set a little bit closer, so I always have to position him and he knows I work very hard to get that.”
Peytyn
Peytyn explains that her trainer, James Saubolle, has taught her some invaluable skills to help her in Performance Halter, especially regarding the mindset of the class.
“The class is about relaxing and being with the horse and not all about being tight,” she says. “Some strategies that have helped me include petting the horse here and there. You don’t want to be antsy or have the horse be antsy, so getting their legs tight and then relaxing – I always talk to my horse – is a big thing for helping us communicate better and relax together throughout the class.”
Peytyn also says she’s learned that she should get the horse show ready and then show. “When the judge is coming, we use our trick (what we call it to get the ears up) only once, and then make eye contact and smile at the judge, even if it feels awkward. You get the horse show ready and then let the horse and the judge do their thing.”
Results for their class through sixth place:
Youth Performance Halter Geldings – All Ages
1
CANDY CONFIDENTIAL/GOFFARD; EMMA
GOFFARD; EMMA (E)
2
EVEN MORE SENSATIONAL/GOODIN; PEYTYN
GOODIN; PEYTYN (E)
3
AL OF A SUDDEN/MACAN; JORDAN
MACAN; JORDAN (E)
4
ONLY IN A BENTLEY /RASMUSSEN; CYNTHIA M
HEINBUCH; CELIA (E)
5
RUM POINT/BROCK; ANN V
BROCK; HANNAH (E)
6
ILL B AT THE BAR/BYERS; REESE E M
BYERS; SAWYER K (E)
*Cover image from 2022 APHC Copper Country- Sean Mikal Photography
