The Details Matter

By: Brittany Bevis

Tiny details matter when showing horses, especially when the smallest thing can mean the difference between a top placing or being at the bottom of a judge’s card. Recently, we asked our The Equine Chronicle readers the following question: What are the last things you check before you head into the show pen to compete?

Scroll below to see what they had to say!

Vicki Elliott Tolhurst– “If I’m riding, [I make sure] my chaps are down, shirt is tucked in, belt buckle still buckled, and hat is in the correct position. I ask someone to put on the last fly spray (super important because my girl hates flies). In Showmanship and Halter, there is the last wipe down of the horse, check feet, and lead rope. For me, [I make sure my] pants are out of my boots, pants brushed off of arena dirt, hat straight, and jacket pulled down. So many details, but it’s pretty automatic with this checklist in my head.”

Lori Arthur– “Numbers on. Tail down. Chaps down. Wipe bit and boots.”

Cheryl Melody Grove– “[Make sure my] number isn’t crooked, or worse, not on! Horse’s nostrils are wiped clean of excess goop. Here’s a good one. When going from Halter to Showmanship, check my hands to see if they’re black from placing my horse’s feet! I will never forget the first time running around in the warm up area looking for something that would take show black off hands!”

Janet Mansley– “[I check] that my girth is done up. I’ve had a horse that used to blow out, and I got halfway through an Equitation Jumping class when the saddle slipped. I was 11 years old, and that’s always stuck with me.”

Ellen Mae– “I make sure my hat is clean, there are no stray hairs sticking out, and that I have on my lipstick!”

Mary Pat Benoit Roche– “Check to see that the vet wrap that keeps his tail clean is out before entering the pen!”

Cindy Conrad– “Chaps down, hat straight, and everything all zipped up!”

Shelley Treitz– “Vet wrap out of tail. Boots clean. Chaps clean. Collars down and straight. Hat straight. No stray hairs on me or my horse. Buckle straight. No dust on my horse. Lipstick. Bridle straight. Number on and straight.”

Lyndsey Mooth– “Vet wrap is out, boots are clean, chaps are down, vest is zipped, and hair is tidy!”

Paige Everly– “Clean boots and hairnet is fixed!”

Amber Littlejohn– “Clean boots, hairs contained, lipstick, and the collar for whatever shirt I’m wearing is down.”

Katie Dolen– “Shirt tucked and reins even!”

Jill Anderson Steffens– “As the mom of a small fry, I definitely have a LONG list of items on the checklist! But the most important one is to make sure to give my kiddo lots of encouragement as she’s getting ready to enter the show ring.”

Stefanie Johansen Fricke– “My mom will NOT let me step foot in the show pen unless I have my cheeks (blush) and lips (lipstick) on.”

Kathleen Wood– “Tail brushed!”

Danielle Butcher– “The last thing I check is my bridle keepers. I just can’t stand riding and seeing them not used. But the last thing I do before I enter the ring, without fail, is talk to my horse. It’s a weird habit I formed as a child and still do it now. Just a quick ‘Right Lara. Let’s do this,’ makes me relax, which in turn makes the horse relax.”

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