Please help a complete beginner with showing advice.

[Mirage]

DD2 is very keen to do a lead rein class on her new pony.He is a very pretty Section A with a long forelock and mane [pics on my profile].He is unregistered so it is only for a bit of fun.She wants to do the best turned out class too,but looking at the photos from last year,all the ponies are plaited up.Will it be worth us entering if he isn't plaited? I thought M&Ms were shown au naturel?

Also she has a grey/blue tweed [again on my profile],but all my tweed outfits are brown/greeny coloured.Pony is grey with dappled legs.Again,looking at photos of last year,leaders are wearing all sorts so I'm unsure what to do.What colour would look best on a grey pony?

Sorry for all the questions,my head is spinning.I've been trying to persuade her to do First Ridden instead as that at least would take me out of the equation,but she is insisting on lead rein.

Thankyou for reading this far!

[marialuisa]

I'm not in Butkin's league but we've started to take showing a bit more seriously and I have some very good friends who are premier league (although totally home produced) who have been teaching me!

At riding club level tack and turnout appears to be more about cleanliness and tail plaits tham totally correct turnout. If you are up against adults and older children you will almost certainly be relegated to the end of the line as it appears to be more about rider effort (DD won a class because she had done her own plaiting-which was less than neat-rather than a girl who said that mummy had cleaned her saddle!). Getting a grey clean does seem to bring some bonus points though and it's a nice way to calm nerves.

I have seen great variety at riding club level in lead rein turnout. Ideally you should have matching tweeds, a mummy hat, leather lead rein and so on but have seen people leading in jeans and jumper.

DD has a green tweed with navy collar and hat which looks good with dpony. If you google there's a site that suggests what colour tweed with what colour pony but this might helpwww.bsps.com/html/turnout.html too.

[marialuisa]

will try and add a pic of dd and dpony to my profile. We use a white girth as think it looks better on a grey but brown is ok.

[Mirage]

Thank you marialuisa,I've read up on the best turned out and decided it is too much like hard work for us,but am going to go for some other classes.I've got my eye on a lovely green tweed on ebay right now.

I love the photos of your dd and her pony-they look amazing together and you must be very proud!

[marialuisa]

Thank you-they are fab together. Just need DD to stop growing so we can keep him for longer . Ebay is your friend for kit, horsequest and horsegossip are good too.

Hope you have fun, if you could persuade DD1 to join in they'd be fantastic in a pairs class!

[Mirage]

Oh,what are pairs classes? DD1 is keen to do first ridden,family pony,veteran,fancy dress and the minimus jumping.I've not added up what it'll cost me in entry fees.

[marialuisa]

It's a fun class they have at some shows where two riders do their show together. Sort of trot down the middle, then one goes left and right, canter on the corner, meet up again....You get the idea.

Don't add it up, it will seem completely ridiculous.

[Hermionewastherealhero]

If your pony is a welsh a you are fine to show unplaited, however a long mane is incorrect so you will need to pull/razor it about 6 inches lo. The tail should be long and make sure you gel and tail bandage the top for neatness the best way to see top level turnout is to look on horse quest and look at the section a's or on showing world magazine website and have a look at the pics in there.
A blue tweed is fine, try to go for a corn or blue shirt, not White and make sure DD's tie is neat and in a nice colour - purple pattern would be nice with blue tweed and blue shirt (I just use school shirts for my niece).
Navy velvet hat with flesh straps is best but a skull cover or black strapped hat will do at local.
Jods should be corn/canary and always use joddy clips or elastic. Then tie the number on with plaiting thread or navy elastic. Ribbons to match the tie at the end of plaits in hair. Brown gloves are non negotiable! (I haven't looked on profile so sorry if this is already being done).

For yourself a navy suit jacket and mid calf skirt will look good with navy tweed I got mine off eBay for £7 and it is a country casuals suit- charity shops are good. You could get away with trousers at local level. Dark trousers to contrast with the pony's legs.
I wear a navy trilby, brown gloves and dubarry style boots with navy tights and carry a show cane.

Hope this helps- have fun and good luck

[Mirage]

marialuisa that does sound fun,the dds practise that sort of thing at home.Last time they tried it they both tried to ride into a gap between 2 jumps at the same time,leading to DD2 falling off.

Thanks for the tips Hermione.I have just looked up last year's photos of the show we'll be going to and some of the leaders had made no effort at all,one was wearing saggy,stained 3/4 length trousers and a stained t shirt!

I can't trim newboy up at all,he is only on loan and his owner loves his long mane and tail.I'll have to get DD1 to show me how to plait after all.

DH has bought an Ipad to occupy himself during a summer of show attending.

[marialuisa]

your DH actually plans to come? Mine refuses point blank although he's debating coming to a couple of the county shows (haven't yet said we'll be leaving at stupid o'clock!)

[Mirage]

Oh yes,despite being allergic to horses,he comes out with the dds when they ride and goes to watch them at Pony Club.The only thing he won't do is groom as it makes him sneeze.He is very proud of his girls,although he has a great line in eye rolling and muttering about time/expense/horse hair everywhere.

I haven't told him that the lead rein class starts at 9am yet.It is Blaston show that we are planning on going to and only about 45 minutes away.

[Butkin]

Mirage, as an example have a look at this site where we get DD's outfits from:

www.mrscandy.co.uk/gold/01_tweed_jacket.html

She has two sets of the Emily - she is still being wedged into last year's and has a bigger one for later this season - which she wears on the palomino Sec B FR. She wears it with exactly that tie and tie pin as well with matching orange ribbons.

She has the Jamieson for her new 4yo steel grey SHP which hopefully will be
going to his first ever show on Sunday - doing the RI class South Suffolk. He's off to Royal Windsor for a ride around tomorrow to get his mind on the job! She'll wear the jacket with a white shirt and a pale blue tie with tiny white polka dots and matching pale blue ribbon.

We don't do BTO anymore because of the plaiting controversy. We refuse to plait our Welshies and wore subtle tweed but (when DD was a tot on the LR) used to get beaten by Sec As that were plaited and the children were wearing show pony blue jackets and bling which we consider incorrect.

That Blaston schedule looks fun - have a great time. Oh for the joys of 9am starts - we were off at 5.30am last week to go to Slapton!

[Butkin]

Agree with Hermione that Showing World (our bible along with Horse and Hound) is great for pictures and ideas. The most recent edition can be viewed on line here www.showingworldhosting.com/ It is getting a bit out of date now so the pics are of the Winter Shows but has lots of great articles/adverts and will give you plenty of ideas.

Also agree with Hermione about the rest of the outfit although we tend to go for white shirts on DD now having gone for pale blue in the past. That is a matter of preference. We wear a brown Charles Owen hat on the palomino and will use our blue one on the grey.

[Mirage]

Thankyou Butkin that is really useful advice.Those tweeds are just lovely-I'm a sucker for tweed in general and have had to ban myself from buying any more for me.I have found a few more shows local to us in the next couple of months,so we could be busy [and broke].On the plus side,my mum,dad and sister are planning to come and watch too-no pressure then!

Good luck for tomorrow! I have just told DH about your early starts and he has given me 'the look'.

[Butkin]

Had a good day thank you Mirage. New SHP was a very good boy at his first ever show. He was 2nd in the Royal International qualifer at South Suffolk and didn't turn a hair so we were very pleased with him. Beaten by the pony who won the RI last year so that was no disgrace but unlucky not to qualify (the 3rd had already his ticket). May think about Brockenhurst (in New Forest) for him next or wait for Rutland and Suffolk.

[Mirage]

Oh Well done! You must be very pleased with him.I'm astounded how well those little ponies take everything in their stride and aren't bothered by cameras flashing,crowds ect.

I'm hoping the traffic queues aren't as bad at Rutland this year-last year was appalling.

[Butkin]

We've got SHP LR in at Rutland and he'll definitely go as last RI qualifer. M&M FR also in at Rutland and he'll go too. Just in case the classes (or warm ups) clash we've just late entered the regular M&M FR class as well. That is usually uncompetitive because most people just do the RI although the other class comes first this year so a few people may use it as a warm up.

I remember you having trouble with the traffic last year. We'll be getting up there reasonably early I expect. Last year we didnt have a problem although I know the normal car park was only letting people in once some started leaving which was madness. The SHP will have to come up from East Grinstead, nr Gatwick, so he'll be setting still wearing his pyjamas and snuggling his teddy.

We love Rutland because, like South Suffolk, it is a proper Country show but the horse rings are quite a long way from the action.

[Callisto]

Well I was considering doing some low key lead rein showing with DD and her Section A (who looks very like yours MariaLuisa) this year for fun and to give him some experience of the show ring under my control, but it all sounds far too restrictive. I'm going to have to shell out for a tweed jacket for hunting and was hoping that this would do for the show ring too, and DD has black jodhpur boots. Looks like we will be concentrating on lead rein clear round jumping and fancy dress for now...

[Butkin]

Callisto, any well fitting tweed jacket would do and your DD could hunt and show in the same one. Normally she would wear brown jod boots rather than black but don't let that put you off if you just want do some local classes for fun.

[Callisto]

Oh ok. I looked at the correct attire page on the BSPS site and it kind of put me off. And hats, I don't even wear hats to weddings.

[marialuisa]

He's clearly a looker then, Callisto (although ours is a B!). Honestly, riding club level is so much more relaxed, especially lead rein-they just like them to enjoy it. This is the first time I've gone near county level showing and the step-up is quite something (although I'm not convinced the riding is much better!)