Western Performance Club Burpengary . - Nickers & Neighs / Articles of interest

	Western Performance Club Burpengary .
	Burpengary Western Riding

Nickers & Neighs / Articles of interest

Article of Interest, Helpful Hints & Tips, and links to other interesting sites.

CONGRATULATIONS to BWPC Club Member Emlyn Broad.

Emlyn recently returned from the PHAA Nationals at Tamworth.
Emlyn and Buddy took out;

National Champion Junior Youth English Equitation

National champion Junior Youth Western Horsemanship

Reserve National Champion Junior Youth Western Equitation

3rd for reining out of 15

3rd for dressage

4th Junior Youth Western Pleasure

5th Junior Youth Showmanship

5th Junior Youth Hunter under saddle.

Shane's Tips.

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship on show day may be the one thing that makes you smile if having a bad day.
Camaraderie among riders is extremely important and can build lasting friendships.
Congratulating your fellow riders at the end of their class, helping anyone who is having difficulties and complementing other competitors when things are going their way are all examples of positive sportsmanship.

I’m sure we can all think of a time when we had positive sportsmanship directed our way on show day and also when negative sportsmanship comes our way as well. Being negative does not only affect the person it is directed at but it also affects the person directing it. Creating bad energy on show day can affect the way you ride and interact with others. Having a good friendly atmosphere always makes showing a nicer experience.

We all know what it is like to have a bad day, but sometimes even a small congratulations from a fellow competitor can make us think “hey maybe that class wasn’t as bad as I thought”. One small comment from another rider can turn a bad run of classes into a positive.

So just remember it is easy to be annoyed at a placing in a class but just imagine how good you can make someone feel just with a small congratulations.

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5 things to bring you undone in showmanship

These are all very easy things to correct, but are repeated regularly by competitors.Take a look as you may not even realise you are making some or all of these and improve your placings in the class.

1. Your horse drags beside you when you lead into the walk or trot…

This is easily fixed by working with your horse, more at home to get them more alert and responsive.

Send as much time as needed each session to have them walk or trot off by using light contact.

You may need to wake them up, as this is a common reason for this problem.

2. Your horse takes too long to square up for judge inspection.

If you arrive at the judge and it takes longer than the time to count 1…2

then this is too long and you will be penalized.

Spend more time once again at home to improve this, by just a few minutes practice

each session, your horse wil set up lots quicker.

Also if you stop and they get very close to square right away, go with this for now as

fiddling around to get it perfect any longer than 2 seconds will cost you.

Practice at home not in the show pen!

3. Your chain is tooo long…..

These days it is common practice to have the chain under the chin of the horse,

starting at the halter ring on the off side, down thru the lower fitting, under the chin

and out the lower fitting on the near side to your hand.

The chain only needs to to be around 3-5 inches ( 75- 125 mm) in length from the

fitting to the leather lead.

Any longer and you can get into trouble, simply by having too much excess to handle.

Sometimes I still see the chain connected to the lower ring in the halter, then tied in

many MESSY knots, to shorten it’s length, this is sooo 70’s and does not look professional

and usually the horse does not respond well to your cues properly.

Agreed, new people need to learn how to feel and use a chain correctly to avoid embarrassing

flipovers, but do this at home and in no time flat you and your horse will be accustomed to this

method.

4. Don’t hold the chain at ANY time.

This is usually a result of the above problem, but not always.

Only hold the leather lead, up close to the chain, but don’t slide your hand along to be touching it.

This often happens when setting up, or backing and mostly if the handler brings both hands together,

which you should avoid doing also.

5. Stay in your correct position when being inspected by the judge.

Always remember to be in a quarter

NEXT TO the judge and you will always be correct.

Draw lines in the sand when practicing at home to divide your horse into quarters and remember to

stay where you are until the judge CROSSES FULLY to the new quarter..

I have a full explanation of what you need to know for showmanship in the members section at www.rideontheweb.com

Well I hope these will help you with your next class.

Author: Shane Massingham has been training, showing and judging for over 20 years. More information on western riding can be found at www.ridingwestern.com.au

Shane Massingham. Click on Shane's image to go to his website.