Help With Show Behavior?

I took my yearling filly to her third show this past weekend (the 9th) and I expected her to be decent. Not good or great. Decent. In my opinion she did.....passable. That isn't bad considering the work she's had and her surroundings.

I had been working with her on setting up correctly, standing still, and giving me some neck. (Stretching, lol) She's been doing great at home. I worked with her on it at the show before her class and she did pretty well. The thing was...when I was with her IN the show.

We were both confused. I did not think the judge did a very good job at all explaining what he wanted me to do. I've had very little show experience and in my opinion he kind of blew my class off. Not to mention that I was the only one, lol.

The judge made my filly extremely nervous when he was walking around her. I had worked with her on this as well while we were at home and before the show. She did fine, however when I went into the ring she wouldn't stand still at all.

I am curious how I could get her used to the ring? My mom and I were thinking about taking her out for "practice shows" just the two of us. We also decided to go to the show grounds early so that we could practice beforehand as well.

NOTE: I am not trying to blame everything on the judge. I don't think he handled the class well as he could have and I was completely confused. I think my filly would have done fine had I of moved her forward after I turned her towards the judge (after I was told to trot away from him...which was my only instruction)

No thread is complete without pictures....

Before the class (Beware her awful clip job!)



During the show:

Not having been there, I'd be willing to bet the culprit is not the judge or the horse, but YOU.

It doesn't sound at all like the judges fault, YOU were the one confused and also probably reacted or was nervous about the judge and your horse fed off of your nervous or weak energy. Horses are very sensitive, perceptive beings and will react to minor stimuli that you may not even be aware of. This, if you are confused, your horse is getting confusing direction and won't do what it needs to do. Only a seasoned, well-trained horse can "take care of" a youth or novice handler despite nerves or confused direction. A yearling most likely won't be capable of that.

That said, I've got good news. Continue to practice and show, and as you gain confidence, so will your horse and you'll make a better team.

The judge isn't there to train you, he or she is there to judge your horse. You will be more ready next time

I wasn't trying to make it sound like it was his fault. It was mine and my filly did feed off of it.

The show was fun. You should see all of those QHs look at her, lol. Ale takes it in stride and the show announcer loves her. She's definitely the novelty of the show since she's the smallest thing around!

We'll definitely have to show a lot more!

I also get nervous before a show, and I have a seasoned show mare, so I KNOW it's me! The best advice I have is to enter as many shows / classes as you can, even the smaller open shows. If there were QH at your show, sounds like you're already doing some of that. Before you go in the ring and especially as you are in the ring, be sure to take a few deep, calming breaths (I often forget to breathe!). Really try to stay in the moment, thinking only about what you're doing right then and maybe just a bit about what you will be doing next. Watch the judge and the ring steward for direction, too.

Your filly is adorable - I love her color! - and I wish you both the best of luck in your show career!

First your filly is a yearling. And you sound like you are fairly new at this. So three shows - I wouldn't worry about it. She's just a kid, and she did really well. Did you see where you were showing? A lot of different different things around her, big animals, stuff period!!! And maybe you didn't understand exactly what the judge was asking - its okay to ask them to repeat their directions of be a little clearer.

SO - don't beat yourself up! You weren't at home where everything goes right, you were somewhere else where its hard to make everything go right.

She didn't weird out on you - so I think you did fabulous! Just chock it up to experience for both of you! You can't have a perfect performance everytime with a young one!

I agree with Lori W. The more you and she show, the better it will be.

In the pictures, you were always looking down......just an observation. And you were right "on top" of your girl. Try looking up more (and keep an eye on the judge) and keep a step away from your filly. That was a hard one for me to learn. In time I discovered that when I gave my horse some space, she relaxed better for me. Of course I still had to step in to correct her, but then I always stepped back again.

One of the best things that also helped me was to have a friend either video me or take lots of pictures so I could really see how I was presenting my horse.

I'm sure with more practice you two will make a great team It certainly can't hurt to keep on practicing at home and go to as many shows as you can. I would caution on practicing too much the morning of the show, though, since she's such a young thing and might get bored/tired. Getting there early and letting her chill out and become comfortable with the surroundings is a great idea, though. Good luck in your future shows--she is a pretty girl!

I'll agree that it is most likely your nerves as it's what stuffed me up a lot when I started out!

As someone else has point out you are right ontop of your lovely girl, take a few steps back and give yourselves a little space.

If you're confused about what the judge is asking a polite request to hear a workout again or for a clarification is usually acceptable.

Many non showing outings with different sights can be great for helping rookie horses but if you're nerves only fire up in the ring the only thing that will really help is time. Simply being aware of the problem can help as well.