Have a Question on Showmanship

[Flying minis]

Ok, I'm new to minis, but have shown big horses all my life. Why does the AMHA use the 4 quarters system for showmanship (as does almost every other breed) but AMHR doesn't? Is there any talk of changing this? I'm trying to figure out just how the AMHR does it, watching televised shows, and trying to change nearly a lifetime of habits - plus teach my son (who has to learn both styles, because he also shows open and big horses). It seems really confusing to me!

 

[Minimor]

I don't know why AMHR used the halves system, but I do hope they don't change it. That is the way I learned showmanship many many years ago--self taught, from a magazine article that did a great job of explaining the halves method of showmanship. I won many, many showmanship classes using that system too--pretty much every showmanship class I entered back then resulted in a 1st place ribbon for me and that was pretty good since I was showing a Morgan in open shows against QH and appaloosas under stock horse breed judges.

About the time I quit showing in youth classes is when some of the judges started liking the quarters way of showing--I was glad that I was too old for youth classes, as I didn't like the quarters way & didn't feel like doing it that way. At the time there weren't a lot of local shows that offered adult showmanship, and once they did start putting that class in I didn't bother going back to it.

Now I generally don't bother with showmanship yet, but at least with ASPC/AMHR doing it the "right way"

I could do a good job if I did decide to enter, plus I can help others out with their showmanship & not get mixed up!

 

[Flying minis]

I learned the "one side" way - WAY back when, at the time that you couldn't cross over to the other side of the horse because it wasn't safe : ) That was awkward. Then got out of showing a while, and had to come back and learn the quarters system. Got out again for a while, now learn another one - guess I'll be ready for whatever comes next LOL. My biggest question though is how to show at an open show? If the judge happens to be a AMHR judge, will they penalize you for showing quarters? Or if they don't know anything AMHR, will they knock you down for showing halves? Our local show series doesn't specify how to show showmanship, just "according to breed type". Guess we'll find out next year when we show it!

 

[Minimor]

From what I've seen, open show judges will penalize you for showing the wrong way--if they want quarters they won't place someone who shows halves, and vice versa. I haven't been out to the open shows for a few years now so don't know if this is still the case, but last time I watched they were still using quarters here.

Now I know that some of the shows did announce ahead of time which way they wanted people to show for the showmanship classes. I don't know if they all did that, or just some of them, but I thought that was a good thing. As long as there are two ways of doing it out there, they really should announce to let exhibitors know. I would even try asking the show secretary ahead of time--perhaps that would prompt them to announce which way the judge wants people to show. Otherwise, you can ask around and see if anyone will tell you what that particular judge wants to see--if people show enough they will start to run into the same judge at more than one show, so they then have some idea what that judge likes.

 

[Flying minis]

Good idea, thanks! We hope to show more AMHR next year, so I'm going to have my son concentrate on the "halves" method, and get that down. Then we'll worry about the open shows later. If he learns both, fine, if not, the open shows will give him some practice for the AMHR shows! (and me too I guess!). We really liked the 2 AMHR shows we went to this year, so who knows, we may end up at more of those and fewer open shows (although I have to take my Saddlebred somewhere once in a while or he'll feel neglected) : )

 

[alphahorses]

You can see over a mini's back; you don't need to move to see the judge as you do with full size horses. I'm just taking a guess here, but I suspect that AMHR modified the pattern because of this.

It makes sense, but personally, I think they should stick to the "standard" pattern used by other breeds. Judges often do not follow (or remember) the rule book, especially if their specialty is not AMHR horses, and it is difficult for exhibitors when they are penalized for following the rule book because the Judge only knows the quarter pattern.

Showmanship is a very popular class in AQHA. The patterns are becoming much more complicated and are very graceful and fun to watch when done right. It requires time and basic horsemanship skills to properly teach a horse to do showmanship. I hope some day it becomes as popular with miniature horse and shetland pony youth as it is with AQHA.

Here's a video for anyone who is interested:

http://www.aqha.com/showing/shows/worldshow/experience2/showmanshippattern.html

 

[CharlesFamily]

Personally, I think quartering feels awkward showing the minis - you have so much less "space" and I feel like you are moving so quickly that it doesn't feel as fluid - if that makes sense. There's so much less horse to see around than the biggies that halves makes more sense.

I LOVE showmanship! Growing up in 4-H, it wasn't my favorite until I was about 14. I had my yearling gelding then and trained him for showmanship before he could even ride and he LOVED it. He was a showmanship pattern machine. We would even do showmanship without a halter (of course, this was before all of the halterless/bridleless competitions) - he would walk right off or trot right off at my shoulder and all I had to do was step into him and as long as I kept walking toward him, he would keep pivoting. We had a great time!

Barbara

 

[horsefeather]

I like the 1/2 type. I was showing in an open show and everyone else was doing the 1/4 system. I had a really small mini and I tried to do the 1/4 but almost had to run to keep up. I spoke up to the judge and told him we showed the minis on the 1/2 system and he was kind enough to begin again with me doing the 1/2 system. He laughed at me when I was racing trying to keep up with him on the 1/2. I won the class.

Pam

 

[Flying minis]

Now I have a mental picture of someone racing around their mini! LOL That makes sense, I hadn't thought of how fast you would have to move to do quarters on a mini.

 

[Versatility Farm & Training]

Ok, I'm new to minis, but have shown big horses all my life. Why does the AMHA use the 4 quarters system for showmanship (as does almost every other breed) but AMHR doesn't? Is there any talk of changing this? I'm trying to figure out just how the AMHR does it, watching televised shows, and trying to change nearly a lifetime of habits - plus teach my son (who has to learn both styles, because he also shows open and big horses). It seems really confusing to me!

Way back when I was a little kid AMHA used to do the halves. I can't remember for sure, but I think AMHR did the quarters. I believe AMHA switched to quarters to conform to what most other breeds and 4-h were doing. I think they started with the halves because the thought of showmanship is to show your horse to the judge, always making sure the judge has a clear ununstructed view, so always on the opposite side of the horse. But you should always keep your eye on the judge, which is why full size horses do the quarters... you are never between the judge and the horse, but you can always see the judge.

It does seem as though you have to move quickly doing the quarters with minis, but in fairness... the judge should not be walking that fast if doing their job properly. Can you walk that fast while looking at the horse, inspecting its stance and grooming? That being said, how many judges anymore take their time with classes like that?

 

[Minimor]

DO the judges still take the time to be very thorough when judging showmanship? I haven't watched a showmanship class in several years now, but the ones I did watch the judge didn't seem to spend a lot of time "testing" the kids on their position, and they seemed to pay little attention to grooming. When I was showing in it at the open shows the judges would almost always do the white glove test, running a gloved finger or a kleenex down the horses' backs to check for dirt. They would try to trick us by stepping in front of the horse & then back again--it didn't pay to step to the other side of the horse too quickly if the judge stopped in front of the horse, because you might have just put yourself on the same side as the judge and then have to dart back again to correct the mistake. The judge would walk along the sides of the horse, taking a look at the horse but most of their attention was on the handler, checking to see if the kid stayed in position to see the judge. The last classes I did watch it just seemed that the judges didn't take that much interest in really testing the kids.

I never had any problem keeping the judge in view even showing big horses with the halves method. But, I was a tall kid and my horses were all 14.3 to 15.2, so as long as I positioned myself right--further to the front when the judge was toward the front, futher back facing the horse when the judge was further back, I could always make eye contact with the judge. I always found the halves to be neat and quiet. The quarters way is more busy, with a lot more moving back and forth in front of the horse--even with a big horse it looks more busy. Some say it's more difficult than the halves--I wouldn't have said so. The halves may seem easier, but really there are a lot of people who don't put so much effort into the halves--there is more to it than just staying on the opposite side of the horse from the judge, yet that's all some bother to do with it.

I've seen some AMHR showmanship classes that were quite dismal in terms of "showmanship".