Mini Horse Shows & Tips? Newbie here!

[Penny_Lane_Ponies]

Anyone know of any shows in Northern Ny? Or where i might beable to look up some shows. I very new to this showing horses, showed rabbits for over 15 year but it nothing alike! Went my first mini show in sept, it was just a fun show but still felt little out of place. Although I did take first in the pleasure driving class out of 9 adults! Very proud of my mini mare i trained all by my self.

Few questions:

What do you wear in driving classes? Pictures?

I see exhibitors kneeling down while in halter and showmanship, what up with that? Am I sub-post to be kneeling?

I'm sure i have other questions just cant think of them right this second. Any good tips for a newbie? Please help! Thanks

 

[Minimor]

For AMHR shows you can go to www.shetlandmini.com then on the member services tab choose coming events, and then select show schedule--that will give you a listing of all AMHR approved shows. The list is short this time of year but more shows will be added as show season gets closer. Someone else will be able to tell you where to find a list of AMHA shows.

If you are looking for the fun shows, check out the club listings on the AMHA (www.amha.org) and AMHR (as above) sites and then you can contact the clubs to find out what they have for fun shows.

As far as people kneeling down when showing at halter--people sometimes kneel if they are showing a very small horse, it puts them down more at the horse's level & makes it easier for the handler to get the horse to show the way they want him to. Many do not actually kneel...and you will see some doing "the chicken dance" as they try to get their horse's attention and to arch his neck and give his ears. Some do some serious gyrations out there in the ring!

For showmanship--no, you should not be kneeling in showmanship--Mini showmanship should be just like big horse showmanship, you want to be on your feet and your horse should be well trained to set up and show so that you do not have to bend down to place feet.

 

[Margot]

There are no shows I know of in Northern NY but there are several in Syracuse, Breeders and the State Fair. There is usually a show in Lockport and also the Sunshine Fair in Cobleskill has an AMHR rated show. Currently there are no AMHA shows in NY. Some other fairs have mini shows but most of those are not rated with AMHR. I suggest you go to a rated AMHR show, you can learn a lot by just looking and asking questions. For the average driving class a suit or sports coat and a hat for men is usually appropriate.

 

[lucky seven]

I don't know if it is rated or not, but there might be shows at the Fonda Fairgrounds that you can attend. That is a problem for those of us who live upstate, no place to go. Even our local county fair has nothing for minis.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Pretty sure kneeling is not allowed in AMHA......

 

[Margot]

There are also a bunch of pinto shows in Syracuse so if you have any pintos you can register them with Pinto and go to those shows. For ladies proper dress for local shows is usually a long skirt or simple dress and a nice blouse or jacket and many people wear hats. At the National shows especially at night the ladies often wear evening gowns .

 

[wildoak]

No kneeling in showmanship

, but you see lots of gymnastics in halter LOL. If your horse will set up and show with a minimum of activity on the handlers part it always looks better and more professional, but it isn't always the case. People bend over/squat down to set feet and especially on the smaller horses, some do squat or kneel down to show them. Not something you should be doing necessarily, but it is done.

Jan

 

[K.C. Lunde]

Hi!!! I have a similar background as you.. I showed Holland Lops and Thrianta's here in Canada!!!! I would love to go back into the rabbit thing but now I'm into the horses.. hard to look back at cleaning cages/feeding 50 head. I showed a homebred Holland Lop to BIS before I quit.

I picked up a book called 'Introduction to Miniature Horse Showing' or it was called something similar to that.. I loved it, it has worksheets and everything in it!!!

We don't have a dress code for seperate driving classes which I find is kind of difficult. Kind of get the feel from other exhibitors. Up in Canada, we wear cowboy hats and jackets (with fringe, etc.) western clothes in Country Driving. In Single Pleasure, we do splashy bright colors, dresses, suits, glitter and jewels. In Classic, which is a kind of new class, we have seen people just take a business formal approach. BUT I really like amping up the 20's appeal with red lipstick, lace and cool headbands. Makes the class look very cool!!

 

[Jacki]

Welcome to the Mini world, click on my pic to see what I wore in a Pleasure Driving Class at the AMHR Nationals. At a local AMHR show I wear the following:

Pleasure Driving Class - Dress or dressy skirt and blouse with gloves, something I would wear to church or work. If I have different driving division classes very close together I may wear black dress slack with a dressy blouse or jacket so that I can slip my Roadster Silks on over that in a hurry.

Country Pleasure Driving Class - Dress or skirt and blouse or dress slacks and jacket or blouse. I prefer more coverage in Country Pleasure Driving so seldom do I wear bare arm dresses or blouses.

Western Country Pleasure Driving Class - Western Show Blouse, slacks or colored jeans, hat, gloves.

Enjoy your driving!

Jacki Loomis