Friday, July 31, 2009

Hunter under saddle?

Latley I have noticed that the walk and canter in hunter classes have been getting slower and slower, without much forward impulsion. Are judges scoring better for this? And also headsets- what are judges favoring? And with the posting- should you be slightly forward? I have always watched hunter from the sidelines and i am wanting to get into it. I would like to start showing my three year old app in some green classes this summer. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Answers:
It depends on the judge. When I was showing some preferred a "pleasure" horse. And all the western pleasure horses would place high in the hunter classes. Some judges prefer the faster paced hunter horses. I'm not sure what you mean by slightly forward posting but as you go up you're hips should go slightly forward. Headsets are important. You want you're horse collected underneath you. By keeping their nose down you help them do that. But I definately think you should try it. I started out showing in only the hunter classes and I loved it. I eventually got a different horse that was good at western too. But you should do it if only for experience for you and you're horse.
I was wondering the exact same thing. The paces seem to be getting slower, and the head sets just seem to keep dropping.
In a hunter class the judge is looking for a horse that 1. they would like to ride themselves and 2. one that looks like they could hack around in a field all day. The judges tend to favor a lower headset with the nose slightly tucked in but not curled. You want your horse to really move out and swing through their shoulder and reach out. As for the speed, the judges want horses that look very relaxed and easy going, not one that is rushing and looks as if it would tire anytime soon.
Good luck with your showing!
what shows are you talking about? On the quarter horse circuit, they now really look down upon the hunter horses that lope around the arena, they want a forward pace (but controled, the horse should be moving out with a long, flat stride) with the horses head down, and nose slightly poked out, with the rider to have light contact on the horses mouth.
I am not sure of what appoloosas are doing right now, but I would assume they are going in the same direction as the AQHA. Open shows, appoloosas, hunter/jumpers, etc. all have different standereds, so it really depends on where you are going to be showing at as to how your horse should go.

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