Pair-A-Deiss Farm

Make sure your horse is CLEAN and fitted up for show in the ways suitable for its breed. You want a horse that goes "BAM! Look at ME!"

Make sure you look good, are clean, and remember to SMILE. The judge doesn't want to see a crabby face at 8 am. Also, if your horse messes up, KEEP SMILING! It's all about you showing off your horse so show him off the entire class, not just when he's perfect.

Be very crisp and clean in your movements. Stand straight and keep your head up looking where you are wanting to go. I love the "snappiness" of SMS but don't make it tooooo snappy. Whenever I do my crossovers I count "1,2,3 together" in my head so that my feet are in good rhythm and it looks together....speaking of which make sure you know how and when to crossover.

Keep your hands up and light. Just as in riding, don't count on them for cues. Use your body as much as you can. For example, I distinguish between a walk off or a trot off by leaning forward and if I'm walking then going into a trot I lean forward a few strides before I want to trot so I can prep my horse.

Don't cluck at your horse the entire pattern...it gets annoying. Some voice cues are fine...I say "whoa" when I want a stop and cluck a few times to give cues but thats about it.

Make your pattern fast but in control. Go as quickly as possible without screwing up and making it looked rushed- especially in the pivots. Also, don't take too long to set up your horse, I know with stock horses you want to try and make it in 3 steps or less. I get Mel as close as possible to being perfectly set up and then stop when she's very close otherwise I run the risk of taking forever and that just looks bad.

Look at the judge! Also, make sure you're lining YOUR HORSE up with the judge and not you. Before you start your pattern, nod to the judge and dismiss yourself with a nod remembering to look back at them while you exit. Often times the judge will make conversation with a "good morning" or something to the liking just before or after inspection. Address them politely and with a smile even if your horse is being a jerk. The whole time you should be thinking to yourself "Look at my horse! He is THE best horse in this entire arena. Don't you think so?!"

Try and keep corrections and frustration towards your horse outside of the arena...this applies in ALL disciplines.

If there is a line up in the class, keep your horse set up and keep showing until the entire class in complete. Keep the quartering method in your head and make sure your standing on the correct side of your horse in relation to the judge the entire time until they call for numbers. Stand with your weight on both feet and keep your eye on the judge. also, when your standing to present your horse stand so that your feet are at a 45* angle to their feet.

Always turn your horse away from you unless specified by the judge or pattern.

If you know the pattern and the people in front of you mess up, don't second guess yourself. Do what you know is right.

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"For the Love of the Horse, Not Just the Sport"