HQ GOES SHOWING WITH AMELIA CAMPBELL-HORNE

With the new year, it seems that quite a few people are branching out and trying new things with their horses, so we decided to give it a go too. We also hope that by providing some insight into the various disciplines on offer in South Africa, you will consider giving them a go too. After all, as George Morris said, “It’s always good horsemanship to experience other disciplines first-hand.” So, with Horse of the Year (HOYS) being such an inclusive and diverse event, we decided to try our hand at showing there.

The starting point

The first decision to be made was clearly which classes to enter. In order to give a more comprehensive assessment of the discipline, we decided to give both in-hand and ridden classes a go. ‘Rico’ was entered in the SA Warmblood Gelding In-Hand, as it has been said that he is very pretty, and Geloven BB in the SA Warmblood Stallions Over Five-Years-Old Class. Although both these horses are imported, they qualify for the SA Warmblood classes as they were recorded on entry into South Africa and when inspected (for mares and stallions).

For the ridden classes, we entered the SA Warmblood Working Hunter A.K.A. Potential Derby Horse Class with Rico. This class is held in the Bob Charter over 1m derby fences, which sounded fun, and who wouldn’t jump (pun intended) at the opportunity to try out some derby fences in the Bob?

Despite the incredible number of classes offered at HOYS, the entry system through the Kyalami Equestrian Park (KEP) website was simple and easy, and the follow-up from KEP and the SA Warmblood Society was superb. The entries were also affordable, and you do not have to be registered with SA Showing Association (SASA) to compete in certain breed classes. Still, if you do wish to enter a SASA class, they offer a temporary membership for only R100.00.

The preparation

A week before the show, the nerves kicked in… Thankfully, SA Showing has a very helpful handbook, as well as some educational videos on their website (https://showingsa. co.za/), and where confusion persisted the SA Warmblood Society was on hand to answer all our questions.

When it comes to showjumping preparation, most horses normally have a bath the day before, tack is set out and off they go. Showing preparation takes a bit more time… After their baths, the boys came to the cross ties to have the bridle passes and manes clipped, a healthy dose of SMART Mane and Tail sprayed over them, their full tails plaited to keep clean, and the trusty baby powder applied to the stable boots of any white legs. Due to rain delays, the Reonet Grand Prix Show and HOYS now overlapped at Kyalami Park, and as both horses are showjumpers by profession, a very complicated series of tack changes ensued to make both shows a success. Little sleep followed...

Show day

We were all up at the crack of dawn on Friday preparing for the in-hand classes. A good brush, sewn mane and tail plaits and of course the quarter markers. (Handy tip: different classes recommend different quarter marker styles, so be sure to check out which are best suited to the class you have entered.)

With that all done, we headed to the show for the first class, ‘Geldings In-Hand’. In the in-hand classes, all participants enter the arena together and walk around following each other. The ‘queue’ of horses is then held up, and horses are asked to trot a length of the arena individually. Once everyone has done this, competitors are lined up and called forward for individual conformation assessments. You then walk away from the judge, trot back and past the judge, and then rejoin the line-up. The judge/s then deliberate and call forward the prize winners. We proudly took Reserve Champion Gelding, while the Champion Gelding wet to Ambeck Royale, who proceeded to the Supremes on Sunday.

Note: We cannot recommend this class highly enough! It is a super opportunity to have an outing not only in the Bob Charter which is a unique and intimidating arena but also to practice some smaller more welcoming derby fences. It is a fantastic introduction for any horse that you wish to compete in a derby someday, and even for your more experienced horses to have a fun outing too! It was wonderful to see a mix of showing experts and showjumpers in this class; the atmosphere was relaxed and fun, while the other competitors were exceptionally supportive, especially the showing competitors who so willingly provided us with tips and advice on what to do in the future to score those extra marks.

With much relief that the first class was over (without incident!), we headed home for a horse swap ahead of the next class, which proceeded in a similar fashion. Amazingly, Geloven BB won his class and then the Champion Warmblood Colt and Stallion Class and, therefore, qualified for ‘Breed Supreme’ on the Sunday. Overall, the class was far less stressful and strict than anticipated. The English judge and stewards, as well as our fellow competitors, were friendly, kind and incredibly helpful - a theme that flowed through our experience of showing over the whole weekend! Our final class of the day was the Warmblood Potential Derby/Working Hunter. Any outing in the Bob Charter arena is always an experience, and this class was all it promised to be. The competitors enter individually, ideally at a canter and begin the course of derby-style fences.

These were set at 1m and included several rustic fences, a jump up the steps, down the small bank and the dyke. Having completed the track, the riders then need to show a gallop and return to halt and salute the judges in the middle of the arena. Once all competitors had completed this phase, the judges request that a few horses return to the arena for a conformational assessment. In this year’s case, the clear rounds were asked to return. Each horse was directed to come forward individually, stand under saddle for a conformational assessment, then walk away from the judges and trot back towards them. The judges then deliberated and announced prize winners. The Champion title went to showing superstars Shaneen Kryzna and Midgard Saphyr, and we came away with a third in this class!

Breed Supreme

Our final class for the show was the In Hand Breed Supreme class, which was pre-judged early on Sunday morning and carried out in the same manner as the preceding in-hand class. We were judged amongst 17 other stallion champions of all ages, sizes, shapes, and colours, includes Miniatures, Anglo-Arabs, Appaloosas, Friesians, Nooitgedachters, Percherons, Draughts and SA Boerperds, to name a few! The top 10 then qualified for the final class held later in the day when they are judged with the top 10 Champion Mares. And yes, the experience was as exciting as you would expect it to be with so much hormone on display… As there are so many breed types in this class, The Supreme Champion is awarded to the horse most ideal to its breed. We finished up in the top 10 of Breed Supreme, and it certainly was an experience to remember!

Take-away comments

We were told weeks before the event that showing is a wonderful opportunity to get to know your horses and bond with them. We underestimated how true this was until we tried it! The extra hours spent grooming and turning out, as well as the in-hand practice really deepened the bond and helped reinforce some good behavioural habits and ground manners. We also had some wonderful late-night cuddles post-mucking out, which must be done to avoid those poo stains!

So, we challenge you all to try it, but make sure you get involved in the preparation and turnout; invest that time in your horse - we can guarantee it will be worth every minute. In the words of Olympic medallist Kent Farrington, “to maximise the talent of your horse, you want a teammate, not a servant”, and you can’t become a team without getting to know each other! We trust and hope that your experience will be as fulfilling as ours.

Top tips

• Make sure your breeches have pockets that can hold LOTS of carrots.

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions; people are super helpful!

• Showing offers a great opportunity to expose your young horses to the competition environment early.

• KPC is hosting several multidiscipline competitions throughout the year, and if we can manage competing in the Reonet Grand Prix and HOYS in the same weekend, you can manage it too.

• If you do not have a Warmblood but want to enter HOYS next year, you can enter the general breed classes (or the breed class appropriate to your horse). The classes run in similar formats, and all Champion winners go forward to the Breed Supremes.