Horse showmanship
Exhibitors are judged on exhibiting the animal to its best advantage, with additional scoring for the grooming and presentation of both horse and handler.
Showmanship began as a component of 4-H competition for young people, to teach them how to present a horse in-hand.
The horse is prepared months ahead of the event by being provided good nutrition to develop a healthy, shiny coat.
While precise styles vary by breed, the hair on the horse's lower legs, jaw, ears, and throatlatch usually is closely clipped, in North America, it is common to trim the whiskers on the muzzle and sometimes the eyes.
On the day of the show, shortly before it goes into the ring, the horse is not only groomed to remove every possible speck of dirt, but it will usually have polish applied to its hooves, a light oil or conditioner placed on its muzzle, around the eyes, and other strategic areas of the head to accent its best features, and usually have a light coat dressing sprayed on its entire body for a bit of last minute shine.
The horse is also taught to "set up" -- to place its feet in a position, usually square on all four legs, that best shows the conformation of its breed.
The horse shown western style is required to wear a halter and be handled with a lead shank.
The width of the leather straps of the halter may be quite heavy or very refined, depending on the breed of the horse and what looks best on an individual animal.
Some show rules allow a chain under the jaw of the horse to provide extra control, other times it is not.
Gloves are optional, but usually worn by winning exhibitors because they provide a better grip on the lead shank and give a polished look.
In a few breeds, showmanship exhibitors, both male and female, may instead choose to wear a business suit similar to what might be worn to an office or other white collar work setting.
In years past, it was a common to see exhibitors clad simply in neatly starched denim jeans, a pressed white shirt, necktie, hat and boots.
Thus, it is common today to see Western-style exhibitors in very elaborate, appliqued ensembles bejeweled in swarovski crystals, showing horses in halters decorated with extensive amounts of sterling silver.
The rules for showmanship classes are set by organizations such as 4-H, the United States Equestrian Federation and the American Quarter Horse Association.
Most patterns are deceptively simple: The exhibitor will lead the horse at a walk and trot, make one or two turns, stop at specific locations, and sometimes back up.
Orange highway cones are often used to designate the precise spot a horse and exhibitor are to walk, trot, turn or back.
An exhibitor should treat each part of the pattern as a separate task leaving the maneuvers crisp, as opposed to sloppy and run together.
The half system is the simplest, used by beginning exhibitors at small shows, though technically legal even for most handlers.
