# “Leasing” for lead line classes? Am I crazy? Haha



## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

I'm not sure why "showing" is a prerequisite for "having fun" - for a two year-old.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Agree; wouldn't a two year old have even more fun being led around on a pony at home? 

I know I'm Sally One-Note about this, but is competition so superior to simply experiencing? Especially for children?


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Lyssa_001 said:


> My 2 year old daughter is obsessed with riding. I am thinking it would be so much fun for her to do some leadline classes at local shows! I own a saddlebred gelding but he is extremely “hot” and way too much for her, so we would have to borrow someone else’s horse.


Your saddlebred might suprise you. My Patti is pretty hot, but just Saturday we used her in a leadline class so a little kid wouldn't miss out. We were at the County Fair show, so open/all breed and no lease was necessary. I rode my class, came out, swapped tack (so there were stirrups the kid could reach) and then the mom took them in for the class. They won! Since you're in control of the horse, the kid just sits up and looks pretty (and for a 2 y.o. just getting them up and sitting still is good enough), then there shouldn't be any "too much for her" involved, if you can control him on the ground. If he really won't mind his manners, chance are if you just go to a show and check with folks that you know, they'll probably let you put your kid up and run her through. No charge. I certainly wouldn't have charged to use Patti on Saturday, that would have been ridiculous. The kid we put up on Patti was probably 3 or 4, still really tiny, and they looked adorable together. 

Showing tends to be in the blood. If it's in mamma's blood, it'll tend to be in the kid's blood too and they'll love it. I've been showing since I was really little (don't remember when my first show was, but I was very young) and now at 61, I'm still showing and loving it. My earliest independent memory is of being put up on a horse at 2 years old and loving it. I was probably put up way earlier than that, just don't have any memory of it. There's nothing that beats the feeling that you're a princess up on that big old horse and riding around the ring with other little princes and princesses. At that age it's not about the competition, it's all about feeling special and having one on one time with mom or dad and riding on a special horse.


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## Lyssa_001 (Aug 26, 2018)

My daughter loves experiencing new things and she wants to be in the ring. If she is at a horse show she WANTS to go in. It’s not about the competition. I don’t even think lead line classes are competition since a lot are run in a way that no one “wins” but everyone gets a participation ribbon. As someone else explained below it just makes the child feel special and it’s all about the memories and that big smile on their face. I am a parent that just wants my daughter to have fun and I know she wants to go in a class and I really think she would enjoy it!


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## Lyssa_001 (Aug 26, 2018)

Don’t get me wrong she loves being on my saddlebred at home but we don’t have access to other horses at home. & since I don’t fully trust him it’s difficult at times. She asks to go into the ring if she is at a horse show. It is something that she sees others doing and wants to do. I think the post below really explains it well. It isn’t about the competition it is the experience.


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## Lyssa_001 (Aug 26, 2018)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> Lyssa_001 said:
> 
> 
> > My 2 year old daughter is obsessed with riding. I am thinking it would be so much fun for her to do some leadline classes at local shows! I own a saddlebred gelding but he is extremely “hot” and way too much for her, so we would have to borrow someone else’s horse.
> ...


You explain why I want to have my daughter do this perfectly! It isn’t about the competition but having them feel special and nothing beats that BIG smile they have on their face when they are in the ring. I really think that is beneficial for the children! The situation you explained about the child hopping on your patti is exactly the situation I am looking for. However, I know I will offer to pay since some people aren’t that kind hearted and do expect some $ in return for favors which is fine. Maybe I will make a post trying to explain that better. Ideally I would love to show my gelding and have her use him too but right now he is just not ready. I don’t fully trust him to behave haha


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I have to agree, lead-line classes with little tykes are not really about competing at all. They are just about sitting on a horse and going in the ring. 

My kids grew up riding at the little local shows and they got a ribbon for entering and didn't care a bit about winning. 

They would spend the whole time up on their ponies going round and round the showgrounds with all the other kiddos. They would get off occasionally for bathroom pit stops or a snack, but otherwise just spent hours on the ponies. Sometimes they would nearly be falling asleep up there but holler loudly if we attempted to take them off their pony! (shows stated at 5pm and sometimes were not over until 1-2am) 


We would just go find the group when it was time for the class and herd them into the ring. Rinse and repeat 

IMO just talk to some others at the show and see if they would let you use their horse for lead-line class. Most would not mind because horses/ponies safe for the littlest tykes are priceless and often get passed around from owner to owner and stay riding in the circuit for years. 

The other thing you could do is try to find a horse just for lead-line. Something older and calm that can be used for several years as your kiddo grows.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

I took my son in leadline classes when he was two and three years old. I dressed him as Zorro and he LOVED it. We have adorable pictures and happy memories.

If someone asked to use one of my gentle horses for a leadline class, I would jump at the chance. I love seeing the happy smiles on those adorable kids. I certainly wouldn't take any money for it. Leadline is so much fun, and it would give me joy to see a child having fun on my horse.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Slightly off topic, there was a little guy on the CUTEST little mini riding in the 7 and under classes. If he was 5 then I'm only 40. I would make the lousiest judge ever because he was just so dang cute, he'd have won every class he walked in to, even the one he wasn't supposed to be in. LOL! Just because was a good enough excuse for me.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Mine just doesn't do shows but I sure get it about enthusiasm and the joy of being perched up on a horse. He would be happiest sitting behind the hames and holding on when we had the drafts harnessed when he was a baby. The order is reversed but the first is as a 6 y.o. - super serious on the new pony and the second was late winter - he was about 2 and a half on his mare. Added a third. He is 4 on my favorite draft mare. Wish we would have had lead line classes around here back then and maybe he would feel different about the show ring. I'd have also happily lent a horse for the lead line classes just to see that spark in some child's eyes. No $$ needed.


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## Amitubin (Sep 11, 2018)

My answer is very simple. 
Yes! Go for it!! Sounds like so much fun


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Avna said:


> Agree; wouldn't a two year old have even more fun being led around on a pony at home?
> 
> I know I'm Sally One-Note about this, but is competition so superior to simply experiencing? Especially for children?


I love showing and l sum it up like this: My horse & I are dance partners. We practice and dance at home all the time. But it's a lot of fun to go to a party where everybody is dancing, you dress up in your best clothes, get all gussied up and show off what you have been practicing at home.


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