# All you hunters out there!!!



## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Also, what do you think about the way Sandie moves - do we look like we'd be a good pair as hunters?  I know we need some polishing, neither of us have shown before and we're both a little green! But with the basics, I mean, what do you think?!


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## koomy56 (Jan 19, 2008)

In the Hunters judges look for style. It's about how beautiful and easy you can make the course look like. They want a horse with a consistent pace, & very rhythmical. Not pokey in one line, and blasting down another. Everything should remain the same, and if corrections should be made they're invisible. Flying lead changes will be necessary to teach your horse as you progress, but in lower level hunter classes there are alot of horses who don't have them yet. They are expected as you move up. Your horse needs to remain straight, no zig zagging around the course.  Your turnout should be flawless, everything neat and tucked up. No hair fly-aways, everything clean & polished. Your horse should be clean and tidy, and if the show calls for braiding then you can braid, but if its a schooling show then just a nice, well groomed mane and tail will do. 
Here is an example of a nice hunter round:


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## Jubilee Rose (May 28, 2008)

One thing that I noticed from the video, is that she has a little too much speed. In the hunter-jumper ring, its all about control and the horse having a nice even pace with the correct number of strides through jumps. I would try to work on slowing her pace through lots of circles and serpentines. She is anticipating the jump way before you get to it. If you have to do a few circles before approaching the jump, do it. My old riding instructor always told us to "straighten ourselves out" before a jump -- meaning that you should be perfectly controlled in your gait and pace before thinking of going over a fence. If you need to slow her down by a couple of circles or go around the ring a couple times before approaching, that is fine. Just make sure not to confuse her by turning away from the jump too late. Does that make sense? She seems a little heavy on the forehand as well. I would do lots of flatwork, building muscle and doing lots of transitions. Other than that, Sandie is beautiful and has nice movement. I think she would be a great little jumper! Good luck!


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## 1dog3cats17rodents (Dec 7, 2007)

Is she a pony or a horse? I she's a pony she'll do fine, but if she's a horse she might be too small to get the right strides without really running for it (not something judges look for) But if she has a huge stride I wouldn't worry about it.

Everyone else covered everything I can think of, but I want to add she is ADORABLE


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Thanks everyone!! To clarify, Sandie and I JUST started jumping (yes, BOTH of us!) a few weeks ago, so we are by no means "polished" yet! ;-) She definitely has a fast trot, we're working on slowing that down, and also getting the frame a little better. 

To answer your question 1dog, she is technically a "pony" since she's only 14.1 hh. My trainer seems to think she's going to make a wonderful hunter, but she's green broke so she still has a lot of work to do first! (and I've only been riding 2 1/2 years so I have work to do for myself as well! haha) I'm just excited that I may have found the discipline I'm interested in finally!!


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## 1dog3cats17rodents (Dec 7, 2007)

That's good, she should have no problem with pony strides, you two will do great with more experience. She is just adorable!


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## koomy56 (Jan 19, 2008)

If your pony remains steady and consistent and happens to have one more stride added in comparison to the bigger, longer strided horses most judges wont penalize you for that. They wouldn't expect you to blast down the lines to try and get the set striding. A faster stride doesn't always mean a longer one.


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## ratlover (Mar 24, 2009)

This may be a little off topic, but what has made you decide to hunt?
I'm against hunting, and it's a hardly a sport IMO. If a sport, both sides should know they are part of the game.


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## Equuestriaan (Nov 5, 2008)

ratlover - in what way is Hunter not a sport? I'd love to hear your reasoning behind that.

HoofprintsintheSand - Aslo, keep in mind a hunter should be "long and low." The goal is to get around the course in the most efficient way of moving: long, ground covering strides, but relaxed, not rushed. The rider is usually in the half-seat position, which is hard to describe but it's basically a lighter seat but not a full jumping position.

koomy56 - The striding depends on the division you're in. If you're doing modified hunters, you can add, but if you're doing schooling? You'll be docked major points.


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## Snaffle (Nov 5, 2008)

ratlover said:


> This may be a little off topic, but what has made you decide to hunt?
> I'm against hunting, and it's a hardly a sport IMO. If a sport, both sides should know they are part of the game.


She doesn't mean Hunter as in 'Hunting'. She means it as the discipline Hunter. If you don't understand here is some info about Hunter/Jumper:

Hunt seat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Off topic: I don't think Hunting is a sport, more like a hobby. I don't have anything wrong with it however as people hunt for meat most of the time. Are you against cow slaughtering too?


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## Equuestriaan (Nov 5, 2008)

ratlover said:


> This may be a little off topic, but what has made you decide to hunt?
> I'm against hunting, and it's a hardly a sport IMO. If a sport, both sides should know they are part of the game.


OH. Were you talking about hunting like... shooting things?


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

ratlover said:


> This may be a little off topic, but what has made you decide to hunt?
> I'm against hunting, and it's a hardly a sport IMO. If a sport, both sides should know they are part of the game.


I don't mean "hunt" as in kill animals lol!! I wouldn't be able to do that, I feel bad when I kill a SPIDER! :lol: I mean "hunter" as in...

Show hunter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## StormyBlues (Dec 31, 2008)

expect rich daddies girls who don't know that money doesn't grow on trees and they have there little bay push button TBs and set up practically a living room outside their trailer. :lol: That is why I switched to eventing! Too much brattyness! (I am not sayting that anyone on this site is like that, and don't think that. It is the people in my area!)


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## xpyrrohs (Feb 16, 2009)

I do eventing and hunters... there aren't many eventing competitions in oklahoma, but we have a hunter/jumper show circuit that my barn started... at least its practice xD The only eventing barn is the one where I ride at.. there's another one down the road a ways, but it's private.

Good luck with her, she does look like she'd make a cute little hunter


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

StormyBlues said:


> expect rich daddies girls who don't know that money doesn't grow on trees and they have there little bay push button TBs and set up practically a living room outside their trailer. :lol: That is why I switched to eventing! Too much brattyness! (I am not sayting that anyone on this site is like that, and don't think that. It is the people in my area!)


LOL oh sounds like the area I grew up in! :lol: (don't worry though, I'm not one of them!!) I'm just in it for fun!


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

xpyrrohs said:


> I do eventing and hunters... there aren't many eventing competitions in oklahoma, but we have a hunter/jumper show circuit that my barn started... at least its practice xD The only eventing barn is the one where I ride at.. there's another one down the road a ways, but it's private.
> 
> Good luck with her, she does look like she'd make a cute little hunter


Thanks!  We did some more jumping today - and with a larger cross rail, so she actually JUMPED this time instead of just half jump/half trotting like in the video I have in this post ;-) I'm going to try to get video of her jumping again tomorrow over a larger jump too! SO much fun to finally be jumping!


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Here's a better video of her actually JUMPING a jump ;-) We took on our very first vertical today!!!


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## EquitationStar (Mar 3, 2009)

She's super cute. You guys should do well at the lower level Hunter shows. And if I remember correctly you also wanted some info about the classes. Hunter classes come in different divisions. Each division is usually made up of 3 jumping rounds and 1 flat. You collect points depending on your placing and then on the last day the points are counted and Champion and Reserve are awarded. (The shows are usually between 3 and 5 days long). A great starting division is the Short Stirrup or Short Stirrup Pony. The jumps are 2'3 and the distances are not set quite as long. The division is designed for 'beginner' riders who maybe haven't shown as much yet. Then there are 'Lows'. These are judged classes but they aren't part of the division. You generally use them as warm-up classes to get your horse into the ring and work out any possible 'issues' your horse or you might have. (ex. deal with the spooky jump so that your division round is good and you get more points). I love the hunters for beginner riders and green horses because they teach both the horse and rider about pace, rhythm, and track which is super important if you want to move on the the equitation and jumper ring. Good Luck at the shows. =D and post news when you go to your first one! 

Here's a great video of a 2nd Year Green Working Hunter Class. 3'9
*Just scroll down to the video link*
Country Lane Farm - Hunters,Jumpers and Dressage


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## kchfuller (Feb 1, 2008)

slow/collected - make the most pretty picture for the judge that you can...


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## Flexion (Nov 28, 2008)

The typical hunter is judged on its movement, manners, and way of going, particularly while jumping fences. A hunter in the show ring should perform like a horse on a foxhunt, going around a course smoothly and steadily,and the horse should move freely. Ideally the majority of the movement occus form the shoulder and hip. 

The speed of the round should not change very much from the controlled gallop. Judges don't like to see horses that get stronger and faster throughout the course. 

The horse should also jump with its knees even and legs lightly tucked beneneath it. This is a good trait, because it mean the horse is less liable to drop a rail. Dropped rails usually mean that you won't place. 

Good manners are also important. A hunter should be kind and obedient, and should be happy to do its job. The horse should not be bothered by the colorful flowers or decorations on a jump. The horse should not wring his tail, pin his ears or buck either. 

The horse must also take each jump in stride, and not take off too far from the fence or put in a tiny stride just before (called a chip).They ruin the flow of the round. 

Remember that judges like to see a horse they would like to ride. Think, "Would the judge want to ride my horse?" 

They will take off points for knocked rails and bad form, such as twisting over fences or letting its legs hang down. They also take off points for wrong leads, refusals, and if you use your stick they will take points off for that, too. They also penalize if your horse carries his head too high or if you cut corners. 

You get a score after your round. The horse with the highest score gets the blue ribbon, and second highest places second, etc. 

If you had a really good round, you will get something between 80 and 90. If you had minor mistakes, that would be something in the 70 range. If you had major problems such as a dropped rail or you had to use your crop, you will get a low score of 50 - 60. That can be lower if your horse bucks or refuses. 

I have also seen people marked down for improper attire, such as half chaps rather than tall boots. Please remember to read the rule books as well, so you don't get into trouble for improper attire or "illegal" tack, etc. 

Sorry it's so long but meh xD


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

thanks for all the info flexion!! Very helpful  As for attire, I did read up on it and it seems there are a few acceptable trends...but I made sure to stay on the traditional side when I went to get my show outfit this weekend just in case...khacki breeches, tall field boots, navy hunt coat, white show shirt


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## kchfuller (Feb 1, 2008)

make sure you get your rat catcher embroidered and you have a belt


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## jumpwhat007 (Apr 10, 2009)

IDK who was talking to you in the ring, but she said "release your fingers" NO. You need to release with your arms and elbow. Your fingers should be on the rein, keeping the rein length the same, and just changing the contact by moving your hands forward/back.


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## jumpwhat007 (Apr 10, 2009)

StormyBlues said:


> expect rich daddies girls who don't know that money doesn't grow on trees and they have there little bay push button TBs and set up practically a living room outside their trailer. :lol: That is why I switched to eventing! Too much brattyness! (I am not sayting that anyone on this site is like that, and don't think that. It is the people in my area!)


Thats what its like in my area. Kinda, they all have nice horses, but we (the non bratty ones) outnumber the brats so we usually scare them away from our shows haha. 



ratlover said:


> This may be a little off topic, but what has made you decide to hunt?
> I'm against hunting, and it's a hardly a sport IMO. If a sport, both sides should know they are part of the game.


Did you read or watch the video at all? Hunters. A sport in horseback riding where you show over a course of natural fences at an even, relaxed pace. Nothing to do with shooting anything.


Heres my opinion. I think your pony has a cute jump, great for hunters, the nice square knees. In your level of showing, you won't need flying changes, you can do simple changes. But eventually you will learn flying changes, once you start showing at 2ft-2ft6 they usually dock points for simple changes unless its a green class. 

You two will do great. Have fun!


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

jumpwhat007 said:


> IDK who was talking to you in the ring, but she said "release your fingers" NO. You need to release with your arms and elbow. Your fingers should be on the rein, keeping the rein length the same, and just changing the contact by moving your hands forward/back.


That was my friend's trainer...that was the first time Sandie and I had jumped together, we're both just learning, so she was just trying to get me to let go of her mouth a little over the jump. My trainer personally always tells me to "grab mane" up a foot above where my hands normally rest, to make sure I'm not popping her in the mouth (which means, as you say, releasing with your arms). Since she's just learning to jump, we don't want her to associate jumping with getting hit in the mouth with the bit since we don't want her to start refusing or anything!


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## EquitationStar (Mar 3, 2009)

videos: 
www.countrylanewarmbloods.com *go to the stallion page - then click on westporte - scroll down to jumping video link 

Equitation class -


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## EquitationStar (Mar 3, 2009)

> expect rich daddies girls who don't know that money doesn't grow on trees and they have there little bay push button TBs and set up practically a living room outside their trailer. :lol: That is why I switched to eventing! Too much brattyness! (I am not sayting that anyone on this site is like that, and don't think that. It is the people in my area!)


It actually "rich daddies girls who don't know that money doesn't grow on trees and they have there little bay push button WARMBLOODS" not TBs. 

and yes, there are rich spoiled girls but mostly at the big 'A' rated shows where you wouldn't start out anyways.


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## Hoofprints in the Sand (Nov 23, 2008)

Thanks for all the helpful input everyone!!  The funny thing is that my trainer (who is an Eventer) and another girl at the barn who does Eventing as well have convinced me to try out a little "mini trial" this summer just to see if I'd like it. 

So my trainer has been focusing on dressage more with me and some jumping as well, but with Eventing esp for just the "intro" level mini trials like I'll be in at first, it seems like it's all going to come down to how the dressage test goes, because really all I have to do is make it over the jumps without knocking anything down, falling off, or having Sandie refuse! ;-) Wish me luck, and perhaps I need to start a thread now called "Hey all you EVENTERS out there"! lol Got any tips for me?! 

I'd still like to enter a hunter/jumper show just to see what I think of it as well, but for now, I have Eventing on the board so far!! We'll see how Sandie likes showing...she's never been to a show in her life (so that makes two of us)!


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## XxXequinegrlXxX (May 24, 2008)

Flexion said:


> The typical hunter is judged on its movement, manners, and way of going, particularly while jumping fences. A hunter in the show ring should perform like a horse on a foxhunt, going around a course smoothly and steadily,and the horse should move freely. Ideally the majority of the movement occus form the shoulder and hip.
> 
> The speed of the round should not change very much from the controlled gallop. Judges don't like to see horses that get stronger and faster throughout the course.
> 
> ...




ah that is great information! i have my first rated hunter show coming up and i am very excited but always very nervous that we will get the striding messed up, she will knock one down, we will go too fast,,, ect ect ahhhh i think i am just going to focus on having fun and maybe it will then it will go good! haha


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