# In your experiences.....



## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

When I was doing local shows (barrels), we were all super friendly and hung out with eachother outside of the shows. When I started running barrels for a check, (when I moved from NJ to MT) things seemed a lot less friendly. A few people would talk to me, but not like what I was used to. 
Now at the shows (not barrels) that I have gone to, people area all very friendly again. 

I know when I barrel race, I don't really talk to anyone when I am about to go in the ring. I run though the pattern mentally and just kinda get in the "zone". Once I'm done my run I like to think I am social. 

Dunno why that is


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Ah, I ride English & yes, like most shows (any discipline really)- there's always that one snobby crowd. Or rude in general. I just tend to ignore them. They can be really annoying, though. At my more recent shows people have been nicer, but you know, there's always that one person who is snobby!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

When we were still showing, we ran into people like that all the time. They had the most expensive trainers, horses, saddles, trailers, and trucks. Automatically in their mind, that made them better than anyone else even when their horse placed way down in the class. "Well, they just had a bad day. On any other day, he would have won." What is really bad is that they would place down consistently and still had the audacity to be snobby. I used to just look at them and then laugh at their "participant" ribbons. I would do like poptart and just ignore them.


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## StormyBlues (Dec 31, 2008)

At hunter shows, YES! OMG! I am SO over the hunter crowd here! They set up practically a living room outside of their trailers, flat screen tvs, couches, plants, rugs, and ALL of their ribbons that their push button pony won them. They think they are SOOOOOoo better than everyone! haha rant over! At eventing shows, we are like a family, everyone knows everyone, and you don't try to beat eachother, you try to beat the course.(I think David OConner said that...) It's great!


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

The higher up you go in any competitive sport the witchier it seems to get.:-(


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## Spastic_Dove (Oct 4, 2007)

Simple, True way to put it Spyder


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

I find that around my area, and the more people I get to know, the friendlier people get. Then again I live by the mantra "kill them with kindness" 
When I first got into dressage, everyone was very elitist and you didn't talk to certain people. Now there are only a few trainers like that in my area.
Get involved in the community or an organization and start making friends. People are a lot nicer to you if you are on a committee or have a bit of a "name" on the scene.


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## xilikeggs0 (Sep 14, 2008)

A few weeks ago, I went to a horse show at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo with my Percheron mare, Lacy. Naturally we were the center of attention among all of the quarter horses and appaloosas. At first people just kind of stared at us like "She is not really going to get on that horse... Is she? OMG, she is!"

Anyways, I had to climb on a railing thingy to mount her, and of course while I was in the warmup ring I dropped my glove somehow. I was waiting for my boyfriend to come back and tell me what class they were on, and I was going to ask him to pick it up for me, because there was no way I was going to get off and back on my crazy horse who was certain that the llamas 30 feet away wanted to eat her.

This little girl came up to the entrance, so I backed my horse up so she could come in, thinking she wanted to ride in there. She got off her horse, got my glove, handed it to me, then got back on her horse. It was the cutest thing ever, and it totally made my day. I don't even know where she came from or how she saw me drop it. There wasn't anyone near me that I could have asked to get it, but somehow she saw me drop my glove from wherever she was and came and got it for me.

Oh, and after the class, which we took 5th in (which is a miracle in itself, it took me a half a lap around the ring to get her to walk after they asked us to go from a trot to a walk), everybody and their brother came up and said how beautiful she is and how well we did and wanted to know everything about her.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

xilikeggs0 said:


> A few weeks ago, I went to a horse show at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo with my Percheron mare, Lacy. Naturally we were the center of attention among all of the quarter horses and appaloosas. At first people just kind of stared at us like "She is not really going to get on that horse... Is she? OMG, she is!"
> 
> Anyways, I had to climb on a railing thingy to mount her, and of course while I was in the warmup ring I dropped my glove somehow. I was waiting for my boyfriend to come back and tell me what class they were on, and I was going to ask him to pick it up for me, because there was no way I was going to get off and back on my crazy horse who was certain that the llamas 30 feet away wanted to eat her.
> 
> ...


That's such a cute story!! I know a girl who shows a mule in jumpers and like no one talks to her, and then she shows up with her horse and everyone talks to her.. it's so weird.. probably because the mule scares all the horses!
That's awesome that you and your horse did so well though!!


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## Dartanion (Dec 8, 2008)

*I've noticed that at local show people tend to be a lot more friendly. However sometimes you get the occashional AQHA, APHA, or "big" time hunter showers who wont give you the time of day. When I first started showing D in hunters (A jumping paint! god forbid!!) I was toally ignored. Then suddenly when I started winning everyone was nice to me and treated me like thier best friend... WIERD *

*THEN my friend who shows AQHA and is the nicest person in the world! was showing at a local show for fun and saw a fellow AQHA shower. Said hi and got no response, we we were talking about how she should write about this show in the QH journal and suddenly the woman came to us and said:
"You write for the journal?"
"Yeah.."
"What's your name?"
"Insert friends name"
"OH! I love your articals blah blah blah"*

*and now she acts like miss. nice girl after not talking to my friend for the first two years they showed together. *


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## Equinspire (Feb 28, 2009)

I've seen some people who are nice as pie to everyone when they're winning, but if they're losing... stay out of the way!! 

I've also been to shows where everyone is nice before the start of events and there's a great atmosphere, but after things get going you start seeing people forming their own little groups so they can talk about how they should have won, and how the judge needs a guide dog...


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