The showmanship pattern

Last weekend Kadence and I showed in a showmanship class with a nice pattern.  It was a big pattern, as compared to most at the local level.  It was full of opportunities to get some pluses or minuses on the judge's card next to your number too.  It was a showmanship pattern open for interpretation, and done correctly, could really let a nice horse shine.

Please forgive my artwork, as I did this from memory in Photoshop.  But basically it went like this:

1. Be ready at the marker.
2. Trot around the corners to the halfway point.
3. Stop and perform a 360.
4. Trot around the corners and drop to a walk halfway to the judge.
5. Walk to judge and set up for inspection.
6. Back 6 steps.
7. Perform a 180 and trot to exit the pattern.

Interpreting a showmanship pattern

To say this was open for interpretation was a little bit of a misnomer.  After all, the pattern was clearly drawn for us.  It should be performed exactly as it was drawn.  But the intrepreting part comes in the actual doing.  Imagine yourself at a cone.  The judge is diagonally halfway across the arena from you.  No other cones, poles, landmarks or footprints exist in the arena (I had the first draw).  I needed to recreate that drawing in the arena dirt.  One of the main things I noticed in the written portion of the pattern was the use of the word "corners."  I had already decided that our pattern would be full of straight lines and sharp turns.

A handy showmanship horse

So this is where some homework comes in handy.  Kadence and I had been together for a long time, and the leading exercises for yearlings I outlined in this blog had turned into a solid base for her showmanship training.  She can easily follow my hand and speeds up or slows down based on my hand position as we perform right and left turns.  In deep arena dirt, it is much easier (as well as fancier!) for Kadence to change her speed than me.

Pick your spots

Before I even approached the cone, I studied the arena and decided where I needed to make my turns.  I only had a few seconds to do this since the judge walked out to her spot, turned, and nodded her head for me to proceed.  Once in motion, it would be difficult for me to see the judge over Kadence, so I picked a spot on the left hand rail to make the turn.  When I was a half a step from being halfway to the judge, I turned Kadence to the right again, all the while using my hands to guide her speed without every breaking down to a walk.  I could now see the original cone again.  I stopped at the halfway point.

Kadence and Jaime working the showmanship pattern.

Before beginning our 360, I quickly noted the exact fence post in front of us to be a landmark for our ending point.  Performing a 350 or 370 degree turn here would be catastrophic to the proper finish of the pattern.  I said "whoa" at 359 degrees, turned and stuck my hand forward and trotted off.  As I reached the line the original cone was on, I pushed my hand forward again so that Kadence would speed up and trot around me.  When I reached a point about one half a step before being in line with the judge, I pushed my hand forward again to ask Kadence to trot around me.

As I started up the final line, I checked to make sure my horse was trotting straight toward the judge (she was).  Judges are interested in seeing horses move, not people.  I have to admit that by this time I was getting a bit winded.  This is a lot of jogging in deep sand!  I reminded myself to keep my hands out in front of me in the correct showmanship position.  I glanced over to make sure I was in line with my 360 position, and dropped us both into a walk.  As I stopped in front of the judge and set Kadence up in two moves, my filly let out a big sigh.  I thought, "me too!"  That was a big pattern.  But we weren't done yet.

Finish strong!

Don't forget at this point that the showmanship pattern is not over.  Don't let your panting get the best of you!  Remember the quarter system and pay attention to the judge.  Smile through your gasps for breath!

As she excused us, I returned to the correct side of Kadence as asked her to back the six steps, which she did easily on a loose lead.  I was looking at a spot on the rail half an arena away that was straight.  Just like with the 360, an under or over turn here would kill the remainder of the pattern.  As we finished the sixth step, I asked Kadence to make the half turn.  As we stopped, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure her hip had ended up square with the judge.  I trotted clear down to the fence in a straight line.

Judge's tips for this showmanship pattern

Listed above is my memory of what I did in this pattern.  After the class, the judge gave us the following tips about how she wanted to see this pattern done as well as showmanship in general:

1. Decide where you are going before you ever begin.
2. Look up so you can see where you are going.
3. Keep your shoulders square while asking your horse to move in any straight line, forward or back.  Letting one shoulder lead you will push the horse's body in some direction other than straight.
4. When the judge only makes one lap around the horse during inspection, be sure to wait to be excused at the end.  Do not return to your intial starting position just because the judge returned to hers.
5. Position yourself beside the horse when backing.  Being in front of the horse is cause for disqualification according to AQHA rules.
6. Be sure to trot straight away after the 180 (evidently several people made a beeline for the exit gate, which was not in line with the pattern, but behind the original marker cone).

Showmanship patterns

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you comment below and then subscribe to my RSS feed!