Articles

An Amateur Point of View:

Horse Shows:
They are not about you and me. They’re about Us.
by Russ Vento

Since I’ve been writing this column, I’ve been pleased with all the feedback I’m getting from readers—not just about things written here, but about the industry in general. A particular conversation the other day got me thinking. I heard from a man who had had some frustrating experiences owning Arabian horses; he had gotten into the wrong hands a few times, and he was on the verge of getting out. Many of us have been through the same thing and gone through the same emotions. Not everything about owning, breeding and showing horses is perfect.
  Of course it can be argued that nothing is ever perfect. I agree. Or that we horse people can be world class complainers. Maybe. But none of that should stop us from trying to make this business better. We need more people getting in, not considering getting out. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve devoted 45 years of my life to Arabian horses, and without being negative, I think there are several matters which would bear discussion. Because we’re in the middle of show season, why not start with horse shows?

The Marathon Of Classes

One issue attracting a lot of comment is the exhausting schedule of some of our shows. We start at 8:00 in the morning and go till 11:00 at night. We have classes for blue horses, pink horses, horses with yellow spots, and it’s nonstop. We have too many classes that have been proven unnecessary because there are only one or two horses in them, and they make our shows long and boring. Try bringing friends to watch you show (“Oh my god, it’s like five hours till you show! What am I supposed to do?”). Then they watch these one- and two-horse classes. 
  I understand that a lot of the pressure for these classes comes from exhibitors. In my opinion, we need to examine ourselves and our situations. If we’re going to complain about something, we need to make sure that our motivation is not sour grapes; if we say something isn’t working, we need to mean not working for everyone. For instance, if we say, “I don’t want to show against the pink horse. It’s just not fair,” is it not fair because we’re not ready to compete against the pink horse? Or is it not fair for anybody to compete against the pink horse? With our new point system, we can earn our way to regionals and nationals in so many ways that we couldn’t before; now we can rack up points not only in amateur, but in junior horse and open as well, and for more placings than even before. So why worry about showing against competitors that are new to us? Besides, every class provides experience; everything is about getting better at what we do. 
  To take it further, at some shows, do we really need all the age splits, other than for young riders? Think about it. A 15 to 20 horse class? That’s awesome! I’d love to compete in that class. 
  The bottom line is, with the new point system, all those things are good and positive. If you believe in yourself and your horse, there’s no reason you can’t go out there and beat an older or younger rider, or even trainer—or at least give them a run for their money.
  At a large or regional show, of course, we need and already have division splits and cuts, etc. To make it more exciting, why not, in the larger divisions where we have as many as three to four cuts before a final, place those classes? Then we could go on to a championship or grand championship. It would make the cuts a little more interesting and worthwhile.
  At the Nationals, where of course we have age cuts, we currently like to give everybody a semi-finalist ribbon. But do we really need to split a 16-horse class, where eight horses are going to be pulled forward? Wouldn’t it be just as satisfying to be able to say, “I went to the Nationals and was Top Ten out of 16”? In my opinion, this is another example of where we’re just trying to make too many people happy. Of course to try to limit class splitting due to number of entries, we all need to be diligent about scratching our horses when we don’t intend to show (as the show reminds us to). Sometimes so many horses are entered that the show, expecting a 20-horse class, splits it in good faith … and then, with many undeclared scratches, only five or six horses actually show.
  The bottom line is, we could make the show experience more fun for everyone. I remember growing up in this business, when we would start at 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning, and we had some evenings off (at the Estes Park Horse Show, we all went to drive go-carts at night). The shows were family-oriented. If you had a four-horse trailer, you put four geldings in it (enough for you, your brothers and sisters and your mother and dad). Your vacations were at horse shows. That doesn’t mean that the shows weren’t competitive and exciting, or that the future “big names” of the breed weren’t coming out at Scottsdale every year. All those things were still there. It is just that there wasn’t as much of it all.
  So here is a thought: Let’s have four or five classes on Friday and Saturday night, representing each division, and then have dinner. Among other benefits, there would be time to work your horses early instead of being limited to the hours between midnight and 3:00 a.m. It also would allow some time to be social, and it is worth remembering that sometimes the best business is done on social occasions. As an example, progressive barn parties can be great. Why am I spending $1,000 to feed a bunch of strangers? To promote your farm and the Arabian horse. However, if you’re going to spend the money, take the time to do it right. Don’t be rushing because you’re in the first class at 7:00 a.m.

These Long, Long Classes

I went to a horse show recently where we went eight laps the first way of the ring. It was a big class, with 10 or 11 horses, but eight times was not necessary. Everyone was exhausted. 
We’re being judged on the whole performance, not one direction. What was left of the rest of the class? I’m not trashing that particular judge; if it were only that one person, I wouldn’t be bringing it up. 
  Judging a class is not about beating your best horse or ‘survival of the fittest.’ With where our industry is now, sustaining a 25-minute class is a huge deal at a Class A show, and it is unnecessary. Let’s speed things up at the smaller shows; other than mistakes, so many of the horses are going to walk, trot and canter, and you can judge them at one to one-and-a-half laps each.
  To speed up hard-fought—and therefore long—classes, I suggest we try to get work-offs approved. How better to speed up a class than to have a work-off? It’s incredible for the crowd and it’s incredible for the exhibitors. The only reason we don’t do them is that there is a rule against it. Well, let’s lighten up. Let this be fun.
  In many instances, another way to speed up a class comes after it is over. We have incredible photographers in our industry, but sometimes the ribbon and photo presentations take longer than the classes. We call out the Top 8 and then the Champion and Reserve, with standing pictures and rail pictures, and sometimes as many as three laps for the right victory pass shot. Let’s do it like a regional; call the Top 3 (for Class A, Top 8) from the line-up, and then the champion and reserve. With everything being done from the line-up, the time would be cut down enormously.

The Infernal Loudspeaker

We go to horse shows because they are our relaxation, or our business and we are promoting our breeding stock. All in all, they are our enjoyment. But look at what happens when we get there: We are yelled at constantly over the loudspeaker. Put your dogs on a leash! Keep your stalls clean! Watch your electricity! Be on time for your class! If you don’t change this, we’re going to charge you $25! It’s like being in high school again. Everything is a penalty; everything is a scolding. Wouldn’t it be nice if horse shows became more exhibitor-friendly?
Perhaps these issues could be addressed when people check in at the office. We can all agree that these are legitimate issues that make horse shows run well (and our shows do run very well), but can’t they be covered all at once, early on, so that they don’t spoil the atmosphere?

The Chaotic Size Of Regionals

At the regional level now, we have four and five rings going because we have sport horses, dressage, reining, and traditional showing. It’s like a circus, with so much going on at once. The sad thing is that the disciplines don’t support each other at all. The sport horse and dressage people don’t watch the show horses, and a lot of the show horse people don’t watch dressage and sport horses. The reiners want the footing different from the English and the western, and the English and western don’t want to show on footing for reiners. It’s all become so specialized that we’ve lost our sense of community.

“Blackmail” Fees

At many of our shows, the larger barns are expected to purchase patronships. Where that organization is stabled (front row or the south forty, enclosed barn or tents and port-a-stalls, permanent barn or on asphalt) depends on how many customers pay for patronships. The bigger farms should be rewarded for bringing 25 horses to a horse show, and the same goes for those who have played a major role as a breeding farm for 20 or 30 years. Those are all positive things. Now, in order to get the better stalls, they have to write more checks? I don’t have a good answer, but I with there were another way to do it. 

All That Paperwork, With All Those Signatures!

I appreciate our associations and our show secretaries, but I am sad that we seem to have lost the trust factor. There may be a legitimate reason for this, but it’s not a good way to feel. When we go to a show, we have to prove we own the horse, we have sign for the mother, the father, the youth, the trainer, the rider—half a dozen signatures on the back of an entry form. 
  With everything so computerized, can’t we develop a better system? We register our horses with AHA, and we pay most of our fees there. We also do our show entries online. If there were some way we could link these two functions, it would make things more expedient for everyone. Perhaps AHA could create a master disc that could be sent to each show, reflecting everyone who is paid up on the relevant fees. Or we could be issued a card (like a credit card), with all our information on it, proving that our fees and memberships are up to date. Or perhaps, upon payment of our fees, we could be issued skew numbers that could be stuck on our entry paperwork. Or maybe someone who understands the situation and the workings of computers better than I do could design a system that would work conveniently. There’s got to be an easier way.

A Few Big Shows Or Lots Of Little Ones?

I don’t want to trash the horse shows, but some of them are becoming businesses. Any club—and we have lots of clubs—can have a horse show. I think we should consider combining some of those shows; say, turn eight small events into four big ones. Rather than businesses, I’d like to see horse shows as group efforts in the promotion of the Arabian horse. I don’t object to their making money. I’d just rather see 350 to 400-horse shows than 75 to 100-horse shows. And surely not a four-day 100-horse horse show! A 100-horse horse show could be done in a day, and it can have all the classes and all the excitement. We just need to say to our judges, “This is not a big show. We like to socialize, we like to have people involved, and we would appreciate it if you would judge the classes expediently.” 

Judges

It is so easy to complain about judges, and we all do. We say it’s political, the shows are picking the wrong judges, and so on. Actually, we need to recognize that judges aren’t infallible. They get tired, just as exhibitors do. We need to appreciate that and support making things easier for them. And if we really don’t like the judges, were we at the meeting where they were selected? Did we send in a proxy vote? Let’s not be argumentative. Let’s be informative.
  I suggest that shows have new judges at least every three years. We amateurs should get more involved in shows in our area and make sure that we’re not seeing the same judges all the time. There are lots of great judges out there, young and old. We all seem to be obsessed with getting ‘name’ judges because they are good, or expedient, or whatever—but the newer judges need to get experience too.

Miscellaneous Suggestions

Making the shows more fun and worthwhile. Why can’t we have ceremonies to mark the retirement of exceptional show horses, or to honor those who earn awards such as Legion of Merit, etc.? Perhaps there could be one each night. When I grew up, Legion of Merit parties were a huge thing. Recognition of awards would encourage those new to the business to aspire to those honors. Retirement ceremonies inspire everyone to recall the career of a very good show horse. Or we could present Youth of the Year or Amateur of the Year awards. Yes, they can time consuming, but if we make a few little schedule adjustments, we can be more supportive of our horses and amateurs.
Offer informative events at our shows. The magazines attend our shows. Certainly it’s a business for them and they are there to sell advertising, but I’ll bet that their editors would be happy to contribute their time to speaking with exhibitors. Or how about a seminar of questions and answers with four well-known trainers? There are so many things that amateurs would enjoy—and I mean amateurs across the board, including sport horse people, dressage people, reiners, and those of us who ride in the traditional disciplines—because most of us believe that we can learn something from everyone.

The Amateur Voice: What We Can Do

I want to make it really clear that I am not bashing the horse shows or the horse show managers; they have a huge job, and I commend them for trying to do what we want.
  As amateurs we need to use our voices and talk to the horse show commissions. In other words, get involved. It is so easy as exhibitors for us to complain about everything. (“Why didn’t you do this? Why don’t I have that? My stalls are wrong, the shavings are wrong.” I mean everything.) Why not approach it with the attitude of “This didn’t work this year. How can we do it next year?” Let’s not take an argumentative attitude. Yes, we’re paying money and it’s expensive to show, and it’s stressful. But were we involved ahead of time? I know what horse shows we’re going to next year. We have schedules. What can I do to help? (This is also an excellent way for those of us who don’t own horses but love Arabians and shows to get involved—volunteer!)
  As I said, the horse shows are trying to do what we want. But what they are trying to do is make too many people happy, and it’s creating chaos. As amateurs, we need to support these shows by saying, “Hey, we don’t need nine amateur western classes (or amateur English classes, or whatever). Do an JOTR, an AOTR, a junior horse and an open.” Have five classes in each division, five championships in each division, and let us all support them. In the bigger divisions, that will make for bigger classes, and there will be more spectators in the stands because each of those exhibitors usually counts for two people to watch.
  And how about helping at the show itself? Do I need to volunteer? I might have an hour to watch the gate or I could be part of a hospitality team that goes to the stalls with bottles of water when the weather is hot. All the shows have patron programs where food is provided, but many farms don’t have time for lunches. Region 9 had an incredible patrons program where they brought box lunches to your stalls. There are ways, such as box lunches, water, doughnuts, coffee, to make things easier for the exhibitors. A volunteer who lined up sponsorship for treats like that would be very appreciated.
  We just need to remind ourselves that the horse shows are trying to make it all work, and we need to get in there and support them. I’m not saying that a lot of us aren’t already involved; I just think that not enough of us are. Our horse shows are all volunteer. There are very few paid jobs, so let’s all do our part. If five amateurs devote even five hours, that’s going to help the horse show more.

Can It Really Be Done?

Am I asking for too much here? Fantasizing things that could never happen? I don’t think so. Some things, like a more comprehensive system of show paperwork, might take some time to develop, but some shows have already dealt with many of my concerns. I was fortunate enough to judge a regional this year that was five days long, from Tuesday to Saturday. The schedule was good, with two two-and-a-half hour breaks, so we weren’t there all the time, and show management had all kinds of things going on for the exhibitors. The staff was extremely professional and outgoing; they had people that went to the barns and asked the exhibitors, “How are things going? What can we do for you?” They were taking care of concerns and fixing problems before they could happen. It was awesome.

In closing, I want to say again that I’m not complaining about horse shows and I’m not complaining about exhibitors. I’m just saying that there are issues that we need to get together and get involved in as a group to benefit everybody—exhibitors, show horses, the whole breed. Plain and simple, we have to make it fun. What I’m being told is that people are not having a good time. We can do our part to fix that.

One-On-One: Questions From Readers

From Jacqueline Hyams, who lives about four hours from her trainer and horses. I take lessons on my horse at my barn about three times every two weeks or so, she writes,but when I get home I feel like I’m wasting time that I could be using to benefit my riding.  Can you give me any tips on how to continue working on riding when away from the barn?
  Jacqueline, I think the greatest benefit for all amateurs is time in the saddle. It doesn’t necessarily have to be on your horse. Find a friend’s horse, a lesson horse, something in your area and spend time riding. For instance, a broodmare will work fine to improve your posting and your cantering. Videotape your rides with your trainer, and ask how to work on those things when you’re not with your own horse. I’m in the saddle as much as I can; it used to be on babies and now it’s on old broodmares, cantering and just keeping my balance up. If you use a lesson horse at a barn close to home, your trainer could talk to the instructor there about what you need to work on. But I think your trainer would agree that time in the saddle is the most important thing.

From Clare Todd, who suffered an injury, as I did, in a fall from a horse. Still on physical therapy, she looked forward to practicing on a young mare she had bred—but the mare turned out to be quite a bit more challenging than a lesson horse. I was incredibly tense,she writes, and since then I can’t seem to get over the fear that my horse is going to buck me off, because she’s been ridden for two years by the trainer and here I come and can barely sit in the saddle. I’m much better now physically, but still wonder how to get over the mental injury. … Though I’ve fallen off horses before, I’d never been bucked off and hurt, so how do I get over it? How did you? 
  Clare, it’s like falling off a bike. You have to get back on. I know from my injury that the fear never really goes away; I think it will always sit in the back of your head. The biggest thing is conquering your fear. We’ve talked about nerves and showing—you’re nervous that something is going to happen again. If your horse has a bucking problem or a training problem, it needs to go to a trainer and be fixed without you. If those problems are not fixed, you need to reassess your situation and make sure that it is a true amateur horse. If it’s not an amateur horse, or if it’s not ready for an amateur, then you need to move on. 
  But back to your question: The fear is always going to be there. We’re not 20 anymore. We don’t heal as fast. We’re not invincible anymore. It’s a control thing; you have to control your emotions and your nerves, and that builds confidence. I don’t get on a horse without worrying about it. But I take a deep breath, get on, and spend a lot of time walking before I do anything else. I spend lots of time just taking my time.

For anyone who would like to email questions, topics, or comments, I can be reached atinfo@battagliafarms.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Russell Vento Jr. has been involved in the Arabian industry for 25 years, and since 1989 has been a partner in Battaglia Farms. He was honored twice with APAHA Amateur Horseman Awards. To date, he has owned or shown 30 U.S., Canadian and National Show Horse national champions, and he now enjoys watching his daughter Skyler win on many of the horses with whom he was successful. He has been a Large R USAE/AHA judge since 1996.