in this country. This is just the kind of horse which will not start quietly at a walk in the show ring. Probably our way of showing came into vogue at a time when the ladies’ saddle horse was a much quieter animal, with less of the hot thoroughbred blood in him than he has now.
A horse should enter the ring at a quiet, easy walk, not inclined, as I have said, to jigjog. He must keep in line—that is, follow the horse in front of him—unless his natural gait is faster, in which case you have the right to pass and can swing into line when you see a space.
He must take both the trot and the canter from the walk at command. The latter is particularly important in the ring, as it is not permitted to take the canter from the trot. He must canter easily, right or left, according to the way he is going around the ring. That is to say, when going around to the right he must canter on the right foot, and when going around to the left on the left foot. Parenthetically I may remark that the reason for this is that, at the canter, a horse’s body is held diagonally to the line of the direction in which he is going and pointed in the opposite direction to the foot on which he is cantering; that is to say, when he is cantering right his body is pointed diagonally to the left and vice versa. From this it follows that the foot on
which he is cantering must be on the inside of the circle or turn which he is making. Otherwise he is almost sure to cross his legs and very apt to fall.
It is very important, therefore, that a horse should be able to change his foot at command. It is always a strong point in a horse’s favor if he changes readily from the right to the left in cantering, and while a horse under the side-saddle should canter normally right, he must canter left when circling or turning to the left.
For the ring a horse must stand quietly, back and start readily, and, when the horses are lined up, he must be willing to leave the line and to show perfect manners up and down the ring.
Fortunately for the exhibitors, the old-fashioned way of putting horses through figure eights and small circles has been done away with. Now, all that is required in the ring is, first, walk your horse; then, at the command of the ring master, change his gait to a trot, and then, at command, walk again and then pass from the walk to the canter and continue cantering until the ring master tells you to stop, and, of course, make such changes of direction as he indicates.
Then the horses which are selected to stay in the ring are lined up and the others are given the gate.
Next, if the judges so desire, each of the horses lined up is put through his paces. Then the judges, after a detailed examination of each of the selected horses, award the ribbons—blue for first, red second, yellow third, and white fourth.
There are many important things to remember while riding in the show ring. The most important is to keep yourself and your horse under quiet control. Then, no matter what the decision may be, at least you have the satisfaction of having shown your horse at his best. It is important to have a place in line and try to keep it whatever it happens to be. It is not at all necessary to pass the rider ahead. Passing the rider ahead while in front of the judge, at least, looks premeditated. It makes it much harder for him to get a proper view of the horse you are passing and does not help him to view your horse, nor is it courteous to the other riders. If your horse naturally walks, trots, or canters a bit faster than the horse in front of you, so that, to show your horse to his best, it is necessary to pass, it is quite as easy to find an opportunity to pass somewhere else than just in front of the judge. So, when the ring master asks all the riders to line up, it is not necessary that they should all attempt to do so next to the judges’ stand. The judges do not remain there, and the fact that your horse is