hi there today we're going to talk about what the judge is looking for at the
trot and canter this is a request from Cathy gh thanks very much Cathy for
giving us this request and if you have a request please send me an email or it's
put it in a comments I look at all the comments hi there my name is Laura Ellen
May and welcome to another video if it's your first time here please remember to
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today we're going to be talking about what the judge is looking for and how
your horse should be moving at the trot and canter in an under saddle class
please remember to stay to the end because I've put together a little quiz
a little fun quiz just to make sure you're paying attention during this
judges generally speaking really want you to succeed in your class we really
want you to do well but there's people in the class you paid your money and
there has to be a winner so we have to pick the winner based on performance
movement and manners I like the hunter jumpers I usually get to judge the
grassroots local provincial regional and national level horse shows so I get to
see everything from verses that just get hauled out of the pasture to Brent to
the horse show all the way up to national level compare are some lovely
horses out there but we also get our fair share of first-timers or people who
aren't sure what they're doing in the ring so the first thing is the
performance they say that yeah you know what the best movers should win the
class but I say your horse can be the best mover out there but if you're going
around on the wrong lead you're not gonna get a ribbon the best mover on the
wrong lead won't win a class if there's other horses they
correctly and of course number one is you have to have a good clean
performance now if you're in a green or novice class and you pick up the wrong
lead and you change it quickly and smoothly without a big fuss then I could
probably forgive you for that so if you're in a novice or green class and
you mess up here Lee bring your horse back down to a trot pick up the correct
lead you'll be forgiven probably be forgiven but if you go around on the
wrong lead and make a big fuss your horse's head goes up and there's lots of
resistance that's gonna be marked against you so beware if you do get it
wrongly just bring your horse back and push your horse back up into the canter
and get the correct lead quickly and efficiently without drama
so watch till the end there's a little quiz at the end put your answers in the
comments below love to hear how you did so the first thing is performance the
second thing is movement your should move well and that's an important thing
should be a nice mover and all horses moved and some horses just moved nicer
than others and depending on your breed type of horse the class specification
might be a little different resource so check your class rules on what the breed
and what your show is asking depending on the breed and discipline you may find
some differences in the horses movement think Clydesdale Clydesdale or Hackney
they've got more knee action and left the b-type higher versus your western
pleasure horse that is a long long low frame and stretched out movement so
check your discipline rules to see what it is that they actually require for the
hunter under saddle your horse should be quiet calm and rhythmic the horse should
have a steady even pace and not scoot away from you when you're in the ring at
all no shine no running or opera the cantering or trotty should be nice and
steady throughout your bull ride at the trot the versa side legs should be
tracking up and that means the horse's hind feet should step into the hoof
print that the horse's front feet have made and your horse should be going
forward without going faster or unbridled speed so forward without going
faster it's called impulsion here are three things that the judge is
looking for when you're at the trot in an under saddle class number one a long
slow bold stride and by bold I mean forward without going faster I have
written here not fast and hurried but a ground covering steady trot with relaxed
free-flowing movement and that's really what we're looking for ground covering
trot with relaxed free-flowing movement that's important and you want to see the
horse sweeping from the shoulder not much
knee action but sweeping through from the shoulder I call that daisy cutter'
action number two number two we like to have a relaxed top line and top line is
from the horse's ears all the way over their top back right down to their tail
one thing that to be relaxed with the horse's nose slightly in front of the
vertical the horse doesn't necessarily have to be in a frame but the horse's
nose should be slightly in front of the vertical with a light contact
and the third thing that the judge likes to see is a pleasant disposition and
that means no ear pinning or tail ringing that type of thing their judge
has to see that the horse looks like it kinda likes its job that it's doing like
it's enjoying itself up there and you should also make it look like you're
enjoying yourself when you're out there riding it the horse should be obedient
and happy and generally speaking the horse should appear efficient and
effortless when it's going out and going around the brain at the canter that
judge likes to see these three things number one an even rhythmic canter with
definite three beats three beat canter and again the horse should be a nice
brown covering counter forward without going fast forward without going fast
and without unbridled speed nice steady canter number two again relaxed top line
with a nose slightly in front of the vertical sometimes the horses get into
the canter they get excited they start to go fast they raise their head up and
they tighten up through the back that's no good we don't like to see a tight
back we want to see the horse nice and calm and relaxed throughout its top-line
right from the tip of his nose right down to his tail and that's one way that
the judge can tell if your horse is relaxed that the horse's tail is kind of
gently swaying back and forth and that also shows not only does it show
relaxation but it also shows that the horse is swinging up underneath itself
with its hind legs and using its hind quarters properly so that's also really
important the judge likes to see a nice nice steady canter and one way that
judge did see that is that the horse's tail is swishing not swishing the
horse's tail is just swinging or swaying side to side as the horse reaches up
underneath itself with its hind legs at the canter the horse should have a
steady head carriage and we kind of just touched on that sometimes the horses get
a little faster because there's several horses cantering at the same time so
they get a little excited they start running the rider grabs on the horse's
mouth and that makes them bring their head soon as the judge sees that the
horse's head is up and you're fighting with the horse that's gonna drop you
down so a nice steady head carriage rounded through the frame and the third
thing that the judge likes to see is the horse likes the job he's doing no ear
pinning or tail switching again the horse has to be relaxed and going
forward briefly the wawk wawk should be four beats one thing that will knock you
down if you horse has a ladder walk our walks with both legs on the
same side together going forward divorce should have an even poor beat block one
two three four and not a lateral walk stay tuned for the little quiz
so there's summary of the things that the judge likes to see