Class Descriptions

If you have never shown before or are familiar with our class names, don't worry, we're here to make your showing successful.

Halter

Halter is a type of horse show class where horses are shown "in hand," meaning that they are led, not ridden, and are judged on their conformation and suitability as breeding stock. You'll walk towards the judge, the judge will step to the side and you begin your trot when you're across from the judge. Trot to the lineup and setup your horse for the judges inspection.

Showmanship

It involves a person on the ground leading a horse, wearing a halter or bridle, through a series of maneuvers called a pattern. The horse itself is not judged on its conformation. Exhibitors are judged on exhibiting the animal to its best advantage, with additional scoring for the grooming and presentation of both horse and handler.

English/Western Rail

The purpose of working English/Western rail is to reward horses that display the natural self-carriage of a working horse; a ground-covering, forward-moving stride without excessive speed; balance; cadence; and ease of use.

English/Western Pattern

The pattern class is a horsemanship class is designed to evaluate the rider's ability to execute, in concert with their horse, a set of maneuvers prescribed by the judge with precision and smoothness while exhibiting poise and confidence, and maintaining a balanced, functional and fundamentally correct body position.

Cart

In judging the cart horse class (as well as all the harness classes), the judge takes into consideration both the conformation of the horse as well as its manner of going. A cart horse should have a good fast snappy trot and carry its head up, thus looking alert. You will start at a walk, then into a trot, walk and change directions and then trot and finish at a walk.

Freestyle

This is an opportunity to show off your horses abilities. It can be riding, it can be ground, it can be tricks, it can be whatever you would like to impress the judge with. You have to have a minimum 30 seconds up to 1:30 seconds in length for your video.