What are Long Stirrup and Pleasure?

So I ride a horse named Brewer, I lease him but he's basically mine cause I'm the only one who ever rides him and I ride him almost every day. He and I are working hard to get him into shape, but he is 23 and before I started with him 5 months ago (and 3 months before that with his owner) he was out to pasture for 10 years.

So there is a barn horse show on Friday, and I wanted to compete in it. I did a fake show with my mom with Brewer, where she called out different gaits and reverse and stop and so forth, and he did NOT do well. So I decided to ask to use a different horse for the show.

I wanted to do Low Hunters with a different horse. But Amy said since I signed up so late, all the horses are already accounted for. She suggested Brewer and I do Long Stirrup and Pleasure, and she said that she and my trainer both think that we would do very well. But I don't really know what they are. There are 3 classes of each, I assume 2 flats and a jump? And what are they judged on? What is like their reputation?

Sorry for the super long post I am just confused and wanna give you enough info to answer my questions.

Like will I be embarassed in either division being 17 with a 17.2hh horse? Will it all be preteens and ponies?

Not too sure what they mean by Long Stirrup, but pleasure will be judged on the horse, and how pleasurable he looks to ride. You want him on a nice loose rein (not too loose, you still need to keep control) and you want him to go nice and easy. Ask your trainer to work with you before the show on everything that will be asked of you. In the mean time work on your transitions, and keeping a nice even pace.

Don't ever worry about going into a division and being the oldest one, im 22 and am possibly showing a 12 hand pony in a walk trot division at the end of the summer.. know what that means? Me on an itty bitty pony with a bunch of kids most likely on bomb proof horses beating me :P.

Don't worry about it, just go and have a good time! The riders who go out and have fun are the ones who usually place better :)

Long stirrup is a beginner division for people 18+. In some places the age range is lower but that's what it is here. I show in Long Stirrup division and the fences are 2'. If any of your classes are equitation, then you are being judged more than your horse is. In the Hunter classes and probably your pleasure class, they are judging the horse more.

Oh that's good to know about Long Stirrup... haha, why is it called that though?

Long stirrup here is 14-18, short stirrup is 13 and under. :/ Dunno what it is where you are.

Haha I've always thought it was called that because the younger you are the shorter your stirrups :P Dunno the real reason.

I have no idea why they call it that. There is also a Rusty Stirrup, which is for 35+ beginners. What's funny is we have a Beginner Rider division but the fences are 2'6", which isn't really beginner stuff. Makes no sense to me.

Pleasure classes are for those sweet horses that aren't really super at any of the normal divisions, but are good mounts just the same. Smile, that will really tell the judge you enjoy riding the horse. Short Stirrup, Long Stirrup and Rusty Stirrup are all 2' divisions and usually the starter division for most riders. Remember at a show you usually go down a level, because the pressures of showing are going to cause a ton of problems, so it makes it easy because the classes aren't intimidating. I feel you on the embarresed part because for the longest time I had nothing to show on that could jump bigger, so I was stuck in lower divisions. I had plenty of horses I could do more on at home, but not ones I could take to a show. I finally got blessed with (I won't say better, because no one was better than the horse that taught me fundamentals) bigger jumping horses later in my teens. Good luck, have fun, smile, and in hack classes make sure to pass in front of the judge as often as possible and not get lost in the crowd.