Halter, Western Pleasure, Western Horsemanship

I'm doing a halter class, a western pleasure class, and western Horsemanship class at the state fair in a few weeks, and was hoping you all might be able to help answer some of my questions(: Please and advanced thank you! I'm actually an english rider, I do the hunters, but one of my pony's is western.
1) As for the halter class, it says "Showmanship at halter(English or Western)" Do you go in in a halter even if you(the rider) are in english clothing? Is a clean leather halter with a nameplate acceptable? Any certain leadrope I might need?
2) What do you(the rider) wear for the western pleasure?
3) What exactly do you do in the Western Horsemanship class? From what I've been told it's like a pattern of cones,etc?

Thanks again in advance!

I am definitely not an expert on any of this as I do it just for fun but for Showmanship I do it in Western clothing and I use a show halter like this. At my fair if you were to do showmanship in english I think you can use a bridle. But I don't really know anything about english AND they only do that for Walk/Trot.

For Western Pleasure I wear a nice show shirt with a little bit of bling, Western Show pants (From Hobby Horse), White Cowboy boots (or brown..), Helmet (Can't wear hats) and A blingy belt with a big ole buckle! I sometimes wear little button spurs depending on what horse I ride. And for Certain classes I wear my Black Chaps.

For Horsemanship.. I never do it cause I hate patterns but I do know that there IS a pattern.. Or there should be. I don't think the patterns are ever that difficult. They probably just consist of figure 8s and something like that.

I don't competitively show in Western Pleasure I just do it at my fair. So if anyone that does or if I said anything wrong feel free to correct me, I don't mind. (:

Hope some of this helps!

1) As for the halter class, it says "Showmanship at halter(English or Western)" Do you go in in a halter even if you(the rider) are in english clothing? Is a clean leather halter with a nameplate acceptable? Any certain leadrope I might need? I don't think so, I think you need an english bridle if you are showing english. If for western, it is a halter and western clothing.

2) What do you(the rider) wear for the western pleasure?
If you are just trying it, go for a nice clean button up shirt and jeans. If you were to be serious, I would go for a rail shirt, chaps, belt, hat and spurs.
3) What exactly do you do in the Western Horsemanship class? From what I've been told it's like a pattern of cones,etc?
Yes, you ride a pattern.
The pattern can consist of:
Walk
Trot
Lope
Halting from any gait
Turns as well as turning on the haunches for roll backs
Backing up
Going around cones

Answer in bold above.

Grooming and Showmanship with English attire typically allows either a halter or a bridle. If in doubt, check the rulebook for whatever organization is operating the show, or ask when you register. If you use a halter, it should be plain leather with no nameplate or silver bling, and should fit the horse well. Your lead should be a matching leather strap with a chain the same color as the hardware on the halter. The chain is run the same as in Western halter.

Most English G&S classes I see or compete in have a pretty even mix of entries in halters and in bridles.

Show pants, chaps, belt and boots (If these are all the same color, the overall picture looks really professional), Show shirt, and cowboy hat or riding helmet. Your show shirt should coordinate with your saddle pad. You can look up some pics of WP riders to get an idea of the styles of show shirts that are "In" now - lots of glitter, big collars and cuffs. Choose a color that complements your horse.
Hobby Horse Clothing Co. - Description

Western Horsemanship operates much like an equitation class, with a pattern to test the rider's ability to control the horse, etc. The focus is on the rider, as opposed to pleasure, which focuses on the horse. Your pattern will be posted ahead of time for you to memorize before you enter the arena. Cones will be placed in the arena to mark where a given movement needs to occur. Stay on the side of the cone that is shown on the written pattern, and make your transitions as prompt as possible (for example: if the pattern calls for a left lead lope at cone B, you should be picking up the canter as the horse's shoulder passes the cone).The pattern could be about anything, so work especially on your transitions, halts, backing, and precise circles, loops, and straight lines.

Good luck, and enjoy your state fair!!

Go to youtube and type in your classes... you will see many, many horsemanship patterns and you can practice them at home... set up cones so you can practice the prompt transitions noted above... make sure to keep correct body position... I watch a youtube video, set up my cones, and attempt the pattern the same day... Sometimes I have someone record me so I can see all the areas I need work - typically I lose my upper body position and let my legs get too far forward... have fun at the show!!

If you're showing at a State Fair, you're probably going to be in a 4H or breed show. Whatever association you're showing with has a rule book, and it will tell you what you must wear. If it's a local show club, you could look at the rules in the AQHA book and PROBABLY be covered. I do know at ApHC shows, in English showmanship you have to use a bridle (if it's a full cheek snaffle, bit loops are mandatory).