What are the judges looking for?

I am showing hunters in the w/t/c pleasure and w/t/c equitation any tips?

Well all I gotta say is that every judge is different. There are some who like the 'crank the nose to the dirt' to the all natural level top line and action of the horse. Yes, there are a lot sadly, who I don't agree with, but hey I show for fun so their opinions don't really matter half the time for me haha.

In pleasure they are supposed to look for how the horse is trained and how he/she moves and knows and behaves.

In equitation they are supposed to look for horsemanship and how the rider rides overall.

That is pretty much I know haha.

In pleasure they will be looking more at the horse than they will you. Does he move along nicely and willingly? Does he have smooth transitions between the different gaits? Etc. You can typically have a little longer rein to really let them stretch their head down a bit. Not too far but the judges usually don't like a horse that has his head high up in the air.

In eq., they are watching the rider more than the horse. Your reins should be shorter and you should be sitting up a bit more than you would in pleasure. Be sure to have great heels and your toes pointing towards the horses nose. Quiet hands, nice position, etc. Also, the judges might ask you to do other things that they wouldn't in pleasure, like sitting trot. I have even heard of judges making you dismount and remount, or dismount and switch horses but that's not likely. If you can, watch an eq. class in another division to see what the judges are asking of the riders so you know what to prepare yourself for when you go in.

Good luck!

Thanks! I have alot to work on O.O lol!

Don't we all. Haha.

Thank goodness! I thought it was just me O.O lol

Sorry for double posting but I forgot to add me and my baby just got 1st in pleasure! (not sure how on earth that happened now that I know what the judges are looking for lol)

Nice job!!

I'd love to know the answer to that question and I have 40 blue ribbons!

Yeah, all judges are different; I like to just make sure everything is good, because you never know what they're gonna look at! ;)
I'd watch my EQ; & make sure at the posting trot I'm on the correct diagonal, & that my leads at the canter are right.
Congrats for getting first, that's great!