[xilikeggs0]

I was just looking at the horse show information for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. I was complaining to my boyfriend that there's no english shows around here when I noticed that they do have a few english classes. I'm thinking about entering my horse in the Walk, Trot - 19 and over class.

Here are my problems:
Try finding a 60" girth for less than $50, including shipping. I did, and this is what I ended up with:

Yes, that's a purple girth. It goes great with my nylon purple bridle, which I know I won't be able to use in the show. It looks like this:

I know a few people who might be able to help me out with getting a bridle to use for the show, though.

I'm thinking that because this is a western-dominated show (only 9 out of the 38 classes are english), that having a purple girth won't be that big of a deal. What do you guys think?

Also, my saddle is a little small for me. I've had it since I was around 10 or 11. I'm 20 now. I might be able to borrow one from somebody, but if I can't, is it a big deal? I'll try to get pictures of me in it so you can get an idea of how it looks. I should also add that it's a 16" (or maybe 16.5") saddle, and my horse is a Percheron/TB cross, so it looks ridiculously small on her. Or maybe I've just been in Texas too long and I'm starting to get used to the ridiculously large and heavy western saddles.

Here's the show info:
http://www.sarodeo.com/client/media/1825/3068/2009_premium_list_-_open_show.pdf

Should I bother trying to enter with what I have to work with?

 

[RockinTheBit07]

I would try and see if you can find someone who will lend you some english tack because from the show entry it says hunter/equitation which means you need to have tack that is mostly all the same color like a dark brown saddle, girth and bridle etc. I would use a white pad of some sort, and dress in breeches and hunt coat. I may be wrong but i dont think you should go into a hunter class with purple tack:wink:. What other tack do you have? like bridle/girth/saddle pad? I hope this helps, but i dont want to discourage you from showing because it sounds like a fun show! Oh and maybe you could contact the show people somehow and ask them what to do. Good Luck!

 

[welshy]

The most important thing is that your saddle is comfortable for your horse.
I've only ever done english riding as i live in england and altho i'd like to do western they never have any classes where i live. So i don't really know what the Walk, Trot - 19 and over class is?
But i do know you need your tack to be the same colour either black or brown. Your attire all depends on the class your entered in and as i said i don't know.

Sorry i couldn't be much help and Good Luck!!!

 

[My Beau]

The only english classes where you *might* be able to get away with a girth like that would be jumpers. But I wouldn't be caught with one of them...
Try to find someone with a bridle that is roughly the same color as your saddle and ask if you can borrow it. For the girth, you can buy one of the cheap white girth covers to mask the purple-ness. Just make sure it's long enough to cover all the way up to the elastic/buckles. You could even sew 2 together if they aren't long enough.

 

[G and K's Mom]

If you could borrow the longest girth you can find and then buy an extension for it. The extenders aren't that much. The girth covers are a good idea as well, you could even sew something yourself for real cheap.

If the saddle doesn't fit you anymore and the horse needs a 60 inch girth I'd be surprised if the saddle fits him...... ?????

Around here, if it's just a schooling show, you can get away with stuff that has some colour, but if it's a trophy show it's white saddle pad and black or brown tack.

 

[dressagegal]

Being an english girl I definately wouldn't use your purple girth lol
You need a saddle, normal girth [same colour as saddle], and a numnah that just goes under your saddle and doesnt show like a full numnah does [cant remember the name of it lol] and a bridle [matching colour to saddle].
Alowed any bit for it aswell.
Hope this helped
x

 

[xilikeggs0]

I would try and see if you can find someone who will lend you some english tack because from the show entry it says hunter/equitation which means you need to have tack that is mostly all the same color like a dark brown saddle, girth and bridle etc. I would use a white pad of some sort, and dress in breeches and hunt coat. I may be wrong but i dont think you should go into a hunter class with purple tack:wink:. What other tack do you have? like bridle/girth/saddle pad? I hope this helps, but i dont want to discourage you from showing because it sounds like a fun show! Oh and maybe you could contact the show people somehow and ask them what to do. Good Luck!

I have a regular brown Collegiate saddle with matching leathers, so the saddle isn't an issue other than size. I also have a plain white saddle pad, like this:

I also have a full show outfit that consists of field boots, breeches, a (purple :lol show shirt and collar, a jacket, and gloves. I did a few schooling shows in it back in Maryland and usually pinned, so I'm not worried about my show outfit not fitting in, just my tack.

I didn't have a bridle or girth when I moved down here because I didn't have a horse, so I ended up buying my bridle down here, which is why it's a western one, and I got my girth online because it was cheap and they don't have english girths anywhere around here.

 

[xilikeggs0]

The most important thing is that your saddle is comfortable for your horse.
I've only ever done english riding as i live in england and altho i'd like to do western they never have any classes where i live. So i don't really know what the Walk, Trot - 19 and over class is?
But i do know you need your tack to be the same colour either black or brown. Your attire all depends on the class your entered in and as i said i don't know.

Sorry i couldn't be much help and Good Luck!!!

My saddle fits her fine width wise, it's just really short on her.

I was assuming that the walk - trot class was english, since they said walk instead of jog.

 

[xilikeggs0]

If you could borrow the longest girth you can find and then buy an extension for it. The extenders aren't that much. The girth covers are a good idea as well, you could even sew something yourself for real cheap.

If the saddle doesn't fit you anymore and the horse needs a 60 inch girth I'd be surprised if the saddle fits him...... ?????

Around here, if it's just a schooling show, you can get away with stuff that has some colour, but if it's a trophy show it's white saddle pad and black or brown tack.

I don't know anybody around here with an english girth, but if I happen to find one, I'll do that. Thanks for the suggestion.

I was surprised that it fit her, too, but somehow it does. I'm just worried that my saddle is a little too small for my butt now.

 

[dressagegal]

That picture of the white numnah was what i ment! lol
It doesn't have to be white though. Over here we only use white numnahs for dressage. We tend to go for a black or brown, depending on the colour of your saddle.

 

[welshy]

My saddle fits her fine width wise, it's just really short on her.

I was assuming that the walk - trot class was english, since they said walk instead of jog.

Oh sorry at my local show they call it the intro to dressage lol i feel really dumb :lol:

and dressagegal's right that white numnahs are used for dressage classes the preferred is brown or black but as long as it's not a really bright patterned numnah i think it's ok.

anyway good luck at your show!!

 

[xilikeggs0]

I've never even seen a black or brown saddle pad (that's what you're calling a numhah?)... Maybe it's a European thing? We always use white in the US.

Good news - a lady from work has a bridle that she says I can use. She's going to bring it to work tomorrow so I can try it on my horse to make sure it fits her. She also has a matching saddle, but somebody else is borrowing it or something, so she's going to try to get it back from them. And she has a girth that she thinks will fit her. So I'm set tack-wise.

I just need to try on my show clothes and make sure they still fit... I've had them since I was like 12!

 

[RockinTheBit07]

Oh Yay!! Im glad you found somebody!! And I hope it all fits your horse and your show clothes fit you! Good Luck!

 

[xilikeggs0]

Oh Yay!! Im glad you found somebody!! And I hope it all fits your horse and your show clothes fit you! Good Luck!

Thanks! I hope everything works out. But it seems like the show is going to be a lot more expensive than I originally thought, so I might end up not doing it. It's only $6 per class, and I'm only entering one class, but then you have to rent a stall for $45, and you have to buy a $24 truck and trailer parking pass, and only the first 2 people are free to get in... It's $20 per person after that.

The ranch that my horse lives on is less than 3 miles from the place where the show is... I wonder if I could just ride her there... :?

But I was just looking at the previous results, and last year only 2 people entered the class that I want to do, and the year before only 3 people did, so I'm pretty much guaranteed to pin.

 

[G and K's Mom]

If it's a nice day and the road to get there is safe for riding go for it. It would be a nice outing for the both of you.