Mardi, how did you enjoy judging at Equestrian in the Vines?

Equestrian in the vines, organised by The Thoroughbred Club, was a very enjoyable show to judge at. The Thoroughbred Club has been hands on promoting off the track horses, within other disciplines for years so it was only fitting that they would host their first show within the Horsesports event, where their values are aligned.

The founder, Sharon Lenton, approached many businesses within the racing industry for their support and the response was overwhelming. Sharon has a group of professional women who come from all areas in the racing industry, known as the Thoroughbred Girls, who all pulled together to host this event.

Equestrian in the vines was very competitor friendly, featuring a diverse range of classes, eg the Chautauqua class for grey horses and a class for horses that had been OTT less than 12 months, with great prizes for all placings.

How did you rate the quality of the entrants?

The quality of horses presented was very good. There was a broad range of OTT thoroughbreds from horses that had been OTT less than 12 months to seasoned royal show winning TBs. The OTT led classes were particularly well supported, with good numbers and quality in all sections. Ridden classes were divided into open hack and show hunter classes allowing competitors to choose according to their type.

How do you assess Fashions on the Field which is a class growing in popularity?

Fashions on the field is definitely growing in popularity. It has moved away from just the race track to other horse events. Equestrian in the vines had 2 types of FOTF classes – open fashions and handler classes.  

When judging FOTF you are assessing fashions for race days and there are general rules to be observed:

• Season – choosing appropriate colours and fabrics for the season
• Appropriate/co-ordinated accessories – shoes, gloves, handbags, millinery
• Coverage – not too much skin revealed
• Millinery – suited to the outfit and season

The fashions should be assessed on the use of the elements and principals of design and how well they work together – the use of colour, texture, shape and line.

How much does practicality of dress and footwear come into it? It's not easy leading a highly strung thoroughbred around in a set of heels!

The judging of the handler needs to consider the fashionable aspects but also the functional aspect of leading a horse. Functional aspects to be considered include:

Appropriate footwear for leading a horse - stilettos are difficult to lead in, white may get dirty easily, open toes are a safety aspect

Handbags - make it difficult to securely hold reins

Headwear that is well secured and not going to be dislodged if a horse gets difficult.

Nothing too tight as you should be able to run if needed.

Clothing should not be too flowing or sheer or short as this could move around too much and frighten the horse.

What do you look for in a thoroughbred show horse, firstly a led horse?

Judging led thoroughbreds is no different to most breeds and relates to assessing correct conformation, soundness and way of going.

Conformation defects cause deviations in the way a horse moves. In a led class structural correctness needs to be looked at particularly in the legs. Some examples of undesirable faults are bow legged, toes out, base narrow, calf knee, sloping pasterns, hoof shape… A thoroughbred should have long and well proportioned legs.

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