A Public Service Announcement From One Of Your YHS Handlers

It’s that time of year again, when the leaves fall from the trees, horses get an extra spring in their step, and some of the best young horses in this country congregate at the Young Horse Show Finals held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC. If you don’t know me, I am Victoria Lustig, and I am one of three people certified by the YHS to run the jump chute at their shows. You might have seen me at several qualifiers around the country, and you will see me as one of the team members in the chute at the Finals in Tryon.

All of the management, staff and volunteers at the Young Horse Show Series want to see every young horse succeed. And that is not just lip service. As someone who is behind the scenes, and has been a competitor, I can tell you we really mean that. In light of that, there are 6 things that I want to mention that everyone can do to help their horse perform its best at the YHS finals:

1. If you are showing a horse in a halter, please please put your number on the buckle of the crown piece, NOT on the metal circle that connects the cheek pieces to the throatlatch. Why you might ask? When the bridle number is hooked onto the metal circle, the number can move, slide, flip, and just generally freak out any young horse who catches a glimpse of it out of the corner of their eye. When attached to the buckle, it generally moves a lot less and causes a lot less head-shaking, head tossing, and unhappiness. It’s a small thing, but trust me, it matters.

2. Even though the jump chute is obviously not an under saddle class, the fit of your equipment is still incredibly important. This is really an overlooked aspect of showing horse in-hand. As one of the people that is getting handed your young horse I can tell you, I see a lot of halter and bridle fit issues. And I promise you, the fit of your halter or bridle can affect the performance and overall impression of your horse. It’s important to get your horse use to its bridle before it comes to the show, just a few sessions can make a huge difference. Next, and one of the most common issues I see, is bridle fit. Look, I know that no one wants to put their $500 bridle on their 2 year old, and I am not at all suggesting that, but making sure your bridle is comfortable for your horse is very important. Even though no one is riding the horse, I (or the other YHS handlers) will be putting pressure on the bit and/or nose band when we are handling the horse. If the nose band is too tight, or too low, or if the bit is too low or too tight it will detract from your horse’s appearance and often it’s behavior. It can also genuinely make the handlers’ job much harder. Adjust your bits on your young horse just as you would for your riding horse, making them looser is not kinder or gentler. As a final aside, having clean tack is an important part of presenting your horse, however, remember to wipe-off and rub-in any excess oil with a dry cloth before your horse comes to the ring. It’s really hard to hold horses when your hands are sliding.

3. On the note of bridles, do remember that according to YHS rules yearlings are to be presented in a halter, bridles are optional for 2 year olds and required for 3 year olds and up. If you have a 3 year old or up that cannot wear a bridle, you just need to notify YHS show management before the start of the show.

4. If you need to use a chain to bring your horse to the jump chute, keep in mind a few things: If your horse is wearing a halter, make sure your chain is not laying flat across the nose, it should always be wrapped around the noseband. To be completely honest, chains often wind up the young horse more than they actually aide in control, especially if the chain is used as a tool of punishment instead of a hard “no” and release. But look, I am also a realist, so I understand, everyone needs to do what they need to do. Next, if your horse is wearing a bridle and your horse needs a chain, put a halter over your bridle and put the chain on the halter. This goes for any age group. This is a YHS rule, chains are not to be used directly on bridles. If you need to use the chain and a halter, please then bring a set of clip-on reins that you hand us in the chute, and we can take the halter off, present your horse in a bridle, and put the halter and chain on before we hand you your horse back.

5. As per YHS rules, horses being presented in a bridle need to have clip on or removable reins. It is genuinely a safety issue for the handlers. It is a dangerous moment when we have to let the horses go free to see them at liberty. Anything that prevents us from letting go exactly at the moment we need to, puts us in firing range. The other option is using a lead shank that has two snaps that go on either side of the bit, or you can even use a lunging converter to connect to your bit and then attach your lead rope to that. What I am getting at here, is please do not present your horse with something clipped to only one side of the bit, whether that be a lead rope, one rein, or the end of a lead shank. Having control of only one side of your horse’s mouth would be a terrible idea when riding, and it makes it much harder for the handlers to control and correctly stand up your horse on the ground too.

6. Lastly, even if your horse has done a YHS jump chute many times before, even if your horse has been to YHS finals for the past one, two or three years, I HIGHLY recommend doing the schooling jump chute class. Just as you would always school your horse under saddle before you went into your class, even if your horse had been to a hundred shows, the schooling jump chute offers your horse those same benefits. There is nothing worse for me than having a horse have difficulty during the class when all it needed was to jump through a few times to get comfortable during schooling. This is also a great time to make sure your bridle is fitting and functioning as it should, so bring your horse to schooling with their halter/bridle as well as their number. On that same note, please remember, Finals is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. During schooling, and to some extent in qualifiers, the handlers and staff can take time and have the leniency to help your horse, which we genuinely like to do. This is the Finals however, and with near 100 horses that need to make trips through the jump chute, and with the expectation of higher performance, we do not have the leniency to make exceptions.

If you have questions about equipment or tack fit, or anything else at YHS finals, you can always come find me (outside of my jump chute hours), or you can talk to any of the other staff or managers. We are more than happy to help you and your horse have a great show!