Heels down, chin up, legs underneath you, and shoulders back. Horse showing is a really competitive sport, and there are lots of things that go into a show. Barns spend hours getting horses ready, packing up all the tack they need, and practicing. There are two different kinds of horse shows; academy and performance. The two are very similar but also very different in many ways such as the clothes you wear, the way they’re judged, and how much they cost. When you show in academy you ride in Jodhpurs, which are similar to dress pants, a dress shirt, tie, and a vest. In performance you have a whole show suit, including either formals, or a day coat. A formal suit is cumberbun, and a bow tie. There is also a day coat which is where you wear black, brown, or navy blue jodhpurs, and a colorful suit jacket. In performance you where what is called a derby and it's a little dress hat, but in academy you either wear a helmet or don't have anything on your head. The outfits are …show more content…
In performance there are different divisions based on the abilities of the horses. There are five gaited horses, park horses, country pleasure horses, and even horses that pull buggies. They judge on how well the horses perform the gaits or tasks asked for in a class. Performance is all around just more high stakes, and more game. In academy there is show rider, which is for performance riders who come back to academy for whatever reason. Then there are walk, trot, canter classes which are the different speeds the horses show at, and then there are walk, trot classes. There are also lead line classes for really young kids when they first start riding. There are different splits within the different classes.There are equitation classes which are solely judged on the rider's form. Then there are showmanship classes which are judged on the way you control the horse. Lastly there are championship classes which are judged on overall form and