I am getting ready to attend the World Clydesdale Championships for the first time ever to show someone else's horse under saddle. Does anyone know what they look for as far as movement? How slow or fast the horse can go? Anything????

You're going to championships but don't know how to ride a Clydesdale under saddle? Hm, I'd maybe get a lot of lessons before I'd go to championships...or show in the first place? I don't know how to help you there, but I think you should be a little more experienced in that discipline before going to a world championship.

As Clydesdales have a different way of going than your traditional western pleasure breeds, QH, Appaloosa, Paint, etc.  you shouldn't have to worry about trying to make your mount go in the manner that these breeds have to go in to win.  Just have him going forward in a true walk, jog, and lope in a calm and relaxed manner with his ears forward, and you should do fine.  Let him carry his head where he is comfortable. 

Good luck and let us know how you did.

Spotted Pony

In looking back at my initial post I realized that it sounded like I've never ridden or shown this big guy before. So here's a better picture of my background: I have been riding (and had professional lessons in: all seats/styles but primarily in equitation) for 19 years on normal horses. I've been riding this Clydesdale for 4 years and have been very successful on him at our state fair under both english and western tack as well as in the bareback division (always top 5 or better). His owner saw me riding a regular size horse and asked me to show his Clyde in a bareback class. I was second out of 13 and he has had me ride his horse ever since. This is the first time we have ever ridden at a World Show so I wanted to see if anyone had ever done this before and what tips or thoughts they may have. We've had all kinds of judges over the years and its difficult to figure out what they are really looking for. Unlike horse breeds, there is no rule book and limited guidelines. The World Championship premium says that they are judging on: manners, performance, presence, quality, diagonals (english), and leads. Horse and rider both are to be judged. Thank you Spotted Pony for the recommendations. I can't see this 18 hh horse being able to maintain a stock horse lope. My big issue has been that he rates beautifully so it's hard to decide whether to slow him up a little for western or let him move out normally.

 Let me see if I can point Phyxius to this thread... she rides a Percheron stallion and might know a little more about draft breed shows and what they're looking for....

 

 

Well, I just got back yesterday from the show and we finished 5th out of 11 in the western class. Apparently they judge on headset, action, manners, presence, and horsemanship. It was pretty obvious that no one putting on the show knew how to handle a riding class as they let everyone file in pretty close together, loped us all at once in a small arena, and when we finally lined up they played the chicken dance causing more than one horse to bolt.

hunterundersaddle:

You're going to championships but don't know how to ride a Clydesdale under saddle? Hm, I'd maybe get a lot of lessons before I'd go to championships...or show in the first place? I don't know how to help you there, but I think you should be a little more experienced in that discipline before going to a world championship.

I think that's pretty uncalled for.  This is a valid question.  Have you ever ridden a dressage horse?  Have you ridden a hunter?  Have you ridden a draft horse? 

 Now, you may be an rated hunter, but you try to take that STYLE into a dressage ring at the upper levels and you'll get a low score on "rider".  And, unless you're riding a "dressage" horse you'll probably get a low score on the horse coefficents as well.

Or, if you're a Grand Prix dressage rider on a Grand Prix dressage horse and you go to a rated hunter show and you show with your horse up in a collected frame, full seat, long leg, contact you probably won't be placing in the hunter class.

 Now, you certainly are not familiar with draft horse breed shows.  Generally they have very few riding classes.  Sometimes just two, one english and one western.  As we all know within in discplines ther are different styles.  There are also different styles with breeds.  Stereotypically a "QH" judge will look for different movement than a "hitch" judge or a hunter judge, etc. 

 I believe the original poster was asking whether the judge would be looking for your standard schooling show western pleasure movement, or your standard clydesdale-in-a-hitch-with-knee action movement under a western saddle.  Should the head be carried high as they are in hitch?  Or should the neck be about level as it is in western?  Breed shows are a WHOLE different world.

 Original Poster - I showed at World Percheron Congress last year.  The judge they brought in the for undersaddle classes was a riding judge, not a hitch judge.  She was looking for textbook standard, not breed standard.  So, for western she was looking for smooth, comfortable movement, slow and steady pace, western equatation and "head".  Any horse above the bit, ewe necked, with lots of "anxious" knee action did NOT place.  The same was true in the english classes, she was looking for forward movement (be it dressage type or hunter type, as based on attire and tack ridden in).  Both however require forward movement, not short choppy strides.  Quick responses, listening to the rider, etc.

 I may be too late with this post as I think the show is going on now or already over, but I hope it helps for the future.  Best of luck and post some pictures!!!

Congrats on 5th, not bad at all! :)

In all the riding shows I've been in, they always file us all in together, and we always all canter together. Never been to a riding show that has music, but at the AMHA show I've been to, they sure do play some strange stuff LOUDLY!

Get any photos??? 

Jessi

10+ Clydesdales in a small arena trying to canter at once is really rough. Some of the horses were hitch horses so they are not used to being ridden much less cantering in groups. One horse was a great side-passer. Head always on the rail and rump taking up about two lanes of traffic. The ring officials were spread out and constantly diving out of the way. The judge was a Belgium breeder but also a horsemanship judge (the best of both worlds for this show). I felt that she judged the horses and riders fairly. I do believe that the loud music and intermittent clapping that occurred while we were waiting in the lineup cost some of us some higher placings. At least 5 horses (including mine) had a hard time with the noise level. I was really upset with the announcer who treated the class like it was a joke. Before he cranked the music up he said "Now we'll see which horses are really broke." The horse I ride is normally very quiet and is used to clapping, music, and parades. However, the chicken dance song is loud with intermittent bursts of loud clapping. Nothing like what we are used to at home. It really upset some horses while others stood with heads raised and shuffled slightly. Phyxius, thank you for the information. It confirmed what I had been told by the folks that go to these shows regularly. Anyone interested in seeing photos can google John Branam (photographer) and look at his work for the 2007 World Clydesdale show. I'm the only one riding a black clyde with a light tan western show saddle.

Thanks for the link to the pics -- I sent it to Dee, who I board with and who has a Clyde, and our farrier, who shows Clydes in the hitch classes. Actually, I think he was at that show...