Your partner (horse) will need to be in shape and look good. After all, appearance is part of the judging, not only on you, but your horse also. Exercise your horse to keep him in shape, and work on your horsemanship skills. When you practice a pattern for the big competition, only practice one piece at a time. One day, you might practice your stops, and the next day, your circles. Only go through the whole pattern, 1-2 times. The reason is simple. You hear of so many queen horses anticipating stops, or parts of the pattern. They have done the same pattern so many times they have it memorized. Keep the horse guessing by doing various horsemanship procedures. This will also, keep you, the rider more in control of the horses every move.

Getting your horse in shape and doing a good pattern is not all it takes for horsemanship. Your horse needs to look good. Don't you spend a lot of time putting on your makeup, curling your hair, and getting ready?

The same should go for your horse.

You will want to spend some quality time preparing your horse prior to the competition. You need to spend days, maybe months, brushing your horse to get his coat slick and shiny. What about your horses mane? Heaven forbid, you use scissors to cut that mane short. Pulling your horses mane, will take some time, but will look good when you're done, not to mention, more natural.

I have only mentioned a couple of long term preparations in getting your horse ready for competition. Most girls know how to groom their horse day of competition. You might think you can pull that horse out of pasture and take him to a queen competition, but is he really ready?

Happy trails!
Sandra