Horse Show Facilities
Where the Show Begins and Ends
After you have been showing for a little while
you may develop preferences to certain horse show facilities you
encounter through the year. Whether you prefer grounds with spacious
parking areas or excellent footing in the riding ring, each show can
offer you something different.
Think of your favorite horse show and the show grounds it offers. You might notice that your favorite shows also have your preferred show facilities.
I can think of a couple of show circuits where I love the horse show facilities. One is very local and holds open shows and the other is a little further away for larger open and breed circuit shows.
Below we will break down the important things to look for in a quality horse show set-up.
Parking
What is one of the most important and first things you will look for in horse show facilities when you first arrive at a show? The answer is simple: "where can I park". In my experience in parking at a horse show, I look for not only the space provided to park your truck and trailer during the show, but also the amount space available to load and unload.For one-day shows you will likely use your parking spot all day. Show grounds that offer large spaces for parking offer exhibitors a little more elbow room during the show and comfort while keeping your horses tied to the trailer. If you are showing for more than one day, grounds that offer plenty of parking for camping will ensure that everyone attending has a place to sleep with electricity.
Please
sign up for your FREE copy of "All-Arounder
Magazine". It's packed full of helpful horse
show news, information, tips and horse keeping advice. Our magazine
contains information exclusive to readers only! Sign up NOW and you'll
also receive a FREE
printable Horse Show Checklist!
Barns
If you plan to show your horse for a weekend or week, you will likely need a stall for overnight accommodations. Multiple-day horse shows usually offer stalls as a part of the horse show facilities normally located on the show grounds.The barns should offer sturdy and safe stalls for horses and should be properly cleaned between events. Make sure to do a mini inspection of the stall before bringing your horse in. Some barns have stalls that they set up and tear down between events while others have permanent stalls. If you are going to be using a temporary stall there is usually nothing to worry about, just do a quick check to make sure your stall is set-up properly.
Be sure to check for stall cleanliness. There should be no evidence of a previous horse using the stall space aside from a few stray pieces of hay.
Take note of the floor surface of the barn. Is it dirt or concrete? If you have a less forgiving surface to park your horse on for the weekend, such as concrete, it would be wise to bed your stall accordingly. If you don't provide the proper amount of bedding, you may have a sore horse by the end of the weekend.
Once you have your horse in the stall with bedding, your next move will likely be to seek out how far your walk is to the nearest water source. If you luck out, you won't have to lug you waters buckets too far and if your smart you'll bring a hose so you don't have to lug water buckets at all.
Depending on how large the show is, you may have to walk a little to get your horse from the barn to the arena for classes, it may be a good idea to map out where you are and where you will need to be throughout the length of the show.
Arenas
Indoor, outdoor, or covered are all potential set-ups for you to show your horse in. Most day-shows will be outside with a set up of one or two outdoor arenas. At other shows, the horse show facilities may offer an indoor arena along with other outdoor riding areas. I personally find it easier to show at grounds that have more than one riding arena. This allows for some warm-up riding before classes.You will also notice that the footing in the riding arenas may vary between show grounds. Take note of potential problems such as excess rocks, holes, and muddiness in the arena you will be showing in. Show associations usually conduct routine maintenance on the grounds and any hazards you find in the ring should be reported.
