Show me how to do showmanship.

It's important to keep your shoulders back and to stand up straight in showmanship, Darla Lee says.

QHA member Darla Lee of Utica, Ohio, teamed up with one of her students, Kimberly Hill, to conduct a showmanship clinic on Saturday. While Darla offered tips and instructions, Kimberly demonstrated the points. And really, you couldn’t have asked for a more perfect model, since Kimberly and her horse, Dont Miss A Step, won the 14-18 youth showmanship at the Region Four Experience. Nothin’ like learning from the best!

Here’s some of Darla’s advice:

• Showmanship is something any horse can do, at any age. If you work with a horse that is 2 or younger, just remember to keep the sessions short, 20 minutes or less at a time.

• Proper position for the handler is between the horse’s throatlatch and shoulder. “It’s more about your horse being in the right position (keeping pace with you) than you being in the right position.”

• Once your horse is trained, it should take no more than 3-4 seconds to set him up. Ideally, you will move one hind foot one time, and you may have to move a front foot twice. Although some people insist that you move only the right hind, or only the left hind, it’s really more important to be able to move any part of your horse’s body at any time.

• The handler’s movement should be very natural, not robotic. “You want to look like you’re just walking your horse around, and he’s doing whatever you tell him to.”

• Keep elbows close to your body and both shoulders back. Your left hand does not necessarily have to be even with your right hand, but keep that elbow bent in a comfortable position. The height of your right hand will depend on your horse’s height, but again, it should look natural and comfortable.

• When you trot your horse, keep your shoulders even, with no back-and-forth motion. Don’t lean forward, either, and remember that everyone has their own personal style of movement, so it’s OK if you look different from other exhibitors.

• Some exhibitors have problems backing in a straight line, and “it all starts from the front.” If the horse’s head, neck and shoulders are not in a straight line, the hips won’t be either, and the horse will back crookedly.

• Tips for repositioning front feet: To move the left front foot, for example, move the head slightly to the right to open up the left shoulder. Move the head left to get to the right front foot. Oftentimes, just moving the head over will be enough to encourage the horse to move that foot.

• If your horse bites at the chain on the lead shank, don’t yank the shank or hit the horse. Instead of making a big deal of it, just get the horse busy. If he’s very busy moving his feet, he won’t be able to bite at the chain. If it’s a horse who’s just starting to acquire that habit, simply move his head away from you and the lead shank and ask him to stay out of your space.

Sunday’s the last day of the Region Four Experience, and I’ve got to say, I’ll be a little sad to see it end. Check out the photo gallery below (and click on the photos to read the captions) to meet some of the neat people and horses I came across on Saturday.

Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine