Competition equipment for horse and rider

All the competition documents are prepared, the competition has been chosen, you are working intensively with your horse to get the season off to a successful start. But apart from the technical skills of you and your horse, a well-groomed and harmonious appearance of the horse-rider pair is also important to the judges. Here, we will help you to put together the perfect competition outfit for you and your horse.

In addition, we will provide you with helpful tips from our riding experts on how to keep your white competition breeches clean until you enter the arena and what easy measures you can use to give your horse’s coat a shiny finish. To make sure you don’t forget anything, we have provided a horse competition checklist for you to download for free and you will also find a „How To“ for the best and quickest competition plaits.

Rider’s Competition Equipment

Across disciplines – tips for a successful competition outfit

Regardless of the discipline or performance level, horse shows are surrounded with a very special atmosphere. There is something solemn and official about it – accordingly, you should also radiate this with your competition outfit.

What you should definitely keep in mind:

• Be sure to check the requirements for your competition or test. While there are fewer requirements for the rider’s clothing at unaffiliated competitions, you have to take a closer look at affiliated competitions, as the rules can differ depending on the class.
• In any case, the chosen competition clothing must be clean and intact.
• Don’t overdo it: unless you are taking part in a Western showmanship competition, you should hold back on glitter, colours and accessories – in many disciplines, black and white is still the classic colour scheme.
• Make sure that you and your horse look coherent. Muted colours should also prevail for the horse’s competition outfit.
• The competition outfit is not everything: even if a well-groomed appearance is appreciated by the judges, the performance you achieve with your horse is essential.

In our overview you will find the requirements for the individual disciplines. Please note that this is a general overview that may vary depending on the event, class and individual circumstances:

Competition outfit hacks from our riding experts

• A lint roller is ideal for removing horse hair from your jacket just before the start of the competition.
• To keep your competition breeches white, you can simply pull an old pair of loose-fitting jogging bottoms over them and take them off just before the start.
• Baby wipes are an all-rounder at the competition. You can use them to quickly remove dust from your velvet-covered riding hat, clean your saddle and bridle at the last minute or even wipe out your horse’s nostrils.
• Use an old pair of nylon tights to give your leather riding boots a shiny finish.

Competition equipment for the horse

As a partner in a competition, your horse should of course be cared for and equipped appropriately for the occasion.

First and foremost, the following things should be ensured for your horse at competitions:

• a healthy general condition
• well-groomed exterior (mane, tail, coat and hooves)
• intact and approved equipment for the competition
• competition numbers (on the bridle or on the saddle pad)

Grooming for the horse competition – horse care at full speed

The special occasion of a horse competition requires special grooming measures with regards to your horse. While the daily routine is often limited to hoof care and grooming, most competition participants bring out the big guns a few days before the competition. They shampoo, comb and plait for all they’re worth in order to be able to present a well-groomed horse to the judges.

We present tips on how to get the best out of your horse with appropriate grooming products.

A few days before the start of the competition:

• When grooming your horse, pay close attention to its state of health. Is the skin intact? What is the condition of the hooves?

• Now is the perfect time to wash your horse before the competition. Washing removes not only dirt and dust, but also the valuable sebum layer that makes the coat so shiny. This gives the skin enough time to produce sebum again after washing the horse. If you wash the horse the day before, you will get a rather dull result and then have to recreate the horse’s natural „glow“ with coat shine spray. It is also advantageous for braiding if the mane has already been washed a few days before, as the long hair is a little more manageable this way.

• Professional grooms not only take care of the perfect appearance of the horse on competition day. They also make sure that the riding equipment needed for the competition is intact and clean. Give your leather equipment an extra dose of care and check that everything is still in order. When caring for your equipment, also think about replacement bridles, etc. We show you how to care for your leather equipment effectively in our care guide.

The day before the competition:

• Clean your horse thoroughly and repeatedly check the condition of its skin, coat and hooves.
• If your horse’s mane is very thick, you should thin it out now so that the competition plaits do not become too thick on competition day.
• After grooming, you can rug your horse overnight so that your horse doesn’t get dirty just before the show. The rug should be chosen according to the temperature. If it is too hot, you should not rug your horse for the sake of its health. Sleazys are often used in the Western scene.

• Healthy hooves are essential for successful participation in a horse competition. Therefore, take extra time to care for and examine your horse’s hooves. Are the shoes still tight? Are there any small stones to be removed? Has a piece of the hoof broken off somewhere? The day before the competition, you can clean the hooves properly with a little water and a hoof brush and then brush them with some hoof grease.

On the day of the competition:

• You have already given your horse a big basic cleaning the day before to save yourself valuable time on competition day. Now, ideally, it’s just a matter of achieving a shiny finish with simple means.
• Brush your horse thoroughly again. A sheepskin grooming mitt or a brush with an integrated sheepskin pad will remove the finest dust from the coat and leave a shiny coat.
• Shortly before the start, you can treat the hooves with hoof grease.

• Baby oil is an insider tip among competition professionals. Applied to a soft cloth, it can be used to wipe out the nostrils and give the coat a nice shine. The tail also gets a nice shine if you apply some oil to a brush and brush it out.
• During the fly season, a suitable fly repellent should also be included in the grooming bag for the competition. If the horse is exposed to strong UV rays, you should remember to use sun cream, especially on horses with light pigmentation, to protect the sensitive head area from sunburn.

Competition plaits – How To

Plaiting is not rocket science, even if it seems that way due to the multitude of variations. Are you plaiting your horse for the first time? We’ll show you step by step how to create beautiful classic show plaits. To make sure that it goes quickly on the day of the competition, you should practise plaiting a few days beforehand. If the mane is very thick and/or long, you should shorten the mane a bit and/or thin it out with a mane thinning knife or a pair of thinning scissors.

Step 1: Brush the mane properly, separate it evenly into individual sections and tie them in place with a mane plaiting band.

Remember: The wider the sections of hair, the larger the plaits will be.

Step 2: Plait the individual sections of hair from top to bottom, keeping tension on the plait so that the plaits are tight. This will make them last longer. When you reach the bottom, secure the plait with a mane plaiting band.

Step 3: In the last step, fold the end of the plait inwards once and fix another mane plaiting band with a twist. Hold the rest of the elastic with one hand and roll the rest of the braid up towards the neck. When you reach the crest of the mane, secure the competition plait with the rest of the elastic plaiting band you have in your hand.

Competition equipment for your horse

The basic principle of good competition equipment for your horse is that the fit is correct and that the components have all been tested over a longer period of time so that horse and rider get along well with the equipment.

However, not all equipment is approved for competitions. Especially for affiliated competitions, there are strict rules about which accessories are allowed in which competitions and how they are to be used. Check with the organizer of your unaffiliated or affiliated competition whether the equipment of your horse can be used for the test of your choice.

As soon as you have made sure that your horse’s equipment is also competition-compatible, you should give the equipment a thorough check-up a few days before the competition. Is the leather of the bridle, stirrup leathers & etc. intact? Does the saddle pad need to be cleaned again? Do the Velcro fasteners on the boots still stick reliably?

Take enough time to care for your leather equipment. In our care guide we also give you valuable tips on how to get your saddle pad and leg protection properly clean again!