What ribbons/places in a show do you consider "good"...?

Question

what do you think is a good ribbon or place to get??

1. for your first show ever???

2. for any show in general?

Answer 1

Along as your run was a good run then thats good

getting a ribbon would be a bonus

Answer 2

I was quite happy with any ribbon I got. In my first show ever, I placed fourth out of six (2 people were disqualified). But I was happiest when I met my own goals. I was always paranoid about knocking in any of my patterns (western gaming). If I didn't knock, I was happy. If I did, I was a wreck. But it depends on what the class is and what your competition is.

Answer 3

for your first show ever i would say that 3rd or 4th place is something to be proud of because it shows you have acheived something, but if you have been showing a while then 2nd and 1st place are great because it shows your improvement from last time. :)

Answer 4

It all depends on the company you're showing against. One of the ribbons I'm proudest of is a fifth from a warm-up class at a B show. Not much to brag about, but I was so thrilled that my little guy pulled a 5th out of 60. It was our first time showing in a grass ring & I was scared to death!

Answer 5

For your first show ever, I'm just pleased to see a new combination arrive safely, not fall off and have a pleasant experience. Feeling you can ask questions of those with more experience makes for a pleasant day.

At my first couple of shows, I'd watch the competition, see what level I had to improve to to get in the ribbons.

Once I'd been to a few shows, I'd be thinking 'have I improved my horse/me in any way'. Concentrate on what is going right.

Then I'd hope to get some placing in novice sections and work my way from there.

This is in an ideal world. Unfortunately I've seen some poor riders on great horses and they do extremely well even with the little effort that they put in. Then I've seen top riders on horses with small problems and they can't move forward to the next stage.

That's the tough luck in showing. A good effort in my first season would be getting placings, my next season I might be trying hard to get some first placings. It depends how tough the competition is in your area. Can you find some small local events to get a start without being put off.

HAVE SUPER DUPER LOTS OF FUN

Answer 6

Any ribbon is great!! & For your first show that is wonderful!!! & If someone tries to tell you different. Tell them you are happy with it!!! & You did do a good job to have gotten a ribbon!! Be proud & don't let anyone makes you feel any less!!!!!!!

Answer 7

1. For first show ever, it doesn't matter.  At all.  Ever.

2.  Any show.....depends on the size of the class, the judge, etc.

"A good feeling after the round is better than any ribbon."

Answer 8

1. At my first show I won a first, second and sixth and I got reserve champion which I was proud of.

2. My proudest ribbon has been in the warm up at HITS Ocala ("AA" show) where my 4 year old Hanoverian got 2nd out of 70 horses that were in the warm up. That makes me WAYYY prouder then any of my champions OR money class wins.

When I'm at my local show I aim for first or second on the flat and first through third over fences. At "A" shows I aim for first through third. At "AA" shows I aim for a ribbon.

Answer 9

Obviously it's nice to win...

But the most important thing is that you do what you're supposed to do. If your horse behaves and does what he's supposed to do, that's a good result. Winning, or not winning, is as much about who else is in your class as it is about how well you do. Your horse can be foot perfect, but if there are 6 superstars in the class you're not going to get a ribbon. Similarly, you can win by being the best out of a bad bunch!

It's much better to judge yourself against your previous performances. Obviously if you get ribbons that's good too, but it does depend on who else is there.

Answer 10

Well, it really depends on how many people are entered in your class/division.  In general, I'd say "good" would be in the top half of placings.  In most cases, I'd say completing a new accomplishment is a bigger deal than a ribbon.

Answer 11

Any ribbon is good.  in my first show i got a special!

but i think that in any show if you get into the ribbons thats really good.  And its not always about getting into the ribbons its about having fun it doesnt need to be so competive all of the time.

Answer 12

1 for first show-well anything pinning but if there are a lot of people and you check your score and you were runner up for 6th than yes 1st through 6th

2. in general 1st through 6th but if there aren't many people than 1-4. if you're that good

Answer 13

1.) Any place, just staying on your horse and going through with it is the biggest accomplishment!

2.) Actually placing. For me, I like to place fourth or higher, but I know that is a fantasy some of the time (my pony is a young mare, trained mostly by me, a child)

Are you showing soon? Good luck if you are! <3

Answer 14

well, when i did show, most my places where tween 2nd-4th. and at the time of showing, i only wanted the blue ribbon.  i even went out with my trainer and parents and bought a top class show horse, a flashy arab gelding who had great blood lines (the vet check showed he was lame/not moving correctly for a show horse so we ended up shipping him back). so those are what ends i did go to win first.

if i went back to showing, i'd be happy with any ribbon to add to my collection.  

i do remember at my first show i was almost in tears cause i didnt even place. (my horse was an arab, and most  of the other horses were qh, and the judge as it turned out didnt place anything but qh that day, no matter how good the other riders/horses were) i wasnt that upset after i learned that, but it still wasnt a good feeling knowing that you wouldnt win/place with you're own horse.

moral of the story :you cant always win, but you can always have fun.

Answer 15

any ribbon is...they wouldnt be awarding you if you didnt deserve it

Answer 16

In my first show, I was only Eleven, so I had a push button horse. I won first place. However, I was just happy to be showing, and wouldn't of cared if I got last place.

For any show, I try to do my best. I aim for first place, but its not all about ribbons. A good ribbon is one where you did your test correctly, and you and the horse enjoyed it.

Answer 17

For your first couple of shows any ribbon is good, but after a while 1st- 3rd is considered good :), but you have to relize that if it's out of a lot of people, ANY RIBBON WOULD BE GOOD!!!

Answer 18

My first show i got second place but i don't REALLY care what place i get as long as i dont get bucked off or something.. lol its happend.

Answer 19

the attitude to show just for ribbons isnt the best attitude to go into the ring with, because whatever you get that isnt 1st or 2nd your going to be dissapointed and that isnt good. shows are for experience and learning. you are always learning in this sport. my idea is did you ride the way your coach has told you? are they proud of your preformance and are you. because ribbons in equitation / hunter are judged events so its very hard to tell what a certain judge is looking for so ride the best you can and be proud of what you can do.

Answer 20

For earlier showing, any ribbon is great!!  As I advanced along in my show career if I couldn't be in the top three I knew I hadn't done my 'homework"...in other words something about my mare on that day wasn't clicking with the judge...I'd take the blame for "pilot error" and go home and work a little harder at schooling her and pay more attention as to how I was riding her.   Most of the time the hard work paid off.  

Back to your first question...as I said, any ribbon was wonderful...I knew I was headed in the right direction as I didn't get the gate...If the opportunity arose at some of the schooling shows I'd ask the judge how I could improve my horsemanship.  Judges are a wonderful resource and have many suggestions as to how you can improve your placings in the show pen.

Answer 21

On a horse that you are consistently competing with, I think top three places are good.  The thing is that those of us that have had the competitive rides and now ride greenies gage things alittle differently.  Some of my favorite ribbons have been fifths, and some of my firsts haven't meant a thing to me.  Today I was at a show where my greenie cantered an entire two foot jump course. ( a first for him, we usually trot the first fence in each line) I placed fifth, and could not have been happier!!!  He was calm, accurate, and responsive.  This ribbon means much more to me than most other ribbons I have won this year.  Its a milestone!