Young Auriol (as she is known) is the daughter of my friend Auriol and must be one of the few people that I have seen looking happy in a showing class; both she and her horse were so serene despite the class running two hours late.
I have to confess that I don't really understand what drives people to take part in shows as most of them seem to be entirely miserable and the only really happy person is the winner. Today I saw people hitting their horses before they went into the ring, jagging them in the mouth, being spiteful to them while they were standing in line and then screaming about their behaviour when they came back out. One woman was complaining bitterly about how her pony misbehaved in the ring, had been tense and nervy and I kept thinking, you should hear what the pony says about you! It can't be a pleasant experience for the ponies either.
The rule about leading at the shoulder with the hand close to the headcollar means that the horses are bent to the left, forced to move crookedly and have a constant pressure on the lead rein. You can see them shouting "get off my head, get off my head" as they toss their heads up and down as they go around the ring in a futile attempt to find a release. There's a saying, 'show me a good show horse and I'll show you a crooked riding horse'. I wonder how any judge can judge the conformation of the horse when he is prevented from going straight in the first place. It's a daft rule, put there for daft reasons and it's a shame for the horses.
