|
Draft horse showing is a competitive sport in North America where exhibitors present their draft horse(s) to be judged in harness, pulling various types of carts and wagons. These events are somewhat akin to fine harness classes at horse shows for light horses, though the four horse and larger hitch classes also resemble some aspects of combined driving. Draft horse shows are different from draft horse pulling competitions, where teams of horses compete to determine who can pull the most weight. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
Two pairs of Shire horses and a pair of Suffolk Punches A draft horse, draught horse, or harness horse is a large, strong horse bred for heavy work rather than speed. ...
The term harness has been used for many centuries for part of the collection of equipment known as horse tack, essential in the domestic, military, and agrarian use of horses. ...
A simple wooden cart in Australia A cart transporting watermelons in Harbin, China. ...
A wagon (in British English waggon) or dray is a wheeled vehicle, ordinarily with four wheels, usually pulled by an animal, or animals, such as horses, mules or oxen and used for transport of heavy goods. ...
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. ...
Combined driving also known as Horse Driving Trials is an equestrian sport involving carriage driving. ...
Exhibitors of a draft horse show must follow a pattern for each class in which they participate. The pattern is the same for every class. The hitches enter the arena one at a time, following one another. They travel to the right, along the rail in a counter-clockwise direction. A hitch is a unit consisting of the exhibitor, his or her horse(s) and vehicle, being a cart or wagon. The judge is observing each hitch from the middle of the ring where he or she is standing. All of the hitches make a few laps in this counter-clockwise direction and then reverse. A lap is completed when a hitch travels the entire way around the arena next to the rail. When the reverse is made, the hitches diagonally cut the ring in half in order to go the opposite direction. This allows the judge to see the other side of each hitch. A couple more laps are made going in this clockwise direction. While making these laps on the rail, the horses are trotting and usually asked to walk for a few steps only once during the entire class. Next, all of the hitches line up, coming to a complete stop in the middle of the ring, all facing the same direction. The judge then looks at each hitch individually and has them back up. This requires the driver of each hitch to direct his or her horse(s) to back either the cart or wagon a few feet, stop, and then step forward to the original position. Finally, the judge places all of the hitches in the order of his or her preference. ARENA may refer to either: Nationalist Republican Alliance, a political party in El Salvador. ...
Types of classes
There are several different classes in which an exhibitor may compete. The main classes that all shows have include: - Ladies Cart -- One horse driven in a cart by a woman
- Men’s Cart -- One horse driven in a cart by a man
- Team -- Two horses hitched side by side on a show wagon, driven by a man or woman
- Unicorn -- Three horses hitched as a team with one horse in front of the team, driven by a man or woman
- Four -- Four horses hitched as two teams, one pair in front of the other, driven by a man or woman
- Six [1] -- Six horses hitched as three teams, one in front of another, driven by a man or woman
- Eight -- Eight horses hitched as four teams, one in front of another, driven by a man or woman
Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ...
A Team is a small group with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for common purpose, goals, and approach. ...
Requirements There are many requirements that are needed to compete at a draft horse show. Depending on what classes an exhibitor would like to enter, the first requirement is a horse or team of horses. In the United States and Canada, only four breeds of draft horses are shown, including: // This page is a list of horse and pony breeds. ...
Belgians, Percherons and Clydesdales tend to be the dominant breeds seen at draft horse shows. The cost of a draft horse depends on the level of competition at which an exhibitor would like to compete. If an exhibitor would like to compete at the highest level, receiving first place honors at the toughest shows, a great horse could cost anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000. A draft horse shown as a hobby and competing only at local or county fairs would start at approximately $1,000. Next, an exhibitor will need the appropriate equipment, beginning with a semi-trailer truck to haul the draft horses to the show. A show harness, a show wagon, and a show cart must be purchased as well. These three items are only used in the arena while a hitch is performing. Another set of work harness and a practice wagon is used at home for training. Along with the costly equipment, decorations that are put up at the draft horse shows and miscellaneous tack items must also be obtained. A pair of very typical dapple grey Percheron Horses Percheron draft horse at the Maryland State Fair Breed History: The Percheron gets its name from the La Peche valley in the south of France. ...
Clydesdale draft horse at the Maryland State Fair The Clydesdale is a breed of draft horse derived from the very hard-working farm horses of Clydesdale, Scotland, and named for that region. ...
Shire draft horse The shire horse is a breed of draft horse. ...
Early 70s Spanish Pegaso 2080 tractor and semi-trailer Semi-trailer truck with sleeper behind the cab. ...
Preparation for a show Prior to a draft horse show, exhibitors perform a variety of tasks to make their draft horses look their best. Draft horses usually get a bath a few hours ahead of the show to remove all of the dirt from their coats. This gives their coats a nice shine. Right before the show, all draft horses are vacuumed to remove the layer of dirt that has accumulated on their coats since their bath. Next, their hooves are painted black with the exception of clydesdales. Clydesdales naturally have white hooves, which are preferable for their breed. Therefore, their feet are not painted. All horses’ manes are braided and tails are tied. Finally, the draft horses are harnessed and hooked together on a wagon or cart depending on the class in which they are competing.
Judging A hitch is judged the moment it enters the arena. Usually, there is only one judge for an entire horse show. The hitches are judged on a variety of aspects including: - How long and thin the horses necks are
- How high the horses pick up their feet
- How well the horses work together as a team and as a hitch as a whole
- How well the horses are in shape
- How well matched the horses are
- How tall the horses are (the taller the better)
- How large the horses feet are (the larger the better)
- How clean the horses are
- How clean the harness and wagon are
- How each horse’s conformation is (equine conformation)
There is no standard or uniform way to judge. All judges have their own opinion on what they like, putting more emphasis on certain aspects than others do. This is what makes draft horse showing so unique; the outcome of a show can never be predicted. A horses conformation is the horses body proportions in relation to each other. ...
Major draft horse shows The following is a list of a few major draft horse shows; however, there are many local and county fairs that also put on these competitions. - Big Thunder Draft Show (Loveland, CO)
- National Western Stock Show (Denver, CO)
- Royal Manitoba Winter Fair (Brandon, Manitoba, Canada)
- Calgary Stampede (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
- Scott County Fair (Jordan, MN)
- Mississippi Valley Fair (Davenport, IA)
- Ohio State Fair (Columbus, OH)
- Wisconsin State Fair (Milwaukee, WI)
- Indiana State Fair (Indianapolis, IN)
- Iowa State Fair (Des Moines, IA)
- Minnesota State Fair (St. Paul, MN)
- Britt Draft Horse Show (Britt, IA)
- Oklahoma State Fair (Oklahoma, OK)
- The Big E (Springfield, MA)
- Keystone International Livestock (Harrisburg, PA)
- Michigan Great Lakes International (Lansing, MI)
- Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
- NAILE Draft Horse Show (Louisville, KY)
Held every January at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado, the National Western Stock Show is the nations largest stock show by number of animals and offers the world’s only carload and pen cattle show in the historic Denver Union Stockyards. ...
Rider at the Stampede Rodeo The Calgary Stampede, which bills itself as The Greatest Outdoor show on Earth, is a large festival, exhibition, and rodeo held in Calgary, Alberta for ten days every July. ...
The Ohio State Fair is probably the largest state fair in the US (sometimes considered second to the Texas State Fair). ...
State Fair Midway The Wisconsin State Fair is a popular event held annually at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in the West Allis suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ...
The Indiana State Fair is held in Indianapolis, the state capital, usually in August. ...
The Iowa State Fair is an annual 11-day state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa. ...
The Minnesota State Fair Grandstand in August 2003 The Minnesota State Fair, marketed for generations as The Great Minnesota Get-Together, is one of the largest state fairs in the United States. ...
The Big E, also known as The Eastern States Exposition, is billed as New Englands Great State Fair. It is the 6th largest agricultural fair in the United States, and the largest in the northeastern portion of the country. ...
The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is an annual fall fair in Toronto. ...
References - Draft Horse Journal, http://www.drafthorsejournal.net/index.html
- North American Classic Series, http://www.naclassicseries.com/calendar.html
External links |
Feeds |
Contact