Groom To Win

From forelocks to fetlocks, good grooming is in the details.

- Allison Armstrong Rehnborg

When you’re at home, consistent grooming helps keep your horse’s coat looking sleek, healthy, and shiny. At the show, those same habits come in handy for a different purpose all together. When you and your horse look neat, clean, and professional, you’re presenting the absolute best version of yourselves to the judge long before you start your pattern or turn to follow the rail.

The way you look in the show pen can be just as important as the way you perform, according to Wendy Huss of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Huss Performance Horses.

“In my experience, it makes a difference to the judge when someone comes into the pen and they’re really turned out well,” Wendy says. “My theory is that so much can happen when you go through that gate, whether you’re running a reiner in or riding a pleasure horse down the rail, that you should control everything you can before you enter the pen. And that includes how you present yourself and your horse. You only have one chance to make a good impression. To do otherwise is a disrespect not only to the judge, but yourself, because you represent yourself and your trainer.”

Dan and Wendy Huss train and show reining horses at Smoking Roosters Ranch, and whether she’s grooming a horse for a non-pro class or to enter the pen at the World Equestrian Games, Wendy says it’s all about the details.

“When our horses go into the reining pen, they’re pretty close to how they’d look going into a showmanship class. We’re pretty serious about making sure every horse is clipped, oiled, and sprayed,” Wendy says.