While I was photographing the warmup ring, the others had already gravitated to the ring next door, where the Novice Riding Horse* class was in full swing. (*I think that was the class name anyway!)
I do like this class, as you always see some really beautifully turned out horses.
You can always tell it's a Riding Horse class because of the browbands - if it were a Hunter class they'd be plain and workmanlike.
This bay tobiano certainly was flashy, but that's not necessarily what counts in this class.
This one certainly caught my eye, however!
I'd have said she was far better suited to a Hunter class than Riding Horse as she was a lot heavier and thicker set but never mind. She was gorgeous!
Once they'd been shown off for the judges, they were pulled up and untacked, then trotted in hand.
The judge then got on and rode them around in each gait before handing them back to their own rider.
It was really interesting to see how each horse responded to an unfamiliar rider - some reacted exactly the same...
...but some, including that lovely chunky mare I liked, didn't seem to get on so well, with a few dodgy transitions and a little buck.
She was far less collected and round in her gaits, and I think that really affected her placing.
Halo! XD
In the end, the lovely big chestnut clinched the win, and very well deserved I thought too!
Shoutout to my old riding school, who unexpectedly had a banner up on the side of the ring! XD
Next up, fluffy cooooooos!
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