Students studying Horse Management at Bridgwater College took part in their Spring Show recently, competing in a variety of classes including dressage, show jumping and showing.

The show gave the students the opportunity to compete in showing classes where they were judged on their personal appearance, the horse’s turnout, manners, way of going and their individual show. Some of the group also completed a dressage test, which involved being judged on their accuracy when completing a set of school movements.

The afternoon session gave many students the chance to take part in a show jumping competition which was timed against the clock. Parents and peers cheered them on as they manoeuvred around some very tight jump off turns.

The show provided many students with their first experience of riding in a competitive environment but also gave them an opportunity to support each other and gain valuable feedback from staff to take forward to their next competition. It also formed part of their assessments for both riding and presentation; every individual made a huge effort to ensure that their horses were immaculately turned out, which involved lots of bathing, grooming, plaiting and tack cleaning in the days leading up to the show.

Equine student Kittiana French said,

“These shows give us a perfect opportunity to learn how to correctly prepare for and compete in a range of showing, dressage and show jumping classes on the Equestrian Centre’s horses. Preparing for the shows has helped us understand the high standards expected by the equine industry. We have put lots of time and effort into training for our classes and getting our horses looking their best. The actual day was great, my horse DC looked fantastic and went really well in the ring. The judges gave us detailed feedback and at the end of the day and the rosettes and prizes were a nice surprise.”