Yes, is the short answer. Riding competitions are an all weather sport, unless it is severe the show will go on.

We had a very rainny show day and the show still went on. It rained all day. Everyone will be wet by th end of the day. Raincoats are a great way to keep the rider and watchers dry. Umbrellas are a NO NO. They can and have spooked horses, which could lead to a an injury of horse, rider, or both. They make clear jackets to show in so you can see your number through and you can stay a little dry. I make sure I have my rain boots and coat available jsut in case it rains. I keep her show rain coat in our show box, just in case.

The course can get sloppy whether it has good drainage or not depending on how much it has rained. Cover your saddle if you are not on your horse. This will ensure you don't ruin it when in the rain. Make sure you dry off your horse the best you can just to help keep them clean. Also get any mud/sand off they may have flicked on them. This is a rain or shine sport. Don't worry about snow those shows are typically held inside if it is that cold. Just enjoy the experience and make the best of it.

On show day plan on doing a lot of waiting around. It is something that can go very quickly or very slowly. Your child will participate typical 1 category and go in the ring 3 times for that event. They will be in the ring for about 5 minutes total. It is something for me makes me anxious, because I want her to shine. Once the competition is over they annouce the winners. This is another time I am anxiously waiting to hear her number. Show day can be a great or disappointing day depending on how competitive your rider is.

Just so you know the first day is Hunter day. This day is more about the horse and less about the rider. The second day is Equatation day. This day is more about the rider and less about the horse. This is a way the rider gets to show off their skills on making the horse look great and the horse making them look great.

All I know these days can be long but a lot of fun.

Well that is a loaded questions - Short answer is all day. Long answer it depends.

Horse showing is a great game of patience. You have a schedule (I use that term very loosely), but the timing of said schedule is dependent on many factors. Some of these factors can be controlled by the gate person and the judge. Yet other not so much. The biggest factor is the number of riders entered and how fast their trainer can get from one ring to the next. Often trainers have riders in multiple rings and you need the trainer to compete at your ring. If something happens like a fall that takes extra time to get the horse and rider out and the next rider into the ring.

So the brief answer is it will be an all day event most likely from early in the morning to late afternoon. You can get lucky and be done in a couple hours, which has happened to me but not very often.

Enjoy the day and the experience!

Horse Competition can be on many different levels, but most will start at the basic one. You can just trot over poles on the ground. You do not need to jump over huge fences or any fence for that matter. You will work your way up the heights of fences. The riders will get to wear the blue/black show coat, tan riding pants, garters, and either tall boots or paddock boots with half chaps (they look like tall boots). They will be entered into the class (the event) they will be showing in and then wait until it is their turn. This waiting can be first thing in the morning or could take all day. It all depends on which class they are entered in. Good Luck. It ends up being an all day experience.