1) No set ups at events.
You must understand, where I come from we spend HOURS setting up a beautiful seating area and staple drapes to the front of our barn and hang a big sign. When I got to Pine Top, I was completely unprepared. At first, everything looked so chaotic. Different color chairs here or there, no tack stalls, no grooming stalls. Saddles hanging outside the stalls, no beautiful tack trunks. My biggest issue was that I didn't bring seating. Oops.
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| My seating for the entire weekend... |
2) The hairnets! Or lack thereof. I have just recently gotten more comfortable no wearing my hair over my ears. That one was odd. I still think everyone looks like a boy. Just a little.
3) Dubarry boots. What's up with those?? Not that I don't like them, I just don't understand why everyone has a pair.
4) Tack. We don't do breastplates, in fact, they are frowned upon. But let's just say I understand now why eventers use them :) I love my Antares breastplate! Nobody said I couldn't look fashionable...
Also is bits. Not a lot of hunters go in snaffles! Some do, and mine does, but when Betsy told me I needed to get Romeo a snaffle, I just laughed. My horse is going to go in a WHAT? Also, it took me a while to get used to eggbutts. Ehh I still think those look wonky. Romeo goes in a loose ring KK ultra now, and I do like that bit a lot :)
5) Horse medicine and practices. I will say one of the largest differences I have seen is in this category. First, we (in the hunters) use bute/equioxx a lot more freely than eventers do. I understand the whole debate on that, but everything that we use is under the legal limits. Maybe we read the med rules more closely, or maybe eventers choose not to use drugs. I can appreciate that. Another big thing is that, man...
eventers walk their horses like crazy! I feel like all y'all do is walk, walk, ice, and walk (whoa a little south came out). We don't ice much either. Then again, our horses are not doing as intense activities as yours. I really love this. I think keeping your horse moving is super important and I agree wholeheartedly.
6) No braiders. The first event I had to braid for was Chatt Hills in May. We asked who to contact or call to braid. Oh...we braid? ourselves? It went better than I thought, but still :) How do you think Johnny's braids looks so good? Shout out to his "Aunt" Mary who braids/dotes on him!
Hmm...those are all the big things I've noticed so far. If anyone else can think of anything, comment away!
I have learned a lot on this journey so far, and I hope I will learn a whole lot more on the way :)
