On trend in the ring

Showing has witnessed many trends, but which have had the most impact? Tricia Johnson reports

- Tricia Johnson

SHOWING – like so many aspects of equestrianism – is firmly rooted in tradition, but over the years, some trends have emerged while others have disappeared. Have these shifts all been for the good, though?

Jamie Mead (née Jago) has seen showing from all angles. Her family showed for more than 70 years, home-producing and competing their ponies under the tutelage of Jamie’s mother, the late Ghita Jago. Jamie has ridden – and won – at the highest level, later turning to judging where she is much in demand.

“One of my pet hates today is seeing lead rein and first ridden ponies overbent with their heads fixed,” says Jamie. “Back in the day, they were very different; they were genuinely good looking ponies suitable for children and not the finely tuned animals of today.

“When this refinement started creeping in, we lost the ponies with the ‘nanny’ temperament. They began to perform more like 138cm show ponies, with leaders glued to their head in case they boiled over. They became so forward-going they needed to be held in a fixed outline – hence the handles on saddles, which effectively act as side-reins. “Before that, the leaders were a length of rein away and the riders actually rode the ponies. Today, some examples certainly are the most exquisite show ponies imaginable – but at the expense of a relaxed, flowing outline and a jockey actually doing a job.”

PRODUCER Edward Young, another with a lifetime’s involvement in showing, is concerned about the trend for increasingly severe bits.