Every show that comes up, it never fails, one of my kids will ask me “Do we have to braid for this show?” I guess they’re hoping that I might slip up and say “no, not this one”. Never going to happen. Even judges at schooling shows (maybe, especially judges at schooling shows!) deserve the respect shown by a neatly turned out horse. Whether or not you appreciate the scores and comments the judge gives you on your ride, a huge amount of time, dedication, and education goes into becoming a judge and due respect should be shown.
In our area there is a great professional braider named Joy. Many people’s show have been saved when they see Joy’s sign up sheet at the show. Instead of uneven, loose scraggly balls of tangled hair their horse will have even, neat, perfect button braids lined down his neck. Now, I don’t want to put Joy out of business, (I use her myself, don’t tell anyone!), but I do think it’s important to know how to braid. If your worst nightmare should come true and you run frantically around the showground asking for Joy and she happens to be at another show that weekend, don’t even think of looking at me! If you’ve seen my clip-jobs my braiding jobs are about as good so I’ve attached a really helpful video on braiding for you. Enjoy and see you at the show! (Pray for Joy!)
Tango Dressage 