Glossary of Terms

AMATEUR - Drivers or riders who exhibit for the love of the sport, and not as a profession or for profit.

BIKE - Modern racing sulky with two bicycle-type wheels to which a road horse or pony drives in trotting or pacing gaits. Only the former is acceptable at horse shows.

CANTER -Three-beat gait. A slow, collected gallop.

COLT - Young male horse under five years old.

CONFORMATION - The comparison based on physical characteristics of a horse to the standards of perfection as applied to its particular breed.

EQUITATION - Class wherein a rider's ability, control over the horse, and execution of gaits (often in a specified pattern) are given the greatest emphasis in judging.

FILLY - Young female horse less than five years old.

FOAL - A baby horse. Males are colts; females are fillies.

GAITS - Natural gaits of the horse are the walk, trot, and canter. The slow gait and rack are produced through special training.

GELDING - A male horse, any age, which has been neutered.

HALTER - Class in which horses are led and exhibited without saddlery. The greatest judging emphasis is placed on the animal's appearance and conformation.

HAND - The unit by which the height of a horse is measured. A hand is equal to four inches. A horse is measured from its withers (top of its shoulder blades) in a perpendicular line to the ground.

HUNT SEAT - Style of equitation where horses are judged against certain requirements in fox hunting animals. The saddle is small and plain, held with a single girth, designed for the rider to have maximum contact with the horse, and has padded knee rolls to help keep the rider in the correct position in relation to the horse's center of balance. The rein is one piece, generally braided or laced. Riders wear a dark-colored hunt coat, breeches of a lighter color, calf-high boots, and a velvet-covered protective hard cap.

IN-HAND - Class in which horses are led, usually in a show bridle, but otherwise without saddlery, and are judged chiefly for conformation and/or condition.

JOG - A short-paced trot.

LOPE - Term for a slow canter in Western equitation.

MARE - A female horse over five years old.

OPEN CLASS - A class in which any horse of a specified breed or breeds is eligible, regardless of age, sex, number of first place ribbons, or the amateur or professional status of the exhibitors.

PACE - A lateral gait in which the hind leg and the foreleg on the same side move forward together. It is not an acceptable gait in the show ring.

PLEASURE - Horses in a pleasure class are judged at a walk, trot, and canter, as well as backing in a straight line. Performance, the ability of the horse to deliver a graceful and pleasurable ride to its rider, is given the greatest consideration. Conformation, manner, and appearance of the rider also are taken into account.

POST - When riders rise slightly from the saddle at the trot.

QUARTER BOOTS - Protective boots worn by five-gaited horses to prevent injury to the front feet due to overstepping by the hind feet.

RACK - A gait of five-gaited horses. The rack is executed in a four-beat cadence, with each foot striking the ground separately.

RESERVE CHAMPION - In a championship class, the second place winner is designated as reserve champion.

RIBBON COLORS - First place (blue), second place (red), third place (yellow), fourth place (white), fifth place (pink), and sixth place (purple).

ROAD GAIT - A moderately rapid trot performed by the road horse or road pony, at a speed designed to cover long distances without unduly tiring the horse.

SADDLE SEAT - Style of equitation designed to show off the animated action and highly arched head and carriage of the American Saddlebred horse and the Tennessee Walker or plantation horse. Because of the way the head and neck are carried, the horse's center of gravity is father back than either in Western or Hunt Seat equitation. Therefore, the rider has a flat seat to allow his/her weight to shift back toward the cantle (back of saddle). The saddle features a cutback pommel (front of saddle), straight flaps, and low stirrups to permit the rider's legs to drop directly below his/her center of gravity. Riders wear riding habits (suits) with jackets and matching jodhpur-style pants, homburg-type hats or derbies, and short boots. For evening and formal shows, riders wear conservative dark colored suits and hats, or attire similar to tuxedos and top hats with low crowns.

SHOWMANSHIP - Class wherein horses are led and shown without saddlery. Judging emphasis is placed not only on the horse's conformation and appearance, but also on its grooming and the exhibitor's handling of the animal.

SIDESADDLE - A saddle designed for women on which the rider sits with both feet on the same side, normally to the left. the saddle has a forked projection on the left side; the rider hooks her right leg over the upper fork, places her left leg under and against the lower one, and rests her left foot on the single stirrup iron.

SLOW GAIT - A stepping gait similar to but slower than the rack. One of the artificial gaits of the five-gaited horse.

STALLION - A male horse over five years of age. A neutered male is called a gelding.

STIRRUP IRON - A loop of metal, wood, or leather suspended from a saddle top support the rider's foot.

STIRRUP LEATHER - The adjustable strap by which the stirrup iron is attached to the saddle.

STRIP - To remove the saddle from the horse so that the judge may check its conformation.

TACK - The saddle, bridle, and other items used on a horse. Which items are used depends on the type of horse, the purpose to which it is being used, the rider's ability, and the state of the horse is training.

TIE - To rate horses in a class, such as first, second, etc.

TROT - A two-beat gait where the legs move in diagonal pairs.

WESTERN - Broadly described as the "cowboy" style of equitation. Riders use a saddle that has a saddle horn, high pommel (front of saddle), deep seat (often padded), larger cantle (rear of saddle), and stirrups with fenders (flaps of leather beside the rider's legs). Western saddles often have elaborate leather tooling and silver ornamentation. The horses' bridles have split reins and the Western style of equitation required that riders hold the reins only in one hand and sit with the legs hanging straight and slightly forward. They do not post to the trot. riders wear long-sleeved shirts or jackets, broad-brimmed straw or felt hats, boots, and Western pants or chaps.