While the two shows I am featuring today took place in Illinois, not Indiana, they are youth shows from the 1990s. And since I would love to see more youth shows for kids, I thought I would show these as examples of what you can do to introduce kids to model horse shows at low cost to yourself and to them.
Winning a ribbon is a BIG DEAL for a child, and recycled ribbons are pretty and free. There are people willing to donate their old show ribbons rather than store them; a quick note on social media is a good way to find them.
There are horse lovin' kids who don't know about model horses and you may need to provide the ponies. In the two shows featured today, I pulled out models from my own collection and let the kids without models use them.
and we pulled out the Barbie things and other small toys for the fun classes.
With the Collectas and other inexpensive models available now, I'd use those instead of the extras and duplicates that were mine.
Tack and props are needed if you are having performance classes, and kids prefer those over halter. (Understanding the subtleties of halter can get tedious for children and the classes can drag for them.)
Real performance classes such as trail as well as anything goes, pairs, mares and foals, etc. are fun, keep the participants engaged, and let them be creative.
I loaned my tack and props to the kids for the realistic performance classes
Don't want to use your own things? You can find beginner level tack and props just as you can find ribbons, you can make them yourself, or you can even have the kids make things as part of the show day.
Have some cookies or a snack available for when you break (one girl made a horse head cake with a four leaf clover and "Good Luck" on it; sadly, I don't have a picture), clear off a table or two for a show ring, and be prepared for some fun.
I'm still waiting on a few things to come in on some other Indiana live shows. Hopefully that will come in today.
Stay 'tooned!
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