Draft horse showing

Draft horse showing (UK and Commonwealth; draught horse, dray horse or carthorse) refers to horse shows exclusively for horses of the draft horse breeds. In North America, though a small number of draft horses are also shown under saddle, the term "Draft horse showing" refers to a specific horse show competition that primarily features driving exhibitors presenting their horses to be judged in harness. Worldwide, some draft horse shows also feature riding classes.

The driving events at these competitions are somewhat akin to fine harness classes at horse shows for light horses, though the four horse and larger hitch classes also resemble some aspects of combined driving. Draft horse shows are different from draft horse pulling competitions, where teams of horses compete to determine who can pull the most weight.

Exhibitors of these classes must follow a pattern for each class in which they participate. The pattern is the same for every class. The hitches enter the arena one at a time, following one another. They travel to the right, along the rail in a counter-clockwise direction. A hitch is a unit consisting of the exhibitor, his or her horse(s) and vehicle, being a cart or wagon. The judge is observing each hitch from the middle of the ring where he or she is standing. All of the hitches make a few laps in this counter-clockwise direction and then reverse. A lap is completed when a hitch travels the entire way around the arena next to the rail. When the reverse is made, the hitches diagonally cut the ring in half in order to go the opposite direction. This allows the judge to see the other side of each hitch. A couple more laps are made going in this clockwise direction. While making these laps on the rail, the horses are trotting and usually asked to walk for a few steps only once during the entire class. Next, all of the hitches line up, coming to a complete stop in the middle of the ring, all facing the same direction. The judge then looks at each hitch individually and has them back up. This requires the driver of each hitch to direct his or her horse(s) to back either the cart or wagon a few feet, stop, and then step forward to the original position. Finally, the judge places all of the hitches in the order of his or her preference.

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