Show hack

The show hack is a type of ridden show horse, exhibited to a standard first established in England.

Affiliated showing and breeding of the show hacks in the United Kingdom is overseen by the British Show Horse Association.

In the USA and Canada, show hack is solely a form of competition open to various breeds and overseen by the USEF and Equine Canada (EC). The Canadian form of competition is more closely modeled on the British standard than that of the USA.

Show hacks in the UK are divided into two height classes - small hacks are 148 to 154 cm and large hacks are 154 to 160 cm. In Canada, there are also height divisions, at the discretion of show management. Ponies are defined as standing under 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm), and horses may be divided into two or three sections; 14.2 h up to 15.3 hands (63 inches, 160 cm), and over 15.3 h, or 14.2 h to 15.2 hands (62 inches, 157 cm), over 15.2h to 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm), and over 16 h.

Australian show hacks are of any breed and are usually divided into height classes in the following categories: pony, under 14 hands (56 inches, 142 cm), Galloway, over 14 hands and under 15 hands , and Hacks over 15 hands (60 inches, 152 cm). Other classes may include pony hack ridden by a child , lady’s Galloway or Hack, gent's Galloway or Hack, educated hack, sidesaddle, pleasure and heavyweight hacks.

Hacks in any nation must be of elegant appearance, and show excellent self-carriage. In the UK, they are usually full or part-bred Thoroughbreds. Anglo-Arabians are particularly successful in these classes. In the United States and Canada, in addition to horses of Thoroughbred and Arabian breeding, Morgans, Ponies, Warmbloods and part-Warmblood horses also are seen, as North American competition favors a dressage-like frame and way of going.

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