On Feb 25, 2008, at 6:13 AM, Robyn Hood wrote: > They're not, this is true of other breeds as well that offer halter > classes > and performance. I remember in conformation hunter classes in hand - > few > of those horses ever did well in the show ring. It certainly is / or > was > the same in QH and Arabian show classes. Do other gaited breeds have > conformation classes in their competition?? > > Robyn
The Peruvians have both conformation and halter classes as part of their competitions. Conformation (zootechnico) is strictly conformation -- the horse has to walk to the rail and back to the line up so the judge can determine reach and straightness of moving, but otherwise the horses are judged standing, against the physical parts of the breed standard. Zootechnico doesn't count towards any championship although some club awards count combined placings in zootechnico, gait class, and performance class. Zootechnico is what mosrt other breeds call a halter class. Halter class for Peruvians is largely for showing horses too young to be under saddle: Sec. 2. Breeding - On Halter Open to fillies, colts, mares and stallions. Entries to be shown in hand at each horse's best gait - either Paso llano or Sobreandando. The judge will ask all halter horses to walk some distance after working them on the rail in gait. Unless otherwise specified by show management, each horse shall enter the ring at his best gait and shall remain in that gait until requested to stop and line up. Each horse will be worked sufficiently for the judge to properly evaluate the gait and the walk. Handler should be positioned approximately at the horse's withers, left side, and may change sides during individual workouts. The handler may not let the lead line drag behind in the ground behind him. In the line, horses are to stand squarely, not stretched. Horses must be handled and shown throughout the entire class by one and the same person. Individual workouts may be called for any or all placings at the discretion of the judge. Horses chosen for workouts will be shown as requested by the judge and different speeds may be requested, but excessive speed will not be required. Young horses shall not be heavily penalized for breaking gait occasionally. Entries to be judged 45% on conformation, 30% on gait and collection and 20% on brio and 5% on condition. Halter classes are the basis for Junior Championships but they have declined in entries in recent years, largely because the *handlers* are aging and fewer people are willing to run six or more laps of an arena along with a yearling or two year old in multiple classes (gait is about 7 mph so the handler needs to be able to move on out). Lynn Kinsky, Santa Ynez, CA http://www.silcom.com/~lkinsky/
