Have you ever been to a horse show and seen the sleek, shiny horses of every size and color performing at the peak of their splendor? If not, you don't know what you're missing. Come along now on a trip to the country, and the wonderful world of the show.

As soon as you start to bump along the old dirt road that leads to the show grounds, you'll feel excitement in the air. It's a kind of excitement like a light fever, horse fever. Any­one who likes animals loves horses, and almost everywhere you look you'll see horses—some being ridden in an easy, relaxed manner by sea­soned professional riders; some being held by proud, smiling grandmothers; some acting frisky in the crisp morn­ing air as soft-voiced grooms do their best to quiet down the snorting ani­mals ; some standing peacefully, gent­ly nuzzling their affectionate owners. Young riders will be scurrying in every direction, hunting for the prop­er number to wear on their backs so the judges can identify them easily, - searching for their hunt caps or der­bies before the next class begins, or maybe just plain trying to find moth­er. Other riders may be out for some early morning practice, putting the high-stepping Saddle Horses through a walk, trot, and canter. Or you may see a well-dressed rider in black boots and canary-yellow riding breeches taking a big, rangy hunter over the outside hunt course where the jumps are like the actual jumps a rider would meet on a real hunt. You'll hold your breath the first time you see that Thoroughbred collect himself and go up and over a four-foot stone wall with the ease and grace of a dancer.

Pounding away in the distance will be the rhythmic beat of the black­smith's hammer, the ringing clang of iron on iron as he shapes a shoe. When the shoe is properly formed, the clang­ing will stop only to be replaced by the softer thud of a small hammer driv­ing the nails through the shoe and into the horse's hoof. But don't worry about the horse being hurt. His hooves are like your fingernails. No pain is felt around the edges where the shoe is tacked on, any more than you feel pain when your nails are filed. Only if a nail is hammered too near the cen­ter of the hoof will a horse feel any discomfort.

As you keep moving along the dirt road, you'll see horse vans and trail­ers which transport the animals and equipment to and from their home stables. In the background, you'll see the barns where each owner is as­signed stalls for his horses and, if the show is a large one, there will even be huge tents put up to stable the hundreds of horses that will be on hand to compete in the sport of kings.

But these days is it the sport of kings only? Not on your life! In fact, if you'll buy yourself a program and step right up to the rail of the big riding ring where the various events (each of which is called a 'class') take place, you'll discover for your­self that riding horses is truly becoming the sport of kids.

At typewriter with notes near by, a sports writer taps out horse show news, headlines

A judge examines a hunter's conformation, checking his overall physical appearance

Judges, protected from sun and rain by a colorful tent, calmly discuss a competing hunter's performance

In an open jumping class, the horse that knocks down or touches the least number of fences wins. Here an entry clears a gate

Row on row of tents stable the horses that come to the show

Refreshment stand gets plenty of business on any hot summer's day

A devoted show fan checks map of course, noting tricky jumps

Inside the large tents owners display ribbons and keep bridles ready

Young rider holds horse as blacksmith nails on shoe

Around horses, a stitch in time can possibly prevent a bad accident

Hopes are high and a buddy in Bermudas offers encouragement

This horse gets a brisk rub-down from his groom after he's had a turn over the hunt course

Some horses really travel in style But a plain trailer is just as efficient

Railbirds frown and gasp as horse falters

Let's take a look at the program together and you'll see what I mean. Suppose the first class of the day is the Lead Line Class. This class is open to young riders who are still be­ginners and whose horses are held on a 'shank,' or lead rope, throughout the class by an adult riding another horse. All the young beginning rider is asked to do is to walk and trot. The youngsters who enter the Lead Line Class are often only five or six years old. Such a class as this gives any new rider a fine start, a chance to gain confidence and poise.

You'll be wanting to know what's the next step after the Lead Line Class. Well, there is a whole string of Horsemanship Classes open to girls and boys under eighteen—designed specifically for young riders and suit­ed to each stage of their development. Exactly what is a Horsemanship Class ? It's an event in which the abil­ity of the rider is judged. There are many other classes in which the per­formance of the horse is what counts. —and in such classes the rider may even resort to worsening his own riding style if he can show the horse to better advantage by doing so. Horse­manship classes are also called equi­tation classes, from the Latin word for horse which, as some of you know, is equus. It's from these events that the world's best riders get their basic training, and learn to ride in cham­pionship style.

Let's take a look and see if, at the very show you're visiting, we may not find one of the outstanding riders in today's horse-show world—eighteen-year-old Joan Draper, whose home is in Fairfield, Connecticut.

There she is, over there by the pad­dock fence, watching her younger sis­ter, Margaret, perform in the Lead Line Class. Even as a little girl, Joan loved horses. She can remember how she used to pester her parents—con­stantly begging them to give her rid­ing lessons. Her father is a veterinar­ian and understood her desire to be with horses.

When Joan was eight, her parents arranged for her to take lessons twice a week at the Fairfield Hunt Club under the instruction of Emerson Burr. Right away, Mr. Burr saw that Joan had a naturally fine sense of balance and felt very much at ease on a horse. As often as school work would allow, she practiced mounting and dismounting, and riding at a walk and a trot, and soon she was on her way to her first show. You know what her first class in a big show was: the Lead Line Class at the Fairfield Hunt Club Show—at the age of ten. Joan won second place—her first ribbon, a beautiful, big red one. Joan's as proud of that ribbon today as when she first won it, and since that show she has gone to win in almost every major show in the East.

Checking a jump for exact height Here's your horse's name, right here!

A rangy gray takes a perfect jump—thanks to free head his rider gives him

The Draper family all set for a hunt Proud beginner on mount led by mother waits for start of lead-line class

In riding with an English saddle (as contrasted with a Western saddle), there are two main kinds of position —or 'seat'—you take when sitting astride the horse: the 'hunter (or for­ward) seat' and the 'saddle seat.'

Because Joan lives in the Connecti­cut countryside among gently rolling hills and New England's old stone walls, this young rider chose to ride hunter seat. You'll see the difference between the two seats in photographs on following pages. In learning to ride with this basic position, she prepared herself for jumping, because the hunter-seat position is used when arider goes over fences. Saddle-seat riders must be content with riding on the flat—no jumping.

"Saddle seat," says Joan, "is majes­tic and beautiful. But it's not for me. I like to be able to have fun on a horse, and I feel that a rider can do so much more with a hunter. A hunter is just as beautiful in the ring as any other horse, though he's certainly less flashy. He gives me a much better ride out on the trails where the going may get rugged. And then, there's nothing like knowing that you can jump right over a wall or fallen tree if you come across one out on the bridle path.

"And remember, if you ride hunter seat you're prepared for the unbeliev­able thrill of riding on a real hunt — chasing over the fields in the early morning with the pack of hounds streaming out before you."

Joan Draper shows form that wins championships: her head up, hands forward, heels well down, legs firm with toe and knee in line. At left, she receives trophy presented by Governor Ribicoff of Connecticut

There's no denying that Joan might get a few arguments from Saddle-Horse fans—especially those who feel that five-gaited horses, with their flowing manes and tails and showy ex­tra gaits, are the crowning point in any show.

But what is a gait? Of course you know it's the walking step or the trot­ting step a horse uses as he moves along, but perhaps you aren't aware of the number of kinds of step a horse can take. A three-gaited horse is so called because he can walk, trot and canter. These are all called natural gaits. The five-gaited horse adds two movements, the 'slow gait' (a single-foot step in which each strikes the ground singly) and the 'rack,' a kind of fast single-foot. These gaits do not come so naturally to the horse as the other three—horses have to be taught to perform them. But we'll discuss these gaits in greater detail a little farther on.

But in spite of the showy qualities of the five-gaited horses, a great num­ber and variety of classes are usually open to hunters, and Joan certainly knew what was right for her because, since that first red ribbon, she has won important awards. She was pre­sented with the Champion Rider of the Year Trophy in 1956 by Governor Ribicoff, of Connecticut. She also won the 1957 High Score Award, present­ed at the American Horse Show As­sociation Convention in New Orleans.

With graceful ease, a fine hunter and determined rider take a brush fence

Though this horse needs coaxing, it's time at show's end to load up and head for home

And just to prove that there is such a thing as horse fever, the entire Draper family now rides! They've gone from owning the one horse they bought when Joan was ten to owning five. Two of these are kept at the Draper home and Joan, who admits she's no early riser, points out that it's easy to care for them. For the simplest form of care, all you need is a shed or barn to serve as a rude shelter, an acre or two of fenced-in land as paddock or pasture—and a first-one-up-in-the-morning arrange­ment to take care of the feeding!

Of course, really superb care is more involved than that—and you'll find out more about it later. Then you can decide for yourself how fancy you want to be in your treatment of a horse. But don't let anyone fool you— just because horses are large, that doesn't mean they're hard to take care of. A horse is as simple to keep as a dog—and the rewards are alto­gether different. So get a good spot at the rail during the show and keep a keen eye on those horses. Decide on the kind of horse that's right for you, depending partly on whether you know how to ride right now and how well, and on whether you want to buy a horse to keep permanently or one you will want to trade in after a while.

What appeals to you, as you watch each animal perform with his own special magnificence? Do you like the easy naturalness of the hunter? Or do you prefer the regal splendor of the Saddle Horse and the five-gaited horse? Perhaps you like the smooth rocking-chair comfort of the Tennes­see Walking Horse, or the solid, taut strength of a Morgan. If you're look­ing for lovely color, how about a Palo­mino ? If you want a sleek, true aris­tocrat of horses, be sure you pay at­tention to the Arabian.

If you're uncertain about just which sort of horse is right for you— let's go backstage at a horseshow. Let's see where people buy horses, how they take care of them, what equipment they need, how much things cost, and how they start learn­ing to ride. Who knows if, given a little practice and a chance to show your de­termination, you may not become a champion like Joan Draper yourself!

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...