United States Eventing Association

World-renowned groom Max Corcoran gave a talk and demonstration on “Championship Turnout” as part of The Event College, which aims to educate eventers and non-eventers alike on a variety of topics related to eventing and horsemanship. Corcoran was top groom for the O’Connor Event Team for years and is an expert on all things grooming, nutrition, tack and horse care.

Here are some of her tips on turning your horse out to the nines.

• If you have a horse with a long neck, use bigger braids. A horse with a short neck should have smaller braids to make his neck look longer.
• Max usually makes bridle paths the width of the bridle, about two fingers wide. Giltedge, David O’Connor’s famous three-day horse with whom he won a team silver medal at the 1996 Olympics among many other international accolades, was suspicious about having his forelock and braids near his ears. Therefore, his bridle path was clipped long, and his forelock was only braided at three-day events and stayed braided for the duration of the competition.
• Championships turnout is not just a matter of Show Sheen and pretty braids. Your horse’s health and wellbeing is an important factor, too. Know your horse and his habits and be proactive. Does he drink well away from home? Do his legs “stock up” in the stall?
• Try to keep your horse on a schedule similar to the one he is on at home: feed at the same time, take him out for walks around the same time he would be turned out, etc.
• “Witch hazel is your friend,” Max said. Not only is it antifungal and antibacterial, wiping your dark bay or black horse down with a cloth dampened with witch hazel will pull the dirt and dust out of the horse’s undercoat and make him look especially clean.
• Clean your tack. Your turnout is the judge’s first impression of you and they will notice dirty tack.
• Ear bonnets are helpful when there are bugs out and can help to muffle sounds. Ear bonnets are allowed in the jumping phases but the ground jury must approve them for dressage. In dressage, logos are not allowed on ear bonnets. Not even the American flag could be on the ear bonnets at the World Equestrian Games for the dressage phase.
• Don’t try new things like ear bonnets for the first time at a show. Let your horse get used to it at home first.
• If your horse does not drink well away from home, there are several ways to make sure they get adequate hydration: Wet their hay/grain; electrolytes and table salt contain potassium and encourage drinking; put apple juice or orange juice in their water bucket; carrots are a good source of water; bring water from home. If you horse continue to not drink, call the vet so they can help the horse before he becomes severely dehydrated.

Interested in learning more? If you are at the AEC this week, there are lots of educational opportunities. Meet Tamie Smith by the dressage warm-up arena at 3:00 p.m. to discuss dressage warmup techniques. At 6:15 p.m., Laine Ashker, Avery Klunick, and Alyssa Phillips will give a talk called, “Growing Up Eventing: Balancing School, Life, and Eventing.”

Go here for a detailed schedule.
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