07/13/2026
Great share JJWyatt❣️
Can we talk about the littlest horse show kids for a minute?
First, because the internet is the internet: this is not directed at any particular show, organization, committee, judge, or group of people. 😂
These are just the thoughts of a mom who has spent the last four days at a horse show with a five-year-old and her pony.
A mom who has hauled the trailer, packed the snacks, found the missing boots, reapplied sunscreen, kept a small child fed, rested, entertained and alive, and is currently thinking about all of this after lying in the gooseneck of a horse trailer while trains roared past her head in the middle of the night. 🤣
So consider this less of a complaint and more of a love letter; maybe a plea.
We talk a lot in the horse world about declining entries, aging memberships, and how we get the next generation involved.
But the next generation is already here.
They’re 2, 3 , 4 and 5 years old, sitting on ponies with their feet barely reaching past the saddle pad.
They’re 6 and 7, just starting to ride on their own.
They’re dressed up. They’re nervous. They’re proud.
And I’ve been wondering:
What if, instead of asking the littlest kids to fit into horse shows designed almost entirely for adults, we built them a little world inside the horse show?
Have a Littles Morning.
Give the youngest riders a couple of hours in a safe warm-up ring, smaller arena, or on the grass where appropriate.
Run their classes together.
Leadline. Showmanship. Horsemanship. Costume class. Poles. Barrels. Whatever your show offers.
Let the five-year-olds be five.
Let the children who are just beginning to ride independently warm up with other beginners instead of navigating crowded spaces with older riders and bigger, faster horses.
Because separating young children and beginner riders isn’t babying them.
It’s good risk management. It’s good horsemanship.
A child who can steer, stop, and ride a pattern independently may still not have the experience or reaction time to handle every unpredictable situation created by a busy arena full of powerful horses.
Give them a place to learn.
Let parents help from the rail.
Let someone take an extra minute when they forget their pattern.
Announce every child’s name like they’ve just entered the grandest arena in the world.
And please—give the littles the real ribbons.
I know. It’s not about the ribbon.
But they’re children.
The magic matters.
If everyone else gets a beautiful rosette to hang on the wall, give the littles one too.
And when it comes time for awards, maybe think beyond another grooming tote. Imagine a teeny, inexpensive buckle with the show name and year on it. Twenty-five years from now, someone might still have it tucked away. “That was my first buckle. I won it on my pony when I was five.”
Have a swing set at the ag grounds.
Or a slide.
A sandbox.
Because a five-year-old can love horses with her whole heart and still not want to sit quietly beside an arena for eight hours.
Make the horse show a place where young families can comfortably exist.
Give the littles their morning.
Let them show. Let them be celebrated. Take the pictures. Hand out the ribbons.
And then let them go play, eat a hot dog, watch the big horses, take a nap, or go home while they still think horse shows are the greatest thing in the world.
If we want children to become lifelong horse people, we need to stop measuring success by how quickly they can function in horse shows designed for adults.
Build them a safe little world inside the horse show.
Maybe?
🖤
