It’s 2020, I’m 21 nearly 22 and I haven’t shown a day in my life, but I like to treat every ride like it’s show day. Capone gets the best grooming sessions with me, all the natural coat enhancers he can take, and he loves it!! Today’s post is about my favorite products I would take to a show with me, if I ever had the opportunity to go to one.

I feel like if you get to have nice show clothes, then your horse should have the best outfit as well. To do this, I’ve invested in a nice, but still used leather halter and I have tried to take the best of care of it. Ideally I’d like to get two new leather halters, one black with rose gold hardware, and one new flat noseband brown leather halter with gold hardware because my current ones crown piece is messed up. Pictured above is my Tory Leather leather halter on Capone, without a nameplate unfortunately. I’d love to get one that says Grey2Bay on one side and my name on the other. This halter is super easy to care for, holds up great and is such a classy shape and style. I really love the way it fits Capone and accentuates his dished face. This company was kind enough to repost Capone in this halter when we were still based out of Webb.

My first major go to is my Noble Outfitters/ Noble Equestrian Grooming Tote. It is one of my most prized possessions in my tack box. Besides it’s perfect blue/turquoise trim, it has the best design out of any other grooming tote out there. There’s a ton of outside pockets, dividers for three rows of storage, and Velcro pockets for those keepsakes that need to stay locked in. The bottom is super durable mesh so all dirt, hair, and dry particles can fall out the bottom instead of collecting in the corners of the tote. This was one of the major selling points for me, besides its cute appearance. It also came with a free patch of my choice and I chose the jumper patch. The exterior of the tote is also very washable, I usually just wipe it down with a wet rag. This tote is in Brilliant Blue priced at $49.95, although the new model is slightly different since they rebranded and added colors. It will for sure catch eyes of fellow show goers, and they’ll be asking you where your totes from.

My next show go to’s are by Sport Horse Essentials, their Waterless Shampoo and Hoof Oil specifically with two extras to make using these products easier on you. The Waterless Shampoo is their best product hands down, but you’ll need a good microfiber towel to rub the stains out properly. My SHE towel is hanging on my grooming tote, and I pretty much just use it for nose goop, eye goop, the occasional mouth goop and stains. I wash my collection of rags religiously to keep them long lasting, and even pick up more packs of them at Marshall’s. The Waterless Shampoo is a natural spray that removes most stains with a good quick rub of the towel. It also smells like coconuts and leaves your horse/pony smelling good too. Unlike other stain removers, this one doesn’t leave tacky residue behind, it really rubs out nicely. Moving on to hooves, the SHE Hoof Oil is also a close second favorite of their products because of its many talents. Besides being a stunning hoof polish, using this oil right after being reshod/ your farrier visits will help strengthen your horses feet over time. This photo is older and Capone is shod on all fours now, but we still use the oil on his feet after every visit from our farrier. It also doubles as a thrush preventative on the soles of the feet, I had no idea until the company shared these images of Capone and my SHE stash with a caption about it. After we get through oiling all four feet, I think it’s only fair to give your pony a treat and these are an easy add on!!

Besides grooming aids, my absolute must have at a show is my goat/horse hair finishing brush. It is the best brush for the nitty gritty finer dirt in your horses coat. I’ve used it to wash all dander, dirt, flakes and other stuff out from a bunch of horses coats. I haven’t found a single brush that comes close to it besides a two inch long face brush that’s made of pure horse hair. This photo above is as close of a brush I could find to match mine, and it’s priced at $11 online at Tough 1. I absorbed my brush from a lesson program I used to work for, let’s just say it definitely wouldn’t be appreciated like it is with me had it stayed with them.

Besides your horses well being you also have to think about yourself a little bit, especially in terms of being out at a show and needing water. This Shop Hunt Club water bottle is my favorite bottle of all time. It keeps ice for an entire 24 hours, is super cute and has a great saying on it. I’ve slowly been adding horse stickers to it, and it’s become more and more of a personalized bottle for me. Everyone including myself has a HydroFlask but this bottle is honestly better in my opinion. They don’t have this bottle anymore, but it was priced at $26. Grab a water bottle from ShopHuntClub, The Horse Girl Co, or your local Ross or Marshall’s if you’re in a pinch, and make sure to stay hydrated!!

I hope this post was informative and helps you plan out your first or next show experience. I’ll try to do more hypotheticals if you guys enjoy them, and stay tuned for more posts of mine!!