Im might enter my first horse show

Make sure you always know what you are doing-- because most of the time, at a show, you will ALWAYS have somewhere you need to be at a certain time.

and be EARLY for the show so you can school over jumps, set up his stall, water, grooming things etc...!!

MEMORIZATION: If you are jumping make sure you look over your course until you know it for good, try to watch a few people before you so you can get it drilled in your mind what you will be doing! But remeber NOT to overthink it or else you will start getting confused and if you by any means have any questions BE SURE TO ASK SOMEONE! (trainer!)

CLEAN APPEARANCE: You also want to groom your horse very well and never do a half-butt job! There should be no spots or stains and both of you should look very nice and clean cut! Also, remeber that if this is new to your horse he may be nervous and you giving him love is one of the best things that he needs the most! Walk him around the grounds, graze him and let him act like a real horse while at shows-- don't coop him up in the stall and prevent him from doing 'horsey' things or he will get antsy!

FOOD AND YOU: And as for you-- Bring money, snacks and WATER!! You can easily get hot and dehydrated outside all day especially in your full show attire and running around everywhere and no one performs well with a headache and a sick stomach! (especially with nerves on top of that) There will probably be a snack booth but a lot of times you wont even have the time to run over there, except for on break, so pack snacks that you can carry and quick eat on the go! =) Make sure your horse has treats to munch on too in his down time but MAKE SURE he doesn't drink a lot of water right away after a class or he could get a sour stomach and perform badly or even worse, colic!