In a word yes, turnout does matter. Having correctly fitting equipment and being properly dressed proves you belong. You can have a great round of jumps and poor turn out and still be the winner but presenting yourself as the winner even before the class begins gives you a head start for the class.

Although we do not like to say we make snap judgments based on appearance, we do. You can be sitting on the best looking horse, have the best form over fences but if you have poor ‘turn out’, dirty horse, no braids and badly adjusted equipment, you will have to work hard to prove you belong in the competition ring.

Then there is the ‘flip side’. You have seen them as well. People who have all the gear but cannot get to a fence correctly. Believe me, I have seen a lot of this. If you present yourself with a well turned out horse, equipment which is fitted correctly, you better back it up with some nice jumps.

I remember judging a horse and rider combination which commanded my attention right from the ingate. I thought, WOW this is going to be great. Beautiful turn out. The rider wore a lovely jacket with complimentary shirt, immaculate tail braided and the horse had sparkling white socks with oiled hooves. The picture presented was excellent. I thought, great, we have a winner. That was the thought going through my mind – we have a winner. Before she even stepped over a fence I had her in mind for the first place round. Unfortunately for her, the winning spot was short lived. What she had in turnout was not matched by her ability. There were chips, popped fences and rails. All in all it was a bad round but beautiful turn out. The moral of this story? If you are going to have excellent turnout, then back it up with a powerhouse performance as well.

Do you practice good turn out. What is the best turnout tip you can give our fellow readers?