Nate Offline
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Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 5:51 pm Posts: 551
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Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 5:51 pm Posts: 551 Showing Discussion
I would like to start a discussion on showing as it currently exists for the purposes of understanding what players are doing right now and how to get more of them involved in showing so we can have more events run faster and have more fun! So, at your leisure, please answer the following questions:
Do you train and show every horse?
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show?
How do you decide what events to show a horse in?
How early in their training do you start showing them?
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows?
For those of you who don’t show at all, why not? Do shows run too slowly, do you age horses too fast for it to be worth it for you, do you find the time spent on training too high compared to the benefits of showing?
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
Do you train and show every horse?
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show?
How do you decide what events to show a horse in?
How early in their training do you start showing them?
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows?
For those of you who don’t show at all, why not? Do shows run too slowly, do you age horses too fast for it to be worth it for you, do you find the time spent on training too high compared to the benefits of showing?
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
Signature? I don't need no stinkin' signature! Everybody knows who I am already!
Re: Showing Discussion
Hi Nate!
To answer your questions:
Do you train and show every horse? No
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show? I breed a line of horses then choose the top 12 best colts and fillies. I show the ones that have good comments and a high genetic potential 45k+. Then I test them out in a few shows, and I keep showing the ones that do well.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in? I just enter everything the horse is eligible for at lvl 1 and continue in anything they consistently do 50% or better in. If they drop below 50% for more than a day or so, then I stop showing them in that event.
How early in their training do you start showing them? If I'm not sure if they'll do well, I enter them in shows starting at age 1. If I think they could break records, I wait until they're fully trained (95% in everything).
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows? I always do testing at level 1. If they enter a lot of lvl 1 shows, I go ahead and enter levels 2 and 3 for those events so they don't skip them completely.
For those of you who don’t show at all, why not? Do shows run too slowly, do you age horses too fast for it to be worth it for you, do you find the time spent on training too high compared to the benefits of showing? I'll answer this even though I show now, since I just started. Sometimes I drop out of showing because it's difficult to find shows of the right type/level for my horses. And even when I do find them, they often run late (particularly the in-hand shows) since they don't have enough entries. Also, I find the time spent training one horse is too high compared to the benefits unless you are reasonably sure you have a champion that can sweep pretty much everything it's entered into. I also tend to age most of my horses too fast, so I have to toss my show horses to my other account or they'd die before their shows even run.
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
The new update is great for entering the competitions. I only started showing once it was implemented. To make things easier, it would be nice to have some visual representation of when a handler is already entered in a show, so you don't keep clicking into the same one for different horses. It would also be nice if some of the suggestions that have been recently added to the suggestions area could be added like entry fee caps, ect... It could also be awesome if we could have a show barn where we could have a specific number of horses (maybe with training courses this could increase) that wouldn't age while they were in the barn or where we could turn aging off for as long as they were in the barn? Not sure if anyone would like that suggestion, but it would limit the number of times you had to throw your horse back and forth between accounts.
Thanks for the updates!
To answer your questions:
Do you train and show every horse? No
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show? I breed a line of horses then choose the top 12 best colts and fillies. I show the ones that have good comments and a high genetic potential 45k+. Then I test them out in a few shows, and I keep showing the ones that do well.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in? I just enter everything the horse is eligible for at lvl 1 and continue in anything they consistently do 50% or better in. If they drop below 50% for more than a day or so, then I stop showing them in that event.
How early in their training do you start showing them? If I'm not sure if they'll do well, I enter them in shows starting at age 1. If I think they could break records, I wait until they're fully trained (95% in everything).
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows? I always do testing at level 1. If they enter a lot of lvl 1 shows, I go ahead and enter levels 2 and 3 for those events so they don't skip them completely.
For those of you who don’t show at all, why not? Do shows run too slowly, do you age horses too fast for it to be worth it for you, do you find the time spent on training too high compared to the benefits of showing? I'll answer this even though I show now, since I just started. Sometimes I drop out of showing because it's difficult to find shows of the right type/level for my horses. And even when I do find them, they often run late (particularly the in-hand shows) since they don't have enough entries. Also, I find the time spent training one horse is too high compared to the benefits unless you are reasonably sure you have a champion that can sweep pretty much everything it's entered into. I also tend to age most of my horses too fast, so I have to toss my show horses to my other account or they'd die before their shows even run.
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
The new update is great for entering the competitions. I only started showing once it was implemented. To make things easier, it would be nice to have some visual representation of when a handler is already entered in a show, so you don't keep clicking into the same one for different horses. It would also be nice if some of the suggestions that have been recently added to the suggestions area could be added like entry fee caps, ect... It could also be awesome if we could have a show barn where we could have a specific number of horses (maybe with training courses this could increase) that wouldn't age while they were in the barn or where we could turn aging off for as long as they were in the barn? Not sure if anyone would like that suggestion, but it would limit the number of times you had to throw your horse back and forth between accounts.
Thanks for the updates!
Alaina Offline
Beta Tester Beta Tester
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Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2014 1:30 am Posts: 240
Beta Tester Beta Tester
Visit My Farm
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Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2014 1:30 am Posts: 240 Re: Showing Discussion
Do you train and show every horse?
Yes and no.
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show?
I do train all my horses up to 5 years and then the mares I transfer to brood while the studs continue to train and show full time. At 3.5 years I show all my youngstock (20-24 horses) in a level one trial show. I keep the top four scoring fillies (one from each family). Mares I only ever show once in their trials at this point in time.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in?
I chose my discipline before I even started my herd. I was fond of the hunter discipline and the "ideal conformation" for hunter is what I find to be the most attractive type that I would like to see my herd conforming to.
How early in their training do you start showing them?
I do the initial trial show for my youngstock at around 250% total training. My studs I start to show regularly around 450%.
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows?
I always start with level one and then just work up from there as they naturally gain levels.
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
As far as suggestions go I have mentioned previously (and still think) there could be some rework. People often train a horse to max then throw it on an account where it will never age and show it indefinitely which has become the only way to really work your way up the leaderboards. Other people use both accounts regularly and thus can't really do that. The barns that freeze aging has been mentioned in the past and I think that's a good idea. Another thing mentioned (that was perhaps to be implemented?) was to have an energy cost for breeding studs. I think working both of these ideas together could lead to a much more fair way of showing. This way everyone can have horses that don't age but not an extraordinary number that most can get through use of a second account at the moment. I would suggest that studs in these "non aging" barns have the breeding energy cost not apply to them though. On another note Argent suggested having game created shows run daily and I think that would be really helpful to get the showing picked up.
Yes and no.
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show?
I do train all my horses up to 5 years and then the mares I transfer to brood while the studs continue to train and show full time. At 3.5 years I show all my youngstock (20-24 horses) in a level one trial show. I keep the top four scoring fillies (one from each family). Mares I only ever show once in their trials at this point in time.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in?
I chose my discipline before I even started my herd. I was fond of the hunter discipline and the "ideal conformation" for hunter is what I find to be the most attractive type that I would like to see my herd conforming to.
How early in their training do you start showing them?
I do the initial trial show for my youngstock at around 250% total training. My studs I start to show regularly around 450%.
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows?
I always start with level one and then just work up from there as they naturally gain levels.
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
As far as suggestions go I have mentioned previously (and still think) there could be some rework. People often train a horse to max then throw it on an account where it will never age and show it indefinitely which has become the only way to really work your way up the leaderboards. Other people use both accounts regularly and thus can't really do that. The barns that freeze aging has been mentioned in the past and I think that's a good idea. Another thing mentioned (that was perhaps to be implemented?) was to have an energy cost for breeding studs. I think working both of these ideas together could lead to a much more fair way of showing. This way everyone can have horses that don't age but not an extraordinary number that most can get through use of a second account at the moment. I would suggest that studs in these "non aging" barns have the breeding energy cost not apply to them though. On another note Argent suggested having game created shows run daily and I think that would be really helpful to get the showing picked up.
Re: Showing Discussion
Do you train and show every horse?
Nope.
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show?
At the moment I'm focusing on getting the best stats for the horses I breed, so that means a lot of breeding and less training. The horses I do train are usually the "rejects," or the horses that don't fit into my breeding plans, but are perfect for showing so I didn't want to give them up. Usually they're really nice grades or half breeds. Once I get my Shagyas and Polish Arabians to where I want, however, I'll pick the best out of them to show.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in?
When I used to show Akhal-Tekes, I would find the discipline that best suited that horse. That worked for a while, but then it started to get confusing, and their text boxes on their profiles got cluttered with all sorts of reminders ranging from what disciplines they were in to what training they needed...It was messy to say the least.
Recently tho, I've been doing what Alaina does. I like Saddleseat (I always thought it to be rather quirky), and I like the look of the body type that matches it so I've been breeding my horses towards that.
How early in their training do you start showing them?
I usually start looking for events when they turn about a year, or once they get at least 20% in all the stats they need for that discipline. I find this is around when you can tell if the horse is suited for that discipline or not. That way you don't have to train them forever, only to find out they awful at showing.
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows?
I go in order starting at level one. Although, I do tend to put them into a lot of shows at once (ie one horse will go into every Saddleseat level 1 events available), so they don't always go level by level. This is so I have a better shot at doing well at lower levels/a better chance at breaking records.
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
What I would absolutely love is if in the competition results for each horse it also listed the shows they were currently in, not just the completed ones, so that I could tell if they still had shows that needed to run.
I also kind of wish that there were a horse leader board of sorts on the News Feed page. Right between the Activity portion and the users currently online. Something that updates regularly so that people looking at the front page can see how active HWO is with their competitions. I think it might entice more people to join.
Nope.
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show?
At the moment I'm focusing on getting the best stats for the horses I breed, so that means a lot of breeding and less training. The horses I do train are usually the "rejects," or the horses that don't fit into my breeding plans, but are perfect for showing so I didn't want to give them up. Usually they're really nice grades or half breeds. Once I get my Shagyas and Polish Arabians to where I want, however, I'll pick the best out of them to show.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in?
When I used to show Akhal-Tekes, I would find the discipline that best suited that horse. That worked for a while, but then it started to get confusing, and their text boxes on their profiles got cluttered with all sorts of reminders ranging from what disciplines they were in to what training they needed...It was messy to say the least.
Recently tho, I've been doing what Alaina does. I like Saddleseat (I always thought it to be rather quirky), and I like the look of the body type that matches it so I've been breeding my horses towards that.
How early in their training do you start showing them?
I usually start looking for events when they turn about a year, or once they get at least 20% in all the stats they need for that discipline. I find this is around when you can tell if the horse is suited for that discipline or not. That way you don't have to train them forever, only to find out they awful at showing.
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows?
I go in order starting at level one. Although, I do tend to put them into a lot of shows at once (ie one horse will go into every Saddleseat level 1 events available), so they don't always go level by level. This is so I have a better shot at doing well at lower levels/a better chance at breaking records.
Please include any other kinds of comments or suggestions you might have for improving your personal process!
What I would absolutely love is if in the competition results for each horse it also listed the shows they were currently in, not just the completed ones, so that I could tell if they still had shows that needed to run.
I also kind of wish that there were a horse leader board of sorts on the News Feed page. Right between the Activity portion and the users currently online. Something that updates regularly so that people looking at the front page can see how active HWO is with their competitions. I think it might entice more people to join.
Re: Showing Discussion
Do you train and show every horse? No, I do not.
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show? I train horses based on a few factors. Specifically horses with good BR and now horse genetic potential (hgp). I focus on training horses that are good examples of my breed and thus I intend to breed often and, if stallions, stud out so that I will have a better understanding of what their foals will be successful in.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in? As I have purebreds, first I look at their IRL disciplines and try to breed towards them if possible. I also look at the breed's conformation to see what that would mean on HWO. With individual horses within the breed, I look at their BR and train them in what they are suited for (hopefully of the already chosen disciplines). Then I enter them in local shows to see how well they compete against other horses. In the end, I enter them in events in the disciplines they did best in at the LS level.
How early in their training do you start showing them? This depends. When I have many horses in a single discipline, I focus on the eldest horses first and usually the horses are shown over the age of 10 or even 15. In rare disciplines, I often show the horses as soon as I begin training to a minor degree.
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows? For horses I show after their LS results are in, I tend to show them at the levels were they earned 1st-3rd. In horses where I don't have that information yet and whose training isn't complete, I show starting at L1 and then increase that as required.
For me, it would really help if I could further organize my horses. It's absolutely amazing to be able to sort by discipline and level now! It's also great to be able to sort by barn; however, it would be lovely if I could create specific lists of my own where I could add certain horses to them. For instance, I could have a list of horses under the heading of "Western" who all competed in Western, regardless of barn, and I would add horses of my own choosing to this list. This could allow someone to pull up a specific discipline and enter all horses within that discipline much quicker, specifically if they don't organize their barns by show type but rather breed or other method.
If no, how do you choose which ones to train and show? I train horses based on a few factors. Specifically horses with good BR and now horse genetic potential (hgp). I focus on training horses that are good examples of my breed and thus I intend to breed often and, if stallions, stud out so that I will have a better understanding of what their foals will be successful in.
How do you decide what events to show a horse in? As I have purebreds, first I look at their IRL disciplines and try to breed towards them if possible. I also look at the breed's conformation to see what that would mean on HWO. With individual horses within the breed, I look at their BR and train them in what they are suited for (hopefully of the already chosen disciplines). Then I enter them in local shows to see how well they compete against other horses. In the end, I enter them in events in the disciplines they did best in at the LS level.
How early in their training do you start showing them? This depends. When I have many horses in a single discipline, I focus on the eldest horses first and usually the horses are shown over the age of 10 or even 15. In rare disciplines, I often show the horses as soon as I begin training to a minor degree.
How do you decide what levels to enter them into for their first shows? For horses I show after their LS results are in, I tend to show them at the levels were they earned 1st-3rd. In horses where I don't have that information yet and whose training isn't complete, I show starting at L1 and then increase that as required.
For me, it would really help if I could further organize my horses. It's absolutely amazing to be able to sort by discipline and level now! It's also great to be able to sort by barn; however, it would be lovely if I could create specific lists of my own where I could add certain horses to them. For instance, I could have a list of horses under the heading of "Western" who all competed in Western, regardless of barn, and I would add horses of my own choosing to this list. This could allow someone to pull up a specific discipline and enter all horses within that discipline much quicker, specifically if they don't organize their barns by show type but rather breed or other method.
Re: Showing Discussion
I just felt like I should add that, thanks to the new training update, it is now much more feasible to train and show horses at a younger age, so I have switched to training all of my pure-blooded arabs.