Horse Show Packing Checklist
Pack from a list, not from memory.
Everything that should be in the lorry before you leave: horse kit, rider kit, the documents that get you through the gate, and the things you only miss when they are not there.
Pack the night before, not the morning of.
Load the documents first: a forgotten girth can be borrowed, a forgotten vaccination record cannot.
Documents
- ✓Horse passport, plus a photocopy kept separately
- ✓Current vaccination record: check the show’s exact requirement and timing
- ✓Entry confirmation and class numbers
- ✓Membership or registration cards, if required
- ✓A note of your insurance policy number
- ✓Directions, timetable and ring times
- ✓Your vet’s number and an emergency contact
Horse kit
- ✓Bridle, spare reins, martingale or breastplate if used
- ✓Saddle, girth and a spare girth, numnah or pad
- ✓Work boots or bandages. Travel boots or bandages plus a tail guard
- ✓Leather headcollar and lead rope for travel, plus a spare set
- ✓Lunge line, if you warm up on the lunge
- ✓Full grooming kit, plaiting kit, quarter-marker comb
- ✓Hoof oil, fly spray, sponges, water carriers and buckets, sweat scraper
- ✓Cooler or sweat rug, and one spare rug for the weather
- ✓Haynets and hay. Hard feed and a bowl, electrolytes in hot weather
- ✓A full container of water from home: some horses will not drink strange water
Rider kit
- ✓Riding hat, current standard and properly fitted, plus a spare
- ✓Boots and half-chaps or long boots. Gloves plus a spare pair
- ✓Jacket, show shirt or stock and pin. Breeches plus a spare pair
- ✓Whip and spurs, if permitted for your class
- ✓Number holder, safety pins, hairnet
- ✓Sun cream, waterproof, a change of clothes
- ✓Phone and charger, cash and card, food and water for you
First aid & repairs
Vet wrap, gamgee, wound cleaner, saline, poultice, thermometer, tape, blunt scissors, a clean towel.
Leather repairsSpare buckle, hole punch, a spare stirrup leather, baler twine, cable ties, duct tape.
A stocked human first aid kit.
Tools & lightA working torch, spare bulbs and fuses for the vehicle, a basic tool bucket.
The vehicle & the timeline
- ✓Fuel. All tyres including the spare checked for pressure and wear
- ✓Water tank filled. Partitions and breast or breech bars secure. Ramp and jockey doors working
- ✓Breakdown cover current and the policy number to hand
- ✓First aid kit, fire extinguisher, warning triangle and hi-viz aboard
- ✓Load in daylight. Build in time for traffic and a horse that won’t load
- ✓Arrive early enough to settle the horse and walk the course or collecting ring
- ✓Know your ring time and your warm-up window, and work back from it
A lot of horses drink poorly at a venue, and a dehydrated horse performs and travels worse. Bring your own water, and if you flavour it at home, keep flavouring it away too, so the strange trough is not the only option.
A forgotten girth can be borrowed at the gate. A forgotten vaccination record cannot. Load the documents first.
Documents first: passport, in-date vaccinations, entries, insurance number, vet contact.
Horse kit: tack with a spare girth and headcollar. Full grooming and plaiting kit. Feed, hay and water from home.
Rider kit: fitted hat plus spare, spare breeches and gloves, number holder and pins, food for you.
First aid and repairs for horse, human and vehicle, plus baler twine and duct tape.
Vehicle checked: tyres, bars, breakdown cover. Load in daylight and work back from your ring time.
Vaccination requirements, and the tack and dress permitted in each class, are set by the competition organiser and governing body. Check the current schedule and rules for your show before you travel.
How to Choose a Riding Helmet
Which standard your class needs, and why fit comes first.
Saddle Fit: The Basics Every Rider Should Understand
The kit under the rider, and how to spot a problem.
What Belongs in a Good Grooming Kit?
The core kit that also does show-morning turnout.