Q. What type of preparation is involved?
A.  The day before the show, the tack needs to be cleaned, saddle pads washed, etc.  The horse should be bathed and groomed (this is sometimes done the morning of the show.) To make showing easy, it's best to make a checklist and gather everything you need the night before.  We've had parents make frantic dashes back to the farm for a forgotten helmet and other parents who ripped the house apart the morning of a show hunting for that missing show crop.