When looking for a show horse, first consider the job that the animal will be required to do. For example, A Junior Hunter must be able to clear 3'6" in good form and have a long enough stride to extend beyond twelve feet when necessary at bigger horse shows. If a horse will be used for advanced equitation classes, such as the USET Class, then it must be capable of jumping fences set a 3'9" with 5' spreads.
Not only must you consider whether or not the horse can do the tasks that will be asked of it, but also how well the animal can perform them. If you are trying to win in A-rated classes, your hunter must be a good mover as well as a good athlete over fences. Your first considerations, then, center on the horse's talent.
It is best to have a horse that comfortably travels on a twelve-foot stride, but can readily shorten or lengthen its stride by a foot when called upon to do so. Horses that have a much longer natural stride may appear dull as they lope around the course. If the horse is very tall and long-strided, it may also be lazy with its legs in the air, since a very tall horse, measuring 17.2 hands for example, will not have to make as big a jumping effort as a normal-sized horse measuring about 16 hands.
However, the horse with an excessive length of stride is generally preferable to the very short-strided horse. Anything is better than a horse of limited ability struggling to get through a course in the normal number of strides. Rushing to make the distances, a short-strided horse looks dangerous, giving both the judge and spectators the uncomfortable feeling that if the rider missed a spot, he would end up in the hospital!
This is not to say you must give up on all short-strided horses. They have their place as beginner mounts and may even be sufficient for the Children's Hunter classes in certain areas of the country. If the stride is not too inhibited, a very good rider who maintains the horse's impulsion on corners and finds excellent spots to the fences may transform a slightly short-strided horse into a brilliant performer. This is the rare exception, however. Too often, parents of junior riders expect their children to work miracles to make up for a horse's inadequacies, such as the tremendous drawback of an overly short stride. This unrealistic expectation can lead to frustration and disappointment for the child, or even worse, to a serious accident.
Next, consider the rider's build in relation to the horse's. A short or very thin rider will look better on a normal to slightly narrow-bodied horse than on a wide-barreled, coarse animal and will usually be more physically capable of controlling the delicately built horse. In contrast, a tall or slightly overweight rider should avoid a finely built animal, since it will emphasize the rider's size. Instead, large riders should seek medium to heavyweight hunters.
Short riders often have problems finding the right horse because when a proportional match in size is achieved, the horse is too small to cover the distances or jump the bigger fences well. In this case, a narrow-bodied horse of medium size (about 16 hands) is the best option, since it would allow their rider's leg to drop downward and appear as long as it possibly could, rather than sticking out as it would on a wider horse.
Ideally, when the rider's foot is in the stirrup, the heel should rest just above the bottom of the horse's belly so that the animal's coat forms a backdrop. If the rider's feet hang below the horse's belly when the stirrups are adjusted correctly, then the rider is too tall for the horse. Also, when the horse jumps, the rider's face should be over or slightly ahead of the dip just in front of the withers. If the torso of the rider is so long that when the rider is positioned correctly his or her face is over the middle of the horse's neck in midair, then the horse's neck is too short for the length of the rider's upper body, which generally means that the animal is too small for the rider.
Equally important as the physical match between horse and rider is the temperamental match between the two. While their physical builds should be similar, a temperamental match is often best achieved by pairing dissimilar personalities. A tense rider will usually do better on a dull horse, while an overly relaxed rider will fare better on a slightly keen animal. Of course, when you have a physically relaxed, but mentally alert rider, which is the ideal, the best pairing is on a horse with exactly the same qualities.