¶ In-Hand (Conformation) Shows
As you've probably seen us mention before, Legacy horses don't always meet real life breed standards, so that you can breed for whatever goals you want. But, what if you want your Lusitanos to match real life breed standards? Then the conformation shows are where you want to go!
There are conformation shows designed specifically for every breed in the game. Here, your horse will be judged on conformation, movement, personality and color. To read each breed's standards, checkout the Conformation Shows page.
¶ Basic Overview
The show system works like this:
- Depending on the type of show and level, horses who place 1st to 5th will earn game money, and horses that place 1st to 3rd will earn points for that specific type of show. In-hand show purses aren't as big as the flashy disciplines, but still can payout quite a lot at higher levels.
- Over time, if they keep placing 1st to 3rd, they will accumulate points.
- After earning enough points, and if they have placed 1st in at least one show in that discipline and level, they will earn a title, which will be displayed above their registered name. Then, you can have them evaluated to see if they can move up to the next level.
- The horses with the most points or earnings in game will be honored with a spot on the rankings page.
¶ Training Requirements
To show In-hand, horses will need Groundwork training fully completed, and at least some In-hand training completed. How is In-hand training different than Groundwork? You can think of Groundwork as being just basic horse handling, while In-hand training is more polished groundwork training intended for a judge.
Just like discipline training though, you won't be able to start In-hand training until your horse turns 2 years old. We realize this training is not physically demanding and could technically be done at a younger age if this were real life, but, for the purpose of balancing the game, all “career” training can't begin in game until a horse turns 2.
Also just like disciplines, the earlier levels don't require as much training as the later levels, so you can start showing your horse fairly soon after they turn 2. To be more specific, these are the training requirements per level:
- Novice: 15%
- Junior: 25%
- Regional: 50%
- Reserve: 75%
- Grand and higher: 100%
Keep in mind that that percentage is of each individual training task! So, to begin showing in Novice In-hand, you will want your horse to have completed 15% Stand Square, 15% Trot In-hand, 15% Stand in a Lineup, and 15% Improve Flexion.
¶ Grooming and Condition
Just like discipline showing, your horse will need to be fully groomed and at Moderately Thin Condition in order to look their best and score their highest.
¶ Muscle Tone
Muscle tone is also important for In-hand, and you will want your horse to have at least 90% muscle tone to score their highest. Note that there is no difference in scores for horses between 90-100% muscle tone.
¶ Earning Points
A horse who places 1st to 3rd in-hand will earn points (see the chart below), and, if they place in multiple shows, these points will accumulate. Eventually, once they earn enough points and get at least one win, they will earn a title (see below), and they will stop earning points at that level.
This is how many points they will earn based on their placement:
| Placement | Points Earned |
| 1st | 3 |
| 2nd | 2 |
| 3rd | 1 |
You will see their total accumulated points on their Events tab:
¶ Titles
In-hand titles are earned only once a horse has 1) placed first in at least one show at that level, 2) accumulated a specified number of points:
| Title | Required Points (Cumulative)/ Points Cap |
| Novice Champion (NvCh) |
15 |
| Junior Champion (JrCh) |
45 |
| Regional Champion (RgCh) |
90 |
| Reserve Champion (RsCh) |
150 |
| Grand Champion (GrCh) |
225 |
| National Champion (NtCh) |
300 |
| World Champion (WdCh) |
375 |
| Grand Master Champion (GMCh) |
450 |
Their highest earned title will be displayed both on their Events tab, underneath their points, and will also be shown as a ribbon on their image:
¶ My horse has titled, how do I move to the next level?
First off, congratulations! It takes a lot of work to get your horse to this point. As for moving up to the next level, you will have to ask ‘the experts’ whether or not your horse qualifies to move up. Which, we know, it stinks that they can turn a horse down, but, think of it this way: breeding for better horses is the point of the game!
To learn how to have your horse evaluated, please see the page titled “Leveling Up”.
¶ Aging Horses and In-hand Scores
As horses age, their physical form will eventually decline. At 15 years of age, horses in game will start this decline, as reflected by a decrease in their In-hand scores. Now, this decline will probably be so small that you won't notice at first, but, by the time a horse is 20 years old, their score will be at about 87% of their peak, and it will continue to get worse. Just like with jobs and disciplines (which are affected by performance ability declines), you will eventually need to think about retiring your horse.