Ask any experienced show rider and they'll tell you: a calm, successful show morning doesn't start at the crack of dawn — it starts the night before. After more than 35 years helping riders at shows across the Sacramento area, I've seen what happens when the night-before prep gets skipped. Spoiler: it's usually not pretty!
Here's the complete night-before checklist I walk my clients through. Print it out, save it to your phone, or just bookmark this page — your show-morning self will thank you.
🧳 1. Pack Your Show Bag
Your show bag should be fully packed and by the door before you go to sleep. Go through it item by item:
- Show clothes (jacket, breeches/show pants, shirt, gloves, helmet/hat)
- Belt, show number, safety pins
- Boot pull and boot jack
- Spare hair nets, bobby pins, and hair ties
- Your show schedule and class list (printed AND on your phone)
- Entry confirmation and any membership cards (USEF, USDF, etc.)
- Cash for scratches, late entries, or concessions
- Snacks and water for yourself — long show days are exhausting!
- Sunscreen, lip balm, and any personal medications
- Phone charger and portable battery pack
🧴 2. Prep Your Tack
Clean, conditioned, and organized tack makes everything smoother. The night before:
- Clean and condition your saddle, bridle, and any other leather
- Polish your stirrup irons and bit
- Check all billets, buckles, and stitching for wear — never discover a broken billet at the show!
- Pack your tack bag: saddle pad(s), girth, breast collar if used, martingale if used
- Add your grooming bag with all brushes, hoof pick, fly spray, and show sheen
- Don't forget your number holder or armband
🐴 3. Prepare Your Horse
How much bathing and grooming you do the night before depends on your horse and the weather, but at minimum:
- Give your horse a thorough bath if the weather and temperature allow
- Pull or trim the mane if needed (do this a few days before if possible — freshly pulled manes can be sore)
- Clip any bridle path, ears, face, and legs as needed
- Clean and condition hooves; apply hoof dressing if appropriate
- Braid if you're doing braids — or set up everything you need to braid in the morning
- Apply a tail bag if your horse tends to rub their tail
- Blanket appropriately for overnight temperatures
🌾 4. Sort Out Barn & Feed
- Fill hay nets or prepare morning hay so you can grab-and-go
- Measure out morning grain/supplements in a labeled bucket
- Confirm your feeding and turnout arrangements if someone else is helping
- Top off water buckets and check the automatic waterer
- Leave a clean, well-banked stall so your horse is comfortable overnight
🚗 5. Prep Your Trailer & Vehicle
- Hook up and check the trailer lights (brake lights, turn signals, running lights)
- Check tire pressure on your trailer and tow vehicle
- Load any equipment you won't need overnight: chairs, canopy, buckets, hay bags
- Fill up the gas tank — don't be scrambling at a gas station at 4 a.m.
- Confirm the route and parking instructions for the show grounds
😴 6. Take Care of Yourself!
This one gets skipped more often than any other item on this list. You and your horse both perform better when you're rested.
- Set multiple alarms — and put your phone across the room so you actually get up
- Lay out everything you'll wear in the morning
- Prepare a simple, easy breakfast you can eat quickly or on the road
- Get to bed at a reasonable hour — adrenaline will wake you up early anyway!
Follow this checklist and I promise: show morning will feel completely different. When you arrive at the grounds calm, organized, and on time, everything else falls into place. Good luck in the ring!