Showing as an equestrian discipline strives to exhibit the most nearly perfect example of a particular type or breed of horse. Exhibitors must be skilled in the training and presentation of the horse as an athlete. When showing a horse, the rider has to perfect that art of riding the horse to show it off to its best advantage. The horse's conformation, its movement, ability and manners, are all taken into consideration in the show ring.

There are generally five classes offered in Showing:

• The Show Hack should have excellent confirmation, be of a particular type with style and elegance. It should be beautifully trained, responsive and well mannered.
• The Show Hunter is more powerfully built with lots of bone. It should have a workmanlike feel, a good gallop and be fit enough to have the stamina to last a hard day's hunting.
• The Show Riding Horse does not require the elegance of the hack or the substance of the Hunter but should be a lovely easy ride with solid confirmation.
• The Working Hunter is required to jump a course of fences, have a good gallop and have the stamina to last a hard day's hunting.
• The Working Riding Horse should be obedient enough to perform various tasks with a good attitude and temperament.

Showing provides the rider with excellent grounding in horsemanship and ring craft.

For the purposes of SANEF SCHOOLS, the various showing classes are offered as "sub-disciplines".   As our aim is to make equestrian as accessable as possible to learners, Performance Riding has been created in the place of Show Riding where the riders and horses/ponies are judged only on performance and conformation of the mount is not taken into account.  Level 4 Performance Riding classes will now be replaced by the proper SANEF class of Show Riding.  Working Riding and Working Hunter has been adjusted in the lower levels as well, but are run as proper SANEF classes in Level 4.

The discipline SHOWING is NOT a FEI (Federation Equestré Internationale) discipline, managed by SANEF (South African National Equestrian Federation) who is a member of the SAEC (South African Equestrian Council).