Organizing My Show String

Showing performance is pretty consuming, and trying to throw my plastic ponies in the halter classes requires serious organizing. Lucky for me: I. Love. Spreadsheets.  Always have, it's honestly what prompted me to go into accounting in the first place!  I've put together a pretty basic Excel table for organizing my show string, and another workbook for record keeping. I made blank copies to share with everyone here who might be interested.  I know that there are fancy software programs available, and I could have made an Access Database (and I still might in the future) but for someone with less than 100 models I think this simple spreadsheet will do the trick!  CLICK HERE to get copies of the spreadsheets.

I have two workbooks: one overview of my collection, and one with detailed photos/show records.  The overview features a table style format that allows me to sort the data by any of the columns (class number, breed, etc.) for easy organization.  I fill out the class number before each show, then click on the arrow for the class column and sort in ascending order. Then presto, I can print out my show string in order of appearance for the show. 

Here are a few simple Excel how to's for using the spreadsheets:

To insert new rows, click on the left side on the numbers and hold while dragging down to select how many rows you’d like to insert. 

Then right click, and select “Insert”

To make new horse tabs in the record keeping workbook, right click on the tab at the bottom of the screen labeled “Blank”, and select “Move or Copy”  (you’ll also notice the selection for “Rename” which is useful)

After clicking “Move or Copy”, you can select “Move to End” and check the box for “Create a copy”. Repeat for every addition to your collection.

You can add a photo of the horse on the page by going to the “Insert” tab and selecting the “Pictures” option (make sure you have clicked on column 1 row 1 beforehand, to insert the photo in the far upper left portion of the document). 

To format for printing, go to the lower right of the page and click on the “Page Break View” button.

Then drag the blue lines to select the area you want printed.

I hope this has been helpful in organizing your show string, it's not the only way to do it, just the system that I use. 

Another great aspect of this hobby: it teaches the younger crowd vital skills in time management, organization, and much much more, all of which will serve them well as adults. Hope this taught you a thing or two about Excel, which has endless applications. I make spreadsheets for car buying, moving, you name it, I don't need much of an excuse.