Hi, we're new to showing too....
If you are going to watch a few shows, it's possible that there may be some stores there where you can look at leads and decide what you like best, I like leather, my daughter prefers nylon as they ball up in the hand better for Junior Handling... Look at what other cocker owners are using in the ring.
Crates are very useful as it gives your dog a place to take a break in the show venue with out you having to take them everywhere with you, we sometimes take a metal crate and use the trolley, other times we take the fabric one although using them can depend on trust in your dog as the zips are easy to chew off and you may end up with an escapee
We enjoy the ringcraft but probably have learnt as much from watching others at shows, especially if there are not any others of the same breed at your club. Listen and use what works for you and your dog. We have tried a few different ringcrafts around our area, only recently found one that we really feel part of though partly as there are more gundogs there and therefore understand our dog.
There is a sticky thread giving some basics of showing at the top of the show thread which might help too. ENJOY