Dressage can and should be for everyone. I feel that there is a conditioning that dressage is only for the well off who can go abroad and buy the expensive warmblood and then come home to astound the nation. The problem is that the real meaning of dressage has been lost. The concept is that any horse can be taken and through the correct training can be made more expressive, easier to ride and therefore preserve its health and mental well being. This can apply to any horse and rider combination. Dressage competitions are there to show that you have progressed with your training at home and can now show all of the elements required at that level.
Do you get nervous on the big day? Does the following scenario sound familiar?
Because the route was not looked at the day before the show, you arrive with very little working in time, so by now you are slightly flustered. You have learned the wrong test and are frantically looking for someone to read it for you. You realise that this test has a movement that you have not done before, so your equally flustered horse is not only being warmed up at ninety miles an hour, he is also expected to learn some new shapes as well. You wonder why you ever thought of attempting a test in the first place! You start off around the outside of the arena, all eyes are on you, including your local rival. Your horse spooks at the flowers and the judge rings the bell straight away. You have no time to settle in. Entering at "A" you wobble down the centre line, cutting the corners to go hell for leather down the straight. Your horse is pulling like a train, your hands are cold and your hips need WD40. First 20-meter circle was egg shaped and you struck of at canter on the wrong lead. Serpentines and lengthened strides become rocket science and your crooked halt a cry for sympathy. You leave the arena happy that you remotely survived"!
After a much-needed cup of coffee you begin to think it wasn't really that bad. When the marks appear on the score board combined with getting your sheet back the comments leave you feeling that the judge hated you and your horse. Never mind, the judge couldn't see further than the end of her nose. Anyway what do they expect at preliminary level Nicole Uphoff and Rembrandt? So you load up and travel home, desperate to get home and soothe your bruised pride. It was after all only supposed to be a fun day out!
This situation can be avoided or at the very least, less stressful and more fun, with careful planning.
So the work at home is going well with your horse, if it isn't then the time is not right for you to attempt a competition. Too much emphasis is placed on having a go - that is not what competition was designed for. Also, if the work is good then you must know what level you are riding at.
The dressage levels used in the UK are as follows:
Preliminary
Novice
Elementary
Medium
Advanced medium
Advanced
There are a number of tests at each level, ie Preliminary 2, 10, 16 etc. then Novice 21, 24etc. The best idea is that you familiarise yourself with what is required at the various levels. Then when you feel that you are proficient at that level then it is time to comtemplate doing a test.
Comment: Never school with a dressage test in mind. School your horse along the correct principles and in time you will have the education to perform the movements of a test.
Let us presume that you feel competent to attempt a Preliminary dressage test. Find out where your local competition venues are and when they are holding dressage competitions. There are many factors to take into account.
Which test?
Where is the venue?
What parking facilities are there?
What are the arena surfaces?
Firstly look to see which tests the venue is using for that level, don't assume that the lower the number of the test the easier it is. Look at the folder of tests and see if you feel competent to reasonably attempt that test. Find out where the venue is. Will getting there be difficult? How long will it take you? Will there be a lot of traffic to encounter? Sometimes a good idea is to drive the route that you will be taking ahead of the day to familiarise yourself with the directions and timing. Is the parking at the venue on grass or hard standing? If you have a trailer do you really want to pick a venue that the parking is in a field that you might need towing out of if it has been very wet recently? Most important to me is the question of the surface of both the warm up and actual competition arenas. I personally would never compete on grass. Partly because of the wear and tear on my horses legs and also the feel that grass gives does not encourage the horse to really move well. If you are not sure what the surfaces will be then telephone the venue to ask.
You now have found the venue that you wish to go to. Send your entries off in plenty of time, making a note of when to ring for your times. Failure to do so when stated sometimes leads to you forfeiting your place at that show. Learn the tests thoroughly, don't rely on callers on the day, they can make mistakes and also when you get to Championships callers aren't allowed. If you haven't competed for a while it is a good idea to do a dress rehearsal before the day. Normally we ride in correct but comfortable clothing and it will feel quite different in the correct show attire of jacket and long boots. Make sure that your transport is in good working order. Check the brakes, lights petrol/diesel etc well in advance of the day.
Give yourself plenty of time on the day, little hiccups always happen so allow time for them. Keep yourself calm and REMEMBER you are warming up for the test and NOT schooling your horse.If you have put the right work in at home all you should need to do is loosen and warm up, building the horse up through transitions and be ready to show your best work in the ring not half and hour before you are meant to be going in!!!!!
Have a good day at your show - but please remember the idea is to show the progress that you have made at home - you will not get 'A' for effort, and to just get trough a test is teaching your horse exactly how not to do it. E-mail Simon, and let me know how you get on or if you have any further questions.
Good Luck.