any advice; no brakes whilst attempting ridden showing!

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sophiebailey

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Hi everyone!

Next Sunday is my 2nd attempt at ridden showing with Bailey. Our first outing was a disaster :( he wouldn't warm up properly + just kept spinning and cantering back to the other horses, once in the ring I struggled to show the judge a trot he just cantered for most of the group and individual show! We placed 5 out of 6 and 2nd out of 2 lol.

How can I assert some form of control in the ring? His canter is generally quite fast when hacking + schooling so I think that's just his 'pony' striding! His trot however is usually quite nice but he just wants to canter around the ring!

Any advice? I'm getting really nervous now and its still over a week away!! Any tips on how I can get him to settle and warm up properly first to take the edge off? I'm too scared to attempt to warm up in canter as he just buggers off up the showground!!

Any/all advice welcomed, feeling a bit sick :S

Sophie x
 
What bit are you using. My oldie still does this and I can just about stop him in a rugby pelham. I have had to replace the plain reins though, otherwise he just pulls them through my fingers.

If he is just excited and not always that strong then try a few in hand classes first to get him used to the atmosphere.

Lunging also works for some people, if there is somewhere you can do it safely in the showground.
 
Rockysmum; he's in a french link snaffle. I did consider putting him in a pelham but I don't know how to ride with double reins and wouldn't want to risk hurting him by being too heavy with the curb rein :(

He was brilliant in hand and we won in hand veteran season champion last year !
 
A double or rugby pelham would be more correct for showing an older horse. It might be worth having a go and practicing with one. They dont have to be harsh, its how you use them. If you lived nearer I would lend you one to have a go. Do you have lessons, if so your instructor might be able to help.

I do find the emergency brakes to be a godsend on show grounds though.
 
I will see if my instructor will give me lessons, maybe it will help me! Thank you :) are all types of mouthpiece showing legal?
 
I think that might depend on the individual society, if you are showing affiliated. It should say in the rule book. For local I would say just about anything goes.
 
Try a loose curb and practise with the two reins, judges sometimes have a thing about curbs being too tight!! If it were my horse I would get it into a good canter in the warm up and keep him in t for a while, on both reins, so he gets over his excitement. Then maybe do some trot, canter transitions. Get him bored of it!
 
No ideas just sympathy - I took my 'veteran' out last year and he disgraced himself in both Riding Club horse where really you need to ride in a snaffle of some sort or you are marked down and in the veteran class where a pelham can be worn. Mine had a hanging cheek in both.

He proceeded to canter when everyone else was trotting and then bronced his way around causing me to retire from both classes as the ground was like a rock and I didn't want to land on it. He also has a habit of peeing off as well - You would think would get better behaved with age :D
 
Oh dear sussexbythesea our old boys sound exactly alike!! In the veteran class the judge said after my show piece 'you don't need to show a gallop in veteran classes' ....... I didn't intend to :/
 
Sorry no advice but sussexbythesea your post made me chuckle just been taking my 20 yr old to some of the common ridings up north as its a bit too full on for my youngsters we have had complete brakes failure and lots of broncing bucking and nearly dunking me in a river crossing.:eek:

I am at a loss as what to bit up with as he does not like poll pressure backs off most strong bits normally so will be watching this bitting thread with interest.
 
Dont you just love the oldies. Mine managed to do six canter figure of eights with my daughter instead of one. At the age of 34 too :D:D

Unfortunately he didn't behave much better in hand, didn't know a horse that old could canter circles on the end of a pair of reins.
 
Mine has never been the same since I took him on a sponsored ride dressed as a pink fairy - he thought the wings meant I could fly :D

I usually ride in a two ring when I hack so I have brakes if he spins round and takes off which he does sometimes when he sees something terrifying like a large leaf or a bin bag :eek: :D.
 
Do a longer warm up? Keep him trotting round and round and round the warmup arena, insisting he is listening - not gawping around and following other horses. Even if it takes 3/4hr until he is bored.. Try and time it so that you can go straight from this to the ring. On no account let him stand around in the pack around the entrance to the ring for ten minutes with all the others waiting - this gets them into herd/not wanting to leave the others mode..
 
I made a similar thread last year!
I have a veteran, 20 year old, heavy, traditional cob that's ridden in a NS universal normally. We tried a variety of different pelhams last year, but it made no difference as he's not 'strong in the mouth', he's 'strong in the body', if that makes sense? For some reason, he wants to be in front at all times, quite difficult in a circular show ring!
All winter, we've practised getting him much lighter in front and a fair wedge of simple lateral work to keep him focussed on the leg. He's only done one 'proper' show so far this season and the difference was dramatic, no thundering round the ring, he looked almost 'floaty' :). He's shown in a mullen mouth rugby pelham.
 
If the warm up blows his mind then don't bother, walk him around the show ground for a long time to chill him out and have a trot if you can :) I never ever take my horse into a warm up when we're showing because he'd react just like yours is doing now! :rolleyes:
 
It doesn't help that the showground doesn't have a warm up area for showing only a SJ warm up, so you just have to pick a quiet area to work in, but its almost impossible to get him away from the other horses long enough to warm up in a quiet area!! Silly ned!
 
Lunge him before you load him and ride in a pellham with double reins, just get some one to show you how its done.

And to the person whos horse doesnt like poll pressure - swales pellham
 
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