BD arena walk etiquette?

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angelish

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Hi
I'm about to do my first prelim area festival on a green spooky horse and have heard there may be a possibility of an arena walk before the tests start
I have contacted the venue to ask if they are intending to do one and at what time etc but I can't find anything on line or in the complicated BD website to tell me what it is all about

having found videos from championships on YouTube I'm assuming we are to walk quietly around the arena in a line/group ?
I'll need to wear my competition number ?
Do I need to be in competition jacket etc ?

Is there anything else I need to know ? Any tips would be great fully appreciated I've only done 3 BD comps and suddenly feel a little intimidated 😬
 
Make sure you have your number on, otherwise wear whatever makes the most sense - if I'm competing soon after the arena walk then I would wear my competition kit, if there's a big gap then I just wear normal breeches/top etc and get changed later.

You'll all walk around the outside of the arena usually in single file, only walking is allowed. If there's not a lot of space then it's best to all stick to the same direction to avoid crashes! Usually someone will suggest changing the rein after a while. Just follow the lead of someone else if in doubt.

The first one I did with my little horse, she got a bit hot and excitable and the steward kept telling me we were only allowed to walk...she was just jig-jogging a bit and I was *trying* to walk! :D so if yours gets a bit chirpy then do be prepared for that.. I took mine out when she didn't settle so as not to upset the others.

ETA do use the opportunity to get the horse past any banners or speakers that they might be concerned by, but without making a big deal about it - it's for familiarisation rather than training purposes ;)
 
Thanks that's helpful ☺️
She is an exracehorse and can be a bit of a diva but I'm hoping she's done enough busy warm ups now to behave herself in that sort of situation
Obviously if she gets hot and silly I will take her out immediately so as not to upset other people
Eeek getting excited about trotting in circles ��
 
It was BE rather than BD, but at Blair my horse would have been rather lively (very fit and a very spooky arena), so she did the pre-dressage arena walk in hand so as not to upset the other competitors. In fact, OH walked he round for me. She had her bridle and bridle number on, and he was dressed smartly as in clean, but not posh or riding attire. For me in-hand was the better option, as if ridden she would have needed circles to keep sane.

In BD I have done a festival and Regional, and on those occasions my arena-walk etiquette was to not drag OH out of bed any earlier than necessary, so we did not do them. ;) He is not keen on dressage.

If I were doing one ridden I would warm up first, to take the edge off the horse. Yes to bridle number. Yes to walk only.

Good luck!
 
FWIW BD have, at times (e.g. winter/ summer champs) specified that arena walks must be mounted and not in hand. I don't think I've seen anything written specifically about the AF ones but they tend to stick to the same guidelines in other aspects.
 
Thank you all ☺️
I will try and figure out how to add pics once were done to let you all know how we did , just looking forward to getting out somewhere special for the first time with her as she can be either brilliant or evil depends what side of bed she gets out of

I would need a chifney and a lunge Rein to have any hope of keeping control of her in hand and I don't think BD rules would stretch to that ��
So will be a warm up followed by ridden arena walk hopefully she'll think it's her first test as she always goes better in the second test after she's had a look around

We are already a two hour drive from the venue (Northallerton) so expecting to be up in the middle of the night but we're used to that
Thanks for the tips
 
Ooo good luck, I'm going to Northallerton for the adv med on a horse who is yet to calm down about doing changes :o.

I'm just hoping we're outside for the test, we 'may' have had an epic melt-down last year about doing a test in their indoor :o, and if we are outside then we're not near the cafe of doom that Topaz had a melt-down about the first time :o (judges comment tight and silly summed that warm-up test well), love horse they never stop embarrassing us do they ;).
 
Huge good luck coming your way! As others have said a specific time is given, you need your number on and you don't have to be in comp wear, do not do anything other than walk either, I accidentally went into trot following a spook and got told off at one eeps!
 
The AF at Wellington had an arena walk but it was a lot more casual than MP has described. The arena was open from 7.30am and you could ride in and potter around (in walk) on your own. People came and left as they wished over about 30 minutes.

Similarly when I was at Keysoe in November for the GBPRE champs it was a case of 'potter around in your own time'. I did that one in-hand, as did a couple of other people.
 
Interesting I've never seen anyone do them in-hand, accept for the one horse at Somerford who had bogged off across the arenas :o and so a groom came and assisted the rider, for once that one wasn't Topaz causing havoc :lol:!!
 
AlexHyde said:
Interesting I've never seen anyone do them in-hand,
Click to expand...

no nor me, in fact when K had a hissy fit at her first arena walk and the steward told us off, I asked if I could lead her and was told no. I guess it is all down to the venue and who you get there on the day - some have been highly organised and others less so. Mount Ballan regionals last week was very much everyone randomly pottering with no supervision but we all went one way and then changed the rein together, old habits die hard :p
 
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