Competing question

Cobxfan55

Cobxfan55

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For the discipline you currently do with your horse or would you like to compete currently in working to towards your own goals or next dressage score or planning to get better 😎 What I am asking is would you ever want to switch from doing cross country to dressage or dressage to showjumping to le trec? Is there a competing disapline you tried and thought is is not for me? I do like both showjumping and dressage but I am feeling I want to do more showjumping but I also want to do more dressage I a m confused I have no horse but I would really love to try working hunter the jumping side of it I am not currently sure about showing but I understand that there are different classes that you can do 🐴😎
 
Not all of us are fabulous enough to have a different sport for each day of the week though JFTD ;)o_O

In answer to your question though OP, some people stick strongly to one discipline, but most of us are generic allrounders - we like to dip our toes into different stuff, hence why eventing is a thing I suppose...it's the sport for those who can't choose!
 
Most horses are perfectly capable of doing all those, up to a point. Horses go from dressage competition to eventing, to Trec, to showing, to hunting. Why not? Just for the ordinary, every day riding club member all these are in reach with the same horse. I think endurance horses need that fighting spirit which not all horses would have, and of course some haven't go the scope to jump very high or wide so that would limit how much you could do and not all would be suitable for a showing class. Work to the individual's strengths. Some horses also go from Western to English OK and also drive, horses are very adaptable, unless you are wanting to be at the very top of the competition when both horse and rider need much skill and practice and talent.
 
We have - and probably always will - switch according to what each horse wants to do. With only one exception all ours have always taken (with varying degrees of success) to anything. Even the BS ponies trained and bought solely for competition hunted, did dressage, a bit of eventing. Most played PC Polo or polo cross. A few did Trec (none did endurance, but with an under 16 rider that would always have been more complicated)

But we had one massively talented and very quirky 148 who really did only like showjumping. He could turn out a really nice medium dressage test - and got to PC Nat Camps in both dressage and showjumping twice. But XC blew his mind and he would not / could not settle to hunt. (He did play polocrosse once though!) Only when we sold him did it really truly click - he really only wanted to show jump. He went on to do massively well for his new rider including competing on FEI Pony teams.

Currently we have a baby who - by their nature - do anything! Baby connie hunts, does dressage, WHP. Currently appears to show jump by braille - but we'll get there. XC machine and perfect to hunt. He does horse agility - and even spent last week as a trick pony taking part in a mounted charge. And one massively beloved oldie who does everything but gymkhana games for which he does not see the point.

Most horses like variety. As long as they have a good leader who they trust. But - as our 148 showed - some really don't. They can only cope with what they have. Obviously if you have a high level competiion horse you might not want to risk it with other disciplines. But even eventing combines 3!
 
I once bought a horse to event, but he wouldn't go anywhere near a brown jump, so he show jumped for fun at home and turned into a dressage horse - he won his last competition at Inter 1. He had everything in his training apart from his one times.

I used to event a lovely mare who was competing at Intermediate, she show jumped to Fox and had medium dressage points. She also turned into a fabulous broodmare.

No reason why the rider should stick to any particular discipline, unless the horse they have shows a preference.

I've done a bit of most things - I've evented, show jumped, dressaged, done a bit of polo and showing, now I mainly hunt and fun ride. I have absolutely no interest in endurance or le Trec as hacking bores me senseless - I do it for fitness work, not pleasure. and I would have loved to have been weightless enough to point to point ;)
 
My first love was the sport of the Jack of All Trades, eventing 😁
But now I do have one of those niche horses who genuinely only likes one discipline and that's led me to focus on dressage more or less exclusively. It's so absorbing at the higher levels that I don't feel like I'm missing out, learning stuff from the GP test gives us more than enough to think about 😂🤣
 
I think horseback archery looks fantastic fun. My big problem is that I can only wink the ‘wrong’ eye so to shoot or do archery I would need to wear an eye patch.
 
Is the winking done on or off the horse?! Sorry, off track from the thread.

I’m a bumbling all rounder but have changed focus slightly depending on the horse’s ability and inclination. I really like eventing at the mo as there is lots to do on the day and you practise the 3 main disciplines so it’s good for overall training. SJ is my least fav cos it’s the one we’re not so good at (no surprises there then!).
 
I like doing different things and with most horses you get more out of them with variety although some are more specific in their likes!! Cross training has also helped with keeping mine sound although that's debatable with one of mine at the moment.
I really like the look of the archery so might give that a go at some point and would also like to do polocross!
 
I was a showjumper as a kid and teen. I did play about in showing and Working hunter as a side thing, but showjumping was my life. The thought of dressage bored me silly. Then my step up from ponies got injured with very little chance of coming right and my replacement wouldn’t make the grade.
I moved into ridden showing. Frankly, it bored me to tears and I hated it.
I gave up competing for a few years then moved to dressage and got hooked. But if a decent jumping horse came along, I reckon I could be pulled back to that a bit.
 
I would love to do some working hunter classes - But I am sans horse for the time being - other than my friends beuatiful ex racer I help her with - but he is a flatwork only and a total work in progress - we will be doing dressage together which, as a rule, bores me to tears. But it is what he is best suited to so thats that!
 
little_critter said:
Whenever I've had a go at archery or shooting in the past you've closed your left eye and looked along the sight with your right eye.
Click to expand...

Horseback archery is pretty different in terms of technique. Whilst I am by no means an expert (or more accurately, I'm a complete novice incompetent), I've definitely not been told to shut an eye while shooting and I'm almost entirely sure I remember a conversation about using both eyes focussed at different points relating to the target, which I dismissed as physiologically impossible*. And my coach is bloody good so I can definitely trust him, even if I'm incompetent...

*Some hyperbole. More literally, I have no idea how one achieves this...
 
I can't remember the last time I had a horse with all 4 working legs! I miss jumping. I borrowed a couple of horses for clinics last year and once I'd got my eye in, the nerves went and I remembered how much I loved it.

When the Appy was a baby she had a go at most things. A polocrosse racket & balls bouncing around didn't bother her and she was taught to jump by following other horses over logs. I'm not convinced I'll get her sound enough to do more than hacking now, but given her first exposure to a lorry park at a show completely blew her mind I was never convinced there was a competitive future for her anyway!
 
little_critter said:
Whenever I've had a go at archery or shooting in the past you've closed your left eye and looked along the sight with your right eye.
Click to expand...

JFTD-WS said:
Horseback archery is pretty different in terms of technique. Whilst I am by no means an expert (or more accurately, I'm a complete novice incompetent), I've definitely not been told to shut an eye while shooting and I'm almost entirely sure I remember a conversation about using both eyes focussed at different points relating to the target, which I dismissed as physiologically impossible*. And my coach is bloody good so I can definitely trust him, even if I'm incompetent...

*Some hyperbole. More literally, I have no idea how one achieves this...
Click to expand...

You definitely do not shut either eye when shooting. Human eyesight is designed that you are meant to use both eyes, particularly to determine depth. Try shutting one eye and reaching for something - your depth perception will be wrong.

When shooting, you have a "master" eye, which leads your aim, but you need the other one as well.

My OH has shot all his life, and made a career out of it. He has taught me, and many others to shoot - he is bewildered by the idea you need to shut one eye!
 
@spacefaer , in the interests of clarity, because I've been a bit lax - are you talking about shooting as in guns? My post was about horseback archery specifically, because I can't comment on the whole gun / target archery side of things, having no experience of it. I'm curious to know if it's a universal truth that both eyes are open now... It makes sense to me, but, as I say, I have no idea what I'm doing ;)

The whole eye dominance thing is why I'm doing archery left handed. I get that :)
 
JFTD-WS said:
@spacefaer , in the interests of clarity, because I've been a bit lax - are you talking about shooting as in guns? My post was about horseback archery specifically, because I can't comment on the whole gun / target archery side of things, having no experience of it. I'm curious to know if it's a universal truth that both eyes are open now... It makes sense to me, but, as I say, I have no idea what I'm doing ;)

The whole eye dominance thing is why I'm doing archery left handed. I get that :)
Click to expand...

Yes - I've done ground based archery :D and I've used both a shot gun and a rifle. Both eyes are definitely open!
never done horse based archery - that's a whole different skill set!!!
 
spacefaer said:
Yes - I've done ground based archery :D and I've used both a shot gun and a rifle. Both eyes are definitely open!
never done horse based archery - that's a whole different skill set!!!
Click to expand...

Epic, good to know!

I had a dream the other night where I was out shooting pigeons with 17th century highwayman style pistols from my horse. That's the sum of my experience with guns :p
 
How odd, when I tried the university shooting club (rifles on a range) I was taught to close my left eye...which I couldn't do so they fashioned something from a bit of card to block my left eye.
 
little_critter said:
How odd, when I tried the university shooting club (rifles on a range) I was taught to close my left eye...which I couldn't do so they fashioned something from a bit of card to block my left eye.
Click to expand...

It is odd... But hey, at least you can try horseback archery now ;) If you're in the east of England, I can even facilitate that :p
 
Makes total sense - I too have been told to close one eye for shooting (guns, but not with real bullets, and no people, animals, or targets/clays for that matter, were harmed in the process). Much more sensible to have both eyes open and be able to gauge depth surely? Have just been winking at my pc screen to test out SF's suggestion haha.
 
I've done a massive switch from riding to driving. When I rode I did a little bit of everything with a strong preference for dressage. Now I drive I do the dressage because I have to but would much rather spend my time galloping round obstacles. The one thing I will not do is driven showing. Not even if you threaten me with violence would I be getting involved in that craziness! I dont mind the occasional bit of inhand or ridden showing though.

At your level do a little bit of everything, and worry about specialising later on if you develop a strong preference for something.
 
Because I have to borrow horses now I don't get a say in what I do really.

I always wanted to but never achieved doing a ODE, and would have loved a go at archery, proper long distance of 50 miles or more, and polocrosse.

I don't think anything would ever have rivalled showjumping though. It really is the best combination of skill, speed and schooling.
 
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