Competing question

Cobxfan55

Cobxfan55

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Sorry it's me again I am just wondering here do you lovely people ever get nervous while you are waiting for your dressage test time to start or how you are going to navigate the cross country course or if you waiting in the warm up area for your round to start. I was only worried about the placing I was going to get for either showjumping or dressage but I am not worried about it any more
 
For Dressage sometimes I’m nervous before my test and sometimes I’m not. I’m only nervous to see the results if it’s a championship.

If it’s jumping (SJ or XC) then I am nervous until the moment I get going 😄 jumping is scary!
 
I get ridiculously nervous before competing, mostly for xc although last time I went xc I only threw up once so that was improvement for me because it’s usually at least 2 or 3 times 😂 I don’t know why I keep doing it to myself but it always seems like a good idea when I’m entering.

My nervousness usually starts the day before and I struggle to sleep that night and then wake up really sick and unable to eat or drink. Travelling to the competition is where I’m at my worst but by the time I get there I’m too busy tacking up and getting ready to think too much about it. By the time I’m in the warm up I’ve given up caring and just look forward to it being over. When it’s over I’m always happy if my horse has come back sound and well and I’ve learned something that’s honestly all I care about, any placings are a bonus.

I have tried so many methods of calming my nerves but nothing seems to work on me - rescue remedy didn’t touch the sides!
 
I occasionally feel nervous before I get on the horse, but once I’m up not at all. My horse is not the bravest of horses so I have to be brave for him!
 
I get nervous, but it is about the collecting ring!

I hate the collecting ring with a passion. I don't give two hoots about how we do competitively, just that we come home safe, enjoy the outing, progress in our relationship and feel good about ourselves when we get home. Funnily enough, historically at least, this mindset has led to competitive success too.

Ah, but that collecting ring is awful.
 
Performance pressure. I get that. I'm not scared of jumping, I'm certainly not scared of trotting a few circles - I've been known to run barrels with my girth hanging off my horse's chest :D I'm not even scared of poking myself or my noble steed in the eye with an arrow.

I do, however, beat myself up horrendously about variations and irregularities in my performance, or the potential to screw up my horses. This does mean I find competing a bit stressful sometimes, and can come across as a total whack-a-doodle.

That said, sometimes I don't need to be competing to do that too...
 
Not on a horse I know well, only when going up a level for the first time ;) and that's mainly a worry about letting my horse down.

Do often get butterflies when taking a new horse out though, just because you aren't always sure quite how they will react to a competition environment until it happens. All the prep in the world still can't quite match the real thing.
 
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