Does anyone else compete without access to a School?

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clipclop

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I just wondered how many people here compete without having access to an all weather arena?
Do you cope within your field or do you have to travel to a School?
Do you pay out much in hire costs etc?
How often do you go to another School?
Last of all, what is your discipline and what level to you compete at?
Thanks
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A friend of mine came 5th at HOYS this year without a school!

I've competed at local level without a school.

Anyone can do anything with a horse without a school! I do most of my schooling out hacking and then this year I marked out an area and put out cones with letters on. But last year I had to use dock leaves and nettles as makers!!! It was just as successful!
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Yup,
I school while hacking, use a field when suitable spring/autumn but only once or twice a week. My flatwork suffers for it but my horse hates schooling and loves hacking so it suits her to the ground! Our hacks are mainly trot and canter for up to two hours. Think having a school would have preserved her legs a bit better but other than that I don't need one- would love all weather gallops though! Mainly compete bsja bn/disc. I have one jumping lesson in a school once a month with pc.
 
Now have school, but was competeing BE Novice for a season without school, but Flynn is a freak and will jump anything!!!
 
I don't have a school and compete BE Prenovice. I school in my fields, and while out hacking. Have flatwork lessons at a friend's school every fortnight, and a jumping lesson once or twice a month too (at another friend's school).

There are days when I long for a lovely artificial surface! However, given that BE dressage is mainly on grass, I find my horses are prepared for doing tests on grass as a result.

Admittedly it's a pain in the winter, but I'm competing on artifical surfaces throughout the dark, cold months, so see that as my weekly treat!
 
I do local comps ODE,XC bit of SJ and dressage etc and all I have is a field, although in this horrid weather I cant even use the field and ive go a dressage test on sat and I havnt ridden since last sat due to the weather!
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aaahh! but then hopfully moving soon to somewhere with a sand school so really excited!
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i do PN and have no school. Ride in one about once a week and love it...am desperate for a school but havent got enough money!!!mmmm i can hope... maybe for christmas!!!
 
yup, i BSJA and event and regularly and all i have is a boggy field.

However i am lucky to have a mum who rides and works from home- she hacks her out through the week and schools her whilst out hacking. Sometimes I go to Gracelands as it is just down the road and do the clear round evenings, just to use the school really and have abit of fun.
 
it's called schooling on roads and fields
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and I only competeting spring to autumn. I joined RC and so therefore get good instructor at rock bottom prices. I do BE, BD and also did very well at Rc championships so you can do very well without your own school
 
I dont have a school, just paddocks! I compete at BE Novice and BSJA Foxhunter. I dont jump at home though as mine are pretty good about just jumping at competitions. It is irriating not having a school, I havent ridden all last week or this week due to the ground (either been very wet and slippy or frozen solid - I dont hack BTW!) and Ive got BSJA on Sunday
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Im lucky that my boys are very good about being dragged in from the field after days off and taken out to jump 1.10 and 1.20 tracks!
 
i have no school-and paddocks are unrideable in...they are soaking wet in winter as in laying in water and like rock in summer. probably ride in the field about 5/6 times in a year.
I have competed at PN with my mare and no school

have to hack and school, and also have lessons...and will have to start hiring arenas now and again as have bought a baby who i want to event and dont want to take forever in getting him going-shall see how it goes i guess-but its £5 a go.
 
I have no school at the yard and generally travel to a school. I try and school and / or compete twice a week if I can. I do use fields when the weather is ok (rare). To be honest we have still progressed pretty well Sarnita is succesfully competing 1.25 BSJA and Intermediate standard BE.

I am lucky with the schools I use they are usually free as they belong to friends or I will do something in return for using the school.
 
I don't have any access to an arena...
I work in a field in the summer, when it's dry enough..
and i compete to Int/** level eventing, have won a Foxhunter BSJA and am looking to go Adv/*** this coming season... all without the use of an arean...
I would really really really really really really really really really really really like one tho!!!!!!
 
Don't worry - I got F and D to 3* without a school, and F nearly to 4*, since I've had regular access to a school haven't done more than an IN
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so I think it's a good thing! Seriously - it wasn't ideal, but we were lucky that the ground never got rock solid at home when that was the situation.
 
Up until now, I've had no school. I've just ridden in the field all year if poss & hacked out if not poss. I competed up to 1 m 15 bsja & novice bd like that. I've got a lorry tho so box to the indoor school once a week if the weather's been pants & try to book lessons for week days to get the most out of training in the light. I've also got a site light on a tripod & a long extension lead which o/h drags up the field for me.

My cushionride arena is currently being installed at long last, so that will be amazing after years of having to school in walk on mud all winter!
 
I compete up to BE Novice and 1.10 SJ with no school. I don't find it that much of a hindrance as I love the freedom of riding in the fields. We only have a couple of jumps so I usually hire an arena to jump. I'm lucky as I live on a dairy farm so we've got big flat fields but we are on clay soil so I'm usually to hacking from November until April/May. This year has been a real treat as the ground is so much drier than normal that I'm still riding in the fields
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During the winter, I mainly stick to hacking but occassionally hack to a local school who charge £9 per hour or I'll box to another that charges £10 per hour including jumps. Or I'll take my horse over to his owners 60 x 60m arena and have a lesson.

The main problem I find is getting horses fit enough for the early season events as I can't ride in our fields until April/May so have to box to a gallops which is a bit of a nuisance.
 
I compete at novice level. I do not have a school but what i save in keeping horse at home means I can have regular lessons in a school so usually do that pretty regularly. My theory is I would have to pay £10 to hire so for an extra £15 get someone to shout at me and put the fences up!
Plus I live close to 2 very good indoor arenas and go to their unaff stuff or just box to use the outdoor. In Feb I find loads of places have competitions at the weekend so just try and jam as much in as possible before eventing kicks off in March. I am also very lucky as live opposite a race horse trainer so borrow the all weather gallops when its too wet to ride on fields.
 
Until two years ago we had a tiny indoor school 27 x 27 m with eight pillars up the middle so not really a lot of use, we always did a lot of lateral work on the roads, transitions etc, and worked on canter by cantering along forest tracks.
Having the big outdoor now is fantastic and we all appreciate it.
The nearest school was two miles away and was deep and boggy but it only cost £30 a year membership of the local riding club to use, it's part of our local sports club facilities and anyone can join. It's greatly underused which is sad really, we were thrilled to see it when we moved here.
We mostly did local PC/RC HT and SJ, at that time we had a show pony so did County etc, now we do BE, SJ and some un -aff and aff dressage.
 
Antoinette Mckeowen hasnt ever had one. if she gets to badminton this year it will be her eighth. and about half a dozen burghleys also. she hacks round the corner to blue bell farm on occasion but mostly rides in the fields.
 
Idon't have a schhol and in the summer I box up and go to a school about once a week. Field is not suitable either as on a hill so flatwork schooling is done once through the week and once at whatever show I am at at the weekend. I have to pay to use the school but thankfully I only get charged £10 for as long as I want it! which is brilliant as any more expensive and I would struggle to pay for it. I event intermediate/** level and hpe to go advanced in 2008.
 
I've managed without an arena since I moved in April and compete 3 horses, one of which did a CCI**. We're lucky that some of the farm is on sandy soil but that's the low lying bit that then got flooded when we had all that rain.
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We're having an arena built and it'll have lights (yay!). I'm struggling at the moment, only manage to ride one horse on the days I work, and that's in semi-darkness at 7am.
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Always managed without a school til 3 weeks ago - now moved to a yard with a floodlit school! Yay!
I managed by mostly hacking (we were very lucky and had loads of fab hacking) and then durning winter particularly going for a lesson at my instructor's yard in her big f/l school every couple of weeks and if I ever managed to get any time off in the week would have a flat lesson in a non-lit school about 20mins hack away.
I compete local unaffiliated level and RC teams stuff - novice dressage, 90/1m jumping, that kind of level.
Having said I managed, my flatwork instructor came to new yard yesterday, and swears blind she can already see the difference that schooling him properly twice a week makes, but then I was fairly undisciplined on hacks and most pootled around, and also due to light/working hours rarely got to ride more then just the weekends.
 
Thank you everyone.
It has been brilliant to read your replies. I haven't got time to reply individually as I didn't expect such a response but THANK YOU.
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Sorry to be thick, but those who just school out hacking, how do your horses then cope with showjumping etc in an enclosed arena, do they not find the turns more difficult because they havent worked in an arena at home rather pretty much straight lines in hacking? Just wondering as I dont have a school either, and worry if it will be bad for my pony when we start showjumping next year!
 
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