Does weather affect your competition performance?

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Worried1

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Just thinking really...

Does if affect you psychologically?

Do you think your horse performs better or worse depending on the weather, temperature etc?

I know I feel more confident on a dry sunny day but on the flip side of that. If it is really hot I struggle to stay motivated as it is horrible being hot and sticky and dressed up in your best tucker!

Poor OH is on his way to stilebridge with Diva and I just wondered how much of a difference the weather will have on their performance.

Last time out as a pair at novice they got 71% and 73.6% - today they are moving up to elementary, obviously I am expecting a drop in their marks but it will be interesting to see whether the weather impinges on their performance...
 
There's nothing worse than sitting in the lorry with the rain beating down on the roof, but once I'm on and warming up I'm usually fine. I always think that it's a fairly level playing field as everyone else you're competing against is having to ride in it too.

My boys are usually ok with rain as they're Yorkshire born and bred! I would worry more about excessively hot weather, particularly when you're going cross country, but as long as they keep drinking and you cool them off quickly it's not too bad.
 
I find doing a dressage test in pelting rain .e a water fall off peak of my hat causes my horse to tuck her slightly pokey nose in to vertical dramatically improving my marks, also you induce some sympathy from the judge especially if it is a deluge just for your test! Alternatively maybe they just couldn't see the real picture, windscreen wipers going full speed and still not clearing water fact enough. Hot weather my horse is more likely to throw in the towel if she is tired, and seen as my horse needs almost 1hr of working in I begin to get hot and irritated with her not a good combination.
 
Yes Patrick hates the rain but works very well in the wind strangely. He also doesn't like very hot weather but to be fair I don't think many horses do. If it is raining I sometimes feel like just going home as I know our marks will be lower.
 
I think when the weather is horrid, especially wind and rain it just creates a tension in both the horse and the rider.
For me calm and warm = much better and relaxed work.
 
Depends on whats going on around us tbh!! We seem to perform better in the cold and wet, either that or we do better cos everyone else is abysmal in the rain so it closes the gap between the good people and me!!
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The last test I did before my horse went off injured was done in pouring rein and heavy wind. It was awful. Horse was concentrating more on avoiding the rain than on test. Test culminated with "down centre line, X halt, turn quarters to the rain at 45 degrees to judge and tuck head in". Nightmare.
 
Rain sometimes helps us get placed
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At Celobury Mortimer BE last year it absolutely p*ssed it down, and despite a mediocre dressage test and 2 poles flying in the cross country, we were one of the fastest clears XC (we're usually the slowest!) and came 7th!
Pepper loves the mud.
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mine usually go well in the rain, cos they're used to being ridden in it! my old old mare, first one i ever evented, actually led the dressage once (unprecedented, as i hadn't a clue what i was doing) at N because there was a downpour and it made her put her head down and tuck her nose in, and i had to put my legs on to get her going anywhere!
 
I defintitely think some judges feel sorry for you!

I did one test in the summer at Cobham and it was torrential. Our medium canter down the longside was a leap from the bottom corner to the top canter to avoid the puddles. It was one of our best test with 69.8%

My mood is really affected by the weather so I wonder if some horses are the same? Diva is totally unfazed by weather to date, I just worry that the torrential rain could make her go poll low!
 
ha! snap! the best tests ive ever done eventing was at borde-hill in the pouring rain. Ground was so slippy she was thinking about her footing and listening to me 4 once!
And i popped out last mth to Hadlow 4 a low-key test,it was chucking it down&VERY windy,but i was determined to get out! she hated the driving rain(as did i)& lowered her head 2 avoid the rain ,waaaaaaaaaaheeeeeeyyy i felt like i was on a dressage horse rather than an up-side down dancing dobbin,it was fab(so i thought!, didnt get a great test sore tho)!
Damn judges,wat do they know eh! (ops,no offence,just jesting!)
 
i tend to be much more succesful in the rain i jumped my first BE novice course in the rain at burnham market at a HT in the absolute pouring rain...and becuse we were the last class and it had been raining all day it was horrednous..and we jumped a fast clear. Also at Hougton hall intro we got placed despite awful conditions as we had a good fast clear xc (last of the day) even after having 4 down in the sj.
i think i ride a bit more aggresive sometimes as i dont want to come off
 
I was once competing against Jennie Loristan Clark at a regional.Tha rain was belting down and the wind was blowing a gale across the arena.My friend was writing for the judge.
Everyones horse came down centre line and halted and put their tail and quarters slightly to the wind, not one horse came down straight .We all got crooked halt 4[ ok some variation 3's and 5's], JLC did the same ,comment 'shame about the weather 7.
 
hahaha carthorse!
a friend was competing at Burghley for the first time. he's no dressage queen, but did a nice test, final halt perfectly square, straight, horse round and in the hand. got a 5.
a top name did the final halt with quarters out, not square, and nose stuck out. got an 8.
don't get me started...!
 
TBH the weather doesn't really effect me hugely. My horses are pretty used to dodgy ground conditions so they dont seem to mind if its wet etc. However, for dressage wind can be an issue as it makes most horses spooky. And doing dressage on an arena which has turned to pure mud is also going to effect everyone as the horses slip etc. For SJ, I dont really mind jumping in anything as long as the grounds safe. For XC, obviously you do ride more carefully if its very wet / slippy.
 
My pony doesn't seem to mind but I dislike very hot weather as much as wind/rain/snow - I hate being too hot and in all the gear I know I'll feel like I'm suffocating! However, since pony doesn't mind miserable weather much (although she doesn't work her best) it has worked to our advantage in the past when others are misbehaving and my girl just keeps her head down and gets on with it !
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However, being a shorty, getting splattered by wet surface isn't much fun!
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Does weather affect your competition performance?

Yes, because I tend not to go. I can't see the point in jumping in the rain, and the joy of not having to enter BSJA in advance means I don't have to.
 
I prefer the dressage to be wet and holding my horse is less likely to be peering at what is going on around him. Plus we do not have very flashy paces so they stay the same in the mud!
As for SJ and xc I know he has scope to burn so never really worries me about the added height from jumping in the mud.
What I hate is wind when it gets up their tails and causes spooking and chaos!
 
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Yeah there is that!
Trouble with BD is that even if you win you might not get a qualifying score!

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Yes but you may get a impresssive rosette ! (Im very shallow ..)
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I hate it in the summer when youre waiting for your class to start in the heat, I know it doesnt help me or my horse but you cant really do much about it. Driving rain I can cope with as it just adds to my battle! I dont mind about the weather much except on the journey as psychologically it doesnt help but I do worry about what the weather does to the ground.
 
Yes, we do better in mud. Both my horses are well hunted and can jump out of heavy mud so I always feel a muddy SJ/XC course gives me confidence that we will do better than those that are never jumped outside an all-weather arena. Also the real flashy eventers can be a bit precious about mud and not shine so much and the 'mollycoddlers' withdraw - every horse fewer in my section puts me one place further up the placings!
 
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