Eventing Help (probably going to be long!!)

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I really don’t know where to start with this post but I think background info is needed, so here goes!!
I am 21 and have concentrated purely on dressage since I was about 13 (before this I did PC, RC and hunted). All this time doing dressage has been on one horse - the one I got when I was 13 who made we decide to just concentrate on dressage. This last year she has been out on loan and so I haven’t ridden too much to be honest (I put her on loan because I’m at uni and although I took her with me for the first year, I decided I didn’t have time and so she hasn’t been with me the year just gone. I have now begun to wonder if it was more a case of needing a break and therefore not having the inclination to make enough time though? She was on full livery so it was easy to socialize instead… Not sure though!). Anyway, just before I put her on loan I began to wonder if I was getting bored of pure dressage and I started to play around on her at XC and SJing. This was not easy as I got her when she was 2, she is now 10 and has never been asked to jump, so it was “eyes out on stalks” to begin with!! Although I used to be very brave jumping and still am in general, I thought that I may now be nervy jumping and that I’d back off when she did, but I didn’t, I kicked on and in the end we were ok. I jumped her round a few small XC tracks and did some small SJing too. I think it was equivalent to BE intro what we worked up to – it was unaffiliated at the time but has since become a BE venue and only a couple of jumps were altered for it to be intro. But then she went on loan and I went back to uni (last Oct). Ever since this foray into “eventing” I have been thinking that I want to have a go at it properly but I don’t know what to do about it really!
I have a year off uni this coming year and then one year at uni (so graduate in two years!) and I am getting a horse for this year but it was always the plan to sell at the end of the year, go back to uni for my final year and then buy a keeper when I graduate. Then I decided that rather than buy one for the whole year, I’d buy a few to bring on. But now I’m not sure I want to do that as I really want to have a go at eventing. It is really niggling me that I want to do this and I feel that I have to try so that if I decide to go back to dressage, I will know that that is what I want to do!
The problem is I don’t know where to start. I have not really had a non-dressage lesson since I was 13 and although I surprised myself by not backing off last summer with my horse, I have owned her for a long time and I know what she will do before even she does(!) so I’m not sure if I’d be as brave on a new horse! I feel I should get a schoolmaster, who I know can do what I’m asking and is go-y, not one that will back off. The problem is, I know this is likely to cost upwards of £15k, which is fine but my parents (and I agree) do not want to spend that much on one which I’ll sell at the end of the year, so I would have to wait until I graduate. But, in the meantime, I don’t want to get a youngster as I don’t think it is the best way to go about this. I feel 100% confident that I could bring a dressage youngster on, but not one to event. I’m not sure then whether to stick with my plan and buy a few this year and bring them on to sell maybe doing a bit jumping wise with each – hopefully getting back into that sort of thing a bit more myself and then buy “an eventer” when I finish uni if I still feel it is what I want to do or I don’t know what the other options are really. I know I will have to start at the bottom doing un-aff things to get going.
This is so strange as 2 years ago I would have laughed my head off if anyone suggested I may want to event and when I first started to think it, I ignored it but I have thought it so long now, I really want to explore giving it a go but as I’m only going to have a horse this year, then not for a year, I don’t know what to do next, or where to begin.
My parents are very good and so I can have as much training as I want – I’m not just going to get a new horse and try and do it on my own!!!
Any ideas as to what I could do next would be very very gratefully received!!
Sorry it is such a long ramble! It is basically my thoughts written down!!
 
A year can go very fast sometimes! And event horses are more prone to mucking their legs up than dressage horses, so what I think you should do from a financial and practical point of view is maybe buy 2 or 3 horses to bring on, one being a dressage horse, which you know you can do properly, and then maybe try and find a fairly bog-standard but green allrounder type. You can aim to sell this to the RC market, and do a bit of everything on it (including say an Intro), but you won't feel as bad if something does go wrong or you decide in the end that dressage is where you want to be. As part of bringing on something like that you will probably take it to a few clinics etc - they are a great way of teaching horses about going out, and you will get some help with getting back into the swing of jumping. If you set your sights too high with something you won't have a very long time frame to sell you could find it difficult to shift if there is a downturn in the market or anything. Does that help?
 
I don't know anything about your situation, but if you have a year off Uni, have you thought about looking for a working pupil place on a decent eventing yard?

Some of the arrangements invole you paying a bit of money and receiving training. Other places you have to work (usually very hard) in exchange for tuition.

That would give you great experience of riding event horses and a lot of really good training.
 
Alternatively what about loaning an older event horse for a year? You might have to juggle around an old injury and it may end up being high maintenance but if you could do some OPN on decent ground on a horse that has been there and done it.
You just have to be in the right place at the right time to find the horse!
 
Yes, thanks!!
So you think just no pressure this year, aim to bring it on to a low ish level and then, think about something more serious when I graduate?
My friend (and used to be dressage trainer), has a 14 year old TB Hano (very light and looks like an eventer actually!!), who she is going to retire from top level dressage and she said I could have that to play with but i'm not sure I should..... The horse is lovely and i have ridden her a fair few times and get on well with her and so my friend thinks i'd be fine but the problem is, she is very highly strung and flighty and that is fine, when i'm doing dressage on her - I do not back off at all but I'm worried that I might jumping (or at least until I get back into it!). Also, the main reason I don't think that it is the best idea is that the horse has been a dressage horse it's whole life and so would be starting from scratch. I think probably getting something to do more RC type stuff on, as you say, would be more ideal.
 
I would love to do that but although I am not at uni, I am doing a work placement.... I'm back at home though rather than living away which is why i'm getting a horse (or two!!).
Two years ago I worked on a dressage yard for the summer and rode lots of horses there and got training - I would love to do that again at an event yard but don't think ATM it would be possible - I start the placement in 2 months so couldn't even really do it this summer.
 
I will listen out but won't the owner of such a horse want the loaner to have more eventing experience?
I know I was quite fussy about who had my horse on loan..
 
If you have the dressage experance they will most likley be happy for you to event lightly and do more schooling with their horse.
 
I think you need to give it a go & then you'll know whether it's for you or not.

If you are in the position of buying more than one horse then the idea of getting one to bring on for dressage is a good idea as this is where you are confident at & then try and find a nice allround RC type who is currently competing at Open RC level. This would then enable to you to compete at Intro & PN hopefully and give you lots of confidence and fun. They are out there if & you don't need to spend megabucks but you may have to spend some time looking. Word and mouth is usually the best way.

Best of luck & hope you have a fun year.
grin.gif
 
Well, I think i'm going to find an eventing yard to put the horse as the yard i'm on now is very much dressage and doesn't really have facilities geared towards anything but dressage, so, does anyone know of any good eventing yards in Lancs/Cheshire?
I know there is a big eventing yard on the Wirral where Sue Bradshaw is based, can't think of the name though? It is quite a trek for me but I wouldn't mind driving for the right yard!
 
I've got a nice little horse you could have lots of fun on.....

Ok, seriously though, if you really want to give eventing a bash and not just at intro level then a nice schoolmaster would be a good idea. Eventers depreciate though so you probs wont make any money at the end of the year doing it that way.
 
Do you?

I know I won't make any money on event type horses (and will probably lose some/lots if I get a schoolmaster) but TBH, I'm not too bothered........ I only decided to try and make a bit this year as I was planning to go with the norm and get a couple of dressage horses and I knew I could make money at that. Since i'm going to have a bash at eventing, my only prority is that I start off in the way which offers the best chance of me liking it and getting good!
I am just worried whether it is worth buying a schoolmaster for this year? As TE said, it will go fast so I don't know if i'm better buying one when I graduate but I want to do something this year towards "becoming an eventer" so to speak!!!
Obviously I will start at low levels and hopefully get going with some low level BE but if I decide to stick at it, I want to really go for it - I am like that in dressage too (was?), I want to get up the levels and not play around at the bottom. It would take time I know!
I also need to get used to not winning - ATM only first will do, I can't stand second, I will need to lower my standards if I swap!!!!
 
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