First Dressage Competition

ahorseandadog

ahorseandadog

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Hello everyone!!

I've been offered a ride on a friend's horse for an unafilliated dressage competition (doing intro C 2016) which I feel very honoured to have been offered and am never much looking forward to it! However, I've never done a competition before (apart from one a while ago but that was at an old riding school so it was very casual) and I've been struck by how many gaps in my knowledge there are. Was wondering if any of you dressage experts could offer a helping hand? (and I apologise that my questions are rather incredibly stupid.)

• I understand that you have to wear a number - do you have to buy a bib or does the stables supply it? Or how do you attach numbers to bridles? (Not quite sure if I understand whether the stables expects you to do one of those in particular.)

• What are you supposed to wear? I'm presuming light coloured jodphurs and a white show shirt but are there regulations on long boots versus short boots and chaps versus just short boots? Do you need a tie? A show jacket?

• Tips on how to warm up effectively? It's only an intro but should I do some canter work as well?

• The test requires to give and retake the inside rein on a 10m circle in trot; what exactly is the correct way to do this? How many marks would I lose if I felt unable to do this (the horse is a rather wobbly youngster).

And if you have any other pieces of advice from your own experience, that would be wonderful! This is the first time this horse has gone to a show in a very long time so not quite sure what to expect alongside my own inexperience.

Thank you so much for any replies xx
 
I will probably not be too much help being a relatively hapless competitor myself! Will give it a shot but will preface by saying that the BD rulebook will be far more knowledgeable than I could ever dream to be!

- For unaffiliated I haven't had to wear a number, just introduce myself to the judge when I entered the arena but it will depend on the organisers

- white jods for dressage and typically a black jacket although at unaffil i got away with a tweed one and coloured stock. No regulations as far as I'm aware on long vs short boots.

- Warming up i'd say depends on the horse, mine is a wobbly youngster and I've found he loses focus and becomes very backwards after about 15/20 minutes so it worked best for me to give him a bit of a walk round, a brisk trot to get the blood moving and getting him forward and off the leg then straight into the test but some do benefit from longer to get settled.

My biggest piece of advice is don't over ride it, and take deep breaths - I forget to breathe and we both get really tense - smile and enjoy the experience! Good luck and let us know how you get on :)
 
I'm no expert but until one of the dressage peeps turns up here is what I do
No number for unaffiliated.
Light jods, white or cream shirt and tie, black or tweed jkt, I wear short boots with gaiters as I have unusual foot/calf dimensions and struggle to find long boots to fit (that are affordable). Hair net to look tidy. Gloves.
I like to allow half hour for warm up so I can adjust depending on how my horse is going. Lots of transitions, circles to check bend, halts to make sure he is listening.
My advice is to learn the test thoroughly, if you know the arena you'll be riding in try to visualize the test all the way through.
Remember to smile as you ride the centre line and enjoy yourself.
On the give and retake push that hand forward towards the bit so that there is a loop in the rein and then bring it back to normal position over a couple of strides. I'm sure there are a couple or you tube vids that will show you better than I can explain.
 
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I'd contact the organisers to ask whether numbers are required or not, this varies from place to place. There are some show centres near me that are enforcing the BD rule to have 2 numbers displayed on the horse. You can buy bridle numbers on ebay quite cheaply.

Carrottom mentioned it above but do make sure you wear gloves, any colour is fine.

Learn your test inside out so you can enjoy riding rather than worrying about where you are going.

It's your choice whether you canter in the warm up or not, how much canter do you usually do on the horse and do you find it improves his walk/trot work? if so then have a canter... if not then don't bother :)

With the give an retake, it will depend on the judge since it's unaffiliated, why not give it a go when you ride next. It's usually not too difficult if you can start your circle with 2 reins, then just push one hand forward to release the contact over a few steps, then take the contact back and complete your circle.
 
I see your Qu's are answered but I would just add with the give and retake that you should push your hand toward the bit not in the air to show a release of the contact not a raise of the hand which is what a lot of people do!
With regard to the warm up it depends on the horse but most horses way of going improves after having a few canters but see how he feels, the main thing is just to keep a nice regular rhythm, its the first scale of training and will be the main directive for the judges at this level.
Other common mistakes to avoid would be rushing through the test to get it over and done with, don't use your voice (unless you're desperate) even clicking will be marked down so be quiet! Also correct mistakes quickly, the marks will be higher if you recognise and correct something than if you just leave it, for example if your horse lands in a wonky heap for the halt then straighten him up don't just salute (also salute must be with your free hand not the one with the whip!) hope those tips help :) Good luck x
 
ahorseandadog said:
Hello everyone!!

I've been offered a ride on a friend's horse for an unafilliated dressage competition (doing intro C 2016) which I feel very honoured to have been offered and am never much looking forward to it! However, I've never done a competition before (apart from one a while ago but that was at an old riding school so it was very casual) and I've been struck by how many gaps in my knowledge there are. Was wondering if any of you dressage experts could offer a helping hand? (and I apologise that my questions are rather incredibly stupid.)

• I understand that you have to wear a number - do you have to buy a bib or does the stables supply it? Or how do you attach numbers to bridles? (Not quite sure if I understand whether the stables expects you to do one of those in particular.)

• What are you supposed to wear? I'm presuming light coloured jodphurs and a white show shirt but are there regulations on long boots versus short boots and chaps versus just short boots? Do you need a tie? A show jacket?

• Tips on how to warm up effectively? It's only an intro but should I do some canter work as well?

• The test requires to give and retake the inside rein on a 10m circle in trot; what exactly is the correct way to do this? How many marks would I lose if I felt unable to do this (the horse is a rather wobbly youngster).

And if you have any other pieces of advice from your own experience, that would be wonderful! This is the first time this horse has gone to a show in a very long time so not quite sure what to expect alongside my own inexperience.

Thank you so much for any replies xx
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Numbers are required for affiliated competitions. For many unaffiliated competitions you just give the judge your name as you go in. I'd give them a ring and ask. You can buy number holders online. They either attach to bridles (where the browband meets the headpiece) with a little tag or to your saddlecloth (usually with magnets). You can also get saddle cloths with pockets for numbers already on them but number holders are much cheaper.

You should either wear beige jods with a tweed jacket and a coloured stock or white jods with navy/black jacket and white stock. I wear the former with a navy competition shirt (any 'muted' colour is ok). Gloves are compulsory. If you have nice steady hands wear a light pair, if not wear a dark pair to hide them a bit! I wear a dark beige pair to make them really hard to see!

Practice your warm up at home and work out what works for your horse. I do 12 minutes (after a 5-10 minute walk round the venue to loosen off) exactly. Any more, he goes off the boil, but this wouldn't normally be enough for most horses - he's very laid back and loses energy quickly. If canter loosens him up (both of mine are better after a canter) I'd canter, but if he's likely to get too excited I wouldn't. You need to get to know him and what works for him.

If you can make the give and retake really obvious (I put my hand forward by about 6" but I can really trust my boy ) you'll get more marks but even a small forward movement will be rewarded. Again, practice at home and do what you feel comfortable with - it's better to do a small give and retake well than a big grand gesture that goes wrong!

The best advice I can give is to treat it all as a learning experience. He's learning, you're learning and the mark doesn't really matter. Just go and enjoy it for what it is. Good luck!
 
The give and retake in this test is done in walk, so that should make it a bit easier for you 😊
 
I've done lots of unaffiliated dressage..


Some venues will give you a printed number and a bit of ribbon to the it round your waist. Otherwise just tell the judge who you are. Ride over to the judge as you enter the ring. They might ask your name or just say carry on. Don't forget to wait for the bell (Or honk of the horn) before starting the test. Just walk around the arena until they ring or honk.

Long boots are best for an adult, but nobody will bat an eye at short boots with clean smart chaps. White or cream gloves are more correct for dressage.

Cream or beige jods are fine with either a blue/black jacket or tweed. White stock with blue /black jacket and shirt and tie with tweed. I've also worn coloured stocks in the past and it doesn't matter at this level. You do need a jacket though so either look on ebay/Preloved or see if you can borrow one from a friend.

Mostly just enjoy yourself!
 
Just to add as often people forget. The bit must be BD legal as most venues run to BD or riding club rules. No martingales allowed, if he wears boots or bandages make sure you take them off before you go i the ring.

I wouldn’t fork out for white or cream gloves as most people avoid them these days especially at lower level. Plain black, blue, Brown are more versatile and just as correct.

Definitely try give and retake and practice at home. I usually go forward one, two - back one, two to show a definite give and retake. If you don’t you won’t get any mark or even an error of course. Show at least something depending on the how the horse feels on the day.

If you feel safe and confident to canter it’s often helpful to loosen up and get a laid back horse a bit more forward or to settle something. However, do what you feel comfortable with on the day.

Just remember this experience will be all about learning, learning what worked and what didn’t and what you might do differently next time. Do not beat yourself up if things don’t go according to plan just enjoy the experience and learn.

Hope you have a good day and best of luck. Let us know how you got on.
 
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I did my first ever dressage test on Sunday and it was also Intro C!

I was absolutely bricking it, all the hours and hours of practice totally went out of my head and I rode like a cowboy. However, some of it must have come through as I managed over 60% and a shiny purple rosette. I was soooooo chuffed!

On reflection, my tips would be as follows:

- Prepare and prepare and prepare, and then totally expect to forget everything on the day.
- Try to relax, as your horse will pick up on your nerves, and then won't listen.
- Smile and enjoy it!

In answer to your questions:

- I used a velcro number on the saddle pad, I bought it off eBay for about £3.
- I wore cream jods, greeny tweed jacket, short boots and gaiters, cream stock and brown gloves. Not sure if that was totally correct but I felt smart, and that made me sit up straighter!
- I warmed up for about 15 mins with lots of bending and leg yielding - my mare is so much sharper off my leg after I have done lateral work. I didn't do much trot/canter in the warm up as she gets silly and fizzy. You just need to work out what your horse needs.
- The give and re-take was ok. I put my inside leg on quite strongly and hold outside rein to stop drifting, then I can release inside rein for a couple of strides without losing bend or direction. I practiced it loads beforehand though.

Good luck, and enjoy it! Let us know how you get on x
 
Other questions have been answered so thought I'd just chip in with some other bits!

- As others have said, don't over ride it. Forget about the competition and ride as you would riding at home. You don't need to go all 'ultra'! (which is what I used to do!).
- Be accurate. Make sure you are hitting the markers with turns/transitions
- Look at the test sheet and see where you can get easy marks. Are there small movements which you can really focus on to get optimum marks?
- Remember to wear gloves!

I haven't competed for a few years but found venues were hit and miss with numbers. Some didn't give you any and some gave you the ones printed out that you would tie on to yourself with string. I used to take safety pins so I could pin it to me instead of having string. Meant less faff if you wanted to take jacket on and off!
 
My tips are:

+Check with the show secretary what their requirements are regarding dress and numbers. Even some local shows are quite strict! Mine you only need 1 bridle number, but white/cream gloves are a must.

+Give yourself some time in the warm up area as, if it's busy, there may be some stop/starting for giving way....not everyone understands how the warm up areas work and ride as if they are in there on their own (pet peeve)

+Try to imagine you are riding the test at home...and breathe!

+Practice your free walk on long rein...it's double marks so fantastic way to pick up some extra marks

+Don't stress if something goes wrong. Breathe and continue as you were.

+If you think it's gone badly, wait until the results! You may be pleasantly surprised! I rode what I thought was a horrible test and still came third.

+Have fun!
 
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