Help! I need a plan to try to get to dressage comp next year!!

sleepykitten

sleepykitten

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Hey all,

Wonder if you can point me in the right direction?

My wonderful, wonderful mare was out of work for 2 years with a suspensory ligament injury but has been back in light work for just over a year. My plan this year was to do an intro dressage test, but I kept putting it off and not getting organised and never did it this year.

My problem is that I used to be a very confident rider, and although I'm not nervous at all on my mare, I'm nervous of looking like a total idiot!

I have not done any dressage as such for years, and my mare was well schooled when I bought her, but we have mainly galloped round fields and rounded up sheep for 3 years :D She is more than capable, but both of us are very rusty. I have potentially enlisted the help of a friend who is an excellent dressage rider and she will give me some lessons when the weather improves, but I think I need a timetable or plan or goal or something as I just slop along and make excuses not to compete!

All I want to do is go to an intro dressage test and enjoy myself, but be reasonably prepared and not make a total tit of myself.

Can anyone suggest a plan for myself and ponio? Bearing in mind I work full time and in reality can only ride 2-3 times a week depending on daylight hours!!

I have access to my friends outdoor school in decent weather, but guess I'm looking to start the Spring with a game plan!

Any pointers for engaging arse gratefully appreciated!! (in vein of new year's resolution type of thing)
 
i find there is nothing quite like entering a competition to make me get practicing.
just go for it, stop worrying about looking silly, it really doesnt matter how you do to start with, my ambition was firstly to stay in arena, and i entered a prelim, just to trot all the canter work as my horse was very young. but by end of season he was winning. have fun and go for it.
 
Hello!

Well done for setting yourself a challenge. You sound more than capable of achieving it! No easy way to start, you just need to find a suitable show (have a look on ridingdiary.co.uk), enter yourself and get practising! :D

I'm going to be doing the same with showjumping. Have already entered a show in February and am nervous already. Good luck!
 
Thanks guys, thats encouraging! Been unable to even ride for 3 weeks due to crap ground, ice, mud, the usual, I'm very lucky though in that my horse can be ridden once a day or once a year and she's no different, I do want to have a bit of practice under my belt first though :p
 
dont worry about looking like a idiot! my mare whos on rehab got shoved in a prelim test at our yard. she went in the warm up and broncked me off, i got back on, did 7 mins warm up with trainer shouting at us, did test, and came 8th!!! out of 21 :).....even though i looked like i had more sand on me than in the school and i was wearing no stock!

use that friends help once or twice a week! - could they ride your horse for you one day a week? 2 or 3 days work should be fine.

find a show date! nice and local, doesnt get to busy so you are under no pressure. and plan it to be sooner rather than later! that way you have something to aim for
 
TandD said:
dont worry about looking like a idiot! my mare whos on rehab got shoved in a prelim test at our yard. she went in the warm up and broncked me off, i got back on, did 7 mins warm up with trainer shouting at us, did test, and came 8th!!! out of 21 :).....even though i looked like i had more sand on me than in the school and i was wearing no stock!

use that friends help once or twice a week! - could they ride your horse for you one day a week? 2 or 3 days work should be fine.

find a show date! nice and local, doesnt get to busy so you are under no pressure. and plan it to be sooner rather than later! that way you have something to aim for
Click to expand...

I'm not too worried about madam being fit enough, she can p*** off with me after weeks out of work, its more that we need to school together, i'm an extremely lazy, one hand on the reins, watching the world go by type of rider, and we are so in tune with each other that all I do is put two hands on the reins to trot! We have got rather used to each other.

We just both need to concentrate and have some discipline!

Like the idea of just booking a local thing though, might take a horsey mate for moral support
 
Don't worry about looking silly at all, it will be very difficult to look like a numpty in an intro test! They're called intro for a reason, others in your class should be just starting out in dressage just like you, so don't worry, nobody is going to resemble Charlotte and Valegro ;) I think what you need to do is set a month/day/specific show and go into the new year with the mindset as if you have already entered and that its hypothetically non-refundable! Write it on your calendar in permanent marker! That way you can't back out and you have a specific preparation time limit. Have a few lessons with your friend, find out which buttons you need to press to get your mare working to her best and practice a few intro tests to get the feel for what they're like and how best to ride them. Get a knowledgeable horsey friend to watch you ride one and get them to critique it so you have things to work on and improve prior to the real thing. Riding a couple of times a week shouldn't be an issue, just make sure those sessions really count.

Do you have a friend of a similar level? You could make a deal that you'll both ride at said show/competition and therefore you can't back out! You have to set an exact (or almost exact) goal instead of aiming for a show that doesn't exist. For example if I were in your position I'd say ok, I know my local venue does unaff competitions every weekend from Feb onwards, so therefore I will pick a deadline (say by end of April) and stick to it! Enter as soon as you possibly can to make sure you can't back out. If you've got a yearly local show then even better as you'll know the exact date.

Take videos and photos of your schooling sessions and then you can watch back and compare, perhaps even post some photos on here of your progression (if you're comfortable of course) and that way you have evidence of yourself sticking to your gameplan and we can be here to motivate you along the way :)

Good luck! Although I doubt you'll need it, you'll be absolutely fine. Main thing is to enjoy yourself, don't set yourself an unrealistic goal (better to feel you're ready early then not ready!) and don't let it feel like a chore!
 
Thanks hcm, very constructive. I do have a friend who wants to do similar stuff and she has had a bad year this year with issues with her horse, we could go together!!

I do need to be realistic, its pointless planning a test for January when I know i will barely have been able to ride her between now and then, I think April is a good plan.

I already feel more positive, I will just go to enjoy and not expect too much, thank you!!!
 
Some great advice, and you sound in a similar position to me this time last year, young horse never competed, never done dressage either. Fet something booked, it focuses the mind brilliantly. If you can book in a lesson or two, or maybe even try a clinic/training session. I find these really good as it's getting out without the pressure of competing. I also booked the arena where the dressage competion was held for an hour and did a practice test with my instructor. Another thought is to book a competion early, but do treat it as a hc, ie not competetive, to get the idea of it being 'a big scary event' out of your head, by just going for the judges feedback, so you know what to work on.
 
Good on you for wanting to get back in the competitive spirit! As someone has already said, I find actually deciding on THE competition is one of the key factors in planning goals and to be honest that's where I am at the moment, as first baby is due in January I have my heart set on a local prelim competition the first week in September and it's already in my diary for 2013! So, have a look on the websites (British Dressage usually has listings quite a way in advance) and decide on one that is within a reasonable distance where you will feel happy and comfortable competing. From there you can work backwards week by week and month by month in terms of fitness for you and your horse. For an intro or prelim I would imagine riding 2 or 3 days a week riding will be fine and obviously over the spring and summer months you can increase this if you have time. I wouldn't overdo the schooling, for an intro or prelim you can do a lot of your schooling out on hacks and are less likely to make both you and your horse circle crazy! Concentrate on getting her really listening, really responding to your aids and not predicting your movements. Also, concentrate on your own position (I have a nasty habit of slouching when hacking so having a friend ride out with me and remind me really helps). Also have a read through the test and identify any potential weaknesses and strengths. Quite often I will ride a test and ask someone to video it for me so that I can see where I need to improve and re-ride it say 8 or 10 weeks later. The other thing which really helps motivate me is to make sure everything is booked ready for the big day - if you need to hire transport get that booked in, make sure your competition gear fits and is smart and in good condition (and of course if it's not a shopping spree is excellent motivation!). Finally, don't underestimate the power of having supportive people around you. Whether that be enlisting a "competition companion" who has a similar goal so you can work together towards a joint goal, asking around the yard for anyone who would be interested in sharing transport to the show you pick or just telling friends and family what your goal is and asking for their support.
Best of luck, keep us updated and we look forward to hearing how you get on!!
 
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