how do you deal with nerves??

[jenbleep]

ok well in the next few months and after a few more lunge lessons and flatwork lesson i would like to take Frankie to some local jumping shows and dressage tests. (just prelim, he could do them easy). i was just wondering how nervous people got before a show, and how do they deal with it?

ive only ever done one dressage test and one show in my whole ridden life (about 7 years!) and i do get a bit nervous when people are watching me ride. something to do with self confidence issues. so i cant imagine what im going to be like at a show! hehe.

just wondering really! xxx

 

[welshstar]

Just remember to keep breathing to keep yourself relaxed, imagine there is no-one there and it is just you and your horse have a nice little potter about. At local dressage things there isn't usually many spectators so anyone watching is
likely to be in the same situation as you. Just go out to have a bit of fun and if you do get placed, just see it as a bonus.

 

[LauraBR]

I don't get nervous at all at dressage comps but do get very nervous at SJ and hunter trials and it does transfer to horse which then makes everything a hundred times more difficult!

I think probably I have been guilty in the past of competing in classes I perhaps wasn't ready for. I'm getting back into my jumping now after breaking my leg and have decided I want to be jumping a decent sized course at home confidently and without a problem or the slightest butterfly before I start going out and doing baby courses that will hopefully by then be a piece of cake, so no need for nerves!

 

[Nosey]

With dressage I used to get nervous even when I ran through the test at home with my trainer under 'test conditions'!! You probably aren't that bad but that may be a good place to start ie try and imitate the formality of a real test at home.

Other tips are being as prepared as possible in advance ie with all your gear to hand and allowing yourself loads of time to travel to venue / work in etc. Also knowing the test / course really well so you don't have to worry about that.

I find it helps to ride the test / course in your head at real time and think how you will negotiate each jump / circle rather than just a case of turn left, turn right etc, think about your aids and how you will get your horse going brilliantly.

Bach rescue remedy may help or may make you think its helping which is just as good!

Then just go out to lots of things, esp low key things, so the nerves / excitement wears off a bit!

Have fun!!

 

[jenbleep]

ahhh thanks guys

i tried rescue remedy for my driving test.......dont actually know if it works but i think it did which helped! xxx

 

[southgate1975]

Just tell yourself that you're not nervous, you're excited. The physical symptoms of excitement and being nervous are the same.

 

[MagicMelon]

The only thing I get a bit nervous / worked up about is dressage! Ill merrily do XC and SJ etc. but dressage is just too stressful! Like you, I hate people watching me as I feel so crap! Ive just started to try and not care. Ill pretend that the judge isnt there and Im just practicing at home. Just try to imagine it like that all the way through. The more you try it the more it seems to work.

 

[goldengryffindor]

I used to get nervous with my current horse in dressage and everyone who new me could tell because the soft relaxed horse would suddenly change and become tense in the arena. I just had to concentrate on thinking i had to relax and think about what i was doing and each individual movement as it came.

 

[sikaran]

Rescue remedy should help, but also going to shows as often as possible so it no longer becomes a 'big thing' - worked for me and I used to be such a wimp!